We returned from Paris and Normandy on October 3rd, and since then I have read the most eloquent trip reviews. I don%26#39;t write as well so I am opting to write about the silly tips that will probably not pertain to too many people, but might help someone out. I would like to thank Paris68, Trischulte, Paris on My Mind and Randy Silver Photo expecially for all your insight prior to going on the trip. Randy Silver Photo should get a commission from Le Coupe Chou! It was definitely wonderful just as you said.
Flight over/itinerary - It is so much easier to stay awake than to sleep! Knowing we had to sleep on the way over, we tried really hard, but I think the excitement of being in Paris, kept us both awake. WE had the whole middle row to ourselves and even that didn%26#39;t help. Least to say, when we arrived,we were excited but tired. On that particular Sunday, customs took forever, and it took a long while to get through customs. I was thrilled to see someone with our name outside of customs to take us to our hotel. We had a van all to ourselves and the professional driver was wonderful in providing us with information of the various locations we were passing through. Unfortunately, our hotel room was not available upon check in and I had clothes to travel in (very casual for sleeping on the plane). I wish I would have had spare clothes and shoes ready on the top of my suitcase to change into in the bathroom so we could get a fresh start. We did go explore the Tulieres Gardens, and walked around the Palais Royal area but my husband could not stay awake so we walked back to the hotel and were able to check in by that time. The itinerary that I had planned for that first Sunday was not attempted, so a tip if you do arrive tired, would be to have an alternative itinerary for that first day (if you cover a lot) or don%26#39;t put too much on your arrival date. We were able to squeeze most of the items that we missed on Sunday, throughout our 5 day stay in Paris.
Sunday Cafes - Most of the cafes are closed on Sunday, so even if you have an address for a cafe that was recommended make sure that it is open on Sunday. Some of the TA forums have covered cafes open on Sunday, but that was after we returned. We did see some cafes open, but that was after walking a bit.
Hairdryers - I know this is silly, but traveling around in the states, the dryers are usually pretty good. I checked beforehand, and saw that the hotels and B%26amp;B we were staying in had hairdryers. Well, they do but at least at the Intercontinental Hotel, and at the Trianon Palace Hotel in Versailles, the hairdryers were not as powerful as the one at home, and if you have long hair, it takes forever to dry. If I would have known, I would have taken my own hair dryer (since we had room and we had a converter). I was able to make do, but some people are particular about their hair, and when going to upscale restaurants, a woman likes to look good (ok, so I am a little vain!).
Shoes - Again a silly one, but since we were in a good location, Arr. 1, we were able to walk everywhere, and I mean everywhere. We were originally going to get a metro pass, but everything was close by so my husband and I walked. Thankfully, I read all the forums on shoes and I had good walking shoes with insoles, but my feet were still sore at the end of the day. If possible, women, if you wear heals, when going out to dinner, see if there is any way to get heals that are fancy but comfortable. I did have some black pumps that I used to walk from the Latin Quarter, along the Seine back to the Tulieres Garden and did well, but on the more fancier nights, and I had to wear fancy sandals, there was no way to walk back with those shoes, so we just took a taxi, but I would have loved to walk back.
Museum Lines - If you have a museum pass, you can go right in. Sometimes tour groups take a large amount of space near the entrance and some tourists just line up behind them. Therefore, people wait in unnessasary lines. One day we asked some people if they were in line for the Louvre, and they said yes. After a few minites I noticed that some people were walking in. I went to the front of the entrance and asked the attendant and they said I could go right in, so keep that in mind.
Gas - Some gas stations are closed on Sundays so you have to pay outside with your credit card. Our credit card and another customer%26#39;s card were not accepted at the gas station, so we had to drive around to find other gas stations. There are a lot of gas stations near the airport (if returning your car) that are open and have gas attendants inside, so you can pay inside.
Rental Car Return - If you pick up your car outside of the airport and are returning it at the airport, the rental car return is right at the terminals and the signs for the rental car returns are right at the terminal. WE kept looking for the signs and started to panic when we didn%26#39;t see any signs but be patient, there they were, conveniently, at our terminal.
Thanks again for all the forums. We had such an amazing time, and most of it was due to the great ideas on this forum.
|||
A good idea for the dryers is to buy a European one at Monoprix. I have one from my life there that I pack up and use every time I travel. It was really cheap, and although I lived there with it, I think I would just buy one even if I were only traveling and thought I%26#39;d be in Europe again.
