Paris - Feb 2008

On Friday, February 15th I flew from Frankfurt to Paris to meet Pam who had arrived in Paris on Thursday for work. We were to meet Pam’s Uncle Mike and Aunt Sandy, who go to Paris twice a year for Fashion week (they work in the fashion industry). Sadly, while we made it to Paris, my luggage did not. It turns out that it was still in Frankfurt.
We all met at a small boutique hotel, where everyone knows Mike and Sandy as they always book the same room for each of their visits. After a short catch up, we all went to a Vietnamese restaurant not far from the hotel for dinner. Pam and I love Vietnamese food, ever since our trip to Vietnam a couple of years ago. The restaurant was quiet small, but the food was excellent and very authentic after dinner we wandered around the neighborhood where the hotel was and Sandy and Pam each had Crepes.
Saturday morning arrived sunny and cool and so had my luggage. We met Mike and Sandy and left for breakfast. We went to Paul’s which is a chain of restaurants and is essentially a French diner. Each location bakes their own fresh bread and the bread is exceptional.
We spent Saturday walking around Paris, taking in the sites, doing some shopping and people watching. We also met up with Claudia, an SAP Colleague of Pam’s who is living in Paris. We wondered over to Luxembourg Gardens and on the way stopped at a gourmet chocolate store, which sold not only the most beautiful looking chocolates, but also fabulous Clementine preserves. It will be worth the trip back to Paris, just to by more. We only saw a small part of the Gardens, but they are very nice. The Palace at the Gardens now houses the French Parliament.
On Sunday, most of Paris is closed and if it is not closed is does not open until after lunch, except for the Marias (which means marsh), which is the Jewish area of Paris. After a quick breakfast, we made our way to the Marias where we continued the meander of the day before. We found a Jewish Middle Eastern restaurant ((as opposed to a European Jewish).
The best part of this trip… we had no agenda and no plan. It was just a chance to see our friends and get to know the Paris that Mike and Sandy have come to love over the years.