April in Paris: A Dream or a Nightmare?

It was cold. It was rainy. The wind was fierce. This was not the April in Paris of my dreams.

April in Paris congers up images of warm sunshine, flowering trees, sidewalk cafés and lovers in love…. April of 1988 did not live up to it.

A Preconceived Idea

As we’re planning our travel adventures, I always have a preconceived notion of what it will be like. We plan where we will go, and things to do or see at each location.

While it’s good to have an idea in mind, we must remember that when we travel, we really control very little of what happens on the trip. There will always be unavoidable glitches.

What we do have complete control over is our reactions to the things that happen. You can let the things that go wrong ruin your whole trip, or just make the best of it.

April in Paris 1988, could have been a complete nightmare.

A Whirlwind Itinerary

Art and I planned a 10-day whirlwind driving tour of central Europe, beginning and ending in Paris. In between our stays in Paris, we would visit Dijon, Bern, Freiburg, Luxembourg, Rouen, Mont St. Michele, and Reims.

This was before I started my travel business, and although I had traveled some, I was still not a well-seasoned traveler.

April in Paris, the Trip Begins

Our first few days were in Paris.  We stayed at a Holiday Inn. I choose it because I could call an 800 number here in the states to make our reservation. Remember this was before the internet. It was in a great location, centrally located, and near a metro stop.

The Eiffel Tower.

We went to the Eiffel Tower. Just walked right up and got our ticket, and after a short wait in line, were on the elevator to the top level. At this time, the elevator that went up to the top was glass, the sides, the floor, the top; you could see through them all. It was a little unnerving at first. But you could just watch the city unfold as you went up higher and higher in the tower.

Even though the weather wasn’t the greatest, we could still see all around Paris.

Taking photos at night.

One night we went out to take some photos of Paris at night. Art still reminds me of running out into the street to get my perfect picture of the Arc de Triomphe. 

That same night we ventured over to Pigalle. We didn’t go into any of the shows, I just wanted to walk around and see the lights, particularly the famous Moulin Rouge. It was an interesting place to say the least. I did get my photos, and then we returned to the Metro to go back to our hotel.

I wonder what he said?

At one of the subway stops, way before the stop we were to get off, there was an announcement (in French, obviously), and everyone got up and left. We just sat there, not quite sure what was going on. Eventually a conductor walked into the car, and in broken English explained they were working on the subway line that night. We would have to get off, go up to the street level and take a bus.

So here it was, midnight, and we had no idea where we were, or which bus would take us to where we wanted to go. And if we did find the right bus, where would we get off? We had been using the Metro and didn’t know the bus routes.

Somehow, we figured out which bus to take, and at least got close to our hotel. We made it back safely, and that was all that mattered.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Our visit to Notre Dame was a breeze, we just walked right in.  If I recall correctly, we toured it on our own. When we got up to the bell tower, there was a French speaking tour group. Even though we didn’t speak a lick of French, we understood completely what the guide was telling his group. It was the story of Quasimodo. He was patting his back where the hump would have been, swinging his arms down in front of him, and then pantomimed pulling the bell ropes. It was great fun to watch.

I had not made our hotel reservation for our return to Paris. After our visit to Notre Dame, we stopped at a nearby hotel and took care of that.

Leaving Paris.

We picked up a rental car in downtown Paris. I have to say, getting out of Paris was probably the most difficult part of the trip. To get where we wanted to go we had to enter the roundabout that encircles the Arc de Triomphe. Round and round we went until we finally figured out which street we needed to exit on, and then get over to it. Paris traffic was horrendous! We were glad we didn’t have to drive in it for too long.

With our travel guides and maps in hand we were road warriors ready to take on Europe!

First Stop: Dijon.

Traveling from Paris to Dijon was easy enough. And, after negotiating several one-way streets, we managed to make our way to the hotel we were interested in. Remember, this was before we had GPS and cell phones in our pockets.

Rooms were available. We checked into the hotel and went out to walk around this beautiful town.

Now this was how I imagined a French town would look. There were half timbered buildings and the Cathedral of St Benignus of Dijon with its beautiful tiled roof. Even though it was still overcast and chilly, it wasn’t raining. I found Dijon to be simply charming.

Pardon me, but…

And then… We stumbled upon the Grey Poupon Mustard store.

Of course, we all remember their commercials in the 80’s: The fancy cars pulling up to one another and the passenger asking “Pardon me, but would you have any Grey Poupon?” Well, it just never occurred to me that Dijon mustard originated in Dijon, France!

