Paris Market from David Lebovitz on Vimeo.

Bon appétit,

Dick

Related Posts:

• What I Learned on Our Paris Trip: Part 1
• Normandy D-Day Utah Beach/Battlefield–On-the-Ground Shockers!
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 6
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 5
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 4

Reposted from Friday, October 21st, 2011.

Heading west to Normandy for our WWII D-day trip with Paul Woodadge (ddayhistorian.com) meant dealing with a Parisian train station (Paris Gare St. Lazare), with which we were not familiar. Previously, we had been traveling south to Beaune or Provence or Switzerland from the familiar Paris Gare Lyon and had been issued tickets that required no stamping at the small yellow punch-in machines. All that was required was keeping an eye on the departure board to get our track number. At Gare Lyon, you want to get an advance beat on where each of the three departure options is located. Be warned, though, train travel with mega luggage is at your peril. It can be no easy task boarding, moving about the train, and offloading if you are loaded down with jumbo bags. We travel with two carry ons each, which allow us to move through airports (no checked luggage) and train stations with vigor.

Our first-time trip out of Paris Gare St. Lazare with only our E-ticket RAILEUROPE printouts in hand meant an encounter with the rail station ticket machine and a confirmation punch at the little yellow trackside machines. Well, the printout machine (easily located in the station) advises you to input your e-ticket number for printout. No problem-o, right? No indeed. I expertly punched in the TGV 4-digit number, which promptly registered a distress sign. Try again. No go. Now, with some concern, I must track down a ticket agent and use my far-from-fluent bistro French. Well, I find the office, lineup, and roll out my best Bonjour monsieur, parlez- vous anglais, to be answered in perfect English, how can I help you, sir. My problem was that I needed to enter a six-letter code, rather than the numbers indicated on my RAILEUROPE instructions. There it was—e-TMICCR. I was in business and moved fast back to the ticket printout machine. In went e-TMICCR and my last name and, bingo, out came my ticket. Made the same deft move for Deb, scanned the departure board for our track number, which turned out to be an 8-iron shot up the station floor and we were moving.

Around us, it looked like a migration of NFL-sized equipment bags being dragged along by folk the size of Sesame Street characters. What a horror for all those folk. We were able to move rapidly out, stamp our new tickets at the little yellow machines, and clamber on board sans further to-do. It helps to check the electronic train configuration board, which conveniently displays the numbering order of the train cars. Trust me, you want no part of hurdling steamer trunks in the scant few minutes you are given to board the train before it promptly hisses onward. In advance, know where on the station platform to stand. Your track may require a flight of stairs, so get to the station in time to scope out the scene. And of course, do not forget to stamp your return ticket at the little yellow machines.

In Normandy, we were met by our drill-sergeant-oriented historian (meant as a compliment). Off we were with Paul Woodadge to the Merderet River crossing, the scene of one the most strategic ground battles of the Normandy invasion. The landscape at the Normandy Bridge has changed little since the 82nd Airborne Division, under the command of General James M. Gavin, defeated the dug in Germans in June of 1944. Gavin’s paratroopers had flown in through a dense cloudbank and in dangerously close formation. Antiaircraft gun positions threw heavy flak to the right of the formation. At only 600 feet, the green jump light came on and the “let’s go” signal was given. In moonlight, a wide river could be seen below. Days of fighting in between the Merderet and Douve rivers were difficult due, in part, to the preponderance of thick hedgerows. A superior Allied navy and air force, along with the “new weapon”—the airborne troops—ultimately won the day, however, for the Americans and Brits against the Germans, despite the Germans’ strong fortifications.

The Le Merderet Bridge was the scene of a bloody and crucial turning point for the Allies in the war. It would later inspire the climactic battle in the film Saving Private Ryan.

