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Clown Bar
Le Clown Bar 114 Rue Amelot
Marais Nord, 11ème
https://www.eater.com/2016/10/19/13314418/paris-clown-bar-veal-brain
Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel
Gabrielle Chanel: Get to Know the Story Behind the Iconic Designer https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/gabrielle-chanel-history
Les Cinq Hôtels (2019)
This year, we will stay in Five Hotels (Cinq Hôtels) during our time in Paris
We mostly stay at four of the big hotel chains
This is our preference developed over the eight years which we have traveled to Paris
Sofitel, Pullman, Mercure and Novotel
The rooms are clean and consistent
(we have sampled many others)
We stay on the outskirts of the Paris to explore the whole city
(away from major tourism, if you can achieve such a thing in Paris)
The rooms are Big and Affordable
Half the time we have Suites (“separate” bedrooms)
Most of the time, a generous “big-time” hotel breakfast is included
Versailles (outside of Paris in Versailles arrondisement)
Monday, December 23rd -Check-In (2:00)
Wednesday, December 25th -Check-Out (12:00)
Hôtel Le Louis, Versailles Château – McGallery By Sofitel
2 Bix Avenue De Paris, Versailles, Yvelines, 78000 France
Expedia Rating: **** (we rate it 4½)
We always return to this venue and have seen it ebb and flow
Since being acquired by Sofitel, the quality is supreme
We are not so crazy about touring the Palace, but we are impressed by its grand presence, just down the lane from our Hotel.
Most importantly, we can venture out into the morning darkness, when the gate opens and run in the Gardens of Versailles, virtually alone (Not everyone will appreciate this, but for us, it is a highlight of the visit)
If you can judge a hotel by it’s breakfast (which is actually a good indicator) than this is a great hotel
When possible avoid the crowded weekends in Versailles, when the train from Paris is a Zoo
We remember arriving in Versailles, the train doors opened and a rush a people tried to board the train before we could get off the train (terrible mob mentality)
Versailles is closed on Monday
Junior Suite: We paid $250 per night (with Breakfast)
Montmartre 18e
Wednesday, December 25th -Check-In (12:00)
Friday, December 27th -Check-Out (12:00)
Mercure Paris Montmartre Sacre Coeur, Paris
1-3 Rue Caulaincourt, Paris, 75018 France
Expedia Ranking: **** (we rate it 3½, although we love this place)
A reliable and relatively inexpensive favorite in Montmartre
The Privileged Rooms on the upper floors with views are our preferrence
The view of Sacre Coeur forces you to crane your neck, the view of the Eiffel Tower requires that you squint at a blinking light far in the distance.
The windows in the hotel room open (we really like that)
Rue Lepic, Sacre Coeur, Montmartre Cemetery, Moulin Rouge, Pathe! Cinema
Privilege Room with View: We paid $174 per night (No Breakfast – Why Not?)
Bercy 12e
Friday, December 27th -Check In (2:00)
Sunday, December 29th -Check-Out (12:00)
Le Pullman Paris Centre
1 Rue de Libourne, 75012 Paris
We have had mixed results here, even so, we strongly recommend it
(it is like the train, most of the time it is extraordinary, but when there is a problem – there is no one to talk to and they are extremely unresponsive to any problems)
Primo Facility and Staff
Excellent Breakfast Buffet
This is a place which we prefer to stay
Very accessible along the Seine on a bike path or nearby Metro
A Wonderfully Luxurious Hotel, affordable because it is on the periphery
Junior Suite: We paid $289.00 per night (with Breakfast)
La Defense (outside Paris)
Sunday, December 29th -Check In (2:00)
Tuesday, December 31st -Check Out (we will leave mid-morning to airport)
Sofitel Paris La Defense Puteaux
33 Voie des Sculpteurs, Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine, 92060 France
Expedia Rating: ***** (we also rate it a 5!)
