Abotel Belgrand Hotel Paris

"Bon appetite, monsier"....I can almost hear the words now as I imagine sitting at a table in the small Paris cafe with a butter croissant and a glass of French Pinot Noir, watching the passers-by. The sights, the sounds, the markets, the wine and baguettes...ahhh, Paris!
Perhaps I should get an ascot and a beret....

Beyond the expected layed-back atmosphere for the most part of our visit to France, we expect to experience some moving and frankly ...

Tom and Tyler explored futher a field and discovered the "jumpy pillows" of Parc du Villette while Sue and Evie explored the Jardin du Toulieres and the Notre Dame. We took an early evening tour to the Eiffel Tower and called it a day.

               

... how long it takes to get your bill when you want to leave. After the cafe we went to visit Moses and the gang again. This time we met some more characters. Morris, who looked like the Marlboro Man (and smoked Marlboros), and we met Rashid who was drinking something that tasted like Scope mouthwash (and had the same color). Of course, Madeline and the John Belushi look alike were there as well.

The next day we took the metro to the Arch de ...

... all the Parisians go when there is nice weather. Luckily, it was nice weather and there were little kids running around and pushing sailboats across the water. Then we found Le Bon Marche, the first department store in the world where we looked around at all the toys, expensive clothes, luggage and furniture. There was even a sewing store, mom! Then we tried walking to the Eiffel Tower which took awhile because we couldn't see it in the area we were in with all the tall ...

... My character, Bartholemus 1, my personality: a stuck-up know-it-all morbid Russian critic. I wore all black and carried a little red book, and also draped a long black cape around my shoulders. My partners: Bartholemus 2, a theatical "wanna-be-know-it-all" actor, and Bartholemus 3, an Indian critic oozing of Karma and earthy sensations. We three sat in the audience and waited...honestly waiting in the audience was scarier than actually performing, because ...

... in some sugar syrup. They are not sold by the quantity, but by the grams. sweet little globules of morning sugar. I suspect they may be used as accompaniments to coffee. I used them as my morning desert after my croisant. Greta is not without her discoveries. She has discovered that she can always start the day with a "Pain au chocalat". The literal translation is "bread with chocolate", and thats what it is. Its a chocolate croissant. French pattiseries are really not helping our waistline.

... minutes walk to the Chateau, and it was blustery, cold and wet. Luckily the off-season meant the queuing wasn't long (but it's still astonishing how many people had the same idea as us today!) A lot of the Chateau and gardens are closed in the off-season, for restoration or just because it's all scaled down a bit (including the petite trianon - Marie Antoinette's little pretend rural retreat); but no-one was out in any of the gardens today - too cold and wet! This is a shame ...

... Hammurabi's code! SO AMAZING! They had a guide translating some of the code, and it was so neat to see the laws that Hammurabi had enacted WAY back then. Rules and regulations for suing people, for marriage and divorce, property ownership, etc. etc. SO COOL! 3. The room that the Mona Lisa is in...it is PACKED with mobs of tourists taking photos of the teeny tiny Mona Lisa that is the only painting on this huge wall (and behind glass...) - but on the other ...

... I think because it was more compact the blue light inside made it better. However, it is still amazing. The guest house was Les Degres de Notre Dame. It was nothing fancy but had a cosy feel to it and very close to lots of things. First night we just wandered around Paris which was very nice..Pont Neuf of course had to be done. (The Eiffel tower can be seen from anywhere but does look pretty cool close up as well.) We also went to the Restaurant Guy Savoy, which served ...

... passes under the house. The same area is also gained on the flat roof. 2. The Roof Garden The flat roof demands in the first place systematic utilization for domestic purposes: roof terrace, roof garden. On the other hand, the reinforced concrete demands protection against changing temperatures. Overactivity on the part of the reinforced concrete is prevented by the maintenance of a constant humidity on the roof concrete. The roof terrace satisfies both demands (a ...