in Paris.. last days of trip.. hubby in bed with a cold.. daughter out... whats a fodorite to do
Jun 5th, 2008, 10:58 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
in Paris.. last days of trip.. hubby in bed with a cold.. daughter out... whats a fodorite to do
Hi last few days of our trip.. thanks to everyone who helped..
things we have learned.. loved or hated.
1.Virgin Atlantic in first class does allow you a guest in the lounges.. did that for our daughter... as my husband said that"was one expensive shower" the revival lounge.. not mentioned..30 pounds.. at that point we were there.. at least she ate breakfast too!
2.Oxford was lovely.. didnt make it to Cheltenham to see my parents hometown. too jet lagged.
3. Horrible London weather.. be prepared for anything.. we were soaked and cold
4. Paris.. love our apt in Monmarte.. is great.. needed to plan some days better, it worked fine in coming back around 2 for naps.. today though at 5 we blew off the concert at St Chappelle ,even though we had paid for.. too many metros.. and oh our apt has 98 stairs..area is wonderful though. I never thought I would let my 20 yr old out by herself.. but it is a nice smaller area.. not so touristy..so many interesting places to walk.
well heck.. the sky is beautiful so I think Ill go read...and have some wine..
LOVED Versailles yesterday.. best way to rent bikes there.. that was THE best thing sooooo fun...saw it like we never would have imagined.. lots more restaurants.. ate at an ok one.. wish they had better info on the few that are there.. so anyway there are nice places.. of course the price is high.. but what isnt? We seem to have gone through so much cash... what the heck!..anyway if you do Versailles do the bikes.. you can rent them by the grand Canal.. we were going to do the Fat tires..but weather has been so iffy.. this was much better..
later!... so does anyone else have stories of sitting by yourself with a sick or tired partner? things that dont go the way we planned...
things we have learned.. loved or hated.
1.Virgin Atlantic in first class does allow you a guest in the lounges.. did that for our daughter... as my husband said that"was one expensive shower" the revival lounge.. not mentioned..30 pounds.. at that point we were there.. at least she ate breakfast too!
2.Oxford was lovely.. didnt make it to Cheltenham to see my parents hometown. too jet lagged.
3. Horrible London weather.. be prepared for anything.. we were soaked and cold
4. Paris.. love our apt in Monmarte.. is great.. needed to plan some days better, it worked fine in coming back around 2 for naps.. today though at 5 we blew off the concert at St Chappelle ,even though we had paid for.. too many metros.. and oh our apt has 98 stairs..area is wonderful though. I never thought I would let my 20 yr old out by herself.. but it is a nice smaller area.. not so touristy..so many interesting places to walk.
well heck.. the sky is beautiful so I think Ill go read...and have some wine..
LOVED Versailles yesterday.. best way to rent bikes there.. that was THE best thing sooooo fun...saw it like we never would have imagined.. lots more restaurants.. ate at an ok one.. wish they had better info on the few that are there.. so anyway there are nice places.. of course the price is high.. but what isnt? We seem to have gone through so much cash... what the heck!..anyway if you do Versailles do the bikes.. you can rent them by the grand Canal.. we were going to do the Fat tires..but weather has been so iffy.. this was much better..
later!... so does anyone else have stories of sitting by yourself with a sick or tired partner? things that dont go the way we planned...
Jun 5th, 2008, 11:06 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,870
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
thanks for the update. I was in the UK last week and had weather anywhere from 40s + gale-force winds and rain; to 70s sunny. I have learned to always bring a scarf, a lightweight cashmere sweater, and an umbrella with me, esp going to the UK
Regarding getting sick, I actually got quite sick in Vienna. I felt really bad for DH. We had just flown into Vienna from London early in the morning, and I started throwing up as soon as the plane landed. I felt so bad that I couldn't even take any transportation from the airport into the city - I had to lie down on a bench in the terminal. Poor DH had to go to a newstand shop to ask for a plastic bag for me.
Eventually we took a cab to the hotel (with me clutching the vomit bag) and I lay in bed all day.
I sent DH out to get himself some lunch and run some errands (pick up concert tickets I had pre-booked). Fortunately, he's a really good sport and he doesn't mind sitting on a bench and people-watch.
Regarding getting sick, I actually got quite sick in Vienna. I felt really bad for DH. We had just flown into Vienna from London early in the morning, and I started throwing up as soon as the plane landed. I felt so bad that I couldn't even take any transportation from the airport into the city - I had to lie down on a bench in the terminal. Poor DH had to go to a newstand shop to ask for a plastic bag for me.
Eventually we took a cab to the hotel (with me clutching the vomit bag) and I lay in bed all day.
I sent DH out to get himself some lunch and run some errands (pick up concert tickets I had pre-booked). Fortunately, he's a really good sport and he doesn