A Request for Vacation Assistance

[Bêthberry]

Gordon's Wine Bar is the establishment Esty described.

I second Mithalwen's recommendation of the Musee de Cluny and Ile St. Louis.

Comparing Notre Dame with St. Paul's also provides some interesting points of difference between the two countries and then of course there's the York Minster, but York isn't on your list. Too bad you aren't including Scotland--Glasgow provides intriguing contrasts. You really cannot begin to fathom the history of scotch until you've seen just how many different kinds of the stuff the Scots produce. There's barrows up north in Scotland too, but I can't comment on them.

There's a pub across from the British Museum that apparently has been annointed by several Downer meets. Esty and Squatter might recall the name/exact location.

I've always had a fancy to visit Torquay in honour of Fawlty Towers but haven't made it there yet.

If you like amusement parks, Parc Asterix just outside Paris is a hoot and much preferable to any Disney arcade.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

There's barrows up north in Scotland too, but I can't comment on them.

There's a pub across from the British Museum that apparently has been annointed by several Downer meets. Esty and Squatter might recall the name/exact location.

There are barrows everywhere, almost. There's even one on a council estate in Luton I understand.

I think that pub is probably The Museum, the one frequented by Karl Marx, so a fitting place for Downer meets, methinks. There is a rare bookshop around the corner called Ulysses - I think in the old offices for Unwins.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

The place near the British Museum is called "Forum Café" - I'm not sure we Downers were actually in it back at the first meeting of Downers in London; we may just have taken our picture outside. The name is quite appropriate!

As to Hamburg, the Alster (the lake in the middle of the city) is very picturesque - you can walk along the shore or take a ferry across. The inner city is full of beautiful old buildings to see, and it's fun to stroll around the pedestrian shopping zone.

[obloquy]

Thanks, everyone, for your posts. I am reading them and I appreciate your great ideas!

[Mithalwen]

I have just googled and discovered my favourite eating place is still there and still good. "Creperie des Arts" 27 rue St Andre des Arts, metro St Michel or Odeon. It is very close to Place St Michel in the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame etc... Obviously you have to like crepes but they did a good range of savoury and sweet fillings and it was quite affordable (unlike many Parisian eateries..)

[Bêthberry]

The great fun of eating in Paris is not only to find great culinary establishments, but also to enjoy the style of French dining in its many forms.

First of all, even at the most expensive restaurants, lunches are considerably cheaper than dinners. But they taste just as good. (will return with names of several fantastic establishments if they still exist.)

Second, we really enjoyed eating al fresco in Paris, buying meat and fresh French bread (which does not exist anywhere else in the universe except in France) and fresh fruit and vegetables at boulangeries and patisseries in the morning before we began our excursions for the day.

We brought along plastic plates, cups and utensils in a backpack (horrors, I know, but easily transportable) which we ditched before returning home. It was amazing how many French citizens also ate this way. I recall observing an entire mini soap opera of l'amour triste between a French couple while they and we ate a similar French picnic lunch near the Eiffel Tower (which we refused to go up). Same holds true for dinner if one travels during early evening daylight.

The English apparently cannot fathom this sort of manners/eating/fare and so we were unable to experience such spontaneity and free form cuisine in England. On t'other hand, it is possible to find great pub fare in the Septre'd Isle, if one looks for it.

PM me if you want the name of a fantastic tourist hotel in the Latin Quarter. As I recall, it was only 2 stars, but why people need a TV while in Paris I fail to understand. Double glazed windows provided sound proofing. No lift, but you're young. It provided breakfast, free laundry facilities, and even allowed guests to use the kitchen. near the Musee de Cluny. Not available in London, sadly.

I am so wanting to catch a flight back there tonight.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

The English apparently cannot fathom this sort of manners/eating/fare and so we were unable to experience such spontaneity and free form cuisine in England. On t'other hand, it is possible to find great pub fare in the Septre'd Isle, if one looks for it.

You clearly didn't stray within 100 yards radius of a branch of Greggs, a Northerner or a working class person then?

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

The English apparently cannot fathom this sort of manners/eating/fare and so we were unable to experience such spontaneity and free form cuisine in England. On t'other hand, it is possible to find great pub fare in the Septre'd Isle, if one looks for it.

.

Are you saying that the English do not know how to picnic? Utter balderdash .... the smallest bit of sunshine will have us eating al fresco whether it be a sandwich on a bench or something involving hampers (and possibly a butler at Ascot or Glyndebourne..the former is more my style... I raided the delicatessen's of St Giles rather than fork out the extortionate price of an Oxonmoot lunch and have pictures of a picnic I went on in the Bois de Boulogne in sub zero temperatures - the French were the ones giving us funny looks. I even have a little insulated backpack kitted out with a picnic set and wine glasses and even napkins for more planned occasions.

So Bethberry, will it be swords or pistols?