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France in August 2023- We had four days in Paris, another four at a country beach house in Bretagne with drive, and full day at the Palace of Versailles. 

Paris Day 1 – Arrival, Metro, Notre Dame, River Seine, Latin Quarter, Saint Germaine, Vincennes      – Thurs 8/23

On our arrival day, despite no sleep on the overnight flight and arriving at what felt like 3AM, we managed to have a quality half-day in the city of Paris before settling into our apartment in the east end of Paris. We checked into the Royal Regency near Vincennes woods. The building is under construction for upgrades, so there was scaffolding and hammering during the week day but that stopped at 5PM and for the rest of the weekend. Our apartment was recently upgraded and very modern and lovely. Since the room was ready in the morning (this is a gift after an overnight flight!) we had a quick rest and shower, then took the train into the city with ambitions of a half day of sight seeing. The walk from the RR apartment to Vincennes metro train station takes 15 minutes, but is quite pleasant. Half the walk is along small shops, restaurants, cafe’s, grocery stores, then we turn at the beautiful old City Hall building and walk along the flower garden and children’s park, so it’s a pretty walk. We later found another way to cut through Vincennes woods on a paved trail; that was cool and shaded during they day, although we refrained from walking this way after dark. 

Tip: Many tourist sites are near Metro or RER train stations. You can buy multi-day passes or a book of 10 tickets (billets) for the Metro rail, which saves not only money but the time and hassle of waiting in line and buying a ticket every time you enter the train station. We paid 28 Euros (30 USD) for 10 one-way tickets.

The Metro line 1 took us into the city; we popped out at Hotel de Vil, walked along river Seine, then past the Notre Dame Cathedral. You can see damage via missing wooden structure, plus a lot of scaffolding and a construction building on the back side, so it’s difficult to see how much remained of the flying buttresses. We continued our walk past the cathedral Saint Chapelle, then into the Latin Quarter past book stores and ethnic restaurants. We noticed that the hustle, bustle, and noise of traffic immediately dropped off as we got a block away from the Seine River, then we continued on to an al fresco lunch on San Germaine street. Greg tried escargot for the first time and struggled to get the snails out of the shell with the tiny fork (giggle). I had a goat cheese salad, and it was lovely just to take a break from walking and sit under an awning with a fresh breeze in the sprinkling rain. 

Click HERE for photos of Isle de la Cite and Latin Quarter 

We returned to the apartment for a restful nap, then while making up the bed a big spider jumped out onto my pillow to greet us. After a bit of hopping and yelling, we caught him in a plastic container and released him back outside, and then I had a nice chat with Ms. Lydie the hotel manager. Our dinner at Les Tours des Indies, just around the corner, was really delicious but I’m not sure the waiters were interested in hearing what a female patron has to say… bit of a cultural snag there. However we recovered the mood at a local bar, “Bistrot La Guele a Vins” which had a super friendly staff and patrons all trying to chat with us in French, whilst sipping gin and tonics, to the sounds of American pop and rock music in the background.

Paris Day 2 – Cemetery of Pere Lachaise, a song for Edith Piaf, real Potatoes au Gratin.   – Friday 8/25

I woke early so made a sweep through a local grocery store just a block away. After a home cooked breakfast we took advantage of proximity to Paris east side and visited the Cemetery of Pere Lachaise, which is really beautiful and has a diverse styles of tombs and a special section for Holocaust victims and French heroes. We visited the graves of American musician Jim Morrison, the classical music composer Frederic Chopin, the writer Oscar Wilde, and French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Of course there was a crowd around the Morrison grave but we could still get up close. The Chopin grave was off the walking track, topped with a lovely stone statue of a woman playing the lute, and Wilde’s grave was along a main path with a large art deco / belle epoch engraving of a man and a wheat stalk. At the grave of Edith Piaf we found a french man playing guitar and singing, with a small group of people listening. As we approached he started to put away his guitar, and although he said he’d already played it, I was able to coerce him to play “La Vie en Rose” on guitar while I sang in English. Although I didn’t remember all the words in French, he sang a second time through in French and i remembered some words, so it turned into a sweet duet. I quickly turned on my audio capture prior to the start of the song, so we have a copy to share if you would like to listen. It was a special, serendipitous moment. Afterwards, Greg and I had to sit down and shed a tear before we continued on with our day. It was a precious memory I will keep forever. 

