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Post by koloagirl on Mar 26, 2012 23:56:44 GMT
 Aloha from Kaua'i! I guess I'm overly defensive about my non-foodie status because so many people have responded with horror and disbelief when asked "where did you eat in Paris" on my return! They just can't believe that the food isn't the #1 attraction for us and when I tell them (when asked "well, what do you eat?) we've had great pizza - the looks on their faces is enough to make me cringe! To compound matters, I can't cook and don't enjoy it - so beyond very, very basic things (I can spread speculoos on a baguette with the best of them - lol!) - we just enjoy what we come across in our walks around Paris. Interestingly, we've never had any difficulty finding vegetarian choices on menus at the cafes, etc. that we've eaten at - so that isn't an issue at all. We kind of "graze" (to use a less than attractive term) as we go when we are on vacation - nothing is planned around having a meal at any particular place and we love the fruits, etc. that we pick up at the outdoor markets. I can be happy with some crusty bread and cheese (or good butter) at any time! I can't think of anything we've eaten in Paris that we didn't enjoy! We are pretty easy to please diners! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2012 4:59:56 GMT
I love the photos of Marie Antoinette's hamlet, because I have never been out there myself. I have never devoted as much time to Versailles as I should.
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Post by liga on Mar 27, 2012 6:43:00 GMT
very beautiful! You can almost "feel" those sunny days in the photos! You know, you make me wanna go to Paris! I just have to find some cheap flight and a weekend off!
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Post by bjd on Mar 27, 2012 7:12:41 GMT
I have been to the gardens in Versailles, but never in the castle. I admit that I get bored very quickly in those ornate, gilded, totally-over-the-top palaces and generally avoid them. Plus I don't like standing in line.
Liga, you need more than a weekend in Paris.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 27, 2012 7:47:35 GMT
Lovely photos again Koloagirl! I am sorry to hear Mr.Whitman has passed. When I spoke to his daughter in 2010 I asked after her father, she said he was still alive. My husband also finds Shakespeare too claustrophobic and spent time snapping happily away with his camera in the little garden in front. You have my greatest admiration for not spending half your time in Paris running to restaurants where you have reserved a table weeks in advance - and even on line....  That is not our thing either, however I do take the opportunity of being able to eat food that is not readily available in my own city. For example - I love Cantonese Chinese food! We thoroughly enjoyed a tagine and aim to find more restaurants this trip. I will also be grocery shopping at the Richard Lenoir market this trip as it is the closest to our apartment. Been to quite a few of the other street markets around, including Aligre, just for the fun experience! I love cooking, especially with fresh ingredients and as for cheese, I really go overboard tasting the superb variety availavble in Paris. |
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Post by liga on Mar 27, 2012 15:10:47 GMT
to bjd - I meant many weekends! ahahahaa  As soon as I can afford that! |
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 29, 2012 5:51:29 GMT
Just went through the whole thread again, Janet, and feel so privileged to see these wonderful photos of your happy vacation. Really, I think if someone were to say, "Why are people so ga-ga about Paris?", the answer would be to show them this thread. Don't know if I can explain this adequately, but one thing I loved about all the pictures was that they really seemed to show what you saw & what you appreciated, more than being simply beautiful shots of different places. Too many examples to list, but I could definitely cite the pictures of Marie Antoinette's rustic retreat. I've always been fascinated by that, & really appreciated the way that your pictures captured buildings, pond, etc. in relation to each other. I think it's wonderful that you got it together to put up the thread at all, considering you had medical problems during your lovely vacation. ( <-- very sincere comment! Bear in mind that it's coming from someone who has zillions of pics from her July trip, out of which she has not made one single thread.) you wrote: "Apologies for the error at the bottom of the last post - sometimes my head gets ahead of my fingers!" If you'll go back to reply #4 & either click "Modify" or double-click on the post, you can fix that. Simply insert a closing bracket ] directly after the first img and remove the closing bracket after jpg. [imghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/Koloagirl/DSC_0380.jpg][/img] ^ ^See how greedy I am to see every single one of the pictures! |
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Post by Kimby on Apr 3, 2012 16:54:26 GMT
Wonderful thread. I have saved the info about her preferred lodgings as it sounds like just our cup of tea.
And until Janet fixes her broken image links, followers can just copy and paste them into a new window to see them in the meantime.
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Post by koloagirl on Apr 3, 2012 17:58:16 GMT
Aloha from Kaua'i! I've never stayed anyplace else in Paris obviously, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but we certainly love the flat we rent and the area - enough so that we keep going back there! I'm a creature of habit and it is fun to go back to the same flat everytime - it feels like your little vacation home in Paris!  I love the chimiere and gargoyle on the various buildings in Paris - this little guy was in the courtyard of the Musee du Moyen Age (Cluny) - I'm always pointing them out to my husband and making him take photos of them! Malama Pono (take care) Janet
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Post by lagatta on Apr 3, 2012 23:29:35 GMT
Yes, this thread certainly explains how Paris can been such different things for different people. For example, one of the main draws of the place where koloagirl stays, for me, would be the fact that I could prepare simple food there and eat, and not have to go out to restaurants (or graze, which is a horror for me). Eating for me means sitting down and savouring what I'm consuming, even if it is sardines and crackers.
I hate Versailles.
Love the quirky adornments of Paris buildings.
