Paris Blog and Lots of Tips for Visitors

]une 2, 2019 — Day 24 (Sunday)

Quiet Sunday. We walked to the Luxembourg Gardens and claimed chairs to watch all the weekend joggers. Later walked over to the Medici Fountain, took a few pictures, watched a very exotic photographer shoot a model at the fountain and then we claimed a couple chairs by the fountain and watched people, ducks and pigeons. [Luxembourg Gardens, Entrances: Place Edmond Rostand, Place André Honnorat, Rue Guynemer, Rue de Vaugirard; Click here for the Luxembourg Gardens web site]

As lunch time approached, we started toward rue de Seine where Carol Lynn and David had recommended a seafood place. We had no trouble finding it, but it didn’t look very appealing so we set off to check the menu at Les Deux Magots. They’ve added a large outdoor section and we weren’t impressed with their menu so crossed the street to Brasserie Lipp. The menu looked good so we went in. Very elegant; very welcoming. We’d eaten there years before and loved the waiters and that hasn’t changed. We both ordered the confit de canard and it arrived on a tray where we served ourselves. It was delicious. Ed got a chocolate mousse for dessert and I got a glacé café parfait that looked like a coffee ice cream torpedo on a plate. Delicious! [Brasserie Lipp, 151 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006; tel: +33 (0)1 4548-5391; Click here for the Brasserie Lipp web site]

After lunch we walked over to and into Église Saint-Germain. Much of it was under wraps for renovation but the central aisle including the ceiling had been restored and was stunning. When it’s all done, it will be spectacular. It had been so dark and gloomy and now it is beautiful. I can't wait to see it when it's completed. It was started in 543 as a Benedictine Abbey, turned into a saltpetre factore after the Revolution and finally turned back into a church in the 1800s. Between 1821 and 1854, the church was restored by the architects Étienne-Hippolyte Godde and Victor Baltard and was classified as a historic monument in 1862. It is one of the first French Gothic buildings and in the world.

We then walked around the corner to the Delacroix Museum, free on a first Sunday. We enjoyed the small collection and claimed seats in the garden. Followed that by walking to the Cluny Museum Garden and only half the garden was open, the playground. The lovely Medieval Garden, the pretty half, is undergoing renovation. The Cluny has been a disappointment on this trip.

There was a small market beside the garden so we walked through it to the Metro. On the Metro a nice Brazilian man offered us his seat and chatted briefly.

It’s gotten very hot so we cooled off with Perrier when we got home. Great stuff . . . !

June 3, 2019 — Day 25 (Monday)

Rainy Monday. We took our umbrellas today and that turned out to be a good idea. It spit on and off all day but Metéo promised rain at three o’clock and right on schedule, it poured.

We had tickets to the Van Gogh show at the Atelier des Lumières. You have to reserve ahead and we don’t have a printer so I downloaded the nonrefundable tickets onto my phone and hoped they would accept them. We didn’t know how long it would take to get there and had a long Metro ride so naturally we got there early. People were already queuing but they were for ten o’clock and our tickets were for 10:30 so we found a stone and sat down to wait. It opened at ten and as they let people in, I saw quite a few using cell phone tickets. Quelle relief.

Soon they said 10:00 or 10:30 could enter so we cheerfully went in, through security and used my phone for the tickets with no problem. We went through the door and it was nearly pitch black. After our eyes adjusted a little, we found a seat on the far side of a very large room. The show started in a few minutes and is projected on all the walls and floor. You really sit (or stand) in the show. People were pretty good about staying out of your vision but as it became more crowded, it was harder to see. There were three shows, (1) Van Gogh, the Starry Night; (2) Japan Dreamed, Images of the Floating World; and (3) Verse which was very short. I liked the Van Gogh best because I knew the paintings and the music and it was the main show. It was an interesting experience and I'd love to visit the Atelier de Lumières at Les Baux some time. [Atelier des Lumières, 38 Rue Saint-Maur, 75011; tel: +33 (0)1 8098-4600; Click here for the Atelier des Lumières web site]

After the show, we decided to walk back to rue Republique and as we stood on the sidewalk looking at our map, a friendly Frenchman stopped and asked if he could help. He spoke no English but we made ourselves understood and he gave us directions, wished us “bonne continuation” and we set off. We found the street we wanted and started toward Pl. De la Republique looking for restaurants. We found several McDonald’s, two Burger Kings, a KFC and various pizza places, none of which had any appeal. Found a nice Alsatian restaurant but they were tearing up the street in front with jackhammers and it was too noisy. We kept walking past Pl. De la Republique to blvd. St. Martin where we finally found Le Pachyderme, a fun French restaurant with a good menu and friendly waitress. Definitely worth the hike. We entered and were seated by a window so we could watch the parade of people going by. Ed got grilled sea bass and I got souris d’agneau and both were excellent. My lamb fell off the bone! I got the moelleux au chocolat and Ed glace nougat for dessert. Terrific meal. [Le Pachyderme Restaurant, 2 Boulevard Saint-Martin, 75010; tel: +33 (0)1 4206-3256; Click here for the Le Pachyderme Facebook Page]

