European Discovery

All have arrived without a hitch.  We have Susan, Todd, Anita, Chris and Rod; a great group and full of plenty of energy and enthusiasm.

Susan, Todd and Anita arrived yesterday and I picked them up at the CDG airport.  I told them before we left that Versailles might be closed on our free day(because of a French rail strike) and sure enough, it will be so

Chris, Rod, Anita, Me, Susan and Todd at Petit Bofinger

they decided to head out to Versailles and see it on the day that they landed from their US flight.  They did it!!  Saw the gardens, the palace, the works after a 7 hour overnight flight.   I took Chris and Rod for a tour around our neighborhood; The Marais and the weather was beautiful.  We all got together at my regular bistro for dinner and it was yummy as usual and everyone stayed awake.

The next day was our full day of Paris.  In the morning it was a historic tour of the center of Paris and Notre Dame with our local Parisian guide, Patricia.  She

Patricia talking to our group about history of Paris

did a wonderful job explaining the sites and the history of Paris; wars, be-headings, kings, Romans, the works.   We had lunch in a small cafe because the weather turned a bit rainy and cold so my usual outdoor place in the Tuileries would not work.  We then met my regular guide Dominique at the Louvre(she broke her foot so could only see us for a short walk).  She explained more about the origins of Paris and the Louvre as a palace and medieval fort.  We then went straight into the Louvre(no waiting) and she gave a wonderful introduction to the palace itself and the biggy items such as the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa.  The group then could explore the Louvre as long as they wanted to.

I gave the option to see more sights of Paris so I picked Todd, Susan and Anita up and we went down to the Champs Elysee and the Arc de Triomphe.  Todd and Susan I think ran up the 300 some odd stairs for the fantastic view while Anita and I stayed down and observed the 12 lanes of traffic that come in the circle around the arc and not crash into each other.  Then off for a glass of wine on the Champs Elysee.

Eiffel Tower sparkling at night Video A break for dinner and then off to see the Eiffel Tower as the sun sets so we can see it in the light and then see it sparkle.  It sparkles every hour for 5 minutes and has been doing this since 2000.  It is a sight every time I see it.  Todd, Susan and Anita went to the top and Chris and I headed back to the hotel for a late dinner of some Parisian comfort food(Boeuf Borgeneogn?) (spell check does not work on French words)

Lovely view in the Toronto airport lounge

Getting ready to head back to Europe to do a single European Highlights tour this year.  I am sitting in the Toronto airport waiting for the flight to Paris(and waiting, and waiting).  The group is a private tour group with only 5 people.  We will visit Paris, Swizerland, Bavaria(German/Austrian border area), Venice, Tuscany and Rome.  I am really looking forward to it and with only 5 people we will be able to really travel and customize the tour for exactly what they want to do. I am excited to meet them in Paris and will try to find some nice wine for our intro.   I am also looking forward to seeing old friends, my favorite guides, eating in some great little restaurants, walking through the Alps,.. the list goes on.    My next post will be from Paris and it is suppose to be a beautiful sunny day when I arrive.  I hope to have a more enjoyable photo for you all next time.  I also got a new iPhone as an early birthday present that has a 5M camera and HD video so you may be in for some treats on the blog.

–Ellie

Hello all,

I will come back to my how to ride the Paris metro when I find the photos I was looking for.  In the meantime, I just had a request from a previous tour member for my favorite hotels and restaurants.  As you might realize, there are ALOT of wonderful places but I thought I would list my two favorites near the two hotels that I like.  If someone wants to add to the list, I would love it.

Near my hotel in the 3rd Arr.
Le Pamphlet, 38 rue Debelleyme
I adore this wonderful restaurant.  If you are looking for French haute cuisine without the price and without the stuffiness and rude waiters, this is it.  The first time I went there it was decorated in traditional reds, very old French looking.  They had a fire and completely redecorated the place and now very modern and the food is still to die for but for a fixed menu for 35 euro you are in for a treat.  Be willing to try something different and you will not be disappointed.  I have taken many folks here and they have all walked away in awe.

Near my hotel in the Latin Quarter
Le Pre Verre, 8, rue Thenard
Again, a focus on absolutely unique cuisine at fantastic prices.  This one is really young hip and plan to stand in line if you are going at the normal dinner hour(8pm or later).  I try to go when the first open and take whatever the special menu is.  The wine menu is superb and not the traditional offerings.  The chef incorportates Asian types of spices like cinnamon into French cooking so that they are not overwhelming but really unique and bring out the flavors of the fresh fish,veggies especially.   Everything with fresh local flavors with a unique combination of sweet and savory and all with wine for 35 euro.  A must go.

Happy eating in Paris and I will bring photos next time.

The Eiffel tower at night - easy to get to on the metro.

Paris is a beautiful city and one of my favorites, but it is a big city and you need to be able to get around to see its wonders.  Taking a bus tour is really only good for an intro.  To see it and experience it, you need to walk and take the local transportation; metro and bus. After talking with Don and Judy from my last tour (who were going on to Paris on their own), I thought it was time to write down some tips for getting around on  the Paris metro like a local.  The metro in Paris is easy, fast and pretty safe(only just a few pickpockets to be wise to).

