$486 to fly AA from Lubbock to Paris? You gotta be kidding!

Really, that actually was the fare that I had snapped up back in October when Scott's Cheap Flights newsletter had alerted me to American's fare sale. Having been conditioned to accept $1,500+ transatlantic fares this one was just too good to pass up, so last Tuesday I hopped on the direct flight from DFW to CDG and on Wednesday morning I was in Paris. It helped that I was even able to upgrade the overnight flight.

Shortly after I had ticketed the flight I had also booked a three-night stay in an AirBnB in the Marais, just a hop and a skip away from some of Paris' most venerable sights such as the Concièrgerie, the Hôtel de Ville, and of course Notre Dame. But this was not going to be a normal tourist trip to Paris; I wanted to see stuff I had not seen before.

Odile's stylish AirBnB in the Marais

I was checked in by my host Odile at the AirBnB before noon, alighting the RER B at Les Halles and walking by the Centre Pompidou and straight into the Marais, one of Paris' oldest neighborhoods and now one of its most desired. The weather was marginal, but I had on my agenda a visit to the Musée de la Magie, one of those lesser known museums that the first-timer to Paris will most certainly bypass. If the little kid in you still craves a healthy dose of magic, that's the place to go, especially since the entry fee also includes admission to Le Spectacle, an intimate 20-minute magic show that will leave you scratching your head. I left the musée with a big grin on my face.

Fortune-telling automaton in the Museum of Magic

Since Sabine (coming by train from Munich) was not going to join me until Thursday afternoon I decided to try to add to my list of brewpubs and taprooms. So, Wednesday afternoon I managed to visit three of Paris' top places to have a craft beer, and in one of them, BapBap, I enjoyed a long conversation with Antoine whose English was better than my French, thanks to being hitched to an Aussie. I was the only customer in the taproom of the adjacent brewery who actually sat down for a few quaffs, and between selling a few bottles of BapBap's excellent bière to the handful of other clients who stopped by Antoine and I talked about beer, politics, and life. And you know the guy is real when he tells you to go to Triangle, another craft brewery/taproom to sample their beer and food--both were excellent!

This may be a good place to say something not only about the price of beer but also food: It ain't cheap. Outside of Happy Hours (yes, that plural is intended as that's what they call it) when most pints are €5 you'll pay €8 to €10 a pint for Belgian beers as well as the local swill. Please give me a Grimbergen or Affligem any day before you serve a 1664 or Kronenbourg. In some places you may pay a couple of euros more. (As an aside, wine is equally dear, with a 0.14 ml glass starting at €5 and from there going into the stratosphere. A bottle? Not to be had for less than €35 for the worst juice, in a run-down bar.) So, why are all those bistros and bars packed with (mostly young) people all the time? It must be yellow vests gathering steam for the next manifestation!

Ah, those naughty, naughty French!

Since I don't see my European money as "real" (getting reimbursed and paid some by the anti-doping people replenishes my funds) the pain was less severe than it would have been had I exchanged Trump money. It was vacation, after all. But it never hurts to look out for a deal, and so Sabine, after her arrival on Thursday afternoon, and I paid a visit to the Musée des Arts et Metiers, just around the corner from the AirBnB. Entry is free on Thursday evening, and we thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the technological exhibits from the past two centuries. A special exhibit on "flying machines" proved to be especially interesting.

With the night still young we walked half a mile to a jazz club that I had researched online, the 38Riv. It was open jam session night, and for a few euros admission fee we squeezed into a tiny cellar for an amazing performance of walk-ons who had never played together. To us it seemed there were more musicians than actual spectators present. Man, what a fun night!

The next day (I believe it was Friday) we explored the Marais and its sometimes fancy and sometimes down-home shops, stopping at many of the real estate offices where we'd look at how far our euros would go. General trends: The bigger the place, the closer you get to the going rate of about €10,000 per square meter. Drop below the equivalent of 300 square feet, and you're going to double that rate. One place, at 9.75 square meters or about 105 square feet, was for sale for €145,000, which comes to roughly $164,000 at today's exchange rate. That's $1,562 per square foot. Whew! But even Victor Hugo, whose digs we visited, paid a pretty penny for his housing, even back then. Ah, Paris is not for those without the means.

