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            Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love,
            live in or have just visited - are what make this guide.
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                <title>Tea and Tattered Pages</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/28576</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Warm and welcoming, cluttered but cosy- Tea and Tattered Pages provides the perfect respite from the busy streets of Paris. Hilda and her big orange cat greet each customer into their charming English language bookshop on the left bank that doubles, as the name suggests, as a tearoom. The unassuming neighbour of the famous Shakespeare and Company invites visitors to read and refuel with cups of earl grey, scones and bagels whilst perusing the piles of second-hand books stacked floor to ceiling on every wall.<br>Down a spiral staircase is the basement, containing an eclectic selection of literature that offers something for everyone- from seventies self-help books to Shakespeare. Without the celebrity status of the S&amp;C, the books are far more reasonably priced and it is free of noisy tourists proclaiming how 'quaint' the place is (although, it really is...)]]></description>
                
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                <title>Paris Plage</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/26789</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[It is almost that time of year again for barge loads of sand to float down the Seine and transform the riverbanks of Paris into an urban beach. Beginning on the 20 July and lasting for one month, the Paris Plage offers the complete beach experience ... almost. The creators put together what could be best described as a caricature of a beach, complete with palm trees, deck chairs, ice-cream sellers and beach volleyball. There are three separate sections to the beach, the latest addition being at Bassin de la Villette. Set on the canal where Amélie once skimmed her stones, this beach offers free pedalos and rowing boats to complement the array of activities available on the other beaches, including swimming pools and free concerts. It may be a somewhat bizarre sight to see bikini-clad Parisians basking in sunshine as small children build sand castles in the foreground of Notre Dame, but its peculiarity is one of the attractions. After all this isn’t the seaside, this is Seine-side!]]></description>
                
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                <title>Old Operating Theatre Museum</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/26761</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Set in the garret of St Thomas’s Church, atop a rickety spiral staircase, is Europe’s oldest operating theatre. Fortunately, (by the look of some of the torturous implements used in surgery) it has long been out of service but still provides a fascinating insight into the horror of what it must have been like to be a patient - or indeed a surgeon - in the 19th century. A simple wooden operating table encircled by several rows of wooden benches, in what is essentially an attic, gives a very cramped and unsettled feeling to the visitor. I was told that the majority of cases were amputations, as internal surgery was too dangerous without antiseptics. Also, without anaesthetics the surgeons had to rely on heavy amounts of alcohol for the patient and a lightening quick technique. Apparently they could perform an amputation in under a minute, though patients often died from shock. Isn’t the NHS marvellous? Well, modern medicine anyway…]]></description>
                
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                <title>Chez Bertrand Bed and Breakfast</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25599</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[Situated on the sloping streets of Montmartre in the heart of the largest flea market in the world, is Chez Bertrand, surely the most original Bed and Breakfast in Paris. There are three rooms to choose from, each utterly unique and designed and decorated by Mr. Bertrand himself. ‘Le Studio’ welcomes you to the moon with its lunar likeness, ‘L’Appart’ provides a disco ball and giant Haribo dispenser, but the pick of the bunch is certainly ‘Le Loft’. In this former fireplace shop you can sleep in a circular bed, or …  a Citroen 2CV converted into a bed! Whichever room you choose, each comes with a complimentary 'French Survival Kit' that includes a baguette, a saucisson and a bottle of Bordeaux.<br>The eccentric Bertrand is both a friendly and informative host, having written a guide to Paris he can tell you everything there is to do. He makes a pretty mean breakfast too.]]></description>
                
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                <title>The Caves</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25469</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[In a quiet corner of the Caribbean are The Caves, a boutique hotel nestled on the limestone cliffs of Negril on the west coast of Jamaica. This hedonistic hideaway consists of twelve cottages and suites, each one with a character of its own. This multi-layered tropical paradise is connected by winding cliff paths that give the feeling of complete privacy and seclusion as you make your way to your room.<br><br>The lucid blue sea below is perfect for snorkelling and swimming, as well as a great way to explore some of the more out-of-the-way caves. Also, if you were to swim around the headland from this romantic retreat, you would find yourself on Negril’s superb seven mile stretch of white sand beach.<br><br>The Caves cater almost exclusively to couples (no children allowed!), offering massages and spa treatments, dining in private candlelit caves strewn with flower petals, and a private ocean-view jacuzzi that can be reserved for sunset. All of this is sound-tracked by the gently lapping waves of the Caribbean Sea. Now really, is there anything more romantic than that?]]></description>
                
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