Paris revisited

This hotel was a small charming boutique hotel located in a upper middle neighborhood, rue Cler. Our room was charming facing a courtyard on the second level. While the room was small is clean and neat containing a queen size bed with adequate space to store our clothes and belongings. The room supplied us with a tray of complimentary tea or coffee with condiments. The hotel was one block away from the Rue Cler, which was a charming street of vendors, cheese shops, pastry shops, fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables. The street is blocked off to traffic for three blocks and was a favorite spot fot the locals who shopped there every day. A favorite restaurant located on this street was the Cafe Du Marche, which was a favorite hangout for a romantic couples such as ourselves. In addition, this hotel is 20 minutes away by foot from the Eiffel Tower and within walking distance from major destinantions such as the Rudin Museum, Musee d'Orsay, the River Seine, Ecole Militaire, and the Metro (one block away from the hotel).

Excellent food. Great view. We had a window seat that had a great view of the river Seine. Reservations are a must in May. We had a fix Price Lunch for $40 (US) each. It included three courses (appetizer, entree, and dessert, as well as a cheese plate). We had a bottle of Cabernet from the Rhone Valley with our meal. A meal in this restaurant from the Eiffel Tower was one of the highlights of our trip. I highly recommend it as a very romantic experience for an anniversary couple like ourselves.

The museum presents a full range of Rodin's works, housed in a historic mansion where he once lived and worked. He placed his creations in the beautiful gardens in back of the mansion. On the day we visited, we packed a picnic lunch and had it in the gardens. The setting was perfect for drinking our wine and eating our cheese and bread. We loved the ambience of the place, which was a nice respite from a hecitic trip. Notable works of art we liked included Rodin's "The Thinker" and a bronze work called "The Gates of Hell." This place is a must for anyone who loves art and wishes for a romantic interlude.

This was our second trip to the museum. We again visited the Denon wing of the gallery that had alot of the paintings and sculptures we were interested in. These included the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo Sculture, The Madonna Child, and John the Baptist by Raphael. The museum, compared with our first journey in the summer, was relatively uncrowded (we came in May). Again, this continues to be our favorite museum in Paris.

This palace continues to be one the highlights of our trips to Paris.On the day we went the Palace itself was closed due to a local workers strike. However we visited extensively the beautiful gardens on the Palace grounds. We especially loved the extensive fountains aned footpaths that roamed the incredible gardens that went on for what seemed miles. The highlight of our day to Versailles was lunch at "La Flottille" a historic restaurant in the center of the gardens of Versailles. This restaurant had tables located outside in the beautiful gardens complete with fresh flowers at your table--a most memorable experience.