Travels

Blanca & Ian's Travels France
Bonjour France! Paris Trips Photo Report - 1999, 2000, 2002 with a few extras of Lyon, Beaune & Versailles

Paris Our favorite city. The 1st trip was instant love. Walking in the 'city of light' was everything that we had hoped for. The surprises around every corner, the cafés & the wonderful coffee. Baguettes. Crepes. And on & on . . . In subsequent trips, it has become familiar but never, never stale. We will go back whenever we can. This is a mix of photos & our hotel/restaurant reviews etc from a number of trips to Paris & nearby areas. I work for a distributor of several French consumer electronics products & I occasionally have to take customers to France to visit the manufacturing facilities & to pump them full of propaganda & French food & wine. Since this is not a true report, I'll give you some bookmarks to jump to some pertinent information.
Hotels	Restaurants

	Hotel Ferrandi http://www.parisby.com/ferrandi/index.html On a quiet street (except in the early morning when the garbage trucks do their rounds) in St-Germain-des-Prés. Smallish hotel. They also had the smallest elevator I have ever seen. Oh & if the manager reads this, yes we stole the baguette that morning from the breakfast delivery . . . Accommodations: Very petite room with little room to maneuver & store suitcases etc. The Negatives: Buried in the far end of the 7th, so things were a bit of a walk. No big deal though. The Positives: Clean & reasonable.
	Hotel Brighton http://www.jpmoser.com/brightonhotel.html Well located in the 1st with everything an easy walk. A nice hotel. Accommodations: We had a large room with a petite balcony that faced the Jardins des Tuileries. Nice 'period' furniture & a modern bathroom. A heavy glass & wood door completely shut out the din of the Rivoli & the summer fair across the road. I was surprised how quiet it was. The Negatives: You walk out the door to the madness of Rue Rivoli - tour buses, traffic, ticky-tacky shops etc. The Positives: A big quiet room & nice bathroom.
	Hotel des Nations The Hotel des Nations is well located in Paris, but just a bit decrepit. Although everybody - my tour group - enjoyed the location, I would choose a different hotel in a similar area next time. Service, breakfast & transportation - arranging buses for my group etc - were handled very well. Rue Mouffetard & it's eateries are nearby. Accommodations: Typical small rooms. The Negatives: Showing it's age. The Positives: On rue Monge in the 5th & a reasonable walk to sights. Clean & not bad.
	Hotel Relais St Jacques Buried in the 5th just off of rue St Jacques, a couple of long blocks from the Pantheon. A bistro next door for food or liquid urges. Staff was very efficient. Never friendly but efficient. Accommodations: We had a large room with a rooftop view of the Pantheon. Nice 'fluff' furniture & an OK bathroom. The Negatives: Garbage trucks again! A bit of a walk to anything but livable. The Positives: A big room for a boutique hotel but it might be the ONLY big room. Other rooms we saw were smaller.
	Hotel Mercure Paris Gare de Lyon http://www.mercure.com/mercure/fichehotel/gb/mer/2217/fiche_hotel.shtml A chain business hotel beside the Gare Lyon. Just that. Accommodations: We had a smallish room. Nothing too bad, nothing too good. The Negatives: You walk out the door to the madness of the train station & everything is a walk or taxi. The Positives: The train. Taxis are always available.
	Best Western Premier Royal Saint Michel http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=93599 A nice chain hotel in the Place Boul Saint Michel Accommodations: Small modern & very clean. The Negatives: You step out onto the Boul Saint Michel right by the fountain in the square. It can be noisy when the street is partying. The Positives: You are near everything.

