My wife Dee and I enjoying Paris.Looking back on the year, one of my most memorable experiences has to be the trip to Europe that my wife and I took last fall. It was an amazing trip. We started in Germany, then went to the Czech Republic, then railed back to Germany before spending 5 days in Paris.
What stands out to me is not just the sights and sounds of Europe, but also how valuable our computer and iPhones were before and during the trip. It’s a good reminder that the type of work we do here at OSD – lots of websites and mobile apps – provides valuable information to people right when they need it. For example …
Doing research
My wife and I started planning our trip months before our departure. Like many travelers these days, we checked out dozens of historical sites, museums, restaurants and hotels using sites like Wikipedia and TripAdvisor. This research helped us decide what to do and where to go during our trip. It also helped us understand the lay of the land before our departure.
Connecting with friends
Prior to our departure to Europe, my wife sent a Facebook message to some friends of ours who live in the heart of Paris. She informed them of our hotel and the dates of our stay. She also let them know that we were hoping to take them out to dinner while in “The city of love”. After working through some scheduling conflicts, we found a date to dine with them in Paris.
Saving money – or not
Being the cheap guy that I am, I didn’t want to pay extra to enable our iPhones while in Europe – so we were at the mercy of euro Wi-Fi. That turned out to be somewhat of a challenge, compared to North America. When we could access Wi-Fi it was often a bad connection and a pay-by-the-hour proposition. But in the end, it turned out to be an affordable option compared to enabling data use overseas.
We also saved money by purchasing transit passes in advance at www.parispass.com. Our package included 5 days of Metro, bus and museum passes.
Navigating unfamiliar territory
We asked our Parisian friends to pick a restaurant that was to their liking and wouldn’t be outrageously expensive. After a few Facebook posts, we agreed to meet them at Le Bistro de Breteuil around 8 p.m. on our last night in town. But there was one problem: We had absolutely no idea how to get to this restaurant!
Fortunately, our Wi-Fi connection at the hotel showed us not only the location with Google Maps, but also how to use the Paris Metro and the most convenient departure and destination stations. By clicking “Transit” on the world “Map” icon in the upper right had corner, one can see all of Paris’s mass transit routes.
Finding a hidden gem
If you have ever popped up out of an unfamiliar subway station, you might know how difficult it can be to get your bearings. This is where another bit of research really paid off: We had used the Google 360 street view to visually familiarize ourselves with the restaurant location.
When we walked up the steps of Duroc metro station to the street level, we immediately spotted our café – or so we thought. We started walking toward the quaint corner restaurant as a light rain started to fall. Then I stopped dead in my tracks as I looked at the bistro. My wife asked, “what is wrong?” I replied, “This isn’t our café.” It looked extremely familiar, but just about every corner in Paris has a similar look and feel.
Then we figured out that most Metro subway stops have multiple exits. So we redirected our walk using a screen capture of a Google Map close-up of that area. I did the screen capture back at the hotel where we had Wi-Fi. I place the map image in a photo album on my iPhone. Maybe it would have been easier to enact the iPhone as my wife suggested, although this image worked very well. Within a short walk we found our destination.
And then we got there!
You’re probably wondering whether our adventures in navigation were worth it. The answer is an emphatic “yes!”
Le Bistro de Breteuil is a great Parisian restaurant with atmosphere to match. Breteuil has an optional prix fixe menu at €42 (for three courses, coffee, and a bottle of wine with 2 meals). The chef had a limited, yet wonderfully French, menu with daily specials. It was quite delectable. Our guests chose foie gras and escargot for their appetizer. I had mussels and my wife enjoyed a pasta dish for starters. The main course and desserts were everything one would expect in this city.
If I could sum it up in a word, it was magnifique! I would like to thank our friends Chris and Marjorie for a magical evening of dining. We also had a spectacular close up view of the Eiffel tower, which reflected in the rain-covered street outside of this restaurant.
And that is how we found our friends and a great little bistro using Wi-Fi and social media … even far away from home.
P.S. If you want to check it out, here’s the website for the restaurant: http://www.bistrocie.fr/anglais/index.php
