Thursday, December 18, 2014

Dreaming of Paris...

There was a marathon wash day this week in The Humble Bungalow...
You may wonder why, when there are so many other things that I would rather be doing,
baking, shopping, walking, visiting with Mother...


Pepper had a furball...
she threw up on our pure WHITE king size bed coverlet. I had to wash it twice AND resort to using bleach to get out the stains so it was a long morning of washing and it took ages for the coverlet to dry...


It looks like new...


Two hours of washing
and the drying was another hour and a half...

Pepper made good use of her time relaxing.

I am so grateful for our Heavy Duty LG machines.
They can handle jumbo loads like this coverlet and the queen size duvet...
before we owned these workhorses I was at the mercy of the dry cleaners...
their price for this service was rather expensive, not to mention that they took 4 days to get the job done.



So while the machines worked hard I decided to use the time to go onto the internet and explore Paris, France...
I found a bunch of blogs which I thought I would share with you...

David Lebovitz

Unlock Paris

Prete Moi Paris

Paris By Mouth

The Hip Paris Blog

La Cuisine Paris

Paris Perfect

Becoming Madame


If you are planning a trip do you like to research the area in advance of your trip?
or do you like to "fly by the seat of your pants?"


I like the forums at Trip Advisor and read the comments about restaurants, sightseeing tours, museums, and shops.

Mr. HB and I went to San Francisco many years ago and I had done extensive research online and read up on what we should see and do...we had wonderful accommodations and a fabulous 10 days so I feel it is worth doing a bit of advance planning....careful not "over schedule" the trip though as to allow for spontaneity and surprises.

I registered for a cooking class with the La Cuisine Market Tours, which sounds like fun,
shopping the Maubert Market and then prepping and cooking in their Paris kitchen.

Sounds like I'll be sitting in outdoor cafes "people watching" while I get my bearings and wandering the streets window shopping for the first few days...

I hope you will explore some of these Parisian sites...and if you have any that you would like to recommend I'd gladly welcome your comments.

30 comments:

Susan ~ Southern Fascinations said...

Oh my, poor Pepper... An unfortunate event for the busy Hostess! Glad you were able to get everything back to normal. While catching up on my blog reading, I saw an interesting post that also mentioned bloggers in France. You might enjoy checking out Helen's blog and visiting blogs on her list. http://helentilstonpainter.blogspot.com
Research is the key to a successful trip... Advice from a good friend who is a seasoned traveler. I love to travel with her... Always very informed and organized!
Merry Christmas to you and yours! Susan

LostRoses said...

Trip Advisor is a great site for researching what to do and I agree on not planning too much, especially when you can sit at a sidewalk cafe and people-watch! Poor Pepper, and poor Hostess, but at least you had the right tools!

Jim & Sonya Guthrie said...

I "always" do my research before heading out to places we've never been before. I LOVE doing that, and it gives me an idea what to do and/or expect. It is always a surprise to the other's who travel with us, and mostly they are amazed at what I come up with :) I always check out the reviews and blogs on Trip Advisor, and get travel books out from the Library too. I write down everything that interests me and take the lists with me, with full details. That way I don't have to lug along the heavy travel books, and wonder where I have seen what I want to know.
We've been to Paris a few years ago on a 2 day drive through, but Southern France is still on my "bucket list" to return to ;) Will you be travelling around or just staying in Paris?
Merry Christmas, Leslie to you and your family!!

Greeker than the Greeks said...

Glad you managed to get your cover clean! Why do animals always jump on your bed to be sick??? My dogs do that, never on the floor, on the bed!!!
A great tip that someone told me, use Napisan, a product for washing babies nappies (Diapers?)
Oh I wish I had a jumbo washing machine, I am still at the mercy of the dry cleaners when it comes to duvets and such!
Always plan before a holiday, that way, you don't waste a second of your precious time.
A wonderful Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Susan.xxx

frugalscholar said...

Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik is a wonderful book about his years living in Paris (Nyer correspondent!). We sit in parks a lot too.

One tip: familiarize yourself with what the public bathrooms look like (they are now kind of gray structures on sidewalks--don't panic! they are easy to work and self-cleaning. ) and look for parks with nice bathrooms. Carry toilet paper with you at all times! The Louvre bathroom was out of tp. I gave some of my stash to a woman in distress.

Jill said...

I'm very excited for your Paris trip. I do hope you are going to make a visit to the Hermes Mothership and get yourself a scarf. You know you have to! Even if it's a tiny gavroche! I'm doing laundry as I type this so am admiring your lovely washer and dryer and I just saw my cat Tippi parked on top a load of white clothes I'm about to wash. The little princess. Ha. XO, Jill

Sue Burpee said...

Oh serendipity! We are in the midst of planning (and researching) a trip to France in May and were talking about the Paris part of the trip this morning. This will be my first trip to Paris and I'm very excited. Have you been there before? If so any recommendations you can make about where to stay? We will book our Paris accommodations ahead of time but have not decided about the rest of the trip (we're gone for a month) Not sure if we should book everything or leave it day by day. Any suggestions?

Madame Là-bas said...

