641 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
641 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
::Title: Paris compilation
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::Compiled by: Mark Nowak <markn@comm.mot.com>
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::Filename: europe/fr.paris-misc
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::Date: 1993 January
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::Type: Compilation
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::Note: Volunteer needed to edit/organize this file!
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::
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This and other rec.travel guides are available by anonymous ftp from
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ccu.umanitoba.ca in the directory /pub/rec-travel.
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For information about the rec.travel archive project, please contact
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Brian Lucas <lucas@ccu.umanitoba.ca>.
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Please do not send me additions to this file. I do not have time to
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keep it up to date. Volunteers are needed to maintain/organize this
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and other files in the rec.travel archive.
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========================================================================
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From markn@comm.mot.com Wed Jan 13 10:34:32 1993
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id AA21836; Wed, 13 Jan 93 10:37:11 CST
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Date: Wed, 13 Jan 93 10:37:11 CST
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From: markn@comm.mot.com (Mark Nowak)
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Message-Id: <9301131637.AA21836@ssd.comm.mot.com>
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To: lucas@ccu.UManitoba.CA
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Status: OR
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From: llw@med.unc.edu (Laurie Weakley)
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Subject: SUMMARY Paris Favorites (Long)
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Date: 15 Apr 92 20:32:03 GMT
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Organization: UNC-CH School of Medicine
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Hello,
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As promised, here's the summary to the responses
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for my post about Paris Favorites. Thanks very much!
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Original Post:
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>>Date: Mon, 06 Apr 92 17:49
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>>Hello,
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>>I'll be in Paris for 10 days in September.
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>>I'm interested in your favorite Parisian experiences:
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>>hotels, restaurants, sights, whatever.
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>>What did you really enjoy about Paris?
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>>Any restaurants you'd gladly return to? Any sights
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>>you'd not miss for anything?
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>>I promise to post a summary! I posted a similar
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>>request for a trip last year, and the response was a big help.
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>>Thank you,
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>>LLW
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>From @vm.gmd.de:RFLOOD@ESOC.BITNET Wed Apr 8 02:52:54 1992
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Go to the metro station "Denfert-Rocherau" (not sure about the spelling
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so check it - but it's on the southern side of Paris.) Follow the sign
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to the catacombs. Pay for a ticket, go down the stairs, and be prepared
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for a *strange* experience. (Also lots of walking, and it can be a bit
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muddy in places...).
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Go on a river boat - surprisingly cheap for an hour's trip. But watch for
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the
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little boys who stand on the bridges over the Seine and spit on you ! Boats
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leave from near the Eiffel tower.
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Go up the Montparnasse 'skyscraper' and have a coffee at the top. Don't pay
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right to the open air viewing gallary, go to the floor below where the
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cafe
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is
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and sneak up to the top when the watchman's not looking ! Much cheaper....
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>From dlf@rti.rti.org Wed Apr 8 09:28:24 1992
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In article <1992Apr7.175535.7742@samba.oit.unc.edu> you write:
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>From LLW.HSL@mhs.unc.edu Mon Apr 6 17:58:44 1992
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>
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>I'm interested in your favorite Parisian experiences:
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>hotels, restaurants, sights, whatever.
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>
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>What did you really enjoy about Paris?
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Paris is my favorite place. We lived there in the early 70's and I
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have been back several times. My favorite thing is to just walk
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around the streets. The parks, the museums, even the department
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stores are all very interesting. Food is very expensive, but there
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are lots of small cafes (especially on the left bank) where you can
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get a reasonable meal - and you can buy bread, cheese, and sausage
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and have a picnic for lunch. The best place I ever ate was at Tour
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d'Argent - but we had to make a reservation from here (I had a
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travel agent in Durham do it - they found someone who could speak
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French).
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There are also plenty of day-long excursions outside france -
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reachable by train - mostly to castles. The countryside is
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beautiful.
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I'll be happy to answer any specific questions you might have.
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>From btr!btr.com!jbauman@fernwood.mpk.ca.us Wed Apr 8 10:38:41 1992
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Don't miss the Bateaux Mouches (the name for the Seine boat excursions).