Thanks to Paul, Debbie and I were able to track the very course General Gavin’s paratroopers had taken in the early summer of 1944. And it was easy to imagine the din of the incoming 82^nd airborne troop carriers. Standing at the innocuous little bridge along the Merderet, Paul dramatically explained how a lightly armored French built tank had been knocked out by a close-at-hand American grenade lob. The disabled tank on the causeway at the head of the bridge made logistics tough for the Germans by preventing two support tanks and German ground forces from crossing. As I write, I am checking facts in my brother’s personally signed copy of Jim Gavin’s On to Berlin. Our dedicated historian/guide Paul was pretty shocked that I had actually met General Gavin. My dad had worked with Gavin at industrial research firm Arthur D. Little in the mid sixties. The general was then chairman of the board.

Living WWII history is what our trip to Normandy turned out to be. I will have more for you in coming weeks and will be able to explain to you more of the neat stuff Paul Woodadge related to us, including Paul’s first-hand friendship with many of the D-Day soldiers, including Sergeant William Guarnere, portrayed so splendidly in The Band of Brothers mini-series. Debbie and I both read and watched Band of Brothers before our Normandy trip with Paul. Watching the series, hearing Paul’s detailed stories, and seeing his personal photo albums of the guys he had become close to later in their lives made us feel as though we knew many of the soldiers personally. Even though we were well prepared to find a visit to Normandy moving, we were still staggered by all we learned from Paul on our trip and how much there is still to learn. I hope I have provided you with even a small shred of the emotional story of Normandy and the D-Day invasion.

Warm Regards,

Dick

Related Posts:

• What I Learned in Paris: Part 6
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 5
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 4
• Band of Brothers
• A World Class Treat for You

Our first-time trip out of Paris Gare St. Lazare with only our E-ticket RAILEUROPE printouts in hand meant an encounter with the rail station ticket machine and a confirmation punch at the little yellow trackside machines. Well, the printout machine (easily located in the station) advises you to input your e-ticket number for printout. No problem-o, right? No indeed. I expertly punched in the TGV 4-digit number, which promptly registered a distress sign. Try again. No go. Now, with some concern, I must track down a ticket agent and use my far-from-fluent bistro French. Well, I find the office, lineup, and roll out my best Bonjour monsieur, parlez- vous anglais, to be answered in perfect English, how can I help you, sir. My problem was that I needed to enter a six-letter code, rather than the numbers indicated on my RAILEUROPE instructions. There it was—e-TMICCR. I was in business and moved fast back to the ticket printout machine. In went e-TMICCR and my last name and, bingo, out came my ticket. Made the same deft move for Deb, scanned the departure board for our track number, which turned out to be an 8-iron shot up the station floor and we were moving.

Around us, it looked like a migration of NFL-sized equipment bags being dragged along by folk the size of Sesame Street characters. What a horror for all those folk. We were able to move rapidly out, stamp our new tickets at the little yellow machines, and clamber on board sans further to-do. It helps to check the electronic train configuration board, which conveniently displays the numbering order of the train cars. Trust me, you want no part of hurdling steamer trunks in the scant few minutes you are given to board the train before it promptly hisses onward. In advance, know where on the station platform to stand. Your track may require a flight of stairs, so get to the station in time to scope out the scene. And of course, do not forget to stamp your return ticket at the little yellow machines.

In Normandy, we were met by our drill-sergeant-oriented historian (meant as a compliment). Off we were with Paul Woodadge to the Merderet River crossing, the scene of one the most strategic ground battles of the Normandy invasion. The landscape at the Normandy Bridge has changed little since the 82nd Airborne Division, under the command of General James M. Gavin, defeated the dug in Germans in June of 1944. Gavin’s paratroopers had flown in through a dense cloudbank and in dangerously close formation. Antiaircraft gun positions threw heavy flak to the right of the formation. At only 600 feet, the green jump light came on and the “let’s go” signal was given. In moonlight, a wide river could be seen below. Days of fighting in between the Merderet and Douve rivers were difficult due, in part, to the preponderance of thick hedgerows. A superior Allied navy and air force, along with the “new weapon”—the airborne troops—ultimately won the day, however, for the Americans and Brits against the Germans, despite the Germans’ strong fortifications.

