Heck yes! There's a flight that leaves Omaha tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. It would get us into Paris the following day day at 6:10 a.m. We could split the 65.00 euro cab fare to the hotel. It's only abut $1400. per person round-trip. Are you game?
I can book us hotel rooms too. Would you rather stay at L'Hotel Lumen? Or Hotel Regina? They are both right down the street from the Louvre. Hotel Regina is closer though. Personally, I'd stick with L'Hotel Lumen. They put on the best gourmet breakfast spread. And the jazz two nights a week is amazing!
See the Reviews For Hotel Lumen
Forget about the dirty sidewalk. It's clean inside. That's what counts!
Both hotels are in the 1st Arrondissement on the I'le de la Cite'. Having been the heart of the ancient city called Lutecia, it's not only the historic center of the city - it dates back to 52 B.C. Put on your most comfortable walking shoes and I'll show you around. Got any "Five Hour Energy", anyone?
1st Arrondissement - one of twenty!
If you go to the left out the door of Hotel Lumen, you will eventually come upon Fred Joaillier, Cartier, Piaget, Louis Vuitton. A little farther, down Rue de Papaune, near the Place Vendome, we will see Boucher, Harry Winston, and Alfred Dunhill.
If we go the other direction out of L'Hotel Lumen, to our right, we could go straight down Rue des Pyramides, pass quite a few stores, also to my liking. Dress shops, perfume and jewelry stores, an amazing scarf shop called "Refletions de Paris". The scarves are all prints of famous artists: Picasso, Rembrandt, Monet, and many others.For the price, they are pretty nice, around 40. euros each.
Hotel Regina - Check it out!
Half way across the street (Rue des Pyramides) is Joan of Arc's golden statue, covered with flowers while I was there. (She deserves them!) Then across the corner from the sidewalk cafe "Carrousel", the corner entrance to the Tuileries and a little further, the glass Pyramid entrance to the Louvre.
One cup of cafe' au lait at Cafe Carrousel will set you back six euros, and then the waiter gives himself a three euro tip...but if you're in the mood for people-watching it's a prime location. See and be seen.
I know some great restaurants in the area. Even a little cafeteria where you can eat a wonderful meal for only about ten euros. It's right down the Rue de Rivoli, running parallel to the Tuileries gardens.
I know all the shops in the area. Cheap ones and expensive. I am not sure I can afford the up-scale ones. But we could go look. Right? If you can afford it, I'll just help you pick out what ever you want to buy.
If you want souvenirs you are in the right spot. Lots of shops. One of my favorites though was MachuPichu. A convivial French gentleman sells the most beautiful Gobelin tapestry pillow covers there. I agree with him. He sells them for less than the cost of these works of art, elsewhere. I still want the blue and gold fleur-de-lis cases. At least two. That was Napoleon Bonaparte's trademark symbol, inscribed on his emperor's cape and on many other surfaces. I just love the fleur-de-lis and the royal blue!
If we continue on through the Tuileries gardens and out through to the other side, we can head down the Champs- Elysees. It is a mile and a half walk...at least you won't have to go to the gym this week. That will take us all the way to the 8th Arrondissement. The Champs-Elysees is lined with all the luxury stores of the world. Impressive!
I didn't get to buy this amazing perfume I fell in love with.
Hermes' Eau d'Orange
It's in all the bathrooms at L'Hotel Lumen. It is Hermes' signature fragrance...the one they started their entire perfume line with. A gender neutral fragrance called "Green Orange Water", or L'Eau d'Orange Vert, it has mossy, dusky undertones skirting around orange blossoms.. It costs about sixty bucks online, but it's probably cheaper in the shops. And we would get reimbursed for the VAT tax. So that would be cool, right?
I would love to show you the Tuilleries gardens right outside the Louvre...that awesome once palatial home of many former kings of France, and now the greatest museum in the world.
You know...the artist who's pictures I wanted to see the most I couldn't get to, on the days I visited the Louvre. The Fragonard exhibit was under construction until May 20th, a week after I had gone home. Just my luck. But now it's open and we could go take a look at his amazing artwork.
My favorite of his, "A Young Girl Reading" isn't there. It's in the Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art, but we'll save that for another trip.
A Young Girl Reading By Fragonard
But we can go see my next favorite of his, "The Bolt", a visual story of seduction, steamy tossed-aside sheets, and a lover that won't let his amour get away. Hey that was very hot in the 1700's...and I daresay it invokes some great fantasies even today in the 21st.
The Bolt by Fragonard
There's always MacDonald's down the street the other direction if you want to eat cheaply. The Coca Cola in Paris is really good! Much stronger than the American version.
And you should see the Paris Opera House! Would you believe they have a huge portrait of Charlize Theron from her ad campaign for J'Adore perfume? I think it is very cool!
I'd just love to show you the gold-laced gates leading up the broad path from the Tuileries to the Champs Elysees. The whole scene is just so beautiful...
Okay...then...you can always wait for my book to come out on Kindle eventually - probably not until October 2016.
You will however be able to purchase the book directly from links on this site very soon, or on my upcoming websites: WWW.IFELLFORPARIS.COM and
WWW.COLEENCLARKAUTHOR.COM
It will be any day now. I have an order into a printer for a limited number of copies of the book.
In the electronic version, eventually on KINDLE, you can link to great photo's and websites that will give you more information about each topic. So please be patient a little longer. I'll let you know as soon as I have it on-line and we'll go walking down the Champs Elysees, in the merry, merry month of M....oh yeah - It's September.
But the weather's still nice. Checked last night. It was 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Not a cloud in sight. Hope you'll find delight in "I Fell For Paris". Soon soon soon. Will let you know dear friends!
P.S.
Some of the photos are mine and some of them my great photographer son took. You will see many more in the book.
Copyright @May 2015
