Paris for the First Time

This is a terrific budget hotel located in the heart of the Marais (central Paris, so everything within walking distance!)! This hotel is nothing much to look at from the outside. Rue Turbigo is a very busy road, and the hotel's location does not look very promising to a first-time visitor to Paris. However, just a hop, skip, and jump away are plenty of bakeries, grocers, museums, etc.

I had negotiated a price of 75€ for a three-person room, but imagine my surprise when we were given a four-person room (two singles and a double) instead! I checked with reception to make sure there was not a mistake, and the receptionist assured me that we would be charged the previously arranged rate. Terrific! Dibs on the double bed! Our room also included a television and a clean bathroom. Our room had large windows facing a small courtyard shared with other flats/houses. There is a tiny lift, one of our deciding factors for staying at this hotel, as we were dragging around a lot of luggage!

Breakfast is not included in the price, but it is available for a small additional fee. I chose instead to wander around the area and stop in at various local cafés for my coffee fix. A number of metro stations are very close by, as are fromageries, boucheries, boulangeries, patisseries, etc, etc. Only a 5-minute walk away is Pompidou! At night, the area is rocking like Leicester Square, with plenty of crepe stands around to feed you. Within 20 minutes of strolling, you reach the Seine. Maps and other information can be found in the hotel lobby.

This hotel offers the very basics - there's no room service and no chocolate on your pillow! However, it's all one needs to discover Paris - who's staying in their hotel room all day anyway?

See http://www.hotelbellevue75.com/.

I actively searched for Berthillon on the Ile St Louis after I had heard such magnificent things about it. What I did not expect was to find most of the cafes on the island advertising that they sold Berthillon ices. As I had no idea where the original shop was or what it looked like, I was constantly fooled by these vendors.

During a relaxing lunch of a citron presse and a croque madame in a cafe, I realised that ice cream cones were being carried from a certain direction. When I'd finished and paid up, I walked towards that direction, and there it was!

A peek through the little window open to the street showed a lady sitting on a chair and a freezer next to her with all the ice cream sitting inside. There appeared to be a cafe within the shop but it was closed, presumably since it was November. Next to the window was a multi-coloured display of the various ice creams available--new availabilities were added on a hand-written slip of paper posted to the menu. I was glad this menu was large, as I took much time deciding what exactly it was I wanted--a decision also based on how much my stomach could handle!

Finally, I stepped up to the window and ordered. I wanted a two-scoop cone with praline aux pignons (praline with pinenuts) on the bottom and cassis (black currant) sorbet on the top. The cone is a very long and thin waffle cone--I vaguely remember choosing this cone for a slightly higher price--and normal wafer cones were also available. I think I paid approximately €4.

The praline was average--a very creamy and rich with caramelised pinenuts. The cassis, though, was extraordinary. Slightly tart, it tasted of black currants more than black currants themselves could taste! Delicious! The balls of ice cream are smaller than one would normally expect in the UK or North America, but the flavour coming from them is 10 times that in return.

From what I did try, I would recommend sticking with the fruit sorbets, as their flavours are amazing. However, I wouldn't mind going back to try *all* the varieties of ice cream and sorbet on offer.

They have a website at http://www.berthillon-glacier.fr, where it states that they are closed on Monday and Tuesday.