The Le Merderet Bridge was the scene of a bloody and crucial turning point for the Allies in the war. It would later inspire the climactic battle in the film Saving Private Ryan.

Thanks to Paul, Debbie and I were able to track the very course General Gavin’s paratroopers had taken in the early summer of 1944. And it was easy to imagine the din of the incoming 82^nd airborne troop carriers. Standing at the innocuous little bridge along the Merderet, Paul dramatically explained how a lightly armored French built tank had been knocked out by a close-at-hand American grenade lob. The disabled tank on the causeway at the head of the bridge made logistics tough for the Germans by preventing two support tanks and German ground forces from crossing. As I write, I am checking facts in my brother’s personally signed copy of Jim Gavin’s On to Berlin. Our dedicated historian/guide Paul was pretty shocked that I had actually met General Gavin. My dad had worked with Gavin at industrial research firm Arthur D. Little in the mid sixties. The general was then chairman of the board.

Living WWII history is what our trip to Normandy turned out to be. I will have more for you in coming weeks and will be able to explain to you more of the neat stuff Paul Woodadge related to us, including Paul’s first-hand friendship with many of the D-Day soldiers, including Sergeant William Guarnere, portrayed so splendidly in The Band of Brothers mini-series. Debbie and I both read and watched Band of Brothers before our Normandy trip with Paul. Watching the series, hearing Paul’s detailed stories, and seeing his personal photo albums of the guys he had become close to later in their lives made us feel as though we knew many of the soldiers personally. Even though we were well prepared to find a visit to Normandy moving, we were still staggered by all we learned from Paul on our trip and how much there is still to learn. I hope I have provided you with even a small shred of the emotional story of Normandy and the D-Day invasion.

Warm Regards,

Dick

Related Posts:

• What I Learned in Paris: Part 5
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 4
• A World Class Treat for You
• Band of Brothers
• What I Learned In Paris: Part 3

The view from our room at Hotel Lutetia.

Paris has 20 arrondissements, or neighborhoods, split by the Seine River into the Right Bank and the Left Bank. We stayed mainly in the 6^th arrondissement (left), but also in the 8^th (right) during some of the trip. I can heartily recommend both Hotel Lutetia and Victoria Palace Hotel in the 6^th. The Lutetia is large (200+ rooms), has great views of the Eiffel Tower, is more centrally located, and has both an excellent dining room and brasserie. The more intimate Victoria Palace is less expensive, and offers larger and better rooms on all counts. The staff in both hotels is professional, helpful and friendly. Our hotel in the high-end 8^th did not match up. The Rive Droit (right bank) features most of the five-star hotels and high-end shopping. We much prefer Rive Gauche (left). In Rive Gauche you’ll find colleges, galleries, boutiques, antique shops and bookshops, as well as all the Lost Generation brasseries of the twenties—Le Select, La Coupole, La Rotonde, Le Dome, Café de Flore and Cafe Les Deux Magots. Cafe de Flore, for example, was Jack Kerouac’s favorite. Hemmingway, Gertrude Stein, John Dos Passos and F. Scott Fitzgerald all could be found in these famous literary haunts in the 1920s. We touched base with each and found le Dome to be the most magnificent of the historical lot.

Do not head off on your fantastic trip to Paris without Hungry for Paris by former Gourmet European correspondent Alec Lobrano. We have had the pleasure of spending a wonderful Paris bistro evening with Alec, an expert voice on the Paris bistro scene. We stuck almost exclusively with Alec’s selections, as we did on our last trip. Some words of advice for you include the need to reserve well in advance and confirm your reservations IN person. You may want to walk to your selections in advance to get your directions down right. If you are cabbing, no problem, except that it is quite surprising how many Paris cabbies appear unwilling to converse in either French or English. If you have an iPhone, Google Maps and a flashlight app are useful.