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Take it at night -- or dusk).
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The Paris catacombs are something else -- skip the sewer trip for this one.
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There's a little known museum at Les Invalides. It contains scale models
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of a hundred or so French cities made about 200 years ago. The French
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army used them for strategic planning.
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Have fun!
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>From @aifh.edinburgh.ac.uk:kk@aisb.edinburgh.ac.uk Wed Apr 8 10:40:12 1992
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In article <1992Apr7.175535.7742@samba.oit.unc.edu> you write:
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>
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>What did you really enjoy about Paris?
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>Any restaurants you'd gladly return to? Any sights
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>you'd not miss for anything?
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The Picasso museum.
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A trip to St Germain en Laye on the train with a picnic.
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Fresh baguette.
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Aimless wandering.
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kathleen
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---------------------------------
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Kathleen King (kk@uk.ac.ed.aisb)
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Dept of AI, University of Edinburgh,
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80 South Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1HN.
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>From price@ab00.larc.nasa.gov Wed Apr 8 10:58:49 1992
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In article <1992Apr7.175535.7742@samba.oit.unc.edu> you write:
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|> From LLW.HSL@mhs.unc.edu Mon Apr 6 17:58:44 1992
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|>
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|> Hello,
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|>
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|> I'll be in Paris for 10 days in September.
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|>
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|> I'm interested in your favorite Parisian experiences:
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|> hotels, restaurants, sights, whatever.
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|>
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|> What did you really enjoy about Paris?
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|> Any restaurants you'd gladly return to? Any sights
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|> you'd not miss for anything?
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|>
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|> I promise to post a summary! I posted a similar
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|> request for a trip last year, and the response was a big help.
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|>
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|> Thank you,
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|>
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|> LLW
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|> llw@med.unc.edu
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|> UNC-Chapel Hill
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Laurie -
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We spent 3 days there (before a trip through the wine country) back in June
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of '85 and left totally frustrated because of all we missed. We therefore
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returned to Paris for 10 days in November of the same year. That was much
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better!
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A few reccomendations:
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Of course you will want to spend time in the Lourve and other museums. If
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the
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weather happens to be good at first, use that time to visit sights that are
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dependant on good weather and save the museums for either bad weather days
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or nearer the end of your stay if you are lucky enough to only have good
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weather. I had a hard time convincing my wife that we really would get to
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the Lourve, but it turned out to be good that we did wait.
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It's expensive, but a dinner at Restaurant Jules Verne, halfway up the
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Eiffle Tower, was an unforgetable experience. The carpet, walls, ceiling,
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all furniture, wine glass stems, place plates, bud vases, and single
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rosebuds
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on each table are ALL BLACK. There is a black long-arm-desk-type lamp
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shining
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down on each table, which had a very pale grey tablecloth. No other lights
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were
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in the room, and, of course, the outside walls were all glass. All you
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could
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see was the food on the table and the lights of Paris all around! It was
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rather dramatic and the food was equally spectacular.
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Other restaurants that we went to that were in the same class (food & $$)
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were
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the Carillion Hotel at Place de la Concorde, La Tour d'Argent overlooking
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Notre Dame, Guy Savoy out past the Arch de Triumph, and one other I can
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picture in my mind and know what I ate, but can't remember the name. For
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all
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of these, we wrote ahead and asked the concierge at our hotel to book
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reservations in advance. I asked her to space the reservations about every
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other day during our stay and I didn't care which one was on which day. I
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also said NOT on the first day! She handled it perfectly. I highly
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reccommend
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Gault-Millieu as the best guide to the best restaurants in France.
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For less-fancy and more affordable meals, Le Polidor, near le Sorbonne, is
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a
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historic, neighborhood bistro where the natives eat that was fascinating.
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We
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did not have a bad meal there - eating at many bistros - even at the corner
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drugstore near our hotel!
