2003-01-12 - 4:09 p.m. We'll always have Paris... Staying home from work for two days and confining myself to bed seems to have worked wonders. Today, I was up for a walk to my favorite book store, which took me past my very beautiful public library branch (seen here.) This wasn't just an idle browsing excursion though. I was on a mission to find a book full of photos to help me sketch out what I want to do in Paris, and, thus, how many days I should stay. I picked up Fodor's Exploring Paris and spent the better part of the day reading it from cover to index, looking up key museums online to determine if their refurbushments had been completed, to see what they were exhibiting, etc. As a result, I've revised my initial estimate of 4 days in Paris to a full week (or at least 6 days) so I don't have to feel to pressed for time. After all, I *do* want time for a few afternoons spent writing/reading in a cafe. I really wish I could swing taking one of those month long travel study courses in Paris. ::sigh:: Itinerary Museums The Louvre Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs Mus�e des Art d'Afrique (with its gorgeous Art Deco building) Mus�e d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris Mus�e Picasso Mus�e d'Orsay Mus�e Maillol Mus�e National du Moyen Age (with its Roman ruins) Mus�e de l'Orangerie Mus�e de la Sculpture en Plein Air Mus�e Carnavalet Shopping Les Halles Au Bon March� Galleries Lafayette, including its The Champagne bar, 40 Blvd Haussmann (department store) La Place Vendome Blvd. St. Germain (I will try very hard not to purchase any books. honest.) Porte de Vanves (flea market) Marche de Varves @ Porte de Vanves (flea market) Galerie V�ro-Dodat (Colette's favorite shopping arcade) Sur Les Quais in the Beauvau market at the Place d'Aligre, between Charenton et Crozatier (spices, olives, etc.) Art �mail, in the Dauphine Market in the Porte de Clignancourt flea market (enamel bakeware) Galerie Vivienne (another shopping arcade, with a notable wine shop and pretty mosaic floor) Food La Coupole (cafe) Tachon (cheese) Fauchon (gourmand food hall) Androuet (cheese) Hediard (gourmet food) Granterroirs, 30 Rue de Miromesnil, just off the Rue du Faubourg St.-Honor� (gourmet food and cafe) A la Mere de Famille (candy shop) Shop Pierre Herm� in Saint-Germain-Des-Pr�s, 72 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 (hot chocolate) Jean-Pierre H�vin Salon de Th� & Chocolat (hot chocolate) Aux Delices Du Palais, 211 Rue Tolbiac or 60 Blvd. Brune? (bageutte a l'ancienne) Rene Saint-Ouen, 11 Blvd. Haussmann (baguette) Poujaran, 20 Rue Jean-Nicot (croissant) L'Epi Dupin,11 rue Dupin (6e.) - S�vres-Babylone subway (bistro) La Regalade, 49 avenue Jean Moulin (cuisine familiale) Misc. Sites to See Ile de la Cite Ile St. Louis Sainte Chappelle La Conciergerie (to pair up w/my Tower of London photos) Place de la Concorde Les Catacombes (if I remeber their very limited hours of admission) Sacre Coeur Notre Dame Villa Seurat (as part of my Henry Miller fix) Now, I need to figure out what part of the City to stay in, and decide if I want to pursue a studio apartment rental, or if a boutique hotel would be fine...I just always like having a fridge and a stove at my disposal so I can actually purchase cheese, wine, bread, and other treats while I'm out and bring them home to eat...Here are some of the resources I found for Paris lodgings: ParisHotels.com Hotel Discount Yahoo! Travel (when combined w/your airfare) I had more resources, but they are on the laptop that blew up so they may be forever irretrievable. As a bitchy aside, upon viewing some of the photos of the amenities at at least 100 hotels, I must say it is disturbing to look at a photo of a bed and to just *know* it must be real damn uncomfortable...Yes, I am a spoiled girl witha very soft, cozy bed. BUT, I also keep getting excited when I read descriptions, like that of CITADINES PARIS LES HALLES , that include mentions of Tea makers, dishwashers, and a full kitchen!!! Please leave a comment if I've left someplace off my list that you really loved when you visited Paris... UPDATED 2/7/03 to reflect cracking open my Steingarten books to find the names of the places with the fabulous bowl du chocolat and the best baguettes...and reading too many Paris articles in the NY Times food and travel sections xo almost gold any comments? (1 so far) previous - next recently on almostgoldsf... in defense of an email box I came to do battle with SPAM - 2008-05-17 hello 2006 - 2005-12-31 Happy Thanksgiving - 2005-11-14 bon voyage - 2005-11-05 October already? - 2005-10-09