The sprinkles let up so we started toward the Pompidou Center down blvd. St. Martin to rue St. Martin stopping to explore the outside of the closed Arts et Metiers Musée on the way. After photographing the huge arch at Porte Saint-Martin, we continued to the Pompidou where we found a table beside the Stravinsky Fountain where we could order drinks. Ed got hot chocolate and I got mint tea, both fine but it started to pour and the umbrellas weren’t great protection. I put up my own umbrella under the restaurant umbrella. When we finished our drinks, we started past the Pompidou to our Metro, passing a very long line waiting to get into the Pompidou. Everyone is looking for indoor things to do today.

At the Metro we were greeted with the announcement that the #11 line was closed at Chatélet, our correspondence, so we had to go to Hotel de Ville, change to #1 to Chatélet and get our #7 home. It worked and two very nice Arab young men gave us their seats on the #7.

Got home and checked my phone to discover I had a call so I returned it and it was La Bonne Excuse Restaurant and we do have our 12:30 reservation June 6th for our 55th wedding anniversary. Hooray!

June 4, 2019 — Day 26 (Tuesday)

Supposed to be warm and wet so we left coats at home and took umbrellas. It almost worked. We walked up and took the #83 bus to Solferino-Bellechasse and walked to the Musée d’Orsay. We were met with fairly long lines but like the Fondation Vuitton, the longest lines were for those who bought tickets ahead. However, we all waited because they delayed the opening twenty minutes. When they finally opened, the lines moved very quickly. We’ve noticed this in the past too.

We went directly to the Millet exhibits and discovered these galleries were nearly empty. My husband loves Millet and we always make a Millet pilgrimage when we're in Paris. The Impressionists are on the fifth floor which was a zoo because that’s where everyone went. We went up looking for a particular painting and ended up fighting our way through the crowds and back down to the second floor for the Van Gogh–Cezanne Special Exhibit. We found everything we wanted to see so left and had to stand in line to get out. The revolving exit door will only allow five people out per circuit. Not great planning . . . [Musée d’Orsay, 1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur; tel: +33 (0)1 4049-4814; Click here for the Musée d'Orsay web site]

We left the museum looking for lunch and walked up Rue de Bellechasse to a favorite café. Alas, it was no more. It had been replaced by a trendy restaurant that did not seem at all appealing. We reversed course back toward the Orsay and turned along Rue de Lille checking the various restaurants. Nothing looked very appealing and then a waiter approached us and announced they had a great selection of hamburgers. My husband laughed and told him we didn’t travel five thousand miles to eat hamburgers at which point, the waiter told us what else they had and it sounded pretty good so we went into Tabac d'Orsay and found a seat at the back. It wasn’t fancy but the food and service were good and we did not get hamburgers! I got the confit de canard, Ed got the salmon and we shared a pichet of red wine. It worked out well.

We walked over to Invalides and went through security yet again and entered. We got our tickets and started in the chapel before going into the Army Museum. They’ve completely redone the Army Museum since our last visit and we were shocked to discover absolutely no mention of Jews, deportations, concentration camps and deaths. They have effectively erased history . . . shameful history, but history that needs to be acknowledged. No wonder the far right political parties are making gains. This is frightening. There used to be exhibits on these that were quite vivid. The first time we visited back in the 1990s, I walked out in tears. This time we left from shear boredom. They have dumbed it down to the point of meaninglessness. I guess it's all right if you enjoy looking at old uniforms in glass cases. [Invalides and the Army Museum, 129 Rue de Grenelle; tel: +33 (0)1 4442-3877; Click here for the Invalides Army Museum web site]

We made the obligatory visit to Napoleon’s Tomb and then a fruitless search for the #83 bus stop. It is elusive so we took the Metro home, stopped for cereal and bread. We got a loaf fresh from the oven. Then as we walked home, a very windy thunder storm hit. We tried Ed’s umbrella and managed to keep the bread dry but both of us were drenched. As soon as we got home, the storm stopped. Crazy!

