Thank you for the advice you had sent on. I’ve reviewed a few of the veggie restaurants in Paris at http://www.fussyveggie.blogspot.com. More to come following my next trip in September. Hope you find this useful.

FussyVeggie

The worst fragrance is in our apartment, but I have that under control now. They did all the washing in fragrance-free (natural) detergent, but usually they use a regular scented detergent and there was no getting rid of the smell from the pillows and comforter. This is a good lesson for me – it does not good to request fragrance-free if they use scented products. Instead I need to ask if they use scented laundry soap.

I always travel with an “allergy” pillow case that zips up and is great for pillows that have scents in them but left it in England because we were trying to travel light! Instead we are using t-shirts as pillow cases, which is not as good but I found some unscented pillows in a closet here, and I abandoned the comforter, and washed everything four times – so we are doing better scent-wise.

We are loving Paris and having a good time. It is getting warmer these last few days but not too warm. I find a few hours out walking around feels like 10 hours walking – so we are trying to take it easy. We are avoiding museums because we did see them all 21 years ago and doing the museum-shuffle is hell on my back. We will go to the Cluny because it is right beside our apartment.

I would go for an apartment in Paris (because I love vacation rentals). We are in an apartment for 8 nights. We are in the 5th, near St. Germain and St. Michel. This is a great area – we can walk to many vegetarian restaurants (Maoz is just a few blocks away) and there are good food shops nearby. We have a list of our favorite agency and resources for Paris on the site: http://www.sloweurope.com/vacation-rentals/france/paris.php . We booked with Haven in Paris – http://www.haveninparis.com , but there are a lot of good agencies for Paris. Apartments in Paris can be expensive, but so are hotels.

Maoz Falafel is entirely vegetarian. I’ve eaten there and its pretty cheap and cheerful (and filling), although not particularly posh. Its on Rue Xavier Privas quite close to the Notre Dame. I hear a Chinese place called Hien Tang is also good. I’ve been to Le Potager au Marais, which if I remember correctly is a bit quirky but quite nice depending very much on the item you order.

I’m visiting Paris in July . So I’d be really keen to hear how you get on. Could you give me some tips on where to stay. We were ideally looking for a veggie B&B or an apartment to rent for 2 adults.

As for vegetarian/vegan – try the felafel place in the Marais – I think it’s l’as du Felafel. Very good – probably not vegan, but certainly kosher!

We were going to visit Chartres from Paris, but when I read this on About.com we changed our minds: “Chartres calls itself “the Capital of Light and Perfume” because it’s in the heart of Cosmetic Valley (There’s a perfume festival in April).” About.com – Chartres So, instead, I think we will do a day trip to Reims (in Champagne).