Back from Paris - Part 1

I said I would be back to my regular posting on May 1st because I took some time off to visit my most favorite city, Paris! After 10 glorious days I have returned. Since it isn't quite May 1st yet and I have a ton of pictures and stories, why don't I just blog my trip until then? Yep, that's a great idea, so here goes...


(and btw - Please excuse any errors. I wrote this on the flight home from Paris today. What a good way to fill the time on a long plane flight. I looked up and 6 hours had "flown" by and my battery was down to 35%)

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What the Travelers Saw

We arrived in Paris on Friday April 15th (that's tax day in the US). We met up with my good friend Brenda who had arrived on an Air France flight from Atlanta several hours earlier that morning.  

Our private driver, Alexander, was to pick us up at baggage claim. First time I get to be one of those people who has the driver waiting for them at the airport with their name on the big sign - and wouldn't you know it - we couldn't figure out where to find him.  After looking around for a while and making a desperation phone call back to our transportation coordinator we finally found him standing in a long line of other drivers carrying handwritten names on big pieces of white paper.  Alexander was a very nice guy, and we chatted a bit on the ride, but just like our cab driver last year, he barely spoke any English. (We found almost no one in Paris who spoke much English and it really didn't seem to matter much to them) Well at least this time, since pick up was pre arranged, I didn't have to give him directions using my rusty high school french.  The ride took about 25-30 minutes. In celebration of our return to Paris I tipped Alexander 15€. I'm still not exactly sure if that was the right amount!

When we walked into our wonderful apartment on rue du Vieux Colombier, we were met by Jeanne our "hip Paris greeter" (she's from Haven in Paris where I rented this apt for a cool $3,000 for the 10 day stay). There was a table of scrumptious goodies consisting of French breads, an assortment of Pates, fruit, wine, champagne, cheese, foie gras, flowers and of course...macarons. This was Just what we needed after a very long flight. 

She showed us around the apartment, which turned out to be bigger than I had anticipated (somewhere around 700+sq ft) and instructed us on how to work the washer/dryer, the tv which had about 4 channels in English and the laptop computer (free WiFi is included). One of the hardest things we had to master was how to lock and unlock the doors (really)--especially the problematic front door. I assigned that task to Lavanson (who by the way - got it right after about the 2nd day)

The Apartment at 19 du Vieux Colombier is located in the posh and prestigious 6 arrondissement known as St-Germain-des-pres. The area is very rich in history. This particular unit stays booked up almost year round. It is right next door to Longchamps, Oliver Grant's (a men's store) and the du Vieux Colombier Theatre (the theatre is an historic Paris landmark).  

You would never know the apt was there but for the blue door lodged between the shops.   Down the street is the Saint-Sulpice Metro Station and a couple of blocks down another street is the famous Cafe de Flore (where the likes of Hemingway and Sartre could, for the price of a cup of coffee, sit and write for as long as they needed)  You can still buy a cup of coffee and spend the day people watching at that same cafe, although the price has gone up considerably.  We hung out there on 2 occasions.  Three  "boules of glace" (3 small scoops of sorbet) will cost you 12.50 €.

Even though we were centrally located, the apt itself was very quiet inside.  There was absolutely no indication that the bustling city of Paris was right outside our front door.

The tastefully decorated (and seemingly recently remodeled) apartment is on the ground floor and in the rear.  There may be about 20 units total in the building.  I think this unit is the only one which has short term rentals.   Believe me when I say, it  had everything we could have asked for, as we found out as the days went by.  

Inside there are 2 sofas in the main house which both convert to very comfortable double beds.  There was a pretty big assortment of books (in French) , a radio (I got hooked on some French FM station I still do not know the call letters for) and CDs. There were also a lot of guide books on what to do in Paris, even a a box with cards in it giving directions and information on local walking tours (of course we didn't find these until the last day of our stay AFTER we spent way too much time on the Internet searching the same topics.  There was also a fastidiously prepared "Welcome" notebook which answered any and every question you might have about the apartment, the neighborhood or Paris in general  The apartment was equipped with electrical converters although I brought 2 of my own.  Hair dryer was there along with iron and ironing board.  They even had scented plug in air fresheners you could use in the house or bathroom. Good supply of toilet paper, towels, sheets, blankets, cleaning supplies, needle, thread, umbrellas.....well,  you get the picture.

There was also a pretty good sized bathroom in the main house with full sized tub (rare for Paris apts I'm told - ample supply of hot water is also rare) There was a large closet which doubled as a storage area/and dressing room for all the sheets,towels and comforters.   Complete with full length mirror it included a section of hanging storage racks for sweaters and personal garments along with hanging storage for jewelry.

The main house has those elongated old fashioned french style windows which opened out to the garden and let the fresh air in and metal shutters to keep the heat in and allow for privacy.  

There is the cutest little private garden leading to a little garden house which served as a private bedroom with double bed dresser closet and bath with shower.  That's where we slept until Brenda left.  Once she left we slept on one of the sofa beds  in the main house. The private garden bedroom is very nice but a little small.  We moved over to the main house mostly because we hadn't had time to spend there and also because I love a good soak in a tub. Lavanson kept his clothes in the garden house closet and continued to utilize the shower there. That way we both had our own private bathrooms. How divine!

The apartment will sleep 3-4 people very comfortably.  There was also a little table  in the garden with an unfolding awning where you could have wonderful  meals outside during the summer or weather permitting.  We had planned to eat out there but just never got around to it.

As you can probably tell, I really loved this apartment and would rent it again upon my return to Paris.  I highly recommend it -- if your wallet can handle it!!

We were celebrating all 3 of our birthdays so was worth the splurge.

To be continued...see part 2 here

I'm Just Sayin