Good tips!
Les
|||
I ended up buying a hair dryer which I take on my travels. Another thing I do now is to take a pair of flats in my bag so if we are out late and I%26#39;m in high heels I can change shoes for the walk back.
|||
Ihavetravelbug, thank you so much for this great post! Good tips, very good!
We%26#39;re staying at the Hotel Intercontinental, as well. We%26#39;re leaving tomorrow. How was it? What floor did you stay on? Did you have a good view?
Thanks!
Katie
|||
Hello I travel,
Thank you for the very good report and you do write well! Where did you go with your car? How did you find driving in France and where did you go? Did you get to Mont St. Michel or Normandy?
Would love to hear more.
|||
Good tips!
One time we returned our rental car at CDG and walked up to the desk to find out that we were at the wrong place. We ask them to stop processing the return and got the keys back and returned it to the proper return. Those signs were so hard to distinguish. I hope they are easier for my coming trip.
|||
I agree with you on the hairdryers...I have long, thick hair and it took forever to get my hair dry.
While in paris I definately sacrificed comfort for fashion... I wear heels or boots with heels on a daily basis and just could not leave them at home when we went to paris. My husband thought I was crazy, but I actually managed pretty well. Yes my feet were much more sore than they would have been if I had worn comfortable shoes... but I thought it was worth it!
Great tips ihavetravelbug!
|||
We drove to Normandy. I wish I would have researched this more but we lived and learned. We stayed near Mont St.Michel for 2 nights. I loved Mt. St.Michel, it was definitely a hightlight of our trip. What I didn%26#39;t plan on was how big Normandy was. I didn%26#39;t want to switch from hotel to hotel so we stayed in a lovely Chateau called Chateau de Bouceel, which someone from TA recommended. It%26#39;s about a 10 minute ride from Mt. St. Michel. The problem staying there for two nights is that it%26#39;s a long drive (about 2 1/2 hrs each way) to get to the Normandy Beach sites. If I would have planned it better, I would have stayed at the Chateau one night, then Deauville, or Bayeau, or somewhere in the WW2 Beach area the 2nd night. Our last full day, we drove at 7am from Mt. St, Michel to Versailles (which it wouldn%26#39;t have been so early if we stayed in Bayeeu or somewhere up there). We were lucky on this trip to France because on the day we went to Mont St. Michel (St. Michael), it happened to be St. Michael%26#39;s Day, so there were old WW2 planes flying around and dropping off parachuters with the old WW2 globe parachutes. It was definitely a sight to behold! The other great surprise is that the day we arrived in Versailles, that night was Nuit Blanche (White Night) which meant that all the museums in Paris were opened all night long and free (only certain parts of museums), which gave us more time to see the gardens and they opened the Opera House to everyone which was another sight to see. The driving in France (outside of Paris) I found very easy to drive. They drive on the right side of the road like in the US.
|||
KLcrooks
I loved the Intercontinental Hotel! We had an awesome view! We had a view of the Gardens in front of us, the Louvre on the left, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomph on the right. The room was very spacious even for American Standards. We were on the first floor, which is one floor above Lobby. It did get a little loud one night, but nothing that woke me up at night. It was so worth it to come back from dinner and a walk around 11:30pm and watch all the sights illuminated before going to bed. It was so surreal. The breakfasts (which were included in our hotel rate) were awesome. I don%26#39;t know if I would have paid for it, if it wasn%26#39;t included, it was pretty pricey (I can%26#39;t remember, but I think it was like 30 euros per person). The concierge staff was wonderful. Louis was wonderful getting last minute reservations for everything.
The views I have to thank the TA forum again, because someone mentioned to email the hotel in advance and request a room with a view and if possible early check in, which I did. I didn%26#39;t get the early check in but I definitely appreciated the room.
|||
awesome :)
I love little tips like these. We had a hard time sleeping too, but we took about a 3 hour nap when we landed and then went out again for the rest of the day, came home late, and that basically got us over our Jetlag for the week. With a little Excedrin PM, we had no problem sleeping until morning and then got up the next day around 10 or so to begin our adventure...
-cris
|||
Travelbug, thank you!
I have already emailed the hotel twice, but I didn%26#39;t get a response. I finally just called them, and talked to them, so hopefully I%26#39;ll still be able to get a room with a view. I%26#39;m crossing my fingers! Breakfast isn%26#39;t included with all the room rates, though, is it?
No comments:
Post a Comment