Mini Trip Report: Four+ Days in Paris, October 2023

Dinner at La Terrasse was good, but not exceptional. Stan had duck breast, and I had salmon. We shared a good Chablis, and Stan enjoyed a baba au rhum for dessert. We were also seated right out front, and as a Forum friend remarked, the people watching is better at the Terrasse, even if the food is more expensive than we had planned to spend. It was a beautiful evening, so all was well. Well, almost. We were halfway home on the metro when Stan realized he had left his cap at the restaurant, so we had to go back to get it. When we finally made it back to the hotel, we relaxed in the garden, enjoying the beautiful evening.

Day 2, Monday: We had a late breakfast at the hotel, and spent some time doing laundry and catching up on social media and emails. We were to meet a friend a bit later, an American – another Okie, in fact – who has lived and worked in Paris for years. We had thought to just have a drink and chat, but she asked “Would you like to see where Lafayette is buried?” Mais, oui!

She took us to the Picpus Cemetery, in the 12th arrondissement. This hidden gem is tucked away near the new Sorbonne campus. It’s a private cemetery, and only descendants of the 1306 people who were guillotined in a nearby square can be buried there. Lafayette qualified because his wife had relatives who were guillotined there.

It’s a beautiful place, with a tiny charming church on the premises. Lafayette’s tomb is easily recognized: a full sized American flag, replaced every year in a touching eceremony, flies over his grave.

After this lovely excursion, we did have that drink, and our friend accompanied us to our next appointment, the Le Marais Food and Wine Tour with Eating Europe. The food tour was good, but not as enjoyable as others we have taken with Eating Europe. But we enjoyed snails, an innovative presentation of boeuf bourguignon served in pita bread, falafel, chocolates, kouignette pastry (a variation on Breton butter cake,) and ended up at a nice wine bar where we were served wine and cheese. It was a pleasant way to end a lovely day. We walked back to our hotel, where we relaxed in the garden before bedtime.

Day 3, Tuesday. We got off to another slow start this day, but wandered over to the Cluny museum, stopping along the way to enjoy a bustling street market just north of the museum. We hadn’t been to the Cluny in a while, certainly not since its recent rennovation, and made the most of our chance, staying for a full five hours! There was an extensive special exhibit of crystals – available until mid-January - which we enjoyed, then of course the main collection of art and artifacts from the Middle Ages. The hightlight of the museum for many is the collection of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, and they did not disappoint. I hadn’t realized, though, how extensive the Cluny’s collection is. As I said, we spent 5 hours there, although that did include a pleasant stop for lunch in the museum’s courtyard.

When we had had enough, we wandered back toward our hotel, exploring (and almost getting lost in) some winding back lanes in the area south of the Pantheon. (We got lost there last year, too!) We stopped for dinner at La Contrescarpe, 57 Rue Lacepede on the lively Place de la Contrescarpe. They were able to accommodate us without reservations, and we had a pleasant meal overlooking the square. I had roast chicken, while Stan had fish and chips. The food was good, but not special, but we also shared an interesting pinot blanc and Stan enjoyed his chocolate fondant with ice cream.

It was a short walk from there to our hotel, which was hosting a champagne reception honoring the artists it had hosted for a kind of retreat during the pandemic. After a glass of champagne, we were ready to retire for the evening; it had been a long day.

Day 4, Wednesday. Our last full day in Paris! After an early breakfast we took the metro the the d’Orsay museum for a special Van Gogh exhibit, “Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise.” This is an amazing exhibit, and I recommend it to anyone who will be in Paris between now and early February. Here’s a link to the museum that gives all the details: https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/whats-on/exhibitions/van-gogh-auvers-sur-oise

There were a number of his works that we’d never heard of, many in styles that we don’t think of as being typical Van Gogh. There were portraits of his friends, unusual landscapes, even a Pieta. The exhibit was beautifully laid out, with plenty of explanatory information. It was terribly crowded, though. We had booked for the earliest possible entry time, but the line was long when we arrived, and by the time we were actually in the exhibit space, the crowd was already shoulder to shoulder.

We did spend a couple of hours in the rest of the museum, and had a light lunch in the café there. Our next stop was the Rodin Museum, where we spent the rest of the afternoon, before heading back to the hotel for a break before dinner. The Rodin has literally thousands of works by Rodin, his students, and his contemporaries. There is also a special exhibition of works by the sculptor Antony Gormley on until mid-March.

Dinner was at our favorite Paris restaurant, Le Café Roussillon in the 7th, 186 Rue de Grennelle. We always enjoy this place. The food is good, the prices are more reasonable than some, and the staff is always welcoming. Stan had his favorite, an excellent boeuf bourguignon, while I enjoyed grilled sea bass. We started with snails, and Stan finished off his meal with a chocolate moelleux, often rather like a lava cake or a fondant. The stroll down Rue Cler back to the metro stop is always interesting, as well, seeing the shops that Rick visits in the Paris episodes of his TV show.