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Speaking of hotel, we stayed at the Madison Hotel, directly across the
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street
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from St. Germaine des Pres, on Blvd. St.Germaine, on the left bank. The
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location was fabulous - right in the middle of the left bank activity and
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easy walking distance from everything! There was also a metro stop at the
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front door. Our room (both times - by request the 2nd time) was 81, which
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was the "garret" overlooking the rooftops of Paris! It was great and cheap
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at the time. They were rehabbing the place during our second visit and
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that
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is now complete, so it is more expensive. However, I read that it is still
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a good buy. The dollar is not what it was then, so all prices are much
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higher.
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The obvious sights, I will assume you know about. Others we enjoyed were
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the chapel that is inside the gates at the Police station near the city
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hall.
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Go only on a bright sunny morning. The windows are spectacular! The
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Rhodin
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(sp?) Museum was good. The Orangerie near the Lourve - Monet's
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Waterlillies
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in two round rooms in the basement level are fantastic. Be sure to go to
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the
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top of Notre Dame if you can take a long spiral staircase.
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Take comfortable walking shoes, you can walk just about everywhere. For
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longer trips, get a week (or 10 day?) "orange card" pass for the metro. It
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is fast, cheap, and easy.
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I'm envious. Paris is my favorite city! Have a great trip!
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Mac Price
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price@abi0.larc.nasa.gov
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>From matz@drutx.att.com Wed Apr 8 11:47:28 1992
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Laurie,
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I just returned from a week in Paris. I have some favorites -
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The Rodin Museum - in the 7th - near Invalides - wonderful !!!
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Restaurants -
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I can get the exact names and addresses for you if you like - my documents
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are at home - but:
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1) In the Museum D'Orsay (modern Art) - don't miss the restaurant
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Palais D'Orsay on the upper floor - fantastic Belle Epoque decoration - I
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mean
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fantastic !!! They have a lunch buffet deal called the Formula Rapide for
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69
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francs that includes wine and desert a great way to break up the day there.
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2) Les Philosophes - a drop-dead cute little restaurant with excellent food
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in the 4th - a few blocks east of the Pompidou Center/Les Halles area. I
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love
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this restaurant - small semi-formal little room with pretty art on the wall
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and good mood music, very attentive woman proprietor who speaks fine
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English,
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and fine, fine, fine food. We had wonderful spinach/mushroom/gruyere
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salads,
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full plates of perfectly cooked beef tenderloin slices with wine sauce,
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vegetables, and a half liter of house wine for a total of 163 francs !!!!
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3) Cafe Breteuil - on Place Breteuil in the 7th - (2 blocks from Metro
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Duroc)
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Wonderful lunch menu - a beautiful floor-to-ceiling windowed restaurant
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looking out over a beautiful open area in an upper class neighborhood.
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The menu is 165 francs per person - but includes a full bottle of excellent
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Bordeaux (worth > 100 francs). We had the best escargot we've ever been
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served
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- large portion, salads, fine veal main course, fine desert and espresso
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for the menu price - definitely a splurge lunch at $60 for two - but I wish
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I could eat there every day.
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4) Restaurant Thomieux - on St. Dominique in the 7th - great and very
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economical
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5) Poule au Pot - also in the 7th - I think on Universite - their specialty
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is a chicken stew served in a heavy huge copper pot - the chicken breast
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covers a wonerful piece of pate' (wow - tasty !!!) about 200 FF for two
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dinners
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6) Willi's Wine Bar - in the first near the Louvre/Palais Royal - really
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neat
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American hangout
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Gosh - there are a million places - I love Paris !!!!
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mail me if you want me to natter on and on.
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Dave Matz
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>From seb1@druhi.att.com Wed Apr 8 13:41:43 1992
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I have only been to France once and I spent 6 days in Paris. I loved
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it! It was one of the most wonderful cities I have ever visited. What
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I liked best about Paris is walking around it. It's not that big so
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you can walk most places. And all the other spots you can get to with
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the metro. Bring good walking shoes and walk, walk, walk.
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My favorite museum was the Orsay, but I'm into Impressionist art. More
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my speed than the Louvre, though the architecture of the Louvre is
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very impressive. I was somewhat overwhelmed by all that old European art.