Click HERE for a slideshow of Cemetery of Pere Lachaise

Click HERE to hear me sing La Vie en Rose at the grave of Edith Piaf

We returned to Vincennes, to rest before the evening, then decided to splurge on a fancy dinner instead of drinks. Near the train station and across from the Palace of Vincennes were several restaurants, we chose “La Table des Troys” and this time Greg was successful separating the escargot from the shells. I had a lovely duck confit with a mountain of string beans, and his main came with real, french-style Au Gratin potatoes. You should have seen his face, he said “stop what you are doing and eat this”. He doesn’t even like potatoes, usually, but he raved on and on. We had to order a second dish of the Au Gratin potatoes so that we wouldn’t fight over the first one. And finally a very decadent sorbet dessert, followed by a stroll home. We shared champagne and stories in the room as our nightcap.

Paris Day 3 – Jardin de Tuilieries at the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, National Assembly, Grand Palace, Les Invalides, Eiffel Tower

Day 3 we departed the Metro at the gardens of the Tuilieries where we happened upon a circus with ferris wheel, rides, etc. It was fun to see the children and bright colors and smell the roasted foods before we entered the lovely flower gardens. The Louvre is a large U -shaped historical stone building with glass pyramids in the center of the U plus some stone and metal statues in between the museum and the Tuilleries. Since I have already visited the Louvre years ago, and the crowds were enough to give us both anxiety, we just enjoyed the architecture, statues, and took some outdoor photos. Just across the Seine we passed the d’Orsay museum and were able to get in without a wait. This art museum is know for its collection of french impressionist paintings, which do not disappoint, as well as statues by Auguste Rodin and wooden furniture by Antoni Gaudi (visit Barcelona for more on Gaudi!). We were able to see the entire museum in 2 hours, still half-tired, so that was a success in itself. Plus we had a tasty lunch at the museum from behind the clock tower, where you could peer out and see Basilica de Sacre Coeur uphill on the right bank. 

Click HERE for a slide show of art in Museum d’Orsay.

As we strolled along the river Seine, we passed the National Assembly (with armed guards!) and could see the across the river the glass building of the Grand Palace. We didn’t visit in person as it was marked as Temporarily Closed although it is probably beautiful up close. The bridge between the Grand Palace (right bank) and Les Invalides (left bank) has gold leaf statues atop stone posts. In addition to the final resting place of Napolean’s tomb, Les Invalides is told to have a diverse war museum with fine historical items. We took advantage of the large grassy lawn for a late afternoon rest as did several other locals. Greg has noted several times how clean is Paris, very little trash on the streets, and the same for the parks. We continued on toward the Eiffel Tower, but stopped for dinner first at a tiny boutique restaurant Milago. We shared mussels and my main was a melt in your mouth fish caught that morning in Normandy, with gourmet sauces. We continued on to approach the Eiffel Tower, and as it was dusk we hoped to see the tower light up but were a bit early. 

Click HERE for Paris sightseeing photos

Instead of walking, we saved time and energy by taking an Uber back to the Latin Quarter. We had been recommended to visit the Caveau de la Hutchette for live jazz. We waited in a long line in a busy walking-street filled with creperies, knick-knack tourist shops, wine bars, and a piano bar… We finally got into the venue half way through the set of a ‘boogie woogie’ band with a guest musician from Detroit (sax player). We managed to squeeze into a bench and watched folks dance as the band played some fun danceable old-time rock and roll / rhythm and blues tunes. It was an interesting experience in an underground cavern (that would make for a great goth bar!) and we will return next time with more time and energy. I was the one day that we spent all day plus all evening in the city. We enjoyed dessert pastries in our room to top off a big day.

Tip: As my Parisian friend Clara says, you can’t go all day, and also go all night. It’s no fun to get burned out, then not have enough energy to enjoy the vacation, or get frustrated by missing scheduled events. So if you are running around all day every day, it’s a good idea stay close to your hotel for dinner then rest the body for the next day. If you are running around all night every night, plan to sleep in late then eat some nutritious food to detox. We like freshly made apple and carrot juice, or a big plate of quality vegan food. I also like a morning yogurt or green drink with pre- and probiotics to reset a stressed digestive system.

Travel day, electric car rental, Champs Elysses, Arc de Triomph, Moulin Rouge, drive west across France

We woke late, packed up, and hopped an Uber to the center of Paris to fetch our rental car near the Arc de Triomph. I wished I had packed lighter as we walked luggage up and down stairs to enter the parking garage. We have rented a Tesla electric car but oddly the app said it only had 45% power, so we waited for additional charge. Then waited again as the computer did a 20-minute software reboot, plus we couldn’t get out of the car park without a helpful frenchman coercing the gate agent to let us through as we were blocking traffic but couldn’t find the ticket he was requesting. 