Indispensible carry-around books include Paris Pratique Par Arrondissment (good maps), Rick Steve’s French Phrase Book & Dictionary, and Eating & Drinking In Paris by Andy Herbach. The maps handed out by hotels make you feel like Helen Keller. We got lost on one nightly bistro outing and figured we had had the course. A magnifying glass and Google map can help avoid such culinary misadventure. It also helps a whole lot to have, at the very least, your bistro French down so you can stick with the French menus and not show yourself as an ugly American. We get by with our bistro French, with Debbie ahead of me in the race not to kill a great culinary adventure with some poor guidance and OMG, did I order that.

Make certain to spend time browsing the Rue Cler outdoor market. It’s a great place to get a feel of how Parisians shop for groceries. You can pick up selections for a picnic or have lunch at one of the locals’ favorites, where you can enjoy delicious free-range roast chicken and real mashed potatoes for reasonable, if such words can even be uttered in Paris, $$. Have a great time and check back with me Friday for my next installment of What I Learned in Paris.

Warm Regards Dick

Related Posts:

• What I Learned in Paris: Part 6
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 4
• What I Learned on Our Paris Trip: Part 1
• The Travel Consultant for You!
• A World Class Treat for You

Here at home, Fed Chairman Bernanke assures Americans that he is 100% certain that he can keep inflation under control. Come on here. Once again, I paid $15 U.S. for what Debbie and I have come to refer to as Bernanke beers. Hard to believe that at a Paris Brasserie, a draft Kronenbourg 1664 can run you $15, is it not? When the ticket hits the table, the carnage does not look too bad until you remember that pricing is in euros. So add on another 40% to convert to US$. A Paris brasserie beer blast could get expensive faster than you could say cigarettes. Why cigarettes? Because the French apparently get a disproportionate amount of their vitamin and mineral intake from butts. Boy, do they smoke. And do they suck down Cokes. For every brasserie beer or wine glass on a table, there are three or four Cokes (not a Pepsi in sight).

There is no recession in Paris. The place is smoking (excuse the pun). And Paris is huge, about ten times the size of Boston. We walked our legs off in order to neutralize the caloric effects of foie gras and duck confit. Let me tell you, unless you have your walking game face on, it would be easy to blow up like a tic. And while on the subject of walking, check out Tod’s for shoes that don’t tear your feet to shreds walking the arrondissements. Take it from a guy who knows first hand.

We had specific multiple research goals for this trip. I will outline a broad array of findings for you as I continue my Paris series.

But for now, I want to concentrate on our personal guided tour to Normandy and the D-Day beaches. We wanted to see first hand what the U.S. military was up against in coming ashore on D-Day. Deb’s dad was part of the Utah beach attack, so we had a personal interest. Substantial research convinced us that the guy we wanted to guide us was Paul R. Woodage. Be sure to check out Paul’s site here.

It is no easy task getting on board with Paul. He is a no-BS guy and not interested in any jive (not that we were throwing any). Paul is a laser-focused expert, who quit school in England at the age of 16 and spent every spare moment and pound he had traveling to Normandy and studying the action at D-Day. Paul, who has a library of over 700 books on the subject, takes you back to the war in Normandy as if you were live on the scene. The word exhilarating comes to mind. The Germans, after creating eighth wonder of the world-type gun placement and bunker facilities, which covered 2,000 miles, screwed up logistics and management at the end of the day and allowed the Allies to roll in. Given the fortifications the Germans had in place, the outcome should have been a lot different. Paul laid it all out in spades, providing a depth of knowledge I never expected to receive from anyone on any subject. I am not impressed by the effort of many people; perhaps shame on me. Paul is at the top of my list, and Debbie and I will return to do Paul’s Band of Brothers and Omaha Beach tours. Do some homework before you go. For an overview, familiarize yourself with, for example, Band of Brothers. Saving Private Ryan, The Storm of War (Andrew Roberts), On To Berlin (James Gavin). Paul lists many others on his website. I will return soon with Part V of What I Learned in Paris.