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As far as restaurants, we didn't eat in any bad ones. Two that I liked
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a lot were L'Epi D'Or which is near the Palais Royale and the Bourse,
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and Juveniles. L'Epi D'Or is a bistro sort of place and the food is
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wonderful. It was the best meal we had in Paris. The atmosphere captured
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Paris dining out (not the high-class kind) to a t. Juveniles is a wine
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bar and the food there was very good. I had duck on a bed of greens and
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it was the most delicious duck I've ever had. After eating in France, I
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was thoroughly convinced that you could not get a bad meal there.
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Sharon Badian
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seb1@vader.att.com or seb1@druhi.att.com
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>From pete@chomsky.sps.mot.com Thu Apr 9 10:45:01 1992
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Laurie -
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By far, my favorite restaurant (in the lower mid price range)
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is "Le Cafe Du Commerce". It is located at 51 Rue Du Commerce. It is
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very easy to find, just take the metro line 8 heading for BALLARD and
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get off at the COMMERCE stop. You will exit into a park. Just hang a
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left on commerce and walk about 1 1/2 blocks.
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A great place to just hang out is Luxembourg Park. For a fun
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walk to the park, take the metro line 4 to the CITE stop. This will
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put you on the island near Notre-Dame. Then walk up through the
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Sorbonne (many students and cool shops) and in a few blocks you will
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find yourself at one of the park's entrances.
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I love Paris -- and try to spend 5-6 weeks a year there. Have
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a great trip!
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Pete Percosan
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Motorola DSP group
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pete@chomsky.sps.mot.com
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>From leafusa!zurich.HQ.Ileaf.COM!fal@uunet.UU.NET Thu Apr 9 13:02:06 1992
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I go to Paris a lot and lived there 5 years. I have a file I give]
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to friends who are going for the first time, but it is kind of long
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(14 pages). It also has a compilation of restaurants and hotels from
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people on rec.travel.
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Let me know if you would like me to send you this document.
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>From cag@hpescag.fc.hp.com Thu Apr 9 14:44:04 1992
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>What did you really enjoy about Paris?
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>Any restaurants you'd gladly return to? Any sights
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>you'd not miss for anything?
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>
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My wife and I were there last September. Some of the highlights:
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Au Trou Gascon: A one-star Michelin restaurant. Fairly cozy with very
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nice service, not stuffy. Great food and a great wine list. It's
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expensive, but not for this class of restaurant in Paris. This was
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my favorite meal of the vacation.
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Au Pied Du Cochon: A really lively bistro in the 1er arrondissement.
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You'll probably stand in line to get in, but our waiter was friendly
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and funny and the food was very good. Try the fruits de mer if you're
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brave.
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Willi's Wine Bar: Despite the yuppie/nouveau riche American crowd, this
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was a great place. The food is good and there are great wine selections
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by the glass and bottle. The staff is pretty down to earth. Not cheap,
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though.
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The view from Sacre Coeur: Not to mention the climb up to the top
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through narrow spiral staircases.
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The Musee D'Orsay: To me it was much more interesting than the Louvre,
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mostly because it's easier for me to appreciate 19th century art than
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earlier painting. However, the Louvre is certainly worth seeing for the
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"big name" stuff.
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The Hameau at Versailles: Sort of a monument to how out of touch royalty
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can be. It's really pretty.
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We were a bit underwhelmed by the parks in Paris. They tend to have sand/
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gravel in most of the walking areas, and very little grass in general. It
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ended up being fairly dusty and not nearly as pretty as some of the parks
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in London. I should add that we didn't go to lots of the more famous parks
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like the Bois de Boulogne, Jardins de Luxembourg, etc. They may be more
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impressive.
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I'd recommend buying Patricia Wells' Food Lover's Guide to Paris. It's
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a great book and we did well with her recommendations. Get a good map with
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a street index, too. We lived by the Metro - it's easy to use, reasonably
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safe and clean, and you get around very quickly.
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Craig
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>From tw1u+@andrew.cmu.edu Fri Apr 10 18:26:13 1992
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Hi, here's what I sent someone else on the net a few weeks ago. It's a
|
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bit long.
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I lived in Paris for 2 years, and returned just this late summer.
