I thought I would give you a little peak at where we stayed for our visit. My last trip, I stayed on the Place Dauphine. A pretty little square that was very charming. This time, I wanted to stay in a more lively, happenin’ area of Paris, so I chose the Marais. For those of you who have been to NYC, I compare it to Greenwich Village. Lots of places to eat, cafes, bars, and of course funky boutiques.
The Hotel Sevigne is located across the street from the St. Paul Metro station…it can’t get more convenient than that. The Place du Marche Sainte-Catherine is a quick block away and the Place des Vosges is a pleasant stroll, further.
I would never say that the place is *charming*, but charm comes at a price folks. And I travel on a budget. A tight budget, and that is what allows me to go. And of course there is that Dollar vs Euro situation and of course the dollar set an all time record (read, low) while we were there…so basically it was costing us more to sleep the longer we stayed. But, I digress.
Other than the great location, the rooms were spotless! I read somewhere that he has 8 housekeepers for the entire hotel…and we always seemed to see at least 2-3 working at different times throughout the day. Our beds were made, garbage was emptied and fresh towels were brought daily. Chris described the texture of the towels as ‘being able to take paint off walls’. No need to worry about packing that exfoliator…ladies. But hey, I am not a spoiled American and at 78 Euro a night I am not expecting luxurious Egyptian Pima cotton bath sheets!
The owner, Monsieur Mercier and his wife were just lovely. They made dinner reservations for us, spoke English and more importantly never flinched an eye when we spoke our Frenglish to them.
Ok, ok…now for the pictures. We had a 5th (top) floor corner room, facing the Rue de Rivoli, with a balcony. For that price…did I mention we had a view
There was also an elevator…if you can call it that. The sign said 3 Personnes, but I think the elevator was designed with Napoleon in mind…he was a slight man, non? Chris and I barely had enough room. I rarely have a phobia with large *normal* size elevators back home, but unbeknownst to Chris, I made a conscious effort to focus on croissants and macarons in the elevator each time we went for a ride, because silently I was scared to death we would get stuck- and with only three minutes of air supply available before we lost consciousness, we’d be left for dead.
We had a great view of the Church of Saint Paul.
I just loved watching life go by on the busy street down below.
In the morning, I would fling open the window, stand out on the balcony and breathe in the cool Paris air. Mornings were filled with fog and mist. So mysterious looking.
The nights were filled with moonlight. We could peer into the homes on the other side of the street and see their wonderfully decorated space. One was having work done.
The windows were double glazed – and late at night we shut the street noise out.
This is spooky, ominous Paris with the cloud cover rolling in
And the church was even more beautiful at night. The view from our Paris balcony was tres romantique…
And I leave you with that thought. As far as the rest…well….what happens in Paris, stays in Paris.
Sadly, the Hotel Sevigne has closed.
Hotel Sevigne
2 Rue Mahler
75004, Paris
01 42 72 76 17