Christmas in Paris via Delta One Suites and Air France La Première
Jan 5, 2020, 7:24 am
#17
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Jan 5, 2020, 8:52 am
#19
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: London
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Ah, the good 'old' SFO777 is back 
Nice TR as usual.
I agree, my last 3 flights with AA were, to say the least, meh... (at least I had twice the opportunity to enjoy the Californian sun for 24hrs longer than planned).
Nice TR as usual.
I agree, my last 3 flights with AA were, to say the least, meh... (at least I had twice the opportunity to enjoy the Californian sun for 24hrs longer than planned).
Jan 5, 2020, 5:54 pm
#20
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A great getaway to the French capital, SFO777.
Love all the tasty food, with everything from the le Champeaux Burger with foie gras to the La Truffe Noire Spaghetti.
Never realised there was a Michelin-starred restaurant up the Eiffel Tower, although not sure if it earned the SFO777 seal of approval though
.
.Love all the tasty food, with everything from the le Champeaux Burger with foie gras to the La Truffe Noire Spaghetti.
Never realised there was a Michelin-starred restaurant up the Eiffel Tower, although not sure if it earned the SFO777 seal of approval though
.Thank you nequine. Hard to beat that view.
It wound up being $1,100 a night.
Thanks very much Duck1981. It's pretty sad how far AA has fallen apart under Parker et al.
Jan 5, 2020, 6:04 pm
#21
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Christmas Eve in Paris
While three of us slept in, I went a few doors down the street from something for breakfast.
And then out for the day. As corny as it can be, the best way to get an overview of any city is usually the Hop On Hop Off bus. Since this was the kids' first visit to Paris, we decided on The Big Bus HOHO which started just two blocks from our apartment. It was chilly but sunny as we headed for the upper level.
The gorgeous Christmas decorations at Galleries Lafayette.
And then continuing on our HOHO.
Past Notre-Dame...
I offered to pay, but oddly there were no takers. LOL.
We got back to our Eiffel Tower starting point at around 4:30pm.
Then headed up to rue St-Dominique for more wine and cheese.
Yeah, that'll work.
With few restaurants open Christmas eve, we headed for the Crazy Horse. Because... why not?
While three of us slept in, I went a few doors down the street from something for breakfast.
And then out for the day. As corny as it can be, the best way to get an overview of any city is usually the Hop On Hop Off bus. Since this was the kids' first visit to Paris, we decided on The Big Bus HOHO which started just two blocks from our apartment. It was chilly but sunny as we headed for the upper level.
The gorgeous Christmas decorations at Galleries Lafayette.
And then continuing on our HOHO.
Past Notre-Dame...
I offered to pay, but oddly there were no takers. LOL.
We got back to our Eiffel Tower starting point at around 4:30pm.
Then headed up to rue St-Dominique for more wine and cheese.
Yeah, that'll work.
With few restaurants open Christmas eve, we headed for the Crazy Horse. Because... why not?
Jan 5, 2020, 6:07 pm
#22
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Christmas Day in Paris
After a late night at the Crazy Horse, followed by wine and Netflix back at the apartment, we all slept in until late morning. With Mrs. SFO777 deciding to take the day off from sightseeing, the three of us headed out for lunch... or so we thought. Christmas Day means a lot of restaurants are closed. Buvette serves my favorites croques and they were on our list for lunch this week. A recorded message on their phone line claimed "we are open on holidays". So, we UBER'd through empty streets over to the 9th....
... only to find that Buvette is indeed not open on all holidays.
Fortunately, it was a gorgeous and balmy 12C/54F so we explored our way back through the picturesque streets of the 9th... looking for anything open that was ranked better than 5,000 Tripadvisor ranking of 17,000+ Paris restaurants.
And then to a series of wonderful covered walkways and arcades that dates back to the 19th century.
Finally winding our way down to Le Grand Colbert which was on a "open Christmas Day" list. This was the restaurant made famous in the 2003 Jack Nicholson/Diane Keaton movie Something's Gotta Give. While they were open, the place was packed and there were no tables available,
At this point, we had walked all the way down to Rue Saint-Honoré and were getting desperate. Now hungry with much lower standards expectations, we wandered into the first open resto that wasn't Tripadvisor ranked more than 5,000.
Cozy atmosphere and friendly staff.
We ordered... croque monsieurs, naturally.
Which were actually pretty good. I'd say a 6 or 7 on the 10 point Buvette scale.
After lunch, we continued our walk down to Rue du Rivoli and across to the Louvre...
... and the Tuileries which was packed with Christmas Day revelers.
And the Christmas markets...
With the sun setting, we took a taxing back to our apartment to relax and have a little more wine before heading out for dinner. Our Christmas dinner was at L'Atelier Étoile de Joël Robuchon, located on the lower level of the Publicis Drugstore building, at the top of the Champs-Élysées.
Beautiful setting and decor similar other his other l'Atelier restos.
Lots of starter options designed for sampling and sharing.
Our amazing Maine Lobster with truffles.
The Langoustine in ravioli with truffles was fabulous.
Le Burger. OMG... with foie gras.
And more fois gras... with pâté en croûte and pistachios.