Tip: UFOdrive is an app that rents primarily electric vehicles in select cities around the world. It can be lower cost for rental and insurance, plus no refueling fees like buying gasoline. Be sure you have scoped out adequate fast-charging stations along your route, and/or choose sleeping accommodations to charge up the car overnight. In the countryside they as they are not as widespread in city or as common as gas stations. Tesla Superchargers are fast for a Tesla rental, and it’s helpful if there is a restaurant nearby to align with a meal and reduce wait time.

We finally continued on to drive up the Champs Elysses, a long boulevard that has high-end shops like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hugo Boss, etc. We circled the Arc de Triomph a few times then drove up the hill to the Moulin Rouge. We had scoped out tickets to see a show there, but at 100 euros to watch plus 100 euros for dinner, per person, we decided our budget would go further with other activities. We passed through precious Marmonte neighborhood and attempted to reach the Basilica de Sacre Coeur but were blocked and then got lost so we finally gave up. 

Click HERE for Arc de Triomph and Moulin Rouge photos.

It took so long to get out of Paris, with the car delay and traffic and diversions, that it appeared the car would not have enough charge to reach Rennes as planned, so we also stopped first on the north side of Le Mans for charge up at a Tesla Superstation. I think we waited longer for drive-through food than the charge took. We did still stop at a Tesla Superstation south of Rennes, and there was a Novotel hotel with restaurant where we had another meal. Fortunately almost all of our roads were wide and fast, unlike the driving experiences in Scotland and Ireland where the edge of the car was just a few inches from the edge of a stone fence. 

Bretagne country home near the Atlantic Ocean

I’m pleased to say the next few days blurred together as we caught up on sleeping, cooking, laundry, blog/photos, and other relaxing home-based activities. We stayed in the AirBNB rental home of French family we know from New Orleans. Our first morning we walked five minutes to a creperie and then another three to the beach. It’s a very simple and beautiful area near the town of Nenez. Their house has a piano and i found myself recalling classical songs i have learned decades ago growing up in Illinois. Grocery shopping was a fun excursion since we got caught up in the french cheese and wine sections, as well as cured meats and gigantic vegetables. Here I found the largest celery plant I’ve ever seen, and Greg finally got to “walk carrying baguettes”.  For the price of two restaurant meals we came home with enough food and wine for more than a week. 

Tip: In France as well as Spain, grocery stores expect you to weigh your vegetables and print price tags in the produce section, as opposed to at the pay station where cashiers weigh produce in the United States. Make note of this to avoid check-out delays, as well as foot tapping from customers behind you in line. 

There was some bicycle race going through the region and multiple times we would hear a lead car make announcement then two minutes later 1-3 dozen male cyclists would zoom by the house. Across the road a beautiful brown horse and white horse are lounging in their pasture. Our dinner that night was one of my favorites- Greg broiled up two large haddock fillets, pulled from the sea that morning, plus tiny skinny green beans, mediterranean couscous, wine, and chocolate for dessert. Add a bit of guitar playing and it was a lovely and relaxing day.

Click HERE for happy grocery shopping

Click HERE for bicycle race video clips.

What else doing in Bretagne – undisturbed days working on the Midnight Magnolia press kit (photos, videos, audio, song list) to help us book more gigs in New Orleans…  lots of napping, plus video and photo editing for the website (for our readers).

Travel day, visiting with Clara, overnight in Versailles 

Thursday we left Bretagne, saw Clara near Rennes along the drive, and stayed overnight at an AirBNB in Versailles. 

Paris Day 4 – Tour of the Palace of Versailles

Friday we had booked a noon timed entry to the Palace interior, allowing for morning to check out and extra time to walk the gardens if possible.

Then dropped the car and returned to Royal Regency in Vincennes.

Paris Day 5 – Final day in France

Saturday not sure what we’ll do

Sunday fly direct to Crete. Chose Orly but CDG also has direct flights.

Favorite Meals in France 

Blah Blah We definitely had some good meals on this trip. 

• In Vincennes: “La Table des Troys” – ask for the Potatoes Au Gratin. 
• “Milago,” 4.8 star 12 table boutique restaurant on the east end of the Eiffel Tower grounds.
• Home cooked meal in Bretagne of baked haddock, fresh from the Atlantic, plus green beans, moroccan couscous, baguette with olive oil, and chocolate.
•   
• My favorite dinner restaurant  
• Favorite unusual lunch was  
• Favorite takeout sandwich  
• My favorite dinner restaurant i 

• Our favorite unexpected lounge i 

Thanks for reading! Safe travels!