France: Paris and Normandy

MIJE - Maubisson.

This hostel is part of a group of three under the MIJE name (Maubisson, Fourcy, and Fauconnier) all in the Marais district. We reserved online for four nights for 28 euros per person in a quad, and had to pay a 2.50 euro membership fee. They only take reservations 45 days in advance, so I planned to reserve on the first day possible. After reserving online, I sent MIJE an email with my preference of hostel choices 1, 2, and 3. They reserve the right to switch you to another of the three hostels if they so desire. But they are all relatively close.

The Maubisson is literally a 5 minute walk from Hotel de Ville and 7 minute walk to Notre Dame. It was so central that it was in the 1st arrondisement. There are a lot of cheap hotels in Paris, but none are for this price or on the Internet search engines (Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak, etc.). Again, this was in such a prime location. And I prefer to see Paris on foot, not subway.

The staff spoke perfect English and were friendly. I had to call the day of arrival since I was arriving after noon, 12pm. We had an included breakfast that was bread and coffee and jam. (See other reviews about breakfast)

The hostel was clean and just what we needed. The toilet was in the hall and the shower was in the quad room. I did not use a locker, but I believe there were some outside of the room. The Internet was 1 euro for 10 minutes and there were phones downstairs as well. The hostel does host school groups, so there could be younger children around.

I would stay there again but maybe pay a little extra for a private room. Even though our roommates were very kind solo backpackers.

E-mail: info@mije.com
www.mije.com/paris_individuels_uk.html

3 MIJE locations:
-FOURCY : 6 rue de Fourcy, 75004 Paris
(metro Saint-Paul, line 1 or Pont-Marie, line 7)

-FAUCONNIER : 11 rue du Fauconnier, 75004 Paris
(metro Saint-Paul, line 1 or Pont-Marie, line 7)

-MAUBUISSON : 12 rue des Barres, 75004 Paris
(metro Hôtel-de-Ville, lines 1 and 11)

You can only live like a local for so long. After three weeks of eating sandwiches for breakfast in Italy and Lucerne and Paris, we were dying for American scrambled eggs or french toast. We found a great restaurant that was started by an American, called Breakfast in America, or B.I.A., in the Marais district in Paris.

It was decked out in true diner style with stools, booths, and big servings. And the best was that they actually had a "Bottomless cup of joe" for our morning coffee. So, yes, I had french toast in France, which is not easy to come by. The food was superb and freshly made. It was a fun atmosphere too.

I love going to Paris. I will definitely search this out again in the future. I can't remember how much it cost because I was so darn happy. Maybe 15 euro for 2?

Info:
www.breakfast-in-america.com

Locations:
1. 4 rue Malher, Tel: 01 42 72 40 21
2. 17 rue des Ecoles, Tel: 01 43 54 50 28

Monday - Saturday 8:30am - 11pm (Breakfast served all day; lunch/dinner, noon to close)
Sunday 8:30am - 11pm (Brunch Menu: 8:30am-11pm, lunch/dinner, 4pm-11pm)

Last year we toured the D-Day beaches by car. In preparation, I read "Band of Brothers" and searched this site for tips. I also bought "Top Ten Normandy, France" and a special map from the tourist office in Caen.

We stayed at a hotel in Caen, which was our jumping off point. There is a bus that drives the route, but we rented a car. The flexibility a car gives you was priceless. We started the day at Arromanches, which was a small town that would have been great to stay. The small nature of it would mean researching a place to stay from a guidebook or taking your chances on arrival. We also saw a campground nearby.

The route for Normandy D-Day beaches is clearly marked along the coastline. Also along the route there are Calvados makers, apple brandy made from the type of apples native to the region. So we stopped at a few places to taste and purchase.

Also on the route, we went to Omaha beach, the American cemetery, and ended in Utah beach. We had bought some wine, cheese, bread, and pate to toast the Americans who had fought for us. We toasted them on Utah beach, when the tide was way out.

Some of the things I will never forget include:
- Omaha beach was called bloody Omaha - the landscape itself meant the battle our troops begun started out at a disadvantage since they were on the low ground.
- Pieces of Mulberry harbors still in the water at Arromanches.
- The American cemetery.

The drive was very worthwhile and the cemetery was thought provoking to say the least. Reading beforehand gave me a better appreciation of what I was seeing when I was there.

Definitely do the drive in a rental - we never saw one of the buses. We took one day to do it. Also, check out a tourist office in town before you go. Start early to avoid the crowds.

There are so many places to go on the whole peninsula from Cherbourg to east of Caen for D-Day history. We stuck to the coast and the main American beaches. Charbourg was a giant harbor town. I am glad we stayed in Caen. It gave us somewhere to go out to eat/drink.