The area around the Canal St. Martin has become rather desirable

New living quarters around the Bassin de la Villette

The relatively recently renovated Picasso Museum was next on the agenda before we once again submerged ourselves into counter-beer-culture and music. The Trois 8 is one of the tiniest yet most authentic taprooms I've ever visited, totally out of the way of the common tourist yet known to the locals who give it that bohemian flair that true Paris dives exude. We followed that up with a double-header concert at the Studio de l'Ermitage where the Festival of Voices is currently being hosted. Cool, cool stuff.

Those dudes had it right--of course, not a Picasso
(La Fete du Vin, Corteges)

After burning through night and day for a few days (with an oncoming cold) we relaxed on Saturday when we moved out of the AirBnB and relocated for one night to the Intercontinental Le Grand, right next to the Opera. Thanks to my IHG credit card I get one freebie hotel night a year, and this time around I decided to use it on something fancy. Now, if you're silly enough to walk up to the hotel without an online reservation you'll get nailed for the €900 rate for the miniature room that we had; online, you can get it for half of that. I pay $69 for my credit card and get the room for free. Some people call it travel hacking, but I call it common sense. It's cool to stay in a place like this, but really, there were so many shortcomings that we really wondered how the 5-star rating was in any way justified. But the free flute of champagne at the end of the day in the sumptuous bar area was indeed very, very cool. So, no sour grapes, just observations. (Let me know if you want me to refer you to this credit card as there will be chichis for both of us.)

A few transportation pics--and none of the ubiquitous electric scooters!

Saturday morning was the day for our planned visit of the various flea markets around the Saint-Ouen area. Most of these puces are permanent, segregated into somewhat themed areas. There are the booksellers, the vintage clothing peddlers, those with anything having to do with furniture, and so on. The whole area is ringed by less permanent stands that are firmly in the hands of African immigrants who are selling knock-off La Coste, Adidas, Nike, and other brands for pennies on the dollars. and of course you can buy sun-glasses, cheap cell phones, and miniature Eiffel Towers. One has to make it through this mob of hawkers, but once in the flea market proper you can have a fascinating day. I think that, with the right amount of persistence, you can buy pretty much anything here, including entire authentic bar sets from an old bistros to huge wrought-iron gates that must have seen better times on some chateau's grounds to furniture made out of old airplane parts. You name it, you can get it.

If you want it, you can buy it. The stuffed cow sofa was certainly special as were the airline seats.

We had a few good Belgian beers and some frites in a small pub within the flea market before we finally headed back toward the city. We strolled up the backside of Montmartre and caught our first glimpse of the real Eiffel Tower. It's nice not to have to see the must-see sights and still have the feeling one has been to Paris, and especially on this Saturday it was probably a good idea to stay away from places such as the Arc de Triomphe and the champs Elysees as it was another day of violent Yellow Vest demonstrations. We only caught the very back-end of the mayhem when we saw a convoy of police vehicles heading home.

At the end of the day both of us were tired enough that thoughts of going out for another concert didn't even come up. We were completely happy sipping our free €20 drinks in the chandeliered Le Grand, and recounting what we had seen over the past 48 hours. Two 60+-year-olds can take only so much, I suppose.

Le Grand on the left, Opera straight on

As had been forecast, Sunday morning brought heavy rain with it, making it easier to postpone getting up. But finally the clouds lifted somewhat, the sun occasionally peeked through, and we packed up our stuff. With Sabine's TGV back to Munich not leaving until mid-afternoon we left our roll-alongs with the bell-boy and went for a walk to the Louvre, along the Seine, and then to the Isle-de-la-Cité where we visited the always imposing Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Here's some food for thought for you: Annually, about 14 million people visit here, or about 40,000 people daily. Nuts.

Not your normal Sears--Les Galeries Lafayette

After a final lunch of croque monsieur and quiche lorraine, chased with nice Grimbergen, it was time for Sabine to head back to the mines in Munich. Since my flight back to the US wasn't to leave until the morning, I spent a few more hours floating around the area around the Opera, going to one of my favorite department stores, the swanky Galeries Lafayette. The domed glass ceiling itself is worth the visit, and going through the gourmet food section and wine cellar is always a special treat. Finally I headed out to the airport where I spent the night in a Holiday Inn Express, using points to stay with the low-cost travel theme of the trip. And Monday evening I was back in Lubbock. Not a bad way to spend a few spare days!

Jürgen