Related Posts:

• What I Learned in Paris: Part 6
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 5
• A World Class Treat for You
• Band of Brothers
• What I Learned In Paris: Part 3

Well Henninger is dead right. While Wall Street is booming and exporters are in clover, thanks to the Bernanke/Obama cheap money policy of dollar debasement, Main Street America continues in recession. And America’s retired and soon-to-be retired savers cannot earn a fair interest rate on retirement savings.

One of the most famous small coastal cities in New England had a median single-family home price of $414,550 in the third quarter of 2010. In the first quarter of 2011, the number is $260,000. Hard to believe. Like I said, out on Main Street the recession continues with no end in sight.

On our recent Harley trip to Vermont, it was sad to see a for rent sign on a big motorcycle store in a college town we have travelled through for years. And it appeared that a third of the store fronts in town were vacant. Riding north, we were horrified at the for sale and rent signs in just about every town we rode through, with several towns looking half empty. In a wonderful boarding school town, the anchor restaurant in the middle of the village was shuttered. Shocking also was the fact that we were able to walk right into a first-rate restaurant that should have been booked solid. How do you like the looks of the economy so far?

I am reading that over 100,000 immigrant workers are pouring into the U.S. monthly. With 14 million Americans unemployed, it is hard to see how this is allowed. And we can see the changing demographics as we travel. As Pat Buchanan asks, “Who is looking out for the national interest of all the members of the American family, especially the unemployed?” As the desperate communities of the Northeast are discovering, it sure as heck is not the fellow in the White House.

Related Posts:

• Captain Obama
• Singin’ In The Rain
• The President has Priorities
• Bond Market Bubble and a One Term President
• Obamanomics at Work

When Debbie and I hit the road, we often look first to our Relais & Chateaux guide. In all the years, we have had but a single disappointment with R&C. Its standards are hard to match. As a result any R&C selection is most likely to be superb. I have written on occasion about The Inn at Little Washington, which is generally thought to be the standard for any other inn to match. When traveling, we are likely to joke during an inn stay, what would “Chef” think? Here, of course, we would be referring to Patrick O’Connell, owner of The Inn at Little Washington. Patrick is quite simply the hands-on king of detail and perfection. To match with Patrick O’Connell is no mean task. So when friends of ours suggested we meet them in Edgartown, we looked no further than R&C.

Well I am eager to report that Gerret and Paula Conover, long-time, hands-on owners of The Charlotte Inn in the heart of Edgartown, MA, are in Patrick O’Connell’s league. Their magnificently restored inn is one that I am certain “Chef” would be most pleased to stay at himself. Like O’Connell, the Conover’s are meticulous hands-on owners. Our first morning at breakfast in the Inn’s fabulous dining room, Debbie and I were surprised to learn that the most pleasant woman who was serving guests their morning coffee refills on the terrace was none other than Paula Conover. And the dapper white-haired gentleman sweeping away out front turned out to be Gery.

Just wait until you get a gander at the paint job on the Inn’s beautifully restored white buildings. Gery even passes out business cards to introduce you to Fine Paints of Europe, based in Woodstock, Vermont, another of our long favored places to visit. I have never laid eyes on such a high-gloss, magnificent paint finish. And jaw dropping comes to mind over the inn’s furnishings, antiques, old paintings and splendid gardens. If polished brass and old English hunt club work for you, then you are indeed home by the fireside. If you wish not to be invited back to The Charlotte Inn, simply get on your cell phone or laptop in the inn’s public areas. Kidding, but the inn does emphasize the need for privacy and respect for other guests. And if you are desirous of having evening dinner in your Patriots t-shirt and polo shorts, well, plan to dine elsewhere. Breakfast is not to be believed. Even “Chef” does not roll out the foie gras.

The inn’s Maitre de Maison is Carol Reed, who has been at the inn for over three decades. Upon departure, Carol can call Jeff Katzenberg, an eclectic cabbie who will, with little prodding, give you his view of the world via the Vineyard. Carol will also explain in horror why you do not want to take the high-speed, stomach-wrenching Quonset ferry, as Debbie and I found out. Talk about the rock & roll ferry. Not fun!

