The FastDay Forum

[Tracieknits]

We had an amazing time in Paris. The good news - despite visiting a patisserie at least TWICE a day, every day, I only gained back 1 kilo - exactly 2.2 pounds. Oh my goodness, it was the most delicious trip. I could post photos, but today is a fast day and that would just be cruel all around

I have never walked so much in my life. I am convinced that the European lifestyle would be a much healthier one for us and I am hoping to get the DH on that asap. What's so great is that, in Paris at least, not only is there so much obligatory walking, but no matter where you go, there are always MOAR STAIRZ!

We climbed Notre Dame towers on our first morning there - what a wonderful experience.
We took a bike tour in the countryside with French Mystique Tours
We visited Auvers sur Oise where Vincen Van Gogh died and where the Dr. Who episode took place. Hubby obligingly wore his Dr Who/Vincent t-shirt - I love that man! We got to see Vincent's room, we visited that church that had the alien chicken in it, er, I mean the church Van Gogh painted, and we ate in the inn where Vincent ate his last meals.
We visited Versailles - the "private" tour of the Opera and King's apartments is totally worth the 7 Euros just for the fact you skip a line with hundreds and hundreds of people in it, and you get to visit rooms that contain only the 26 people in your group.
We visited Monmartre a couple of times and especially enjoyed the little Dali museum. Bruce got a t-shirt with the Dali quote "I don't do drugs. I am drugs."
We ate the most amazing food! Our favorite two restaurants were the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers sur Oise (truly outstanding, but they only served winter fare and it was getting a bit hot!) and Le Petit Chatelet next to Shakespeare and company. I cannot rave enough about how truly excellent those two restaurants are and I would urge everyone to go visit them Le Petit Chatelet is right next door to Shakespeare and Company, across the river from Notre Dame. My new favorite summer meal is the warm goat cheese crottins on nice bread served with a green salad - as we had at Les Deux Magots.

We visited several sites from the movie Midnight in Paris - including the steps
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/105594133500389089978/albums/5903224961713384753/5903234246998654866?authkey=CNiPmPGYhJvcrgE&pid=5903234246998654866&oid=105594133500389089978

And finally we made out like randy teenagers on the Pont de l'Alma while the Eiffel Tower twinkled.

Our 12 year old was fairly adventurous, trying things most American children would fuss over - he ordered and really enjoyed things like magret de canard and 7 hour lamb. I was quite proud of him and therefore not too sad on the nights he requested pizza or italian food.

I think my only wish would be that the weather had been a bit more properly seasonal rather than 6 degrees C higher than average. The heat was a bit draining and we didn't do nearly as much as we would have liked to do.

Our great news during the trip is that hubby won a big contract with Scottish Power, so he's got a few more trips to Scotland in store for him and I should get to tag along for one of them!

So today's a fast day and we're raring to go!

Welcome back and wow, didn't you all have a great time. we loved Paris so it is nice to revisit it with you again,

Ballerina x

Welcome back Tracie! Good to hear you had a lovely time AND enjoyed delicious food!

What a great write-up! Thank you and so glad you enjoyed it all!

Thanks for the tour, although it puts Paris off our visit list. Too many steps for hubby and his wheelchair.

I really love the French way with food. I also think that many nations, including the UK could do with waiter/waitress training to the French standard.

[Betsysgr8]

Wow! I'm so glad you all had such a lovely time. Thank you for doing a wonderful review. Some day I will travel too (still waiting for the lottery, lol).

[Tracieknits]

Julie - don't let that put you off! The French actually appear to be very accommodating to wheel chairs. The metro is definitely off the list, but the buses appear to be quite friendly. I did see people with mobility issues being whisked to special elevators in places like the Louvre, elevators that were not available for everyone. It's worth checking a travel forum like Trip Advisor for more info.

Betsy - there are less expensive ways to do Paris. We rented a 1 bedroom apartment with a sofabed that slept all three of us and had a washer/dryer and kitchen for only $200/night. If you don't go in summer, you can do it fairly inexpensively If you go to non-touristy cafes, you can get a full meal for about 13 Euros, which inludes either appetizer + main course or main course + dessert *and* a glass of wine. There were three cafes across the street from our apartment that had this price, and they were all highly rated on trip advisor. There's even cheaper ideas, like getting (excellent) sandwiches from a bakery, or a mini quiche for only 3Euros.

Welcome back and I'm so glad that you had a good time! Well done for only gaining 2.2 pounds. That's quite an achievement! How brilliant are you!