Recently the prices have risen
We always believed this was an bargain, but his may attract an undesirable element
They are frequently slumped on furniture in the front lounge
Recently the breakfast buffet has slumped
(The salmon on the breakfast buffet was a little stinky, the room always has the undertones of the maid staff’s body odor and the desk staff is not well informed)
Even so, we stick-by the Sofitel at La Defense
The windows in the hotel room open (we really like that)
Located in an Exclusively Business District (with very little consumer commerce, except for the train station)
Clean Modern Plaza of Sculptures and La Grande Arche, Overlooking Paris
Classic Room: We paid $200 per night (with Breakfast)
Bagnolet
Tuesday, December 31st -Check-In
Wednesday, January 2nd -Check-Out
Novotel Paris Est, Bagnolet
1 Avenue de la Republique, Bognolet, Seine-Seint-Denis, 93177 France
Expedia Rating: **** (we also rate it a 4)
We stayed in a Suite last year, the price was amazing. For the same price of our favorite Soffitel, we have a room TWICE the size, with a huge bathtub and so many closets that we left some items behind.
(the most annoying thing was that when we switched channels on the remote control, the television in the other room sprang to life – actually this is quite an absurd and luxurious annoyance)
This is the most towering of the hotels, in a suburban district of twisted expressways and parks
It is one metro station away from Pere LaChaise Cemetery and maybe our best chance to find that remarkable out-of-the-way Bistro
Suite: We paid $208 per night (with Breakfast)
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Waiting List
La Vie en Rose
“Life in Pink”
Je vois la vie en rose (“I see life with rose coloured glasses”)
-to see life very optimistically, as if everything is tinted with joy and happiness
-the feeling of new love causing you to see the whole world as a beautiful place
Place de la Concorde
Image Posted on Updated on
This largest of public squares in Paris measures 7.6 Hectares
(a hectare equals 10,000 square meters)
King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette where executed on this site by guillotine in 1793, when it was called Place de la Révolution
Located west of Musée de l’Orangerie and the Tuileries Garden that extends east to Musée du Louvre
The Paris Marathon begins near the Arc de Triomphe, follows the Champs-Élysées east, then circles the Place de la Concord, which holds
-an Eqyptian Obelisk (exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramesses II)
flanked by two nautical themed fountains
-the Northern Fontaine des Fleuves is devoted to rivers, with figures representing the Rhone and Rhine commemorating commerce on the rivers of France, industry, and agriculture
-the Southern Fontaine des Mers is devoted to the seas, with figures reprsenting the Atlantic and Mediteranian and commemorates maritime navigation, commerce and astronomy
Wedding at Cana (Veronese)
Wedding at Cana+louvre (Paolo CALIARI, dit Véronèse)
Les Noces de Cana
(the largest painting at Le Lourvre)
Denon Wing (South Wing of the Louvre)
1st Floor
Room 6 Salle des Etats, Italy
Mona Lisa Room
Depicts the biblical story of the Marriage at Cana, at which Jesus converts water to wine (John 2:1–11)
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman,why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Although this is the largest painting at Le Louvre, I am always amazed by how better I can view the painting on my computer screen (moving around the image to enlarge the detail)
When I am in the Salle des Stats (aka the Mona Lisa Room) the most crowded room of Le Louvre, it is difficult to take-in the whole painting, it occupies a whole wall between thresholds into the room on each side.
Like many large classic paintings at Le Louvre, there is a reflection of light on the surface of the painting (almost a “glare”) so that you need to move to the spot on the floor where this “shine” is minimal. Much like the Mona Lisa (located across the room on the opposite wall) for some reason, every image of the Mona Lisa that I have seen is superior to the view that I have standing back from this painting at Le Louvre
Paris Statuary
Paris Statures and Sculpture Map
https://www.eutouring.com/images_paris_statues.html
Paris Statues and Monuments Map
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=154OJWOQCW1fJtvjf0wL9YQYpa0Q&ll=48.87226355522152%2C2.3835091325436792&z=13
Louvre Aile Nord (North Wing)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Aile+nord+louvre&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwigppa4kY7oAhUb8awKHXY4AbsQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=Aile+nord+louvre&gs_l=img.3…6417.8229..8430…0.0..0.130.591.6j1……0….1..gws-wiz-img…….0i19j0i5i30i19.eyK7UUAK0iI&ei=PZpmXuCTIZviswX28ITYCw&bih=965&biw=1920&client=firefox-b-1-d&hl=en#imgrc=dtpG0oeWAUS32M
Paris for the Holidays 