As if that wasn't enough, the star of the night was La Truffe Noire, one of the most incredible spaghetti dishes we have ever tasted... with egg, parmesan and truffles.
Just in case you were still hungry, the potato purée side with loads of butter.
And desserts, of course.
What an amazing experience, and one of the best meals of the year.
After a late night at the Crazy Horse, followed by wine and Netflix back at the apartment, we all slept in until late morning. With Mrs. SFO777 deciding to take the day off from sightseeing, the three of us headed out for lunch... or so we thought. Christmas Day means a lot of restaurants are closed. Buvette serves my favorites croques and they were on our list for lunch this week. A recorded message on their phone line claimed "we are open on holidays". So, we UBER'd through empty streets over to the 9th....
... only to find that Buvette is indeed not open on all holidays.
Fortunately, it was a gorgeous and balmy 12C/54F so we explored our way back through the picturesque streets of the 9th... looking for anything open that was ranked better than 5,000 Tripadvisor ranking of 17,000+ Paris restaurants.
And then to a series of wonderful covered walkways and arcades that dates back to the 19th century.
Finally winding our way down to Le Grand Colbert which was on a "open Christmas Day" list. This was the restaurant made famous in the 2003 Jack Nicholson/Diane Keaton movie Something's Gotta Give. While they were open, the place was packed and there were no tables available,
At this point, we had walked all the way down to Rue Saint-Honoré and were getting desperate. Now hungry with much lower standards expectations, we wandered into the first open resto that wasn't Tripadvisor ranked more than 5,000.
Cozy atmosphere and friendly staff.
We ordered... croque monsieurs, naturally.
Which were actually pretty good. I'd say a 6 or 7 on the 10 point Buvette scale.
After lunch, we continued our walk down to Rue du Rivoli and across to the Louvre...
... and the Tuileries which was packed with Christmas Day revelers.
And the Christmas markets...
With the sun setting, we took a taxing back to our apartment to relax and have a little more wine before heading out for dinner. Our Christmas dinner was at L'Atelier Étoile de Joël Robuchon, located on the lower level of the Publicis Drugstore building, at the top of the Champs-Élysées.
Beautiful setting and decor similar other his other l'Atelier restos.
Lots of starter options designed for sampling and sharing.
Our amazing Maine Lobster with truffles.
The Langoustine in ravioli with truffles was fabulous.
Le Burger. OMG... with foie gras.
And more fois gras... with pâté en croûte and pistachios.
As if that wasn't enough, the star of the night was La Truffe Noire, one of the most incredible spaghetti dishes we have ever tasted... with egg, parmesan and truffles.
Just in case you were still hungry, the potato purée side with loads of butter.
And desserts, of course.
What an amazing experience, and one of the best meals of the year.
Last edited by SFO777; Jan 8, 2020 at 10:41 am
Jan 5, 2020, 7:34 pm
#23
Join Date: Jan 2009
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Amazing report as always, with great pictures.
I have always been too timid and just stayed at the Hyatt or Hilton in most places.
And to think we just did a staycation instead .....
I have always been too timid and just stayed at the Hyatt or Hilton in most places.
And to think we just did a staycation instead .....
Jan 5, 2020, 7:46 pm
#24
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Is it just me or does that foot cubby in the D1 Suite look... INCREDIBLY small? How do you lie flat in that without your feet hitting all 4 sides? Or is that just a visual thing and it's actually bigger?
All the food looks INCREDIBLE though... i'm salivating
All the food looks INCREDIBLE though... i'm salivating
Jan 5, 2020, 10:37 pm
#25
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Gorgeous TR - I also love Paris so much. It’s probably a favorite in Europe tied with “past” Venezia. Looking forward to seeing where else you go! We rented a nice flat in the 7th (by the pedestrian “only” Rue Cler), but I’m not recognizing your neighboring spots. Great to see Publicis mentioned! I last had a NYE winter there in 2007/2008!
Jan 6, 2020, 12:48 am
#26
Join Date: Apr 2014
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Wow at how many folk were out and about on Christmas Day! 
You can't beat a good HOHO tour especially when you are new to a city to hear about it/see the place.
You can't beat a good HOHO tour especially when you are new to a city to hear about it/see the place.
Jan 6, 2020, 11:50 am
#28
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Just as I get thinking 2020 is going to be a dodgy year, SFO777 drops this gem. As always thank you for sharing, and I hope it was a wonderful trip ^
Jan 6, 2020, 11:54 pm
#29
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Jan 7, 2020, 5:44 am
#30
Join Date: Apr 2000
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Another terrific TR, SFO777! Glad to know how things are at the Paris restaurants you ate at, and that the appartement worked well (increasingly, Mrs 1P and I go the apartment route rather than hotels). Some of those truffle dishes looked fantastic.
Sounds as if La Première was a bit of a let-down this time, apart from Ducasse beforehand. Also interesting to read your experience of Delta One. I have my first time in Delta One in a couple of weeks' time, and am hoping for good things.
Sounds as if La Première was a bit of a let-down this time, apart from Ducasse beforehand. Also interesting to read your experience of Delta One. I have my first time in Delta One in a couple of weeks' time, and am hoping for good things.