The Maubert market is very close to the Sorbonne and the Pantheon. I used to visit it often although my closest market when I was studying in Paris was the smaller Port-Royal Market. You will love to visit the markets and the "food streets" rue Cler and rue Mouffetard. The salades composées in the restaurants are so good that you can eat healthfully in Paris.It sounds as if you are doing lots of research. Today, I was dusting and reorganizing the book cases. I have an enormous Paris book collection ( historical fiction, literary travel and history). If you would like, I could give you a couple after the holidays. I have spent an entire day cleaning and reorganizing in preparation for the holidays/New Year. I am researching new laundry machines. Yours are too big for our space but I am seriously considering the European models because they are so much more efficient. Bon week-end.

Lorrie said...

This is the second hairball incident I've read about this week. So unfortunate. Yes, we are lucky to have these wonderful machines to help us do our chores. Mine are whirring away this morning. Our daughter in Vancouver recently moved into a new apartment and the thing she loves most is that it has a washer and dryer and she no longer needs to go to the laundromat.

Doing research for a trip is a fun part of the whole experience. I like to do the research and like you, plan, but leave room for spontaneity, too. Isn't the Internet a wonderful place? To Paris and back while the clothes are washed.

Duchesse said...

David Liebovitz is one of my favourite blogs, period and his recipes are simply the best!

Duchesse said...

The rue du Faubourg "mothership" is a huge store overrun with tourists. I much prefer the av. Georges-V location.

Sherry said...

L'atelier des Chefs has fabulous cooking classes in French. One that might fit into a busy schedule is their lunch hour class -- it's literally one hour to cook and eat and it costs Euro 17. Enjoy.

Jeannine said...

Oh my - been there, done that with the cat throwing up! The other day one cat threw up on the other cat! I'm glad you were able to make your bedding "good as new". If those darn cats could just learn to throw up on the hard floor where it's easy to clean up.

JudyMac said...

By all means, plan till your heart's content, but I can tell you there are a million ways you can get sidetracked just after you put your foot out the door. Before my first trip to Paris, my friend (who was traveling with me) told me "just walking down the street in Paris is 'way cool' and she was right. The shop windows are an absolute delight. So if you make a list and want to cover everything on it, you'll really have to stay focused. I think I could go back many, many times and still not see all the delights Paris has to offer. Good luck!

Carolyn said...

Thanks for your list of blogs. There are a couple I have not heard of that I will visit. My favorite French blog is parisbreakfast. Great watercolor artist, witty and informative:) I find that the research is part of the excitement of traveling, even though I never tend to follow any plans!

the veg artist said...

It's over 20 years since I went to Paris, and I do envy you your trip! Remembering the cafes, has anyone told you that a cup of coffee can be three different prices at the same place - highest at the pavement tables, cheaper at tables inside and cheapest perched at the counter. It 's worth deciding each time whether you want to people-watch or whether you just need fuel to keep you going!

frugalscholar said...

There are many, many small hotels in Paris and many, many airbnbs. From very basic to luxe. We have switched to airbnbs to save on price AND to have cooking facilities. I think you should familiarize yourself with neighborhoods and decide where you want to stay--perhaps somewhere with easy access to whatever you are most interested in.

frugalscholar said...

i've always wanted to go to the one on rue de Sevres. That's the one built in thw space of the swimming pool of the deco hotel next door.

Holli said...

Poor cat, hopefully she's feeling better soon. You've got to love animals...I am always walking around with Shih Tzu hair on me (even though they technically don't shed). As for Paris? I love it and think about our trip there about 4 years ago and it always makes me smile. While I like to fly by the seat of my pants, my husband is a planner (I am always thankful for this!). I am so excited that you are going!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

That is a generous offer...perhaps you can email me the titles as we have a wonderful library and I can reserves them. Our home is so tiny that I try not to accumulate too many books. Good luck with your laundry machines....Smeg has some gorgeous appliances. I saw them at West Elm on South Granville. Happy Holidays!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Happy Holidays Susan!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I saved about $25 by washing the coverlet myself....although those machines were an investment I still love them! Happy Christmas to you.

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I will be in Paris for two weeks and south to Auvillar for another week.
Merry Christmas Sonya!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I have not heard of that product for diapers....will keep my eyes open and see if it is available locally.
Happy Holidays Susan!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Oh great advice on the TP! I have heard many stories about bathrooms in Paris!
We have a few self cleaning public toilets here in town and they are so new I have not tried them...must see how they operate so I have a bit of experience before I need to use one! More research is required!

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Hermes is on my list! It is a pilgrimage to say the least for a scarf lover!
I have heard they have a shop at the airport too !

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

It is my first trip to Paris and I will be staying in a four star hotel near the Sorbonne.
I have seen lovely well appointed apartments on line. You should be able to find one in the area that you want to stay. I am doing a lot of research but will be flexible and open to seeing the sights when I get there! Perhaps we could meet for coffee if our dates coincide? It might be fun to get together. Let's email behind the scenes...

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Love that quote "to Paris and back while the clothes get washed!"

Duchesse said...

The airport (CDG) Hermes is small, selection very limited. While you do not have the selection of the full-sized stores, you do have the easiest duty free shopping. (You can claim your duty free refund at the other stores by filing paperwork.)
Rue de Sevres is spectacular- it is in the Hotel Lutetia- but again packed with tourists, so well worth visiting but not so good if you want to see a lot of scarves spread out.

Jennifer said...

Poor Pepper, poor you and poor coverlet!! You are fortunate to have those machines. Mine are old top loaders and would never be able to handle the size. I have machine envy:). Strangely enough I never do research prior to a trip. I know I should, but never seem to make the time. I'll be popping over to see these blogs. BTW, I just love your new photo of yourself. So pretty.