It looked great in photos and even better in person, but we couldn't wait for our vacation to be over so we could get a good night's sleep. ... In many places, there is no legal ability for neighbors to protest short-term rentals, but they can go out of their way to make short-term renters feel uncomfortable and unwanted. ... This likely won't happen to you, but as a student, I once rented a place where you had to go out in the hallway to use the toilet. "Chambres de bonne" in France often have shared facilities including showers, so don't take this for granted, especially for low-price offers. ... You don't want your first excursion to be to a store to buy plates and towels, as I had to to do at a sublet in Corsica.
I always thought Paris was the “City of Light” due to lights of the Champs…
January 20, 2010
And here is has to do with the Enlightenment and the brilliant people living the city: Paris has many nicknames, but its most famous is "La Ville-Lumière" (most often translated as "The City of Light"),[15] a name it owes first to its fame as a centre of education and ideas during the Age of Enlightenment, and later to its early adoption of street lighting.[ 16] [From Paris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]
This post from a 20 year Junior Year student took me back
January 20, 2010
33 years ago, I was this person, fresh off the boat (or 747), not knowing what to expect from a year in France (Rennes in my case).
... At the moment, I am sitting in my bedroom in Nantes, home from a brief three day orientation trip with the IES Nantes group in Tours, France. ... My plane left from Charlotte and as I sat in the tiny blue airplane seat, fighting the stranger next to me for armrest room, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. I was a twenty-year old college student on an eight hour flight to Paris, France but I felt so much more like an eight year old headed to sleep away camp for the first time. ... What if I arrived in Paris and was incapable of finding the correct train to Nantes?
Ten incredible bridge walks – Pont des Arts, Paris, France
January 15, 2010
I agree and just minutes from our apartment so we often walk across on the way to the Right Bank. We're lucky to have the #2 walking bridge, the Golden Gate, in our home town.
The Pont des Arts is my favourite bridge in Paris . This elegant metal bridge, with its nine arches, crosses the Seine river and connects the Louvre with the Institut de France. ... Take a leisurely stroll across the bridge in the evenings to watch the Paris lights and be temporarily blinded by the cruise boats as they pass by below!
John Talbott’s Paris: Le Marcab – 255 rue de Vaugirard
January 14, 2010
A pithy review by John Talbott on a restaurant that sounds a lot closer than it is. ... Le Marcab, 225, rue de Vaugirard in the 15th, 01.43.06.51.66, open 7/7, has a set of menus for 16, 25 and 35 €, plus a la carte items. We have friends who live a short walk from it and invited them to joing us today. Three of them had the 4 course forced choice "menu" for 25 E which is a real bargain and I had the 35 E 3-course one. [From John Talbott's Paris: Le Marcab in the 15th; still very nice.
France wants to sell millions of surplus flu shots – they can send 4 directly to our house!
January 3, 2010
We haven't gotten any shots out here in far-flung San Francisco, so we've been waiting anxiously for a wave of swinish flu to break over our shores. So far, lot's of other childhood coughs and sniffles, but no porcine fevers. However, to be on the safe side, and be four more defense links in the chain, I'd love to get us all innoculated. ... France wants to sell millions of surplus flu shots PARIS Sun Jan 3, 2010 PARIS (Reuters) - France is looking to sell millions of surplus vaccines for the H1N1 flu strain after ordering many more shots than it actually needed, officials said on Sunday. [From France wants to sell millions of surplus flu shots | Reuters ]
Restaurant Review of La Maison du Jardin 27 rue de Vaugirard – TripAdvisor
January 1, 2010
We've also had a very good meal at the Maison du Jardin. This is an adult neighborhood restaurant, which is really a bit too quiet to take kids, which we did. ... It has delicious food, not a thing we ordered was anything worse than outstanding. ... The cheeses are sourced form a local shop called Rouge Creme and were all delicious. ... [From What a joy! - Review of La Maison du Jardin, Paris, France - TripAdvisor ]
A few good etiquette tips for tourists in France – Chris Pirillo
December 21, 2009
While to some the French may seem snooty, the world would be a nicer place if people followed a lot of these simple suggestions. with some of their etiquette rules Face it, no one wants to unknowingly embarrass themselves by being the ugly American. Here’s our short list of etiquette tips that function well throughout France and actually translate fairly well to your microcosm back home. Thanks to Renee from Travel Geeks, who also contributed a conversation that influenced this list – and to Imei for editing an compiling it: 1. A profuse use of “please” and “thank you” goes a long way. You will hear people constantly saying “merci beaucoup” or just “merci” even more than you hear “you’re welcome”.
UPDATE: Most Paris Museums Reopen After Strike
December 9, 2009
As reported in NYT, PARIS | Nearly all of France’s main museums and monuments were open to the public on Wednesday, including the Louvre, after a museum workers’ strike had shut their doors. The Musée d’Orsay was also open, with protesters blocking access to ticket booths. At Versailles, the royal apartments and temporary exhibitions were open at full price, though some rooms, like the Dauphin apartments, were closed. The Pompidou Center, the Arc de Triomphe and the Château de Compiègne remain closed.
... I hope the strike at gave some tourists motivation to see some of the "second tier" museums in Paris, many of which we would build a temple around if they were in the U.S.
Check another off my bucket list – I’ve lived on Paris’ longest street – the rue de Vaugirard
December 6, 2009
And here are a few other topographical and geographical high and lowlights: The longest street: Rue de Vaugirard (6th and 15th arrondissements): 4.36 km. ... The narrowest street: Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche (5th arrondissement): 1.80 m. ... Lowest point on a public street: 30.5 m (corner of the Rue Leblanc and Rue Saint-Charles, 15th arrondissement). Highest point: 148.45 m (40, Rue du Télégraphe, 20th arrondissement).
... The only other one I've seen, at least knowingly, is the rue Chat-qui-Peche.