Music and food

So what kind of music did you all bring to accompany you on the drive? Don't yet have an MP3 player, so packed some CDs -- my choices were U2 (How to Dismantle..., All that you can't leave behind, Acht'ng Baby) and Sting (Brand New Day). My daughter, husband brought some compilation CDs, mainly of Jazz, as well as rock classics.

For me, there was nothing better for cruising in France, either from Nice to Monaco, or north from Avignon towards Paris than Sting's Perfect Love Gone Wrong, as well as the others on his BND. Also, Jazz, can't remember just who it was right now (I'm thinking Monk, but actually think it was someone else, not as well known), my husband's more into that, but it just went with the scenery.

Re. Food, did anyone come across something great that you wish you could find here? The food in general was very good; fresh, not all preservative loaded. When we were up at the festival in Hessen, we had currywurst, which was new to us, we liked very much. Also curry ketchup! Very tasty. We'll have to check out Trader Joes and Cost Plus World Market to see if we can find either of those things.

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That's one of the huge appeals of European foods in general is the fresh / non-preservative aspects. I particularly liked all of the bakery fare while in France. Every day (sometimes twice) we'd stop for pain au chocolat at any nearby boulangerie. The versions here in the States just don't cut it.

The gelattos in Italy also were not to be forgotten. One flavor (milk ? - can't remember in Italian) was my favorite. The most mellow tasting piece of heaven ever, so much better than our 'vanilla'.

Guess I'm showing my sweet tooth, everything I'm coming up with is sugar-laden!

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Guess I'm showing my sweet tooth, everything I'm coming up with is sugar-laden!

I definitely have a sweet tooth! One of the places on my "must visit" list while in Paris was a place called Les Deux Magot, on St. Germain at Rue de Rennes (which I read of in a book called "Almost French", written by an Australian journalist who marries a Frenchman), because it is said to have the best hot chocolate, which is like a chocolate bar melted in milk (maybe cream... in any case, no way was it lo-fat

). This cafe also has a history, as a place where lots of literary types hung out early in the last century. Did the chocolate live up to the hype? Probably. It was definitely superior to almost anything I've had before. But we have a place here in San Diego that has pretty great chocolate, as well as hot chocolate http://www.chuaochocolatier.com/Merc...tegory_Code=GI , so maybe I'm spoiled.

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St. Germain and the Latin Quarter area is probably my favorite in Paris. Wish I was going back there this year - however just sticking to Germany, Austria, and Italy this time around.

Reply » Music and food

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St. Germain and the Latin Quarter area is probably my favorite in Paris. Wish I was going back there this year - however just sticking to Germany, Austria, and Italy this time around.

We love the Latin Quarter, it's where we stayed 6 years ago on our first visit to Paris. Tried to get in that area again this year but the place we stayed at last time was booked, as well as everything else we tried in the area. Love Mouffetard street, a mostly pedestrian only market street in that area. We wound up in the 8th this time, on Haussmann, within walking distance of the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees. Not a lot of character, but we got a decent deal at the Citadine "Apart-hotel", which had a little kitchen area, which meant we didn't have to eat every meal out, which definitely saves some $. If only we had been there a week and a half later, we could have caught the end of the Tour de France... that would have been cool.

Sticking to a smaller region is definitely the way to go. For next trip I'm thinking, either southern France, northern Spain and western Switzerland, or Germany, Austria & Prague. Or maybe Italy, as you are doing.

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Apartments or hotels with kitchenettes are certainly the way to go. We stayed at a little hotel on Rue des Ecoles, which was clean and more than sufficient for our needs. Our friends, however, rented an apartment on the Ile St. Louis on Quai d'Anjou - it looked directly on to the Seine and the Right Bank. Two bedrooms, living, kitchen, two baths. We all used this as sort of our 'home' base, and it was only a five minute walk from our hotel. Must say that I'd have to do the apartment thing next time around.

We were there on Bastille Day last year, and it was cool to watch the French military planes fly in formation directly overhead, complete with red, white, and blue exhaust - all right from the apartment window! The Ile St. Louis certainly puts you in the center of things!

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