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Post by nycgirl on Apr 4, 2012 14:29:45 GMT
I'm not a bona fide foodie either, but I had a great time eating in Paris. We ate at a few terrific restaurants, but we also prepared meals at out apartment and picnicked in a park. We even ate at McDonald's on the Champs Élysées, mainly because we were tired and it was there, and I'm really glad we did. They had very tasty macarons, something I can't get at McD's here!
This is a delightful thread, Koloagirl. I love your pictures of the grounds of Versailles. I visited the hamlet and the Trianon buildings, but I somehow missed the little opera house. It's very pretty, it looks just like it did in the movie "Marie Antoinette."
I loved the Rodin museum. Like you, I was also very impressed with Camille Claudette's work.
So much good stuff here! Thanks for sharing.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 4, 2012 15:05:42 GMT
I call McD's - Any Port in a Storm ;D
Maybe when not too bushed try Laduree for dinner next trip and of course their famous macaroons - On the otherside of Champs Elysees to McD's. I didn't book but was there early around 7.30pm and got a table in the window - terrific people watching as I ate!
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Post by nycgirl on Apr 4, 2012 16:21:20 GMT
We just recently got a Laduree here and their macarons are amazing! Even better than the ones at McD's. The store isn't as nice as the one on the Champs Elysees, though. No seating, so no people watching. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2012 16:55:43 GMT
Maybe when not too bushed try Laduree for dinner next trip and of course their famous macaroons - On the otherside of Champs Elysees to McD's. I didn't book but was there early around 7.30pm and got a table in the window - terrific people watching as I ate! The Ladurée restaurant is still closed since the big fire last year. I'm sure that it will be open again by summer. |
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Post by lagatta on Apr 4, 2012 18:25:25 GMT
I'd be interested in a compendium of other cafeteria-type places, that fill the same sort of niche as McDo but might have different offerings. I haven't been to Paris since 2006, but it is within the realm of possibility that I'll make it there this summer.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2012 18:58:41 GMT
There is a huge selection of new French fast food places now. I will try to make said compendium over Easter weekend.
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Post by koloagirl on Apr 4, 2012 23:01:26 GMT
Aloha from Kaua'i! We did eat a few meals (pizza, etc.) at a take-out place around the corner from our flat on evenings when we were in for the night - it was not a chain and they also had panini and chips, etc. - certainly not gourmet, but worked for us! Appeared to be a Lebanese family who operated it - really nice folks. I've never eaten at McD's in Paris - but I did drop into the one at Versailles (the town) - purchased a quick cafe in order to use their rest room before getting on the train! Their coffee was certainly much better than what you'd get here from them! I think the term "grazing" to me means that we just find a cafe, creperie or other small place in our wanderings and sit down and eat - not so much carrying food around with us and eating it as we walk. We never plan on eating at any particular place when we do - but we've enjoyed so many small cafes and other spots in our wanderings! The only time I can remember walking around with food was when we were late getting "out" one morning and I grabbed a crepe sucre from the boulangerie down the street - quick and fast to eat before we jumped on the Metro! I would however love to have a picnic - maybe this year when we go to Giverny? We are going to bike from the train station to Giverny and that might be a possibility. I'm also weird I guess because I'm not a big ice cream or gelato fan - I did have an Amorino last year (it was such a warm day) and enjoyed it, but I don't seek it out. I too think it is so interesting to read people's trip reports because everyone has different preferences and pleasures! Malama Pono, Janet  La Promenade Plantee  Graffiti (pretty though!) along La Promenade Plantee  Men's chorus in courtyard of Musee Carnavalet  Marche d'Aligre covered market  Marche d'Aligre I haven't gotten a chance to explore too many of the outdoor markets yet in Paris (Richard Lenoir, Marche d'Aligre and a couple others that I cannot remember their names that we walked thru) - but I sure love the Marche d'Aligre and the flea market there as well. So far it is my favorite, and there is a small cafe (very humble, noplace that I've read about, I've got to look up the name in my journal) that we enjoy going to after shopping. Malama Pono (take care) Janet |
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Post by lagatta on Apr 5, 2012 1:20:51 GMT
Your Lebanese takeaway place sounds like exactly the kind of place I'd like, on a daily basis. "Grazing" can mean eating a bunch of small meals or snacks, with the idea that it is a physiologically more normal way of eating, but I'm not convinced. I was really brought up with the idea that eating between meals was somehow perverse. (That, from Italian side).
Oh, you must picnic in or around Paris! Lovely pics; I'm very familiar with Marché d'Aligre. Le Baron Rouge was an old-fashioned, non-chic wine bar, hope it still is.
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Post by koloagirl on Apr 5, 2012 1:40:25 GMT
Aloha from Kaua'i!
I know the cafe we've been to a couple of times right at the Marche d'Aligre was not the well known Le Baron Rouge, I'll have to look up the name - I know I kept a napkin to remind me in my journal!
I guess I mis-used the term "grazing"!
Definitely will try to do the "picnic" thing this year - so many places that I can think of to do it!
Malama Pono (take care)
Janet
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Post by imec on Apr 5, 2012 1:46:14 GMT
Some really beautiful images here k'girl! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this thread.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 5, 2012 8:25:58 GMT
Oh heck Kerouac! I didn't remember about the fire - what a shame because we would have liked to get some macaroons there or even have lunch. More lovely photos Janet - especially of Promenade Plantee as I took a shot of those same trees but the wall did not have all that grafitti! Soon, soon I will be there I want to do Kerouac's walk which goes much further than I have been in the past along the plantee track. |
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That is not our thing either, however I do take the opportunity of being able to eat food that is not readily available in my own city.
As soon as I can afford that!