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Do I have favorite places to recommend?-- gobs! a couple good friends
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just went there to see a relative in the Olympics-- too bad I didn't
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save my notes to them...
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I worked there, so the places I went to will be a little more expensive
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than you might be willing to pay as a traveller. But I think they give
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a fairly good taste of Parisien eating. I also have no idea how long
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you'll be staying, so don't be overwhelmed by what follows if you're
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spending only a weekend there.
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For lunch (and dinner)...
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There's Le (or la?) Taverne de L'arbre sec, in the 1st arrondissement.
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You take the metro to Louvre (and NOT Palais-Royale) on line 1, and
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you'll be a block away. It's located at the corner of rue st honore and
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rue de l'arbre sec. It is where Roxane is to have proclaimed her love
|
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for Christian to Cyrano, in Cyrano de Bergerac. The owner is Bernard
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Blanc-- you can tell him I recommended him, should you go. His father
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runs the bar, has big big bushy eyebrows. He used to offer a lunch for
|
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75FF (salad, main course, dessert-- the best was their creme cafe).
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They might be closed on Sun/Mon. This is near the Louvre, Les Halles,
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right in the center of town.
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Nearby, for good views is going to the top floor (11th?) of the dept
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store St Maritaine (the way up to the 'vue panoramique' is well marked).
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In fact there's a cafe/rest on top but bound to be touristy and tres
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||
expensive. My other favorite spot around here is Pont Des Arts-- you'll
|
||
recgonise it because it's a foot bridge that looks like it's ready to
|
||
fall apart, directly between the Louvre and what was the Ecole de Beaux
|
||
Arts I think (big dome). It's a neat bridge with artists and a few
|
||
musicians.
|
||
|
||
Another decent lunch place is calle Aux Gamins de Paris, in the Marais,
|
||
on rue vieile du temple-- perhaps near where rue de rosiers is-- on the
|
||
left side of vieile du temple if you're walking away from the Seine
|
||
(North). This is a nice little wine bar/resto with a fairly non-tourist
|
||
international crowd (it's where hip Americans and hipper French hang
|
||
out). This whole area is great, esp the architecture and in particular
|
||
--I don't know what you call them-- they're pieces build on corners,
|
||
like turrets. The Marais ('swamp') is where the bourgeois used to live
|
||
(like Roxane), in 'hotels', and now is populated by Jews and fashionable
|
||
Parisians. If you read Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum," the street names
|
||
here refer to the strange orders of knights he talked about in the book.
|
||
It's hip and alive on Sundays when the rest of Catholic France is
|
||
spending it in the countryside or in parks. Be sure to go to Goldberg's
|
||
Cafe for some Eastern European food. My favorite was a falafel shop not
|
||
far away-- I don't recall the street. It's a small area and i'd suggest
|
||
walking east through it from Centre Pompidou to PLace de Voges (Victor
|
||
Hugo's house nearby and neat street musicans), and eventually onward to
|
||
Bastille, another really neat up-and-coming district. Back at the
|
||
Centre Pompidou (be sure to go up for other great views) is La Dame
|
||
Tartin, if I recall. A really reasonably priced place that specialises
|
||
in open face sandwiches. It's a bit touristy but also appeals to many
|
||
locals, and of all the places I went to I always ran into to people I
|
||
knew there. It's right next to the fountain with all the wierd
|
||
sculptures in it, not far from some church (St Merri, or something).
|
||
|
||
Another cheap thrill is of course Sacre Coeur, where you'll find other
|
||
tourists looking at the view. We once went to a rest. nearby, called Le
|
||
Tartempion or something like that-- but that was many years ago and it's
|
||
probably gone tourist. Be sure to walk around the hill behind the
|
||
basilica because there are lots of nice views from there. In that
|
||
general area (the 18th) is a large black African population-- on the
|
||
street corners you'll see great big african women beautifully swathed in
|
||
colorful batiks (sold in nearby stores-- boy I'm really beginning to
|
||
sound like a travel guide) selling fried corn on the cob. If you wander
|
||
into one of the small unmarked pharmacies specialising in nothing but
|
||
African herbal medicines, be sure to try to listen to what their
|
||
speaking. On the northern edges of this area is the great flea market
|
||
with lots of neat things to see. Watch out of pickpockets.
