Celebrating the New Year in Paris

For New Year’s 99-00 we decided to take a truly memorable trip to Paris. We were actually able to find fairly good deal on flight and hotel.
The primary focus of the trip was to experience the New Year in Paris, but we also we wanted see all the main sights in Paris. The New Years Eve experience did not disappoint. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. We were right next to the Eiffel Tower when the clock struck midnight and seeing the fireworks shoot off of it. After midnight the party carried on in the street with thousands and thousands of people all night long.
We also made sure saw all of the major sights in and around Paris. The one I would most highly recommend are:
The Louvre – It is incredible the amount and the diversity of art work here. One day is not enough to see everything.
The Palace at Versailles – It is about a 45 minute train ride but well worth it.
Eiffel Tower – The lines were very long since the tower had been closed for the holidays but worth it.
Arc de Triumph and Champs-Elysees

Quick Tips:

I was little hesitant to go to Paris during December and January figuring the weather would not be the best. However, it was not too bad at all. It was a little chilly and it did rain some, but it was more than tolerable. Anyone considering visiting Paris in the winter time I would recommend it.

Best Way To Get Around:

The Metro was very convenient for getting around Paris. We were able to take it just about everywhere. It was very convienient and stops close to everywhere we wanted to go. The only time we didn’t take the Metro was to and from the airport and to Versailles. However we were able to use our Euro Pass for the train ride to Versailles.

The hotel was alright but nothing special. The room was on the small side but was clean and comfortable. The hotel was a fairly good value. The location was convenient in that it was close to the metro stop. However, the immediate area right around the hotel did not offer anything special.

The hotel staff was friendly but they also didn’t go out of the way either.

There wasn’t anything particularly bad about the hotel, but there wasn’t anything thing that stood out either.

Set on the Eiffel tower at 95 Meter mark is the restaurant. We had to take the opportunity to dine on the Eiffel Tower. Though the food wasn’t anything memorable, the experience of eating on the Eiffel Tower was.

We had a great view from our window side seat in the restaurant. The atmosphere in the restaurant was very good and the service was very attentive. The food probably had the least amount of appeal to me than most of the other places we ate at in Paris.

Though reservations were required we were able to get a reservation only a few hours before dinner with out a problem.

I understand the Poseidon restaurant at the top of the tower is much nicer and has better food. However, it was much tougher to get a reservation there and was more pricey.

We discovered this Italian restaurant by accident and ended up eating there three times. This really wasn’t design; we just happened to be in the area when we were hungry at three different times. The location for the restaurant was very convenient. It was located a few block west of the Eiffel Tower right next to the Metro stop closest to the tower.

The food there was excellent. I tried the past, pizza, and fish all on different occasions and it was great every time. The minestrone soup was a great warm up after spending all day in the cold. The tiramisu was an excellent treat after dinner one time, but too rich to have frequently.

The service was speedy and very friendly. Most of the staff spoke English, Italian, and French.

If you are visiting the Eiffel Tower, this wold be an excellent place to grab a reasonable meal afterwards.

The Barfly restaurant in Los Angeles is one of our favorite spots, so we had to stop by and try the Barfly is Paris.

The food was the same quality as we were used to though the menu had more of an European flavor as would be expected. Though many of the dishes made use of a mix of different of different regions.

The whole dining experience was great from the food, to the atmosphere, to the service. I would recommend making a stop here. The place definitely keeps the L.A. feel though. It is a place where people go to be seen. So if you go dress sharp and have a little bit of attitude. But at the same time the staff didn’t act snobby at all, they were very friendly and we had a great experience.

Of course it didn’t hurt things that my fiancé had met the owner in L.A. and he happened to be there that night. He remembered her and we got a great table and a couple of rounds of free drinks.

I would have to say may favorite dining experience in Paris was not some fancy French restaurant, but one of the many small bakeries and stands lining almost every street in Paris.

There were to experiences that are must for every visitor.

1. Have fresh crepes made from one of the crepe stands or bakeries. You can have them, plain, with chocolate, bananas, or some other specialty of the place. There is nothing like have a fresh crepe. I would say the whole experience can be quite addicting.

2. The other must try is having fresh bread or pastry. I would recommend either having a chocolate croissant or having a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on fresh bread. Either one of these is the perfect way to start the day.