On a night you do not wish to eat at the inn, head over to the front porch or the bar at Alchemy. This French-style bistro—a converted grocery store—is no secret, so arrive early or forget it.

A great way to see the island is with a $7 all-day island bus pass, which allows you to get on and off the bus as you wish. We rode to the fishing village of Menemsha for chowder, lobster and steamers. Another day, we took the bus to Vineyard Haven for lunch at the world famous Black Dog. Our friend Alan Miller, owner of Pepe’s restaurant in Key West, was a founding member of the Black Dog building team. Alan, as legendary a figure on this island as he has become in Key West, built David McCullough’s 8 X 10 foot backyard writing studio, which David refers to as his “world headquarters.”

I could go on and on about our great stay at The Charlotte Inn, but you get the message. I would not write about an inn for you that I did not consider world class. Go to relax, kayak, sail, walk or just eat like a king. You can do all in style. I promise!  Have a great time.

Warm Regards,

Dick

Related Posts:

• The Best in Your Life
• The Best Country Inn in America
• Getting Away: Part 2 – Winter Getaway
• Eden House

On this last road trip, we once again made it back to Trenton Bridge as part of a seven-state East Coast swing, which included the state of New York as well as all of the New England states. Arrive at 11:30 to beat what can be a major rush. You will recognize the owners from the minute you walk inside. Trenton Bridge’s patriarch has been at the front counter since we first arrived years ago. Order up a pound and a half steamed lobster, steamed clams, coleslaw and clam chowder, and you’re ready to go. Grab a business card on the way out so you’ll be ready to order from home. Trenton’s coastal Maine location ensures terrific quality and fresh delivery. Lobsters are caught year round in the cold waters off Mount Desert Island.

If you are going in the summer months, you might want to bypass Bar Harbor and head south to stay in Camden Maine at, ideally, Camden Harbor Inn or possibly Grand Harbor Inn. Reserve one of three porch fronted harbor facing rooms at Camden Harbor and reserve for dinner at the most excellent Natalie’s. OpenTable.com calls Nat’s the best French restaurant in New England. Quite honestly, the competition is wafer thin, but Natalie’s is indeed superb. We found the rooms to be outstanding, too, and the service, top to bottom, excellent. You can fly into Portland’s neat airport and rent a car. Do not venture off to the coast of Maine on weekends, or you will spend hours in traffic jams. The word brutal is an understatement.

My next travel feature will give you the best two places to stay in Portland (and there are only two), along with some special restaurant selections and a sleeper of an area that you will not want to miss. I will also list for you our two Portland choices for seafood mail order. Both are fantastic. OK, on to Maine for the best summer getaway you can imagine. Enjoy and say hi to Josette and her family at Trenton Bridge for Debbie and me.

 

Related Posts:

• Our 2300 Mile Harley Ride From Newport, RI
• Dick and Deb’s Research Trip to Portland, Maine
• America’s Job Creator in Chief
• Cherished Memories of Cairo and Egypt
• The Travel Consultant for You!

Mort Rosenblum & Debbie on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris

An olive, to many, is no more than a humble lump at the bottom of a martini. When FDR met with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in Tehran, he offered each a “dirty martini:” two parts gin, one part vermouth, and a dose of olive brine. Roosevelt mixed one for Stalin’s foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, who apparently was not impressed. He devised his own cocktail, of greater potency. 

The preceding is vintage Mort Rosenblum and delivered in style in Mort’s most magnificent Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit. Debbie and I were introduced to Mort by his wife, Jeannette, and acclaimed food book author, food blogger, and Paris insider and gourmet tour master David Lebovitz. All of this nifty stuff happened to Debbie and me on our recent France/Switzerland research trip. 

