paris – Darden Travels

Another birthday trip – France 2026

September 14, 2026 by ginnyinshanghai

Another one of my travel partners was hitting a milestone birth year and wanted to go somewhere special. Since we’re foodies………….France was the chosen destination, specifically the northern coastline of France where OYSTERS are farmed. Yes, Eric wanted to celebrate by eating lots and lots of these bivalves.

The journey began mid-week and was definitely ‘trains, planes & automobiles’ but not in that order. Had to get to the airport so the trip started with ride-share.

Whereas we met Adrienne before boarding the first of two flights before going overseas and landing in CDG, Paris mid-afternoon. We were worried about storms in Orlando. In fact, as we were boarding the crew mentioned a storm was building near the airport and highly encouraged us to quickly board so we could get out of there fast – we did.

Our connection was in JFK/New York. Our luck with connections in the south has been hit or miss. A few afternoon/evening storms have delayed us and kept us in US missing a day in Europe. Not everyone loves JFK but my last connection through there was painless. Only hitch……………we landed in terminal 1 (at the v.e.r.y end) and had to get to terminal 5. We had plenty of time for the connection, but it was a hike! Soon enough we got our next flight and a few hours of sleep.

One advantage to flying through New York – this flight is a bit shorter.

After landing, we needed food. We have a history of eating at the Sheraton inside the airport and that day was no different. Even though it looks like we are eating outside………..it is their brasserie restaurant that protrudes into the airport skyway.

I just needed a coke but those two started with a regional red wine.

We each were looking for something different for nutrition: Adrianne – sushi, myself – fries and Eric – charcuterie board.

We have checked off two modes of transportation and now we waited for the third one – train.

Let’s just say, I woke up. Those two crashed during our 2+ hour ride to Rennes.

The train departed early evening and we had a bit of light initially and I got this photo as we passed a wind farm.

No issues on our ride, but we heard the next morning there was a train derailment in Northern France the same evening.

Our last transportation was an automobile – taxi to our AirBNB in the Old Town of Rennes. Arrival was 9:30pm and our AirBNB host met us at 10 pm to show us around and handover the keys.

We were bushed, but hungry. He made a call and got us dinner reservations within walking distance. Great!!!! Eric started us with oysters before our main courses arrived.

Our dinner selections were varied:

Adrienne – tuna

I chose canard (duck):

With Eric selecting sole meuniere’:

All was topped off with ice cream – shared.

After 23+ hours traveling……………it’s time to call it a night.

Up next – a local Rennes food tour.

Ginny

Paris, France 2023!

June 5, 2023 by ginnyinshanghai

After spending time along the northern French coast, we headed south to Paris – turned in the rental car and got a taxi to our AirBNB. It is in the Montparnasse district, which has been part of Paris since 1669 and is split between the 6th, 14th and 15th arrondissements of the city.

Our AirBNB was located on the fifth floor………and had an elevator, thank goodness. It had a teeny tiny balcony, just deep enough for a chair and a few plants.

A bedroom for each of us, two bathrooms, a sitting area, dining area and kitchen. Check, check and check.

Walking through neighborhoods we discovered more of the green cast-iron water fountains donated by Englishman Sir Richard Wallace. He loved Paris and in 1872 used his own money to provide the people of Paris with drinking water. Hard to capture the water dripping from my photo – but it is there.

Walking the streets, you never know when youre going to come across a street market like this one. LOVE the fresh produce, fresh seafood and fresh flowers.

Imagine………one stall dedicated to cheese (1st row, middle photo), a stall dedicated to potatoes (second row 1st photo), a stall dedicated to mushrooms (second row, middle photo), stalls dedicated to seafood (bottom row, BTW super fresh!) and of course my favorite, stalls dedicated to flowers.

During our visit, my favorite flower was in bloom – peonies – and available for purchase in the markets.

Getting our metro pass gave us a wider range of neighborhoods. Sometimes it takes more than one set of eyes to figure out the purchase………………….

Walking along the Seine is a favorite pastime, while also giving me a chance for a bit of shopping in the bouquinistes – which you can just barely see the green boxes ahead of them. Yep, they have no idea a photo was taken.

The bouquinistes, or used booksellers was a part of the second-hand book tradition begun around the 16th century. Now declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, over 240 bouquinistes make use of 900 of these green boxes to house some 300,000 old books and a number of other paper items. Rules and a waiting list (as long as 8 years) dictates minimums days of operation (4) and upkeep. Couldn’t resist this snapshot. And yes, the items are kept inside the boxes and secured overnight. Hence, most items are wrapped individually in plastic.