I went to Paris and didn't visit the Eiffel Tower!

Hausmann Style in Paris

Now that my brain is mostly back on State-side mode and thinking in EST, the two weeks in Paris sort of feel like a dream. Don't you hate that feeling when you get back from something so awesome and you wake up to your "normal" life and the "other" life seems like it didn't happen at all?

Paris home overlooking Père Lachaise Cemetery

Thank goodness for the camera! I had fun with mine and my husband was patient beyond words while I took over 1000 photos! And to that I say, thank goodness for digital. Because no matter how incredible that photo seemed when you took it, there's a pretty real chance that you look at it later and wonder, "Why?!"

Gentleman at the Epicerie, Covered Marche Saint Quentin

This was my 12th time to Paris (if you count my 3 trips as a kid when someone else called the shots.) I have been asked time and time again, "Why do you keep going back?" Well, anyone who loves Paris can answer that. There is always too much to see in any one trip. Vacation goes too fast, things fall off your to-do list, you discover alternative things to do, your jet lag lags you longer than you thought it would, it takes longer to do an activity than you thought it would, etc. So, you just have to go back!

My problem is more about my bucket list getting longer with each trip instead of shorter!

La Rotunde at the Place de la Bataille-de- Stalingrad

Admittedly, I have a chronic condition where I am just no longer able to go, go, go. Even when I was younger and could, I didn't like too. You miss too much that way. When I read guide books who say  to plan three hours for the Musee d'Orsay, I wonder what you would see during that time. And even more importantly, what you would remember about it two days later!

Building seen from La promenade plantée

My trip was full of memorable activities, people, and food. Yet, I never saw the Eiffel Tower nor the Arc de Triomphe (except from afar!) We never even walked by Notre Dame! My goal this trip was to do almost all new things and I did achieve that!

For more information about making your trip to Paris easy, please visit ParisMadeSimple.com or visit Paris Made Simple on Facebook!

Wonderful Memories of "Our" Neighborhood Cafes

We got back from Paris a week ago. Seems like another world, or that we were never there. That's the frustrating part of travelling. Thank goodness for photos and this blog!

We had an amazing time and stayed on budget. All in all, with all our shopping, eating, passes, apartment, and airfare, it cost us about $2500 each for two weeks in the City of Light during the Summer. That means if you save $105/month for two years, you're there! This also includes planning ahead and being willing to buy your airfare and pick your apartment well in advance, like 6 + months in advance.

Since we stayed on budget, we ate out the last couple of nights in Paris, not wanting our experience to end and to be sure the fridge was cleaned out. As I mentioned before, we knew we'd get consistently better food and service in our own neighborhood.

Brasserie l'Harmonie

The menu on the chalk board

The first night in Paris, we staggered into  l'Harmonie, sitting our extremely jet-lagged selves in their nice restaurant and was extremely satisfied with the food and the waiter. I'm pretty sure I wrote about this in an earlier blog. One of our last nights, we went back and sat outside. The food wasn't quite as good (but still way better than our dinner near Pompidou) but the waitress was extremely friendly and the whole experience was satisfying.

Cafe le Bistro - our neighborhood bistro

Our final night, we opted for the bistro just two doors down. We'd eaten dinner there before and had a pleasant afternoon snack on another day.

Mike unwinding after a hard day - LOL

We felt like family there, especially since we always got a friendly wave and "hello or "Bonjour" when we dragged our tired carcasses off the subway and walked by the bistro headed for our apartment!

Stefan and Mathieu - the nicest waiters in Paris

So the last evening, I asked to take their pictures. They'd been so friendly and fed us well, I wanted to immortalize them!

Thank you Stefan and Mathieu for making us feel at home and not like tourists. We'll be back!!

For more information about having an awesome vacation in Paris, visit my website: ParisMadeSimple.com.