Your Hosts

You will be welcomed by a  Franco/American family; they all speak fluent French and English.
Emmanuelle speaks very good Spanish also, which is her second mother tongue... When she was a baby, her nanny was Spanish, and she learned Spanish at the same time as French.
Emmanuelle was born in Paris and she has always lived there except for eight years when she was in the U.S.A. in Boston and New York.
James was born in Kansas City (Kansas USA). He spent the first part of his life on the East coast of the United States, in Boston.
In 1985, they got married and came to Paris.

They first lived in the Marais area (which they know perfectly well) after that they choose to move to this lively area of the left bank in the 7th district because it is very central, full of charm and all Paris is close to them : museums, cafes, restaurants, movies...
They have two children : Matthias was born in 1993, and Emma in 1995. Matthias says he want to become a doctor and Emma wants to be a writer, but this may have changed prior to your arrival...

Emmanuelle has always worked in a bank, first in New-York then in France where she is mainly responsible for the financing of the movies and cultural industries.
James studied painting in Boston. He has successively been a painter for set decoration on television and theater, designer for Internet websites, and creator for special effects on television.
At present, he works as an interior architect for the renovation of apartments which are going to be sold or rented.

Emmanuelle and James know Paris well.
Very Parisian, they often go to museums and exhibitions, and see the movies.
They will be able to give you very good advice on culture in Paris and on the charming areas of their district. Emmanuelle points out that very often you just need to push a door to discover true marvels.
On the other hand, Emmanuelle and James also are in love with salsa and they go to dance once a week. They offer you to go and join them if it is also your passion.


As keen amateurs of wine, they invested with friends, in 2004, in a vineyard in Roussillon. It is their "baby" and they hope if will become a great wine. They already won several prizes with it.
They love good cooking as well, and especially having dinner with friends. (James loves sushi and knows how to prepare it). More generally, they love meeting people and cultural exchanges. Of course, during their travels in large European cities, they stay at Bed and Breakfasts as much as they can. They say it has always been a rich experience, a way to make them feel more than "tourists". It is natural that when James stopped using his painting workshop, they decided to transform it into a B&B to offer it to tourists coming to Paris.
 

Your Hosts' area

The apartment of your hosts is located in the heart of the left bank "Carré Rive Gauche" and its 120 antic stores, between Saint Germain des Prés and the d'Orsay Museum.

Saint Germain des Prés is an area full of history. History and creatiity meet there. This area is a perfect illustration of the particular link between cultural and artistic life in France. From the XVIIth century, the district became the heart of the literary world with the opening of the Café "Procope" in  1689 (still open). In the XIXth century, lots of artists came to live there : painters such as Delacroix, Inges and Manet, writers such as Racine, Balzac and Georges Sand. On the XXth cetury, there was the opening of the three larges cafés (Le Flore, Les Deux Magôts and the Brasserie Lipp) which became the meeting places for writers and artists such as Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Picasso and Man Ray who, by the way, live in this area.

Within ten minutes' walk, you will reach the Louvre, the d'Orsay Museum, the bridge "Passerelle des Arts" which offers one of the most beautiful views of Paris, Saint Germain des Prés square, the "Café de Flore" and "Café des Deux Magots".

Within 10 to 15 minutes' walk and stopping along your way in the typically Parisian cafés and art galleries, you will reach Saint-Sulpice, the Luxembourg garden, Saint Michel square, Concorde square by crossing the Tuileries gardens, the Palais-Royal by crossing the Louvre square and, for your shopping, the Buci market and the best and well known Ladurée tea room.

Within 20 to 25 minutes' walk, you will reach the Pont Neuf, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Opéra theater.

Your Hosts apartment

Your hosts live in a building built in the 1920's.
It is the only one of that time in the street. The other buildings were built in the XVII/XVIIIth centuries. It is a very quiet building with an internal garden located in a quiet street.
Your hosts' apartment is on the 5th fllor with elevator. The guest room is located on the 6th and 7 th floors.
The  large living room dining room, where breakfast will be served is oriented South and ornamented with flowers.

The decor has been made with light brown and turquoise colors, the atmosphere is very cozy mixing old and contemporary pieces of furniture. There is a fireplace and a large library where you are kindly invited to select and read books which are of interest to you. Emmanuelle and James welcome you in this living room during the day and at the time of your arrival and departure, but in the evenings when they are with their family they want to remain by themselves and wish that you respect their privacy.

Your bedroom N°336

This guest room is quite unusual, as it was created in a former artist workshop with its windows more that 3 meters high. When James stopped his paiting, his workshop was completely renovated.

From your hosts' apartment, you will reach the guest room by an internal staircase.

The main theme followed by the couple for its decoration is BOAT : painted wood and a round window in the bathroom. The wall made of glass gives it a very 1930 style and the wood on the ceiling gives it an atmosphere of a cottage in the mountains.