Leaving day, Thursday. Not much to report here; it was raining off and on, the only rainy day we had in Paris. It was too risky to have breakfast in the garden, so we ate inside. We had packed before breakfast, so all we had to do was check out and head to the nearby metro stop to make our way to the Gare du Nord, where we planned to take the Thalys to Rotterdam, then switch to a local to enjoy a few days in Leiden. Our plans were foiled by a disturbance on the train tracks, but that’s another story.

We had a wonderful time in Paris. We managed to see some new places, such as the Picpus Cemetery, try some new foods and wines, and enjoy great art, much of it new to us. It was a good visit. I can’t wait until next time.

Lovely report. A short visit but productive. We visited the Carnavalet also. It was very large with an interesting hodge-podge of exhibits. We only lasted a little over 2 hours though. I’ll be adding your cemetery find to my list for when we return to Paris.

Another nugget of a report! Always look forward to these, and now I’ve got to ask, where are you going next and when? Can’t wait to hear about it!

Luv2Travel, our next trip is planned for early next summer. We're doing 2 RSE tours, Best of Poland and Best of England. In between the two we're spending about 2 weeks in Italy - a week each in Venice and Florence. Then the plan is to stay on in England another 10 days or so, in York and London.

Whew! We've done this kind of schedule now 2 years in a row, and it seems to be working. We're at that stage of life where time is not our friend, so we want to do what we can, while we can.

I may get one more mini report posted; after Paris we spend 4 days in Leiden, and, as usual, had a wonderful time. I'll try to get that done this week. I've about run out of time for putting these reports together; my calendar for December is getting scary.

Thanks to you and Barbara for your comments.

Thank you, Jane! Like Barbara,I have added Picpus Cemetery to my "Paris To-Do" list, hahaha!

What a wonderful time you had - shorter than you often do but with blockbuster sights!

I, also, enjoy La Terrasse for the people-watching. Their desserts are really good as well...last time I was there was for lunch, had 2 glasses of Rose and the waiter managed to talk me in to the Mille Feuille he said the chef had made that morning. Uh, well, OK,then.

I can imagine the mass at Sainte-Etienne-du-Mont was wonderful. That carved rood screen is magnificent.

Several years ago I saw a Corey Frye walking video that went across Pont de la Tournelle and he pointed out the statue of Sainte-Genevieve located there which was sculpted by Landowski who did the Christ the Redeemer in Rio.

Thanks so much for posting this portion of your trip as well!

Pam, we learning to tuck in these little short stays, in amongst or between longer tours. We did this last year with Siena and Bologna, then this year with Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris, and Leiden. What a joy! We know we won't have a lot of time, and we don't like bogging ourselves down with days packed full of activities, so we plan fewer things to do, and just roll with it. My OCD-adjacent self is good with it, as long as we have hotels booked, and tickets to any limited access exhibits. And plane, train, or bus tickets to get us from one place to another. So we're not exactly free-wheeling, but it's as close as I'm likely to get.

Then we get the occasional serendipitous moment, like the visit to the Picpus. What fun! And we're trying out places we've never been, but to which we might want to return, like Lyon and Bordeaux (an enthusiastic "Yes!" to both of those.)

Thank you Jane for this little hit of Paris.💕 I so love it too and it’s been since Nov ‘19 when I was there for the last RS Paris tour of the season. I’d been there solo several times before but wanted the RS experience too and we had a terrific guide and it was a great visit. I wanted to visit Lafayette’s grave but the hours for the cemetery I thought were correct were not unfortunately so I missed it. The story of the American Colonel telling the grave ‘Lafayette we are here’ during WWl gets to me every time. Next visit.

I too feel the passing of time tapping me on the shoulder. Amsterdam is also calling for a repeat visit. I’ll be anxious to read all about Leiden when you write it up. You convey everything so well, I love reading what you share with us. Thanks again.

Thanks, Lyndash. I do want to do the Leiden piece; it may be my husband's favorite place in Europe. When we had the extra time this year we split it: Lyon for me, Leiden for him, and Paris for both of us. And of course, we loved all three.

I'll try to get the Leiden bit done in the next couple of days; it'll depend on what's going on here, and whether or not Stan needs to use this computer.

BTW, my mother-in-law lived in Arlington for many years. I know it's a huge place, especially now, but I do have some fond memories of it.

Jane, excellent mini report. I bet I can guess who you met up with!

Thanks for sharing your story. It was helpful as I'm also planning a similar trip next week

Tammy, you're probably right, but I suspect you'd be surprised how many Okies end up in Paris. We know more than one...

Jane, it sounds as though you had a lovely few days in Paris. I enjoyed reading your report and I agree with you 100% that the Van Gogh in Auvers exhibit is excellent. Worth seeing despite the crowds! And I have made a note of the Picpus cemetery as a spot to visit on a future visit — thank you!