|
||
|
||
For a distant view OF Sacre Coeur, go behind the big clocks (where cafes
|
||
are) in Musee d'orsay.
|
||
|
||
Another good view is from the top of Notre Dame. The entrance (have to
|
||
pay) is on the left side, facing the cathedral. Note that you can go to
|
||
the very top of one of the towers. Also (I never made it here) is going
|
||
to the top of the dome of the Pantheon, in the 5th.
|
||
|
||
If you're looking to spoil yourself I've 3 recommendations for dinner,
|
||
in order of price. One is L'Enfance de Lard-- maybe 100-150FF/person,
|
||
located on rue de guisard. Hard to find, in the 6th. Probably the best
|
||
way is to get off at metro St sulpice, walk north toward the edge of the
|
||
square, where the storefront for YSL is. Walk into one of the small
|
||
streets leading out of the square, with the YSL shopp on your right.
|
||
Take the first right, and the rest. will be on your right. If you like
|
||
escargot, they have a very nice escargot en profiterole (or something
|
||
like that)-- escargot in a pastry drenched in (yep!) butter (but this is
|
||
koay as long as you drink red wine). This place was recommended to me
|
||
by a friend who thinks of nothing but food (as most French seem to do).
|
||
You'll notice this whole area is very student-ish with lots of nice
|
||
boutiques and sometimes touristy. But on warm summer nights it's
|
||
definitely festive.
|
||
|
||
The second restuarant is Chez Julian, in the 10th, at 9 rue Faubourg St
|
||
Denis. Take line 4 and get off at Strasbourg St Denis. Walk west then
|
||
north to go through the Porte de St denis, and NOT porte de St martin.
|
||
(You will exit from the metro south of the portes) They look like mini
|
||
versions of the Arc de Triomphe. Going through Porte de St Denis you'll
|
||
be on rue Faubourg St Denis, and after a bit the rest will be on your
|
||
right. It's a neat bustling brightly lit place decorated in the belle
|
||
epoque style of art deco. A friend of mine spotted Madonna here. After
|
||
11pm, they have a special 4 course meal for 90FF. Waiters are NOT surly
|
||
but efficient. You usu have to wait. But there's a small bar there and
|
||
in the past they've been known to offer free kirs (white wine mixed with
|
||
a fruity liquer). In general this is an interesting area with a strong
|
||
N. African influence. It looks a bit seedy, but like most of Paris,
|
||
it's safer than any American equivalent.
|
||
|
||
Lastly, my all time favorite is-- I never knew the name-- we called it
|
||
chez Patrick, right next to La Taverne de l'arbre sec. It's on rue de
|
||
l'arbre sec, no. 64 maybe, 2 doors before La Taverne going toward rue st
|
||
honore (you can ask Bernard). It's closed Mon and Sun I think. This is
|
||
a tiny place (intime) so you ought to make reservations-- you can do
|
||
that earlier in the day. Patrick and his water and bartender are all
|
||
really nice. It's expensive-- maybe 250-300FF/person for a full meal
|
||
including several bottles of wine. But it's really good and definitely
|
||
not a ripoff. Tell Patrick that a friend of Jennifer's recommended him
|
||
to you, if you go.
|
||
|
||
Note that most places in Paris will have a menu located outside so you
|
||
can check without getting seated first.
|
||
|
||
A street to visit that has a market everyday is rue de mouffetard (I
|
||
understand there are youth hostels here too). Artsy, with bookshops and
|
||
little papershops, it winds down (south) from metro Cardinal Lemoine to
|
||
a church, st Mediard where on sunday pm (usu 4pm) they have free
|
||
classical music concerts. In fact on sundays all over paris there are
|
||
free music concerts in churches and the way to find out about them is to
|
||
buy a Pariscope (3FF) at any kiosk on the Thrus preceding the weekend.
