Feeling really guilty as I took my netbook all the way to Paris, wrote the article about dishonest customer feedback on the train that I was supposed to (more to follow) started chatting with the people I was meeting in Paris and never looked back.
I was looking for a small but chic (and reasonably priced) hotel to stay my first night, and on my third attempt I found (by using the Michelin Red Guide which I swear by) the Hotel de L’Arcade. It is small but beautifully appointed, inexpensive compared to the big boys but not cheap and exceptionally comfortable. They upgraded me to a superior room with a little sitting room and tiny kitchenette.
The downside is that there is no room service other than breakfast, which comes from it’s sister hotel, the Bedford. The upside is that for somewhere so central the soundproofing cuts out everything, the air conditioning is a quiet hum – once I’d managed to turn it on – and it is very very close to the big stores. And breakfast is only 13 Euros which is ridiculous by Paris hotel standards. All in all it was great and I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.
This was one of the few times when I got the Paris weather totally wrong. 24 degrees on Saturday and I did not pack for summer. Sleeveless dress with trainers? I don’t think so. Still I managed with a little judicious trainer wearing under black jeans (not my look) and boots with my dress.
Back here and planning now for BBC Radio 2 Janice Long’s show next week at midnight. Really I may have turned into a pumpkin by then but at least they’ll be sending a car for me which I can fall asleep in on the way back. We’re going to be chatting about how to shop online for those who aren’t there already. Now that I can do in my sleep. Should be fun…………………………..