June 5, 2019 — Day 27 (Wednesday)

Another rainy day! We took the #83 bus to the end of the line both to find the Invalides bus stop that has eluded us and to get to the Petit Palais. As we walked from the bus stop, an older French gentleman stopped us to ask directions to the Petit Palais and we had no trouble directing him. We snapped pictures in the rain across Pont Alexandre III and walked to the Petit Palais where we entered the ground level entrance. Security was friendly and fast and the regular collection which included the temporary Ingres exhibit was free so we were quickly inside. [Petit Palais, Avenue Winston Churchill, tel: +33 (0)1 5343-4000; Click here for the Petit Palais web site]

We wandered through the collection until we were too hungry to continue. We left and decided to walk back to Le Bourbon on Place du Palais Bourbon not far from Invalides. It was quite full but we got seats in a very elegant basement room full of chatting French people. We both got the chicken as our meal and chocolate mousse for dessert. It was all very French and very nice. We were a bit surprised when, after a very long discussion, the two French young women beside us ordered hamburgers that they proceeded to eat with knife and fork . . . as all good French people do. This French fascination with hamburgers has left us a little bewildered. They are cookout food to us and yet we’ve seen them on nearly every menu in Paris this trip. [Brasserie Le Bourbon, 1 Place du Palais Bourbon, 75007 Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 4551-5827; Click here for Brasserie Le Bourbon web site]

Then we went back out into the rain and walked back to the Grand Palais where we had to do a bit of searching to find the entrance for the "La Lune” exhibit. It was around the corner on the side. I’d read a review suggesting the audio guides so we got them and were glad we did because most of the information was only French. It was a combination of art, NASA photos, documentaries and equipment about the moon in history and especially the moon landing fifty years ago. Very interesting. [Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, 3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower; tel: +33 (0)1 4413-1717; Click here for the Grand Palais web site]

Knowing where the #83 Invalides bus stop is, we walked over and our bus was waiting. We got on and claimed two seats on the empty bus and enjoyed the ride home. We got a tiny Rocamadour cheese and wine. Ed walked down to the bakery for our daily bread and also got two Religieuse for dessert. He does know how to spoil me. Wet day, but very nice.

Started the day with an e-anniversary card from Peg. We ate breakfast and took the #83 bus to the Guynemer-Vavin stop by the Luxembourg Gardens. If you go in the entry there, you walk past the Pavilion Davioud where the Paris bee keeping museum is. Just a little further on the other side is the Rucher du Luxembourg (rucher means apiary). Each year they produce about 450 pounds of honey which is collected and sold every Autumn at the Orangerie du Luxembourg just a few minutes walk up the path. The hives have a color code on them not just for human benefit but also because the bees will associate with these so that they go back to their specific hive, and although these are the modern beehives, there are historical ones called skeps preserved within the Pavillon Davioud, which is where the beekeepers office, the school and the honey extraction center are located. There is even a little fountain just for the bees to get water. Paris has a policy of not using pesticides within any public gardens or parks to help the friendly Paris bees. After passing the apiary, we walked through the gardens to the Musée du Luxembourg and got tickets to the Les Nabis et le Décor exhibit. Not our favorite style, but interesting and pleasant. The Luxembourg always does a good job with their temporary exhibits. I don't think we've ever been disappointed there. [Musée du Luxembourg, 19 Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 4634-3119; Click here for the Luxembourg Museum web site]

Afterwards we walked over to Place Saint-Sulpice and wandered through the Poésie Festival. One year I was chatting with one of the publishers and got a free book of French poetry, but I didn’t get a free book this year. So sad . . .

Then we slowly walked to La Bonne Excuse Restaurant the way we used to walk home. That was fun. We arrived about ten minutes early but they were ready. She gave us “the table you used the last time” which was perfect. I can’t believe she remembered. We’ve only eaten there twice before, our 50th anniversary and again 18 months later when we happened to be in town. We have had the same table all three times. It seems to now be our table. Ed ordered the cod and I got the filet mignon de porc. We started with a kir royal to celebrate our anniversary, and she did take our picture. I remembered the camera this time! For dessert we both got the chocolate moelleux with ice cream and she and the chef (her husband) brought them out with lighted candles and wished us a Happy Anniversary. It was a wonderful meal. [La Bonne Excuse, 48 Rue de Verneuil, 75007 Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 4261-5021; Click here for La Bonne Excuse web site]

After lunch we walked over to the Tuileries Gardens and claimed a couple chairs near the café and duck pond. Gorgeous day and we enjoyed people and duck watching. The world walks by when you are in the Tuileries. We finally walked down to Place de la Concorde, up around the Jeu de Paume and back to the top of the garden and claimed two more chairs.

We finally walked over to the very odd-looking Louvre-Palais-Royal Metro station and hopped the #7 home. Our bakery is closed on Thursday so we walked up rue Mouffetard looking for a sandwich to take home. We couldn’t find one so got a piece of pizza to share and that worked well because it was excellent pizza . . . in France! French pizza has really improved over the years. Hooray.

Got home to e-cards from all the kids. That was fun. One more day . . .