Here we were at this store full of Grey Poupon mustard, every flavor and variety you could imagine. We bought a crock of regular Grey Poupon and it lasted us for years. You see, the French version of Grey Poupon had a much stronger kick than what we had in the states. We quickly learned a little went a long way.

I can do this.

We found a restaurant in our guidebook that sounded particularly good. So, while we were in our hotel room, I decided I would call the restaurant to make a dinner reservation for the two of us. Why I thought I could do this, I have no idea, I didn’t speak more than a few words of French.

Art suggested that I call the front desk and ask them to make the reservation for us.

My response, “No; I can do this.”

A little background.

Okay, this is a good place to take a break and give you a little of my background:

I am a very independent person. It’s just the way I was raised. In our family, you did things for yourself. We didn’t generally help each other out. Not that we were mean to one another, you were just expected to figure things out for yourself. In my mind, asking for help was a sign of defeat. As a result, I am also a bit stubborn.

Unfortunately, even now, I will try and try and try to do things myself and as a result usually wait way too long to ask for help.

I am getting better about it, but…

Back to Dijon:

I dialed the phone, got through to the restaurant, and the person who answered did speak a little English.

A reservation for two was made for 7 pm. I hung up the phone feeling very accomplished.

We arrived at the restaurant promptly at 7 pm, and went inside.

I proudly announced to the hostess that we had a reservation. We were seated at a table for two, not too far from the door to the kitchen. The restaurant was empty, but we knew Europeans typically ate later than us, so we weren’t alarmed.

We were VIPs!

As we were the only guests, we were quite pleased with all the attention we were receiving.

Our waiter came and we ordered our meal.

We knew we must have been incredibly special guests as we noticed many of the staff members peeking out of the kitchen door to have a look at us.

As we ate more people came into the restaurant, and eventually the place filled.

I am sorry that I don’t recall what we had to eat. But I do remember the food was wonderful. I can say the restaurant lived up to its review in the guidebook.

We finished our meal, paid our bill, said our “Merci bou coups” to the staff and headed out the door.

Oopsie!

I am not sure why, but as we walked out the door, I turned around. As I did, I saw a placard on the wall that I had missed it on my way in. There it was, the restaurant’s hours: Dinner served from 8pm daily.

Now I understood why everyone was peeking out of the kitchen at us; they all wanted a look at those silly Americans!

I am not sure why they made our reservation for 7 pm, or allowed us in, but they did.

At any rate, we had a wonderful meal, incredible service and felt like VIPs; at least until we left!

Up Next: Switzerland

Our itinerary the next morning had us heading over the mountains for Switzerland.

On the way we stopped at a chalet for lunch. We were a bit skeptical as the place was packed. Our first thought was “Well it’s probably a tourist stop.”

Of course, they only spoke French and there were no menus in English, so we resorted to looking at what others were eating and pointing. It turned into an “I’ll have what she’s having moment.”

It may have been a tourist stop, but it was amazing food. Neither Art nor I had a clue what we were eating, but it was soooo good.

Desert came around on a trolly, so we had no problems choosing that!

We arrived at our destination, Bern, the capitol of Switzerland, in the early afternoon which left us enough time to check out it’s clock tower and famous bear pit (although, I don’t recall if we saw any bears or not).

A Short Stay in Germany

Next was a night in Freiburg, Germany in the Black Forest. It was more of a stop over but we did see a bit of the town. As you can see in the photos, we were finally seeing a little more sunshine.

A Detour on the Way into Luxembourg

As we were driving into Luxembourg, we saw a small sign that said, “American Cemetery”. We decided to make a detour to visit it. It was one of the best things we could have done.

This location was part of the Battle of the Bulge, there was a huge diorama of the battle. The men who died in the battle were buried here. We couldn’t believe we had stumbled upon this cemetery. Art’s Dad was in the Battle of the Bulge, so, it was of particular interest to him. We spent several hours there.

I was so moved.

This was the first time I had seen a war cemetery and it seemed that the grave markers went on and on. The sheer number was staggering. (There are over 5000 Americans buried here.) Just walking through and reading the headstones was a very sobering experience.

This is also the final resting place of General George Patton, who lead the 3rd Army in the Battle of the Bulge. Art recalled that his father, who was a jeep driver, had told him of one time driving the General.

What we didn’t know at the time, was that Art’s Dad was actually captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. He managed to confuse his captors and delivered them, along with his injured American comrade, to an American base. Although he received the Bronze Star for his efforts, he never shared this experience with any of his four sons. He did finally share the story with his oldest grandson, after he went in the Army.