David’s 10-guest gourmet tour formed the centerpiece of our trip. Mort, former special war correspondent to the Associated Press and editor of International Herald Tribune, was on board for part of the trip, providing, along with Jeanette, much color, energy and insider input. Mort, Jeanette and David have all been Paris residents for a couple of decades, speak fluent French, and know their way around Paris. Debbie and I benefitted mightily from their knowledge and introductions to many outstanding gourmands on the Paris food, wine and chocolate scene. In an age of globalization and faceless agribusiness behemoths, it was a privilege to meet artisanal purveyors who still adhere to the timeless traditions handed down, in many cases, from generation to generation. The restaurant introductions were also worth their weight in gold, with special meals and wine tastings. This type of intelligence cannot be gathered on one’s own, as a big percentage of the insiders we met do not open their chocolate or cheese making or baking facilities to the general public. When you are with David, it’s another matter.

Since I met Mort, I have ordered a number of his books, including Escaping Plato’s Cave, which Mort tells you about in my On Board With Mort featured video. Debbie and I were on the boat watching boats slide by on the Seine from the same porthole you will see in the video. 

In Olives, Mort writes, “Back in the 1980’s I wouldn’t have known an olive branch if Noah’s dove had flown up with one in it’s beak. I bought my little ruin in a back corner of high Provence for the beauty and peace, not the vegetation. It took a day’s hacking just to reach the collapsed house. With the thick climbing vines and dense undergrowth thoroughly mined with spiky brambles, I had to take it on faith that olives lurked somewhere out there in the jungle.” 

And indeed there were olives, which Mort has successfully cultivated for over two decades. What a wonderfully written book Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit is. But then one does not do a couple of decade stint as an AP correspondent and a turn as headman at IHT without accumulating a gang of skill along the way. I recommend Mort’s books to you. They will be every bit the delight to you as they have been to me. You see, I not only learned a lot while I was there, but I continue to learn as I enjoy and benefit from the books authored by the special Paris insiders we met this April in Paris. More ahead, including intelligence on my absolute belief that electric trains, and I don’t mean diesel, are the future of transportation.

Bon Appétit,

Debbie & Dick

Related Posts:

• Onboard With Mort
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 2
• A World Class Treat for You
• Normandy D-Day Utah Beach/Battlefield–On-the-Ground Shockers!
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 6

Huitrerie Regis Oysters

Pre your Paris trip, familiarize yourself with the concept of the 20 arrondissements (hoods) and Left Bank vs. Right. The two are worlds apart. At the moment, we prefer the Left Bank, but I can see why many might prefer the far more upscale and high-end Right Bank. It is in the Right Bank that you find most of the five-star hotels, including the Ritz Paris, Hotel George V, and De Crillon. We love the buzzy, eclectic Left Bank with its literary poobahs, antique dealers, book stores, bistros and oyster bars, like the very small, very white, and tres cool Huitrerie Regis at 6 Rue Montifaucon. We have eaten oysters from all over the world, and this little French-speaking spot ranks #1 with us. We put down dozens of oysters (sized 0 to 5, with 0 being the biggest) along with chilled Generation X Sancerre. Huitrerie Regis is in the 6th arrondissement, also referred to as St. Germain des-Pres.

Debbie bumped into Jack Fowler, publisher of National Review, in the lobby of Hotel Lutetia. Jack and National Review were hosting a foray in Paris at the Lutetia, followed by a river cruise on the Seine, with the final destination Normandy. Before they took off, we had breakfast with Bing West and his wife, Betsy, who also live in Newport. Bing, of course, was a guest speaker on the NR trip, along with Rich Lowry, Jonah Goldberg, Jay Nordlinger and other like-minded souls. Mr. Nordlinger gave a funny, right-on introduction to Bing, which you can read on Jay’s entertaining “scribbles” about the NR cruise. In an interesting aside, Osama Bin Laden met his demise while the group was together, so it had to have been a pretty jubilant cruise that Tuesday. Much to be envied there, as we, on the other hand, found the silence in Paris deafening. Not a peep about the death of s.o.b-in Laden. Interesting.