a	Taillevant Food: The tasters menu. Very good. Typically nouveau French haute. Service: Exquisite. I have never seen faster, quieter & more efficient service. We noticed video monitors in a 'closed' room off of the lobby. Ah . . the secret. Atmosphere: Tastefully muted & subtle modern. Jules Verne Food: The tasters menu. Very good. Typically nouveau French haute. Again. Service: Very, very good, but not equal to Taillevent. Atmosphere: Dark & classy modern & you can't beat the view. Les Ambassadeurs Food: We were poor & so B ordered an appetizer & I only had a main. I had pig. It was really very good. Old world haute. Service: Very, very good, old world style. Atmosphere: Opulent & regal. The room is stunning. Marble, mirrors & gold. While having coffee in the lounge in the Hotel Crillon that houses the restaurant, we had a Madonna sighting. She was a guest. Bofinger Food: We were treated to dinner here by a supplier of mine & his wife. I had a good steak & B had duck. Service: Good normal service. Atmosphere: Almost a chain, there are no surprises here. L'Aiguière Food: Very good traditional French near-Haute style. Service: Good service - the owner was one of our servers. Atmosphere: At the location of the stables of the Black Musketeers. A very home-like feel to the restaurant. I chose this restaurant because it was within walking distance of the Gare de Lyon. I was very impressed.

We (corporate group of 10) spent 7 days in this industrial town on business. For those that might find themselves here on a similar purpose, I thought I’d share some info.

Saint-Etienne is located about a 30-minute drive southwest of Lyon. Easy train access & direct TGVs a couple of times per day from Paris – Gare Lyon – although sometimes you must transfer at Lyon. Set in attractive big hills – small mountains - but certainly an industrial or commercial city. No real tourist area or sites that stand out.

Accommodations: My 4the stay at the Hotel Mercure. 100€ Nothing special. Smallish basic rooms. Crappy breakfast buffet except for the croissants & breads & a really cool fresh orange juice machine.

Dining:

Lunch at the Museum of Modern Art – not a lot of choice but OK food at this plain-Jane sort of place – more cafeteria than restaurant.

Chez les Fondus – a fun restaurant rather than fine dinning. We had a fondue – of beef, chicken & veal accompanied with a massive chunk of melting cheese. A good stick-to-your-ribs meal that keeps you busy.

Les Domaines Qui Montent – a wine store & restaurant. Great menu choices & you dine surrounded by wine bins. All are for sale at reasonable prices. A good lunch spot.

Les Cornes d'Auroch – a beef themed restaurant run by the owner & his wife. Good beef & fish dishes with a good selection of chesses during the mandatory cheese course. A nice family-style restaurant in downtown Saint-Etienne on a narrow street.

Bistrot de Paris – this is a trendy restaurant in the city. Service was very casual but the food turned out very good in the end. The wine choices were very limited.

Auberge du Sapt - St Genest Malifaux - this is classed as an Auberge de Campagne with only local produce used. Set high in the mountains about 45 minutes south from the city & staffed by the chef & his wife & son. A resident 38-year-old parrot resides in the connected room. This was my second visit here. Very good country-style food in an old-mill setting. It can get slow if they are busy, but the food is worth it.

Le Passing restaurant – a glitter spot attached to a sports club. Excellent lunch spot – my 2nd time here. We were offered steak or poisson with a smoked duck starter. The duck was exquisite with slices of smoked duck on a chunk of duck liver. The steak was a really great fillet & the poisson turned out to be well-prepared lobster. The best steak I have ever had in France.

Restaurant Yves POUCHAIN - L’Ètrat – in a village outside of the city, this is a renowned restaurant in the area. Our hosts had pre-selected the menu since we had dinner for 60 people & we were the only patrons. We had a good starter of fish & a beef liver stuffed guinea fowl main course. All very tasty & well prepared with good service. A good choice for fine Lyon-style cooking.

Lyon	Lyon at night
The small theater - Lyon	Bourbon-Lancy medieval walls
Bourbon-Lancy - A gate	Bourbon-Lancy
Jazz à Vienne	Jazz à Vienne
Avishai Cohen on stage - Jazz à Vienne
Paris - Pont neuf	Paris - The ghostly Pantheon
Paris - Pont neuf