Silly Travel Tips

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.

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ihavetravelbug,

Well thought out and expressed trip

suggestions.

Thanks for the compliments, I%26#39;m sure all

of us appreciate them.

Always nice to hear that what we shared

helped someone really enjoy their trip

to Paris.

Best wishes

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Thanks for all the information. And I am definitely one of those people that is greatful for your hair dryer tip. I have long hair also, and I use a salon type dryer that has a LOT of watts. Other wise it takes forever and you get too hot trying to get it done. I will bring my own and my converter.

We will be staying near the Louvre and I was wondering if you had any advice on where to eat on Sunday? Are there some cafes that are open around there?

Also... can you tell me what company you used to reserve a ride from the airport to the hotel?

What entrance is the best for the Louvre if you have the museum pass? Where is the best place to pick up the museum pass?

Thanks for trip report

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Great tips. Are you going to give us a detailed trip report? Would love to read it!

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Hylasgirl

Place to Eat on Sunday near the Louvre- If it%26#39;s open, I recommend Angelina%26#39;s (if you are thinking about lunch). The Tulieres Garden also has a few cafe%26#39;s open for sandwiches. I am sure there are other places, but I don%26#39;t know enough for a Sunday to recommend any others.

%26quot;Tigerlilie posted: Just in case anyone else was interested... Frommer%26#39;s Paris2005 states that Angelina%26#39;s is open daily, 9AM to 7PM. Lunch is served from 11:45AM to 3PM.%26quot;

We went there for a late lunch on one day and loved it. Charming, and good tea and really rich hot chocolate.

Airport to Hotel - We arranged our trip through American Airlines Vacation packages (we found it to be less expensive than booking the air and hotel on our own - even though we used Travelocity, Expedia, Hotel.com, etc.). Their packages include one way transportation from Airport to Hotel. The company that provided the transportation was Carat Location. Their number from Paris is 01.53.06.38.45 or 06.30.55.43.38. Their prices are: shared transfer is 22 euros pp ( I think our transport was supposed to be shared but we were the only ones on the van).

Private transfers: 1-3 passengers 80 euros, 4-5 passengers 90 euros, 6-8 passengers 104 euros.

Louvre Entrance/Museum pass - I can only share our experience. We purchased our museum pass at the metro station at Place de la Concorde. There were no lines there and there was an attendant that helped us (she spoke little English). We entered the Museum through the Passage Richelieu, to the left (facing the pyramids from Tulieres Garden) of the Pyramid Main Entrance.

Hope this helps. Somewhere in this forum, there is a post of restaurants/cafe%26#39;s open on Sunday. Have a great trip!

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Even with a converter a very powerful north american hair dryer can mess up a europeans hotels electric system. Perhaps if one is staying in a very upscale (4* at least) hotel it won%26#39;t be a problem, but in someof the less exspensive hotels the wiring has not been updated in a while.

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If you bring over your hair dryer and a converter, use it on MEDIUM heat. On high, you can fry your hairdryer.

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Good tips on the dryers. I didn%26#39;t even think of their wiring. That makes sense....

Thanks for the other advice travelbug. I love reading the trip reports. I can%26#39;t wait until i can post my own :)