Dreaming of France: Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Our passports. His from the USA. Mine from the UK.
In the background, the new bag I bought for the trip.

Less than a month until we head across the pond. We’re beginning our 25th anniversary trip with a week in London and then we’re heading across the channel to Paris. I’ve double checked that our passports are up to date, we’ve booked our London lodgings and we’ve almost narrowed down which lightweight luggage to buy for the trip. I’ve bought a brand new bag to sling across my body. It’s large enough for my phone (camera), a small brush, lipstick (even though my hubby prefers me without) a little tube of sunscreen, a bottle of water, passport, moolah etc without weighing me down. 

 (Note to self: remember to ask our son if he can give us a lift to the airport, or do we need to book a Lyft?) 

 And we’ve finally pre-booked our Chunnel tickets on EuroStar. Fly or take the train, it took us ages to decide. Frankly, we were surprised to learn how inexpensive flying could be and from what we hear, we wouldn’t be missing much in terms of scenery by skipping the train ride. In the end we decided on the chunnel, mostly to avoid the hassle of airports, even more intense now with terrorism on everyone’s minds.

 While Whilst our list of things to do in London is huge—overwhelming in fact—filled with literary must sees, the Royal sites, the ancient city, the pubs, boating on the Thames, the historic points of interest, all made more complicated by my desire to get in touch with my roots and see the house where I was born, we’ve only just begun to think about what to see and do in beautiful Paris.

  

29 Avenue Rapp via Wikipedia Commons

For those of you following Paulita’s Dreaming of France meme for awhile now, you may remember my Chapter1-Take1 post on the 12 Must See Movie Locations from Gigi . In addition to Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Monmarte, the Champs Elysees, the Left Bank, and the usual tourist attractions, we’ll want to put some of those on our list. Near the top is the glorious Art Nouveau door located at 29 Avenue Rapp.  Built in 1901 by architect Jules Lavirotte, the exterior serves as the home of Gigi’s Aunt Alicia. I love the movie connection but I’ve got a fondness for beautiful, quirky, interesting buildings, especially windows and doors so I’m looking forward to seeing this particular door for its own amazing architectural merits. I can’t wait to take my own photographs!
Au Vieux Paris 
Image Credit  Linda Mathieu on Instagram


I know that Paris is going to bombard me with all kinds of beautiful places to see but yesterday via Linda Pennington—Mathieu’s Instagram I discovered another must to add to my own list. Linda, an American living in France who I know by way Paulita Kincer’s Dreaming of France meme, shared her stunning photograph of Au Vieux Paris (In the Old Paris), a restaurant located at 24 Rue Chanoinesse, a couple of blocks from Notre Dame. I can only imagine the looks on the faces of the average unsuspecting tourist (like moi) should they stumble onto this cafe unprepared. My own jaw will be on the ground time and again. My husband has promised to watch out for me lest I get so distracted I fall. Not uncommon with me! Just my luck to be pointing at some cool little cafe and go tripping off the curb.

 Naturally, seeing the tables, I have to google the locale and see what’s on the menu at Au Vieux Paris. The translated-from-French meal descriptions in the entree section—The 6 Rope Molds filled with Shell Butter—are a bit of a mystery and The 4 Mini Saint Jacques Farcies of Escargots more than a little frightening to my bland British-born palate but the desserts—Creme Brulee (to the real bourbon vanilla) and French Toast with Vanilla that they dub Childhood Memories—speak my language. 

 When I contact Linda for permission to use her photograph she warns me that the one meal she ate there wasn’t that good. It’s okay Linda, I’m picturing sitting outside with my husband on a sunny spring day in May. It may not be April in Paris, the wisteria may have lost their bloom, the bells of Notre Dame may not peal while we sit there, but we’ll be sipping on cafe au lait and sharing a dish called Childhood Memories, celebrating our 25th anniversary in an outdoor cafe in the most beautiful city in the world. Trust me. It will be delicious. 


Follow Paulita’s Dreaming of Paris meme and check out Linda’s site at LindaMathieu.com

Popular posts from this blog

5 Ways to feel like you’re in France when you don’t have the francs

Image
Are you Dreaming of France but finding yourself short of the francs you need to take you there? Ladies and Gentlemen, Mesdames et Messieurs, step right up and j oin my travel club and take a journey that won’t cost you a red hot centime. Because this is a trip you take in your mind. Okay, it ’ s not exactly there -there but if you can ’ t actually get to Paris or the Cote d ’ azur, it ’ s the next best thing.  Here ’ s five things to pack in your virtual valise to put you in a French  state of mind.  Substituting French words for English is a great starting point... Un: French Ambience Pretend you live on a charming street near the Eiffel Tower with the simple application of this artistically incorrect mural. How do you say cheesy in french? Or better yet, decorate your home with every  Eiffel tower you can find — never mind most self-respecting French citizens would likely prefer to leave the tour  Eiffel on the Champ de Mars  where  it belongs.  Deux: La mus
Continue Reading »

Baker Street Station—Sherlock Holmes was there

Image
Baker Street Station The main thing my husband wanted to see in London was London ... as Sherlock Holmes saw it. So our first move, like any fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation was to take a double decker bus to Baker Street. As it turns out I read the map upside down or sideways or maybe it was backwards but we found ourselves in Putney at the bridge. Very much in the wrong direction. Over half an hour by car, which we didn't have. We wound up taking the tube back in the right direction which delivered us to the Baker Street Station. The station is one of the original stations opened when the Metropolitan Railway—the world's first underground railway—was built in 1863.  While we don't immediately think of Sherlock dashing out on the tube, he very well could have and in fact the rail, train etc is alluded to in several dozen Sherlock stories. The Baker Street station is situated on the very block where Sherlock lived at 221B Baker Street. Or should I say th
Continue Reading »

Above Ground on the London Underground—Day 46: White City

Image
If it's Friday we must be back in London.   Every Friday I take a virtual walking tour ‘above ground’ on the London Underground. Using  my Tube guide & my fitbit® device, my goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day roughly following along the Underground route, reporting back here on Fridays with my findings.  Here are the previous days . This is Day 46. Today we’re walking from the Ealing Broadway underground station to White City. The trek is 4.2 miles which should clock in at just about 10,000 steps.  Back in 1908, the area was transformed from Shepherd’s Bush farm land into the location for the Franco-British exhibition and the 1908 Summer Olympics. Called the white city because of the white cladding of the ornate exhibition buildings, the area was used for the Japan-British exhibition in 1910, the Latin-British exhibition in 1912, and finally the Anglo-American exhibition in 1914 when WWI put an end to it. After that the White City was left to fall into disrepair and ult
Continue Reading »