Travel Tips

Guyon, aka Ray, was a most cordial host in Paris. He came in his car and picked up the four of us at our hotel. Since he has a good sense of humor, I can tell a story on him. I had driven into Paris the day before and had a maddening time finding the hotel. When Ray picked us up, he had difficulty finding where he had parked his car. I kidded him about it, but it actually put my previous day in perspective - even natives are a little confused at times by the maze of narrow streets. The photo shows my wife Sacra, Lee and Michael Brown and Ray walking down the rue Mouffetard. Ray is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable person on VT ( and possibly anywhere) when it comes to Paris and it was great not only to have him guide us around, but to talk and ask him questions. If you have never visited his pages, they are a real treat.

Mouffetard is a wonderful market street and on Sundays teems with people. Lee has stopped to admire the picture-perfect fruits and vegetables. You can get most any kind of food or drink and it all looks and smells wonderful.

It seemed that at every turn Ray was pointing out some little known feature of Paris. This wonderful building is on rue Mouffetard. I don't know its history, but what a wonderful place these folks have to live and have their business.

On rue Mouffetard Ray pointed out the church of St. Medard where the king forbade God from performing miracles, walked with us past the rotisserie chickens, patisseries, wine shops and cafes. Then he took us to the market at Place Monge. This man spoke excellent English and ended up selling me 2 small tins of his foie gras, one goose and one duck. Ray just stood back and seemed to enjoy watching the tourist being persuaded by the local. The sample of his foie gras were indeed delicious.

After rue Mouffetard and Place Monge Ray took us to the pet market. It is amazing how many and animals of all kinds are available here. Ray did take pains to explain to us that the rabbits (actually bunnies) were for purchase as pets, not for dinner. His sense of humor is quiet and sort of sneaks up on you. Driving in heavy, honking traffic, he told us that the most important part of any French car is the horn.

Ray purposely avoided taking us to the usual tourist sights, but we ended up just across from Notre Dame and spent a bit of time just admiring the exterior. I never knew that the figures across the front facade above the portals are the kings of Israel. It seemed somehow appropriate for this last photo of our group to be with this stupendous background.

After admiring Notre Dame, it was nearing time for Ray to leave for his family responsibilities, so he found us a wonderful place for lunch, Le Grand Bistrot. I am not sure I could find it again in the maze of streets around Notre Dame. Ray is currently planning a trip to Texas, but he assured us that Atlanta would be added to his list if not next year, then the next.