Very bright and well lighted, this bed and breakfast is very quiet,   its window open on an internal garden ; a little further, behind the roofs of Paris, you can see the Louvre roofs.




The guest room is on two levels.

Downstairs a living room of 25 m2 with a convertible sofa which can be transformed into a bed for a 3rd or 4th person: best is for 2 children as when it is open it offer a small double (110cm X 190cm).

You will find at your disposal : cupboards, a library with books on Paris, France and the French, some of them are in English, a television set (with some international channels),  a set for warm drinks, instant tea and coffee.
It is at this level that you will find the bathroom as well as your private entry. If you want to go to your bedroom without crossing your hosts' apartment, you can go to this service staircase.




On top of the mezzanine, reachable by a   vertical staircase, is your double bed  (140cmX 190cm) in its "alcove" covered with wood. Your hosts put a very beautiful carpet which they bought in Syria, in Alep, on the railing to prevent you from having too much day light in the morning. As it was an artist workshop in the past, there is no possibility of getting the room dark ; your hosts can give you masks if you suffer from day light in the room.
The access to the mezzanine is forbidden to children as the staircase is straight. Its access is under the responsibility of the visitors. If you prefer to sleep on the convertible sofa, please let your hosts know before your arrival.

The bathroom and toilets

The  bathroom is small but very functional.

Covered with marble tiles, like in luxury boats, it is very pleasant.

It is for your personal use only.

It is equiped with a washbasin, and a large miror on top, a shower and toilet.

Bath towels and bath products, as well as a hair dryer, will be at your disposal.





Breakfast

breakfats is served in the dining room, close to the window where you will have a beautiful view of the roofs of Paris.

Breakfast is typically French : fresh croissants and baguette, jams, fruit juices, cereals, tea, coffee, milk, chocolate, yogurts.
Emmanuelle loves to drink tea, and she will offer you a selection of the best "Mariages" teas, and she has a wonderful collection of tea pots.
One of the best bakers in Paris is just at the corner of their street : KAYSER. You will be lucky to taste his baguettes which won a prize in 2008 and which has been therefore selected by the Elysées Palace (Residence of the President of France).

If you ask for it on your arrival, for an additional cost of 5 euros per person, you can ask your host for ham, cheese and eggs.

Additional Information

The deposit of your bags is possible at any time of the day, if you let your host know your precise time of arrival and respect it.
If there is no departure of other guests on the same day, you can have an immediate access to your suite. Otherwise, it will be ready at the beginning of the afternoon, after it has been prepared for you.
If you want to be sure to get your bedroom in the morning, you can make a reservation half-price for the night before.
If you do not inform your host of your arrival time, you will be welcome at 7.00 pm.

This accommodation is not suitable for people who cannot climb a staircase, unless they agree to sleep on the convertible sofa. It has to be agreed upon on the confirmation of the stay.

The mattress of the bed up on mezzanine is a normal mattress, fairly firm, spring interior, but as it is posed on a solid base (no box-springs) it doesn`t give too much.
The downstairs bed is a fold out and has quite a thin mattress and posed on a series of wooden slats, fairly soft if you push on a single point.

The guest room can be reached by the elevator (5 floors) then by a narrow staircase. Therefore this accommodation is not recommended if you have large and heavy suitcases, because this staircase might be too narrow for it.

Warning : the private entry for the guest room cannot be accessed by the elevator.

This accommodation is not recommended if you suffer from allergies because the floor of the mezzanine is covered with a carpet made of wool. On the other hand, the pillows and quilts are without feathers.

Your hosts do not smoke and wish to receive only non-smoking guests.

Your hosts have a cat, and do not want to receive other animals at their home.

The apartment is WiFi equipped ; with your personal laptop, you can get connected to Internet in your bedroom.

You can also, without exaggeration, telephone at no cost to many countries, such as Germany, Great-Britain and the United States. Please ask to your host about it first, and please don't speak for a long time as James needs the telephone for his job.

Upon request, a fan can be put in your bedroom.

Upon request, an iron and ironing board, umbrellas, lots of travels books... can be put at your disposal.

Additional Services

If you travel with a young child under two years old and bring your baby bed with you, it will be free. If you do not have a baby bed and/or if your child is more than two years old, he can sleep on the convertible sofa, then you will have to pay the additional amount for a third person.

During the weekends, your hosts offer to go with you for :
- walks "to discover the secrets of their area";
- bicycle rides (Emmanuelle goes everywhere by bicycle);
- lunch or dinner ;
- sushi cooking lessons;
- drawing lessons in the area ;
All these activities and their costs are to be agreed upon with your hosts before your arrival so they can be free to organize them for you.

Location and tourist interests