Hotel du Louvre – An Iconic & Affordable Paris Opera Hotel

When you dream of a trip to Paris, does your hotel have a iconic Haussmann facade, a bustling lobby with sweeping views down broad boulevards, comfortable rooms with plush linens and cream colored marbled baths?  If this sounds like your Parisian fantasy, look no further than the Hotel du Louvre to fulfill your heart’s desire. Even the name conjures a refined elegance; just imagine past generations ‘on the grand tour’ sweeping into the Napoleonic lobby, billowing silk skirts rustling – “shall we have an aperitif at Cafe Marlow across the street at the Louvre Palace, or stroll through the Tuileries Gardens?”  Ahhh, Paris I’ve missed you!

Linda and I had a brief but wonderful stay at the Hotel du Louvre at the end of our journey and it left us wistful to return again soon.  Read more

Famous Sinners and Saints Come Alive In Paris

There are tours.. and then there are experiences that introduce you to the soul of a city so that it lives with you always. We experienced such a tour experience with Paris Walks during a walking tour of the Marais.

Personally, I usually hate tours; I always feel like cattle be herded along, never quite hearing everything. Therefore, when Susan said we were taking a Paris Walks tour, I humored her and consented. After all, aren’t we the experts? Well, grab your camera and head out to meet Peter Caine, the co-founder of Paris Walks for a memorable 2 hour exploration. Unlike most tours that require advance reservations, anyone is welcome to join a Paris Walks tour by arriving at the designated Metro stop at the predetermined time.  We scanned the online calendar of tours and chose to learn more about the “Sinners and Saints” of the Marais, and what a fabulous time we had. Read more

Paris On Our Mind – Tried and True Paris Tips

Here are some Paris travel tips that will make  your journey safe, comfortable and fabulous. I’m always spouting, “When you see a super great deal – make yourself drop everything and go!”  That’s exactly what happened to us last month when Linda and I had the opportunity to fly off to Paris at a fabulous promotional rate.  We had a little over 2 weeks to pull our trip together, so we focused in right away.   Here’s what we did:

#1  A Quick Brush Up On Our High School French
Linda found a terrific language learning program – EarWormsLearning.com.  Despite the crawly name, the concept is amazing.  They believe that you learn better, faster and with more recall when you learn with music.  So their language lessons come with music playing in the background.  We loved it and listened on our iPods all the way to Paris.

And for extra reassurance, we picked up a quick translation guide – 30 Words ($9.95).  These are terrific passport sized accordion folded translations of tourist phrases that are waterproof and tear-proof – perfect for toting around. Read more

Meeting The Friendly French – We Kid You Not!

Paris Greeters, a volunteer organization of amiable Parisians who look forward to welcoming visitors to their city are changing the impression that Paris is a less than friendly city, one tour at a time, every day.

As Linda and I make our away across the city from the broad perfumed boulevards of the Champs Elysee to the gritty, lyrical lanes of the Left Bank,  we are giddy with anticipation.  We are about to meet a new friend that we met a few weeks ago online thanks to the Paris Greeters organization.  Our Paris Greeter / guide, Laurent, has volunteered to show us his city on this particular Saturday afternoon.  We’ve been in touch by email to set a time and place to meet, discussed our mutual interests, and exchanged photos so we can recognize each other outside the Metro station.

Within minutes of meeting we are talking, laughing and already appreciating the nuances of Left Bank neighborhoods and seeing French culture through new eyes.  Beyond a litany of Louis’ and their royal accomplishments (how DO they keep 18 Louis straight?) we stroll by a Pierre Herme´ pastry shrine  (you really can’t call it a bake shop when there are 50 people waiting in line to get in the door!); then on to Gelati D’Alberto where the iced delights look like rose blossoms, and  of course we can’t resist ogling the decadent cheeses and fragrant produce at an open market.  Oh to be a Parisian on market day! Laurent schools us on choosing restaurants to dine in, “NEVER enter a restaurant that has ‘French Cuisine’ on the sign or menu”, he admonishes,  “they are just for poor unsuspecting tourist!” Read more