|
||
It's a way to visit the city. Another fun and cheap thing to do is to
|
||
take the metro line 6, say from metro stops Italie, or Montparnasse,
|
||
toward the eiffel tower. Because in the portion to the line that
|
||
approaches then crosses the Seine the train is elevated and you get a
|
||
really neat view in crossing (you'll have to see a map to see what I
|
||
mean).
|
||
|
||
There's always the bateaux mouches for about 50 FF or maybe less you go
|
||
a on a tour of the river.
|
||
|
||
Whelp, I just notived your other posts, so it looks like you'll be
|
||
backpacking it, ergo perhaps on a limited budget. So perhaps some of
|
||
these places will be a bit really expensive. I think you can always try
|
||
to look under 25, as most backpackers are. They don't always card. And
|
||
you cvan act dumb. On e thing you should bring is any (current or past)
|
||
studnet ID. That usu wokrs.
|
||
|
||
About taking a night train from London to Paris, I had a friend who ran
|
||
into trouble because of a strike (welcome to France!-- in fact once I
|
||
was 'stranded' in Venice with my sister because of a train strike and I
|
||
was supposed to go back to work soon- so we went to Florence- tough
|
||
choice huh?)
|
||
|
||
Well I hope you have a nice trip. I hope to get back there someday myself.
|
||
|
||
Good luck and bon voyage!!
|
||
|
||
Tse-Sung
|
||
|
||
|
||
>From laural@cbnewsl.att.com Mon Apr 13 11:37:01 1992
|
||
|
||
In article <1992Apr7.175535.7742@samba.oit.unc.edu> you write:
|
||
>From LLW.HSL@mhs.unc.edu Mon Apr 6 17:58:44 1992
|
||
>I'm interested in your favorite Parisian experiences:
|
||
>hotels, restaurants, sights, whatever.
|
||
|
||
Hotels:
|
||
|
||
Don't stay at the Ceramic on Ave. Wagram. It's got a great location,
|
||
a great price, and the shower was private, hot, and strong, but the
|
||
bed was terrible and the street was too noisy to allow good sleeping.
|
||
|
||
>What did you really enjoy about Paris?
|
||
|
||
Cafes. Cafes. Cafes. And the overall romantic atmosphere. I went
|
||
last August with a friend of mine from London that I've always had a crush
|
||
on, and the legendary atmosphere of Paris worked its magic . . .
|
||
|
||
We'd get up, decide what part of the city we wanted to start sight
|
||
seeing in, and take the Metro out there. Then we'd look for the first
|
||
likely looking cafe for breakfast. After a very long breakfast of
|
||
bread, tea, chocolate, croissant, or whatever, we'd do our sight seeing,
|
||
and then wander into another cafe for beer, wine, whatever. Just sitting
|
||
outside watching the world go by. Ahhhh. I'm going back in 3 weeks,
|
||
this time with a female friend -- so I'll get some shopping in!
|
||
|
||
>Any restaurants you'd gladly return to?
|
||
|
||
Yes. There is a chain called Hippopotamus, which has good food for good
|
||
prices. The best meal I had was at this place called the Drugstore (well,
|
||
whatever the French word for Drugstore is). It's above a drugstore (a
|
||
rather chi chi one a that -- they sold fancy perfumes and cosmetics). I
|
||
can't remember where it is, though. Somewhere in the Latin Quartier I
|
||
think.
|
||
|
||
>Any sights
|
||
>you'd not miss for anything?
|
||
|
||
Before I went everyone said "don't bother with Sacre Coeur", but I
|
||
disagree vehemently. Also, don't miss the stained glass in St. Chappelle.
|
||
But here's a trick to avoid long lines: go down to the Concergerie (where
|
||
they imprisoned Marie Antionette before they guillotined her) and buy a
|
||
combined ticket for the Concergerie/St. Chappelle. No one goes to the
|
||
Concergerie it seems, so you won't have to wait to get in. Then go over
|
||
to St. Chappelle and bypass the long ticket line to walk right into the
|
||
chapel.
|
||
|
||
I didn't make it to the Louvre, but went to the Musee d'Orsay instead.
|
||
Incredibly sculpture on the ground floor. The Impressionists on the top.
|
||
Don't miss it.
|
||
|
||
Laura
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|