I’ll be honest, this visit to the American Cemetery was so moving, I don’t remember seeing much else in Luxembourg.  We did see the Monument of Remembrance, also called the Golden Lady, when we went into town. As you can see in the photo below, the sun was finally shining brightly.

I’m not sure what we had intended to see or do in Luxembourg, but our detour to the American Cemetery turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip.

Rouen

Soon we were back in France, where the clouds had returned. We stayed overnight in the town of Rouen. This is where Joan of Arc was tried and burned at the stake. I think it may have been at the St. Joan of Arc Church where we learned more about her story. Just an FYI, in 2015 they opened the Joan of Arc History Museum which you can now visit.

Mont St. Michele

We stayed a couple of nights at Mont St. Michel, a rocky tidal island which quickly rises 262 feet. It’s called a tidal island as it is completely surrounded by water when the tide comes in. Below is an aerial photo of the island while the tide is out. (Image by Gwenaële Moignic from Pixabay )

The original construction at the top of the hill, which eventually became the abbey, was begun in 708. It has grown over the years and is comprised of a variety of types of architecture. It really must be seen for its stunning gothic church. Trust me your neck will get tired from looking up, but you can’t stop, it’s just that beautiful.

I really wanted that iconic photo of Mont St. Michel, at dusk just after the lights come on. When I was standing on the causeway attempting to take the photo the wind was so strong, I couldn’t stand against it. Art had to stand behind me and lean into me to keep me steady enough to take my photos. Of course, this was before the digital age, and I didn’t want to waste my film, so I only took a few shots. I got one that was decent enough, but not as sharp as I would have liked.

Le Mere Poulard.

We stayed on the island proper at the base of the hill, in the famous La Mere Poulard Inn. Yes, it’s pricey, but it is so worth it. This hotel has been in business since 1888, so we were there on its 100-year anniversary. Their claim to fame is that thne proprietress, Annette Poulard, invented the omelet. There are other restaurants on Mont St. Michel that will argue that point, but that is the story of La Mere Poulard, and they have stuck to it.

Her omelets are whisked full of air and then cooked in a wood fired oven. As we came down the stairs from our room, which came down right behind the kitchen, we could hear this sound, tsk, tsk, tsk. We peaked around the corner into the kitchen and could see the cooks whisking the omelets in huge brass mixing bowls.

And these are the fluffiest omelets you will ever see!

Even though it’s touristy, go to Mont St. Michel. The abbey is absolutely worth the visit. If you can, stay on the island itself. And of course, I do recommend you have an omelet!

Final Stop, Reims

Our last stop before returning to Paris, was Reims, in the Champagne region where, I believe, we toured the Taittinger Vineyards. I do remember is was extremely interesting to see just how Champagne is made. I was also impressed by the size of the wine cellar, if I recall correctly, a trolley comprised of several cars took us through the extensive wine cellar. It gave me a new respect for sparkling wine and Champagne.

April in Paris, Take Two

At last, we were on our way back to Paris. We were hopeful that we would get a second chance at our April in Paris.

Unfortunately the clouds followed us, along with the rain.

We arrived and went to return our rental car. It was on a side street off the Avenue of the Grand Army, which runs straight into the Arc de Triomphe. Suffice it to say, a terribly busy road. So, we pulled into the side street, and there were all kinds of cars and trucks blocking the road.  We got onto the road, but couldn’t get very far, as traffic was stopped.

Finally, Art got out of the car and walked up to the rental office. He told the agent what was going on. The agent’s reply, “No problem just bring me the key.” Art explained the car was in the middle of the road. The agent once again said, “Just bring me the key.” Art came back to the car, we took out our luggage and delivered the key to the office. We felt so strange just leaving the car there. That was probably our craziest car rental drop off ever!

Hotel St. Merry

As I said earlier, we stopped at a hotel and made a reservation prior to departing Paris the week before. I had read about the Hotel St. Merry, in either Conde Naste Traveler or Travel and Leisure magazine. It was this little 11 room hotel that was housed inside the old presbytery of St. Merry’s Church.

When we made our reservation, there was a little old man at the desk. He had one of those big green cloth covered accounting books. Our name was inscribed in the book along with the dates we wanted the room, and our cash deposit was paper clipped to the page.

When we returned for our stay, there was the same little old man. Our deposit was unclipped from the page and added to the other money we gave him. We were then directed up the small circular staircase to our room. As we prepared to leave, he asked if we wanted help with our bags, and we said yes. We assumed they had a porter to help out. Then this little old man picked up our suitcases and proceeded to walk up the circular staircase. Art was mortified. He tried to stop him and take them himself, but the man just shrugged him off.

