Day 1: Paris CDG Airport Metro/Train Station Empty From Strike - Paris, France

11.15.07 – 9:00am - Thursday
Arrived at CDG, no bag for Randy abt. 9.45am
Went to Air France baggage dept. to file a claim – received a claim
#CDG AF 89704

It was kind of like a ghost town, like something you'd see in a movie where there's some kind of a scare or end of the earth type of situation. The rest of the airport was pretty busy but this area was not!

Milled around the airport looking for a place to clean up – went to AF lounge using Platinum card, but we were denied access; so went to a restroom to shave and freshen-up. Had a coffee and looked for a way to get to our hotel because the Metro and rail systems were not working due to a strike.

We took a cab to the hotel.

Le Jardins Du Marais And Bastille Neighborhood Shots - Paris, France

Walked around the Bastille for a while and took photos here and there. We discussed how we were going to plan our trip out. The weather was really cold ... about 28 or so degrees so Randy was really cold. I was in my really WARM coat but Randy thought naa it wont be cold. Boy he was wrong so we decided to go get a drink and then go buy a coat for him before it got cold since he didn't have any warm clothes as his suitcase was still missing.

Some neighborhood photos around the hotel we stayed at, Les Jardins Du Marais on Rue Amelot.

View From Le Bastille - Paris, France

Randy At Le Bastille - Paris, France

First Empty Glass Of Beaujolais Nouveau - Paris, France

We arrived on the third Thursday of November and that's usually the day France celebrates Beaujolais Nouveau so we certainly had plenty of it and it was pretty good! Some interesting info about Beaujolais Nouveau below.

Into Wine Article About Beaujolais Nouveau

Wikipedia Article About Beaujolais Nouveau

Red Chairs - Paris, France

Place de la Bastille - Paris, France

Every little corner has history in Paris so def. this place does. Read the article below on Wikipedia!
Place de la Bastille On Wikipedia

Bastille At Sunset - Paris, France

We didn't do much else as we were bummed about the lost suitcase and I started to feel really sick because we hardly had any food or water all day, dehydrated, tired etc etc. We were also looking for a restaurant or Bistro and our timing was off or something either some places were not open yet or just not going to open. We finally found a mussels restaurant chain and thought we should just go and eat and go back and sleep. Leon's was the place, so so I really couldn't finish my meal as I felt quite sick!

mK2 Bastille - Paris, France

Gastronomie/Charcuterie - Paris, France

This place was right down the street from our hotel and across the street from La Vache Acrobate. Amazing foods were displayed in the windows and the boy they looked tasty. I like the writing on the windows, the stickers, the entire structure all of it! Had to snape pics.

Day 2: The View From Our Hotel Room - Paris, France

I thought our view was pretty nice, isn't it? I'm feeling much better today and really hungry!! Have to go get some food in my stomach real soon. Like maybe a pain au chocolat or quiche Lorraine.

Au Peche Mignon - Paris, France

Looked like a fun place ... I especially love the picture of Salvador Dali!

A Walk On The River Seine - Paris, France

Our first morning walk we were really interested in getting going and do some shopping!

Café Louis-Philippe - Paris, France

This looked like a great restaurant like any other in Paris so had to snap a picture of it. This I liked especially because of the colors - the white and the green combination. They have a Web site so check out the menu and read a little about it.

Café Louis-Philippe

Restaurant Chez Julien - Paris, France

This was such a beautiful building and the restaurant looked great! Wanted to eat everywhere but you just can't! I actually shot this pic just a little too late as the girls kissed and it would have been perfect to have gotten that shot but oh well, Ces's La Vie! Some info on the restaurant at the link below.

Restaurant Chez Julien

Les Diners Lyriques - Paris, France

Looked like a beautiful restaurant!

Hôtel de Ville From Different Corners - Paris, France

Hotel de Ville is France's City Hall this of course being the Paris city hall. I like the building as it's quite massive and very old. I have two shots above from two different side corners. The lighter side is very close to the river and the other side is right across from the BHV store in the Marais. Read the history below on Wikipedia as it dates back to 1357. OLD!

Hôtel de Ville Article on Wikipedia

BHV, Nespresso & George Clooney - Paris, France

Kind of interesting that George Clooney is promoting Nespresso in Europe. I saw the ad on this BHV store in the Marais and had to snap the pic. BHV stands for Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville and is owned by Galeries Lafayette.

Galeries Lafayette - Paris, France

We always love going to Galeries Lafayette because we love to shop and love to shop in Paris. It's always fun! This time it was great to see the Christmas decorations throughout the store! The picture below in the menswear store is when we took a break as there's a champagne bar and decided on a couple of glasses of bubbly. It was quite nice! A link to the Galeries Lafayette Web site and a link to Wikipedia about the history is below. Check it out!

So basically today we shopped a lot ... we had to buy some clothes for Randy as he didn't have any. We love shopping!



Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette Article On Wikipedia

La Vache Acrobate - Paris, France

Great place and was recommended by one of our business contacts as one of the better bistros and it was half a block from our hotel on Rue Amelot so we decided to meet with him there and have beaujolais nouveau and do dinner and what a great tasty dinner it was. Randy had an amazing foie gras with figs and I had the chicken salad with epinards which was yummy as well. Too good!
Great recommendation Thierry!!


Map and directions below in case you go...

La Vache Acrobate Map/Directions

Le Tabarin - Paris, France

We kept walking by this place many times but we never stopped in. It looked like a great restaurant but so many great restaurants in Paris and not enough time to try it all. Next tim!

Bastille Street Scenes - Paris, France