First is buying the ticket.  There are several options but I think only 2 are a good value for the average tourist; a carnet(”car-nay”) of 10 single rides and a Mobilis(”mo-bil-ee”) day pass.   The Paris office pushes the Paris Visite pass but I do not think it is a good deal or very useful.  Here are the prices as of now:
single ticket: €1.60
carnet of 10 single tickets: €11.40
Mobilis for zone 1-2: €5.40
If you plan on using the metro or a bus more than 3 times in one day, buy a Mobilis, otherwise buy a carnet.  You can buy them in any Metro station.  For the most part, the attendants do not speak English but the French is so easy you will have no problem.  For the carnet  “un carnet, s’il vous plait.”. (”oon car-nay seel vou play”) which means “one carnet please”. You give them €11.40 and they will give you a stack of 10 individual tickets.  For the Mobilis, “un Mobilis pour Paris, s’il vous plait” (”oon mo-bil-ee pewr Par-ee seel vou play”) which means “one Mobilis for Paris please”.  You give them €5.40 and they will give you 1 orange/white ticket that you can use all day.  I specify the “pour Paris” part because the day passes are based on zones of Paris.  You will most likely need only zone 1-2 which covers most all of the biggy sites of Paris and a lot of lovely wandering.

Next post - I will save the riding it for the next post as I have some great instructional photos and I think even a video.

O.K. I admit, I am writing this conclusion to our tour after I have returned to the US, but I wanted to finish it and add a few last photos for the group.

Our four lovely ladies at the first rest break heading to Positano

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast have to be one of the most beautiful places in all of Italy and that is saying something.  When we arrived it was gray and windy but we woke up to a beautiful blue sky.  Our drivers picked us up at the hotel at 9:30 for our private drive around the Amalfi coast.  Carmello Monetti(one of the drivers and a non-stop talker and adorable “little old” man) had told us that he prayed to the goddess and she promised him beautiful weather for us.   The road is very, very curvy and very narrow.  I would never recommend for any non-native to drive this road.  There is no where to park and if you drive, it is so white knuckle that no one can really enjoy the scenery.  We made lots of stops to get out and get air and appreciate the spectacular scenery along the way.  I was in the Jaguar(small car) but got to hear already about Carmello and his flip-book(which I did see last year) where he talks all about who has driven and who has been to Amalfi and lots of interesting facts along the way.  Sherri and Joe wanted him to keep his hands on the wheels and watch the road while they watched the scenery but he continued joyfully talking about his beautiful Amalfi with hands a fly’n.

Looking down on Positano

We stopped in Positano for a break and some shopping.  This is a fantastic little town filled with everything lemon.  It is built into the hill so everything goes either down or up; no level.  Everybody slowly wandered down to the beach and back shopping, snacking, viewing; fantastic.  I spent most of my time on my cell phone trying to fix a money problem caused by my Euro ATM card being eaten by a bank in Rome and the bank not giving it back to me.  My morning was saved however, by Susan S. showing me that she had found some beautiful olive oil and balsamic vinegar containers(I told her I wanted some) and indeed, they were perfect and I bought them.

The beach at Amalfi

We then went on to our lunch location in Ravello.

Amalfi Viagra Naturale

This small village is a bit higher up on the hill right after you go through Amalfi.  We had lunch in a little mom and pop place right on top of the hill that Carmello chose for us.  The view was incredible and the food lovely.  We then wandered around Ravello for a bit.  After Rovello headed back down for Amalfi.  The road is so tight and narrow here that the big buses have to make 3 point turns to get around some of the corners so it is a bit slow going.  We stopped in Amalfi for some more shopping and GELATO!!  The girls had been saving up not having any gelato that day(usually they had it 2 times a day) so they were due.  Our driver showed us the best spot and indeed it was fantastic. I had a dark chocolate that was so rich it tasted like my favorite dark bar stirred up and frozen.   We also had some time to do some more wandering through a beautiful church and little alleyways and of course, more shops.  Sherri found an interesting display for the Amalfi version of Viagra which I posted here.

As we finished up in Amalfi and our drivers had somehow found out from the other drivers in Amalfi that the road between Positano and Sorrento had been closed due to a rock fall so that we had to drive around.  So….we drove the even curvier road up and over the mountain to where we felt like we were on top of the world.  Even our little Jaguar was feeling a little queasy but we made it just fine.

Sorrentos Marina Grande at night where we had dinner

The entire next day of the tour was a free day where they could do anything that they wanted to do.  A couple of folks went out to Capri on the ferry to do some walking, looking around, enjoy the water.  Susan and Joe were going to stick around Sorrento but they decided with no

Our last dinner at Delphinos on the water

help at all just to go out to Capri and have a little adventure.  I was so proud of them doing this on their own.  The Blue Grotto was closed though because of rough water so that was a bummer.  Don and Judy did laundry and relaxed by the pool as they were continuing to Paris after the tour.  In the evening we all got together for our good-bye dinner down at the Marina Grande at one of my favorite little no nonsense seafood restaurants; Delphino’s.  We stuffed ourselves with wonderful grilled veggies, specialty Risotto, fresh swordfish/seabream and of course wine to wash it all down.  It was a stiff hike up the hill to get back into town but it was good for digestion.  I said good-bye to everyone that evening(even though I saw some in the morning) and it was rather sad as they were a FANTASTIC group of people.  I hope they all come back to Italy some day.