REAL DEALS
Seattle Air/Hotel, From $340
This bargain three-night getaway checks you in to a stylish hotel at Pike Place Market. So what if it's a little rainy?
Niceville, Florida: Is there a good way to handle a flight layover in Paris? My husband will be on a business trip and will need to spend a night's layover in Paris. He's the type to just spend the time in an airport hotel, but I would like him to see at least a little of Paris. Help....
Clotilde Dusoulier: It depends what airport he's flying into, and how late in the day he arrives, but both Paris airports are a 45-minute taxi ride from the city (if the traffic is good) so if he's up for it, he could decide to have dinner in Paris and see a bit of the city from the cab...
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San Diego, CA: What kind of activity can one entertain with 5-6 y.o. English-speaking kids in Paris this June and July to give them long lasting memories? Thank you.
Clotilde Dusoulier: I would suggest you take them to visit the Potager du Roi in Versailles (potager-du-roi.fr), where gardeners used to grow fruits and vegetables for the King of France. It's a beautiful place where they can run around freely, and if they're city kids, it will show them where their food comes from!
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Gainesville, FL: Bon jour Clotilde,
First I want to congratulate you on your, albeit brief, TV appearance and the release of your English cookbook which I was able to acquire one of your last signed copies.
My reason for writing is to ask you for a recommendation for dinner. My wife and I spent seven wonderful days in Paris a few years ago and we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary in Provence in early September before returning to Paris to catch our flight back the Florida. On our previous visit we splurged for lunch at the Jules Verne restaurant (I understand that as 1 January 2007 chef Alain Ducasse is now responsible for the kitchen) and I had thought of returning there for lunch. Since visiting your web site and reading your blog over the past few months I realized there just might be an exceptional little place that would be as wonderful even if it does not have an aerial view of Paris. If you were planning to go out for dinner with the one special person in your life where would you go? In advance, thank you. George
Clotilde Dusoulier: Hello George, and thanks for the kind words. For that sort of special meal, I highly recommend L'Astrance (4 rue Beethoven in the 16th; +33 1 40 50 84 40) and Les Ambassadeurs (10 place de la Concorde in the 8th; +33 1 44 71 16 16), the restaurant inside the Crillon hotel. (In both cases, there are weekday lunch menus available to make the celebration more affordable.) Happy anniversary!
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Clotilde Dusoulier: And thus ends our chat session! Thank you for your interest, and I hope you have a delicious stay in Paris.
For more tips and recommendations, you can follow my eating adventures on my blog (chocolateandzucchini.com) and my moblog (chocolateandzucchini.com/moblog/), and stay tuned for my book about Paris restaurants and food shops, which will come out in the spring of 2008.