Paris Breaks

I met up with an old friend from Paris and we talked about Paris breaks for hours, just like the old days. It was amazing really because we hadn’t seen each other for years, but he was instantly recognisable as Mike, and still had many of the same old ways that I remembered from the Paris days.  We talked about the early Paris breaks, from trying to find the EIffel Tower and then ending up with those two french girls, to the scene in the Montmartre cafes where we used to sit and exchange painters stories at the end of the day.  Mike still carried on painting, hoping for the big break in Paris years after I had given up effectively, and put up with a regular job in the petro chemical industry. But do you know what? I’m certain the experience I had with the painters in Paris like Mike and the gang put me in good stead for the career I never wanted. Funy how things work out isn’t it.

If we were to go back to Paris now, on a short break or weekend trip perhaps, it wouldn’t be the same as when we just turned up with our artists materials, a few francs and a thirst for knowledge.  For one thing the informal street painters scene is a lot more tightly regulated than it was  back in the day when you had to take Paris breaks by Ferry because the Eurostar tunnel hadn’t even been dug yet. And I mean that in both senses of the word.

So all that’s left for us now I suppose is the occasional nostalgic Paris breaks with a nice comfortable hotel, so we can shuffle uneasily past the old haunts and try to remember what it was really like after all the false memories which seem to have grown up over the years. We’ll always have Paris breaks., as they say.

Paris Breaks – Café des 2 Moulins

Paris – Café des 2 Moulins

Originally uploaded by Añelo de la Krotsche

A point of interest for film buffs on Paris breaks, this is the cafe where Amélie worked as a waitress. The Café des Deux Moulins. The musty atmosphere, with its 1950s decor, mustard-colored ceiling, and lace curtains, has been preserved — even the wall lamps and unisex toilet.

The menu remains much the same:

* escalopes of veal in a cream sauce,
* beef filets,
* calf’s liver,
* green frisée salad with bacon bits and warm goat cheese,
* pigs’ brains with lentils.

The Café des 2 Moulins (French for “Two Windmills”) is a café in the Montmartre area of Paris, located at the junction of Rue Lepic and Rue Cauchois. It takes its name from the two nearby historical “windmills”, Moulin Rouge and Moulin de la Galette.

Paris Breaks for 2010

For Paris breaks, 2010 starts with the aftermath of the unfortunate Eurostar breakdowns with the bad weather last month in teh North of France but let’s put that all behind us now and look forward to a busy January as the long holiday period in the UK comes to an end. Believe it or not, Monday 4th January 2010 is NOT a bank Holiday in England and Wales, although both Monday and Tuesday are bank holidays in Scotland so we will getting back very much to normal pretty soon.

There is the prospect of some more downward pressure on the pound sterling later in the UK election year, so rather than wait for economic conditions to improve, a lot of people will be taking Paris breaks in the early spring, as well as going further afield, and possibly have that well earned break that has been postponed during 2009 to some extent.

January is traditionally the month for booking summer holidays too, and that can include tours of France and Europe with Paris breaks built in. One way for example, for keen francophiles from the north of the UK to get driving in France more quickly would be to take the train right through to Paris or even further south and then hire a car with right hand drive and everything.

There’s been a bit of inflation in Pars over the past year and although the pound has recovered a little it’s still unfavourable for UK travelers on Paris breaks so what we try to do is get the best possible Eurostar deals and then keep the hotel expenses down. Now there are two ways of going about this. One is to look for Eurostar deals with hotel included, in which case you know exactly how much most of your short break to Paris is going to cost, and the other way is to book one of those £59 return Eurostar deals – usually including a Saturday night stay, and then find a cheaper hotel in Paris when you get there. A third alternative I suppose is to organis your own hotel in advance, by phoning up or booking online, but I’ve never done that myself.

Paris Breaks by Metro

Everybody knows about the Paris Metro, it’s probably the best public mass transit system in the world but because of that I wonder if tourists on Paris breaks come to rely on it just a little too much. If you are coming from London for example, it’s easy to assume that the Paris Metro is roughly equivalent to the London Overground or tube but this is not really the case. The RER is more like the tube, and the metro is more like the DLR. If tourists in London sometimes make the mistake of taking the tube to go one stop when it would be easier to walk it in 5 minutes, then for travellers on Paris breaks this is even more so the case. The stops are much closer together, even in the more outlying areas such that if you need to take a corresponance or interchange for the sake of taking a second line for just two or three stops then it’s usually worth finding a route that takes you close enough in just one hop , and then walking the rest. Getting out at Pont Neuf and then crossing the river Seine is one of my favourite such cuts.

The Metro can be a bit slow for longer distances too, what with the stops being so close together, so it’s worth going down a level to the RER if you are travelling from one side of Paris to the other.

Paris Breaks by Bus

One form of transport often ignored by Paris visitors is the bus, and one can be forgiven for thinking its a little complicated bt it needn’t be and can often be the fastest way across shortish distances, plus you get to see the sights as your making your way.

Batobus Paris Breaks

Saving the best ’til last – have you tried the Batobus yet? That’s a brilliant way to get about on Paris breaks with stops along the Seine which are convenient for Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, St Germain, Jardin des PLantes and Musee D’Orsay no less.