The room was lovely. In the magazine, there was a picture of one of the rooms with a flying buttress going through it, creating a sort of canopy over the bed. Although we weren’t in that room, we were able to see it. It was quite unique.

The location of this hotel is absolutely perfect. It is just a few blocks from the Notre Dame Cathedral, a few blocks from the Pompidou Center, and just a few more blocks to the Louvre. Seriously, it could not be better situated.

Finally, the Louvre!

Now, the moment we had waited for. Our visit to the Louvre. It was raining as we walked there. We got more excited as we got closer, there were no queues to get in! Maybe the rain was in our favor after all! As we continued walking, we realized there was no one there. No one at all. Then we could see the lighted marquee above the entrance, due to a museum workers strike, the Louvre was closed.

Talk about being bummed out; we had set aside our entire last day in Paris to spend at the Louvre. We were leaving the next morning, so it was our only opportunity. However, we made the best of our time and had a wonderful last day in Paris.

Paris 2019

Fast forward 31 years to our return trip to Paris. I will say our trip in September, 2019 was a lot easier than that of 1988. (The weather was much nicer, too.) So many more people speak English and I have even learned a little French. In a pinch, our cell phones can now perform translations for us.

We are so connected now we can look up a restaurant’s hours and make reservations online. No more making a reservation before the restaurant even opens!

Eiffel Tower

On this trip, some of those traveling with us wanted to go up in the Eiffel Tower. As we had been there in 1988, Art and I passed. This was one of the biggest changes. I would recommend you purchase your tickets in advance as the queue is quite long. Those in our group purchased a tour with a head of the line pass, but it still takes quite a bit of time with all the crowds and security measures. I would suggest you set aside half a day for your visit. I was disappointed to hear that the glass elevator no longer exists. But absolutely, you must visit the Eiffel Tower, and at least go up to the first observation deck.

As you can see in the photo below, the weather in September was perfect! So much for April in Paris!

Public transportation.

Today’s technology and travel apps, make getting around the city on public transportation so  much easier. On this trip the public transit workers went on strike. One of the locals suggested we use the G7 app to get a taxi. We used it to pre-book a cab into town so we could join our tour to Normandy.

That same night, after we returned to Paris, I just requested a cab from the app, and in about 20 minutes we were on our way back to our Airbnb. Although it was an inconvenience, we were able to work around the strike relatively easily.

Notre Dame

Of course, Notre Dame is still closed after the devastating fire of April 2019. Although our visit was only five months after the fire, we were amazed at how much work had already been done. Hopefully, it will be fully restored, and visitors will once more get to see the interior of this iconic cathedral.

Hotel St. Merry

As for Hotel St. Merry, it is still in existence today. The name of the hotel has changed, it’s now called Hotel Le Presbytere. I’m guessing the little old man is no longer there. It still consists of the 11 rooms, and the ads show that they have free Wi-Fi, and coffee makers in the room. Unfortunately, there still is no elevator, so it is not handicapped accessible. You can make your reservations online, where it also gets really good reviews. Definitely worth staying there if you are able.

The Louvre

Yes, we made it to the Louvre. I had done my research online and found that the lines and crowds to see the Mona Lisa are smallest on the two evenings a week that the museum is opened late. So, we made our reservations in advance for one of those evenings. It took a while to find Mona Lisa, or should I say the line to see Mona Lisa.

The line was very long, It took us the better part of an hour to finally see her. Before we left, we found the reason the line was so long. It was the last day she was to be on display for a period of time while construction was going on. At least we got in and were able to see her!

So yes, thirty plus years later, we have all kinds of technology at our disposal which makes traveling much easier. As a result, the glitches we encounter in our travel are a little easier to work around. But still, you have to be prepared to go with the flow while traveling.

April in Paris 1988

So, no, April in Paris wasn’t what we dreamed it would be. There were things we wanted to do that we didn’t get to. We had to make decisions without having all the information we would have liked to have. Mistakes were made. The weather didn’t cooperate. But we also discovered wonderful things we hadn’t expected. In spite of the rain, the cold and the wind that made our April in Paris less than we desired, we had some great experiences, and overall an amazing trip. I mean here it is 30 plus years later, and I still talk about it!

It’s rare that our travel adventures unfold just as we imagined them. Just as in life, if we remain calm, stay flexible, and look for alternatives, we can still create memories that will stay with us forever.

How about you? Have you had a trip that didn’t turn out to be quite as you expected? I’d love to hear about it! Share your thoughts below in the comments section. And don’t forget to share this blog post with your friends!