so sorry ! i had gone to bed when you posted this, in fact, and i only just saw it. i see you've gotten some good info from patricia already, i'm glad she was still awake. so how is it that your mom and sister have decided to go travelling without you ?
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Originally Posted by lilac_jive
QUEEN ZELDA!!!!!!!
I am in need of your assistance. Great thread for it, huh? Anyway, my mom and my sister (who is 13, sheesh) are planning to go to Paris in August (they decided this today). No, I'm not allowed to go (double sheesh). My two questions are this: 1) We hear tell that Parisians run away in August and many things might be closed. I doubt this, not to mention that sounds like less people, which is a good thing. But I just want to verify.
2) Teen sister is a vegetarian, and I can't remember anything on any menu that had no meat that wasn't salad. But that was a while ago, and I drank a lot in Paris. Do you think she'll do OK at most restaurants?
Ok, that is all *bows to QZ*
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Originally Posted by Patricia
I think Zelda may have gone to bed.
However, I've been to Paris in August; several times. Some of the bakeries are closed. But the museums, department stores and everything else is open. And the city isn't empty - it is full of American people.
If you Google on "Paris Vegetarian Restaurants" then you will find quite a lot. Personally, I often to to the neighbourhood pizzerias/Italian restaurants, which often feature vegetarian pizzas and pastas.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patricia
And for a light lunch many cafes do salads, cheese baguettes and the ubiquitous croque monsieur and croque madame. (cheese and ham toasted sandwich, with an egg on top for the croque madame. Just ask for it without the ham.)
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all of that is excellent advice. being a vegetarian does limit your options here (a lot) in restaurants, but you won't actually *starve*. i am frequently frustrated when i go to restaurants (which is rarely) because they usually do have one vegetarian option on the menu, but JUST ONE. and if i'm going to go to a restaurant, i'd like to choose.
however, in almost any restaurant she could order something on the menu without meat, or have an omelette (she's vegetarian, right ? not vegan ?), or a salad, or a sandwich, etc.
it's true that among the older or less open-minded population she might meet with a bit of incomprehension depending on where she goes (also the classic reaction : "oh, a vegetarian ! so you eat chicken then, right ? no ?? really ? what about fish then ? surely you eat fish ?" arg !) but then again they'll probably just chalk it up to another "crazy american".
i actually have noticed just recently in the supermarket two different products labelled "suitable for vegetarians" which gave me hope that the tide might finally be turning, but (much like ebooks...) i suspect it will be a long and slow process and won't affect any visitors this summer much, if at all.
i recommend she avoids chinese restaurants (the worst of the lot ! once i went with friends and ordered the ONLY vegetarian thing on the menu : "mixed seasonal vegetables" and plain rice. they brought me a plate of barely cooked broccoli (JUST broccoli) with no sauce of any kind, i don't think they even added salt to the water they boiled it in for approximately 20 seconds. that was the last time i went to a chinese restaurant. don't get me wrong, i love broccoli, but sheesh, i can make it much better at home for a lot less money.), and also anything specialising in "lyonnaise" cuisine (mainly tripes, etc.) or "terroir" (lots of pâtés and foie gras).
she should have more options in mediterranean / italian restaurants, they have a lot more vegetables in their cuisine. and in sushi restaurants they have vegetarian maki (rolls) with cucumber and / or avocado, and sometimes brochettes of mushrooms or courgettes or the like. it's really a shame that mauro has just sold the trottinette where we hold the meetups ; his food was really good and almost all the dishes were vegetarian, it was like christmas in there for me.
of course it might have been a bit out of the way for them. tell her to take a look at the menu before going inside (it's always posted on the exterior of the restaurant) so she can see what the options are and decide if she's interested.
as for august in paris... well, it's actually mostly true that half the population flees the city and finding an open boulangerie can be a real quest for the holy grail, but it shouldn't really affect tourists very much, because there are so many of them that all the touristy things stay open. so, fewer actual parisians, but still quite a lot of people around. depending which neighborhoods they visit, they might not even notice the difference.
also, depending on when they come, there is quite a lot to do in the summer (to console those of us who are stuck here the whole time), like plenty of concerts in parks, the open-air cinéma at la villette (free ! every evening (but monday) ! check the program
here ! just bear in mind that the programmation is usually very diverse but all subtitles will be in french... but usually there are at least a couple english-language films in the lot), etc.
overall, if someone asked me what is the best month to visit paris, i wouldn't say august, but that doesn't mean it's not worth making the trip nonetheless.