Le Nemrod Restaurant

The Lutetia is well situated for walking to nearly every place of interest in Paris, and the Metro is conveniently located right across the street, between The Bon Marche and the hotel. Bon Marche, Paris’s oldest department store and the largest on the Left Bank, has over 40 top designer shops. But it is La Grande Epicierie—Bon Marche’s gourmet food market—that is the real jaw-dropper. Epicierie artfully stocks thousands of products from around the world and is full of upscale Parisians shopping for, well… whatever. Around the corner from the hotel is Rue Cherche-Midi, one of Paris’s most quintessentially discreet streets, full of antique stores, designer boutiques, flower stalls, consignment shops and cafes. Don’t miss the famous Poilane bakery at 8 Rue Cherche-Midi or the chic little café next door, which serves Poilane’s famed chewy sourdough. Le Nemrod (brasserie) is 51, rue Cherche-Midi, heading south across Boulevard Raspail. Deb and I had lunch there with David Lebovitz, but had actually found it on our own last fall. You can read more about the ‘Rod at David’s site.

OK then, eating in Paris is a full-scale tour de force, not to be trivialized, so prepare well in advance. Preparation for Debbie and me is another couple of hours with the best restaurant book for Paris, Hungry for Paris by former Paris Gourmet mag correspondent Alex Lobrano, as well as a good going over of David Lebovitz’s excellent blog (davidlebovitz.com). No OK from Alex or David, no go. It’s that simple. Lunch at La Bastide Odeon and Le Timbre and dinner at Josephine Chez Dumonet and Le Ferrandaise (all in the 6th) were their selections supreme.

Apparently, among the two of the hardest dinner reservations in Paris are L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Le Comptoir du Relais. Last fall, we stayed at the Hotel Pont (nice and great location in the 7th) in order to get dinner reservations at L’Atelier. It was certainly good and certainly full of beautiful people, but not the Parisian dining experience for which we were looking. Debbie had just read about Yves Comdeborde and his Le Comptoir in Au Revoir To All That, Michael Steinberger’s fascinating narrative on Michelin stars, agriculture, politics, economics and culture and how they all tie into today’s French cuisine. (You really want to read this.) We stayed at the hotel associated with Yves in order to get reservations for Mr. Comdeborde’s establishment. Jeanette Hermann was able to meet us there on one of our last nights in Paris, but the three of us were not impressed, which, as we all know, can happen anywhere, anytime. After reading more closely between the lines of Alec’s reviews, we better understood why not.

Before moving too far away from the Lutetia, I want to comment positively on the hotel’s high-end dining room, Paris, as well as its Brasserie Lutetia. We also have enjoyed some great jazz groups in the Art Deco Bar Lutetia. Request as big a room as you can afford overlooking the Eiffel Tower. We travel with only carry-ons, and I strongly advise this strategy for you. It makes travel by train a cinch. International travel requires a smaller overhead bag, so rely on the best luggage to suit your needs. We’ve found Tumi luggage to be great.

Kronenbourg 1664 Beer at a Pricey $15 US

In closing, contrary to Ben Bernanke’s inflation is under control testimony, it is most certainly not. Due to the cratering value of the dollar, one draft Kronenbourg 1664 beer at our much-favored Nemrod (thanks David, another great, casually Parisian find) ran a pricy $15 US. On another track, as I asked around about French and German attitudes on nuclear, I got a virtually unanimous no thanks on nuclear. The majority of French hate the nuclear experiment, and the Germans are grinding the whole thing to a halt. The nuclear jig, as they say, is up in Germany.

I am just getting rolling with my Paris/Switzerland insider info series and will have much, much more for you in upcoming weeks. My next report will return to more good info about our David Lebovitz gourmet tour and David’s highly acclaimed The Sweet Life in Paris. What a great trip with David we had. Talk about a Paris insider and a real nice and well-organized guy. Great fun!

Bon Appétit,

Debbie & Dick

Related Posts:

• What I Learned In Paris: Part 3
• A World Class Treat for You
• Normandy D-Day Utah Beach/Battlefield–On-the-Ground Shockers!
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 6
• What I Learned in Paris: Part 5