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“Exclusive Paris Offer” November 1st – 7th, 2007
Shopping Spree in Paris
  
Day 1 (Thursday) November 1st
We departed Logan International Airport via Air France for our 6 day “Shopping Spree in Paris”. Arrival into Paris for our 5 night stay at the Intercontinental Grand Paris Hotel located on the right bank. (Right next to the Garnier Opera House) For the “Batchelor fans”---this hotel was featured on the reality show for one of the recent Batchelor episodes.
Day 2 (Friday) November 2nd
Arrival into Paris-CDG Airport
Today we enjoyed a panoramic orientation city tour of Paris via motor coach. This tour included an English speaking motor coach tour of the following sights: Tuileries Gardens, Louvre, Champs Elysées, Arch of Triumph, Trocadero, Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Opera, Madeleine Church, Latin Quarter and Saint Germain des prés, Bastille, République, Beaubourg, City Hall, Palais Royal, Ile Saint Louis and Ile de La Cité. We made a stop en route to enjoy a coffee/dessert break at the famous caterer Ladurée on the Champs Elysées. The tour was designed to get acquainted with the city and have full an overview of its history so you can enjoy touring around during your stay. This evening we visited the Club Lounge to enjoy the complimentary cocktails and canapés (an exclusive amenity from the Virtuoso Travel Agency) overlooking the Garnier Opera House to unwind after the overnight flight.
Day 3 (Saturday) November 3rd
Today we departed for a half-day tour of the magnificent Chateau of Versailles. This palace was built in the mid 17th century during the reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King), followed by an exclusive 1.5 hour visit to the Private Apartments of the Palace. The private tour allows visitors to view rooms, which are closed to the individual visitors and to most groups. The tour offered a view of the sumptuous luxury apartments of Louis XV, Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, the Opera House and the Chapel Royal. Next we continued the tour with a 1 hour visit to the State Apartments, Grand Apartment, Hall of Mirrors, Queen’s Suite and the Museum of the History of France. The afternoon was free. Several group members visited the Louvre for a private tour. We visited the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Greece and Italian, sculptors and artwork along with a visit to Napolean III, apartment. Others chose to shop and visit other museums. This evening the group dined at two restaurants, Le Maupertu located in the Invalides area and Le Cottage Marcadet located in the Montmarte area.
Day 4 (Sunday) November 4th. Today we visited the famous St. Ouen Flea market. Covering 7 hectares, it is the world’s largest antique markets. Every weekend, between 120,000 and 150,000 visitors from all over the world come in the hope of finding a rare and treasured object. The market has become one of the highlights of Paris for locals or tourists who wish simply to stroll around to search for a particular object, or just for the pleasure of looking around and is located just outside the city limits of Paris. This tour was followed by a visit to Montmartre and Sacre Couer Basilica. Though it was a sacred hill from the Roman Temples period to the Abbey of Montmartre and the political tone of Henri the IV, Montmartre preserved its cultural and artistic identity by offering a home to the greatest painting movements such as; (Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Futurism). Today, it looks like a preserved village in the heart of Paris. We arrived at the top via a funicular ride and others chose to walk up the steps for the steep climb. This is a wonderful artist colony where you can browse the square for an original piece of artwork to bring home or just sip a cup of coffee or a glass a wine at the many bistros. You can walk through the narrow, winding streets, and discover where Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec lived and worked when they were young and you can visit the famous Sacre Couer Basilica which offers wonderful views of Paris. During our visit we experienced a full fledge French Holy Day for Saints. It was a real treat. This evening we all departed for our Seine River cruise onboard the Parisian Bateaux line for a wonderful evening river cruise. After the cruise we all departed for various different restaurants for an evening of gourmet fare. One of which was Le Dauphin located nearby the Louvre. It was fabulous.
Day 5 (Monday) November 5th
Today was a full day on our own to explore Paris. The group chose to venture off to shop, and visit various museums at their leisure. This evening we had our farewell dinner at a charming and quaint family run restaurant located on the St Louis Isle called “Auberge de la Reine Blanche.
Day 6 (Tuesday) November 6th
Today we had a free morning to enjoy Paris and finish some last minute shopping at the Gallerie Lafayette and various local shops prior to visiting the Ritz Escoffier School for hands on cooking class. The class was held the the luxurios Ritz Paris located at the Place Vendome which is less than a mile from our hotel. During the workshop, a simple dish of Saffron Risotto and Dublin Bay Prawns was demonstrated and prepared by select aspiring chefs from our group. After 30 minutes of practical work, we had the opportunity to appreciate our cooking talents by enjoying the dish we prepared. We dined in the Ritz kitchen with fine china, espresso, chocolat and Sancere wine. After the cooking class some of the group visited the Musee’ d’Orsay with our private guide (Antoine) and the rest of the group shopped and ventured off to enjoy the remainder of the day. This evening we all met at the Hotel Bar for a 1 hour hosted reception for our farewell evening prior to departing for our final evening of fine dining in Paris. This evening the group dined at Soufflé’s and Au Vieux Paris. The evening was topped off with a planned hotel black out from 2:00am to 5:00pm. The late owls were seen roaming the halls of this wonderful and luxurious hotel in bathrobes and slippers, dawning flashlights and candles to reach their long awaited and short night’s sleep prior to departing the next a.m. for home.
Day 7 (Wednesday) November 7th
Today we departed for home via our motorcoach transfer. All and all it was a fabulous, whirlwind of a trip to the “City of Lights”. It was a great way to introduce new and existing clients to the culture, shopping and all that this wonderful city offers. So for now….”Until we meet again”!
Au Revoir…..Patty Shachat your Virtuoso Travel Specialist. Excursions to any corner of the World!
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