SO and I are going to Paris for Christmas and New Year's, leaving on the 23d and coming back on the 1st. Other than the typical tourist stuff (which is so worth it), you should definitely visit the covered passages throughout the city. They're filled with shops and restaurants and beautiful architecture. The catacombs of Paris are also super interesting, if that's your thing. A trip to Fauchon gourmet food market is also a must. My favorite clementine jam comes from there. Find time to sit under the base of the Eiffel Tower and take it all in. There are two awesome English language bookstores: Shakespeare and Co and Abbey. They are The Strand in a much smaller space.
Sparky, that's lovely! I'm so glad Salsa's sister was close by.
Teppy, I hope you can leave soon.
Feel better, -t.
Argh, my salesperson isn't calling me! I just know if I walk away to heat up some soup that's when she'll call.
ETA phew rescheduled to Monday. SOUP TIME
Find time to sit under the base of the Eiffel Tower and take it all in.
I don't know when you were last in Paris, but it's not really possible to sit under the base of the Eiffel Tower any more. Or rather, it is, but as the whole thing has been converted into a huge security area (which you need to queue and get your bags x-rayed for), it's not very relaxing. And it costs money. And then you have to queue and pay again for the lift to take you up the Tower.
We were only in Paris for one evening, but we took the Metro to Trocadero, and when we came round the corner and saw the Tower all lit up, it was amazingly beautiful and the kids were speechless. Also worth the paying and the waiting to go up it.
I can't add much to the previous Parisian recommendations. I love to wander around the Marais, which is also a great place to get falafel. Visit Shakespeare & Company. Go to Berthillon on the Ile St. Louis (behind Notre Dame) for an ice-cream. See La Dame à la licorne at the Cluny Museum. Avoid the Mona Lisa and look for the Vermeers at the Louvre. Alternatively do the Godardian run through in under 9 minutes and 43 seconds:
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Go to Berthillon on the Ile St. Louis (behind Notre Dame) for an ice-cream.
I had a salted caramel ice cream there (before salted caramel was A Thing in the US) 12 years ago, and I still think about it today, because it was That Good.
Week! Iamtrying to figure out how long I'll be able to stay in France for the World Cup. Probably only for a week or two, at the beginning of the tournament. They announce groups tomorrow, and individual tickets go on sale Monday so I'm excited to see where else I might want to or get to go!
I don't know when you were last in Paris, but it's not really possible to sit under the base of the Eiffel Tower any more.
2013. I should clarify that it's not actually under, but on a bench in the gardens next to the base of the tower. I know there are glass walls in place now for security reasons, but those gardens in the shadow of the tower were where I had my epiphany on how to reclaim my life after the death of DH.
msbelle, I'll pump my cousins for more info once I'm there.
meara, I'm so excited that you're going for the World Cup!
Metro Trocadero was my stop when I lived in Paris! I lived with a very 16eme family (old, a bit shabby rich) and you could stick your head out the living room window and look left and see the Tour Eiffel.
Timelies all!
Stayed home to wait for the delivery guys to bring our new sofa. We bought a new sofa and love seat because the old ones needed to go. Finally got a delivery date of today, with a window of 10:30-2:30. They actually got here around 10:30, but I had already decided to take the day.
I haven't been to Paris in 20 years. I want to go to there.
Does anyone have tips on recovering from burnout? I've chatted with some people I worked with on the Project of Doom, and we're all still fried to a crisp. I keep getting colds, so I probably should come up with some coping strategies like a motherforking adult.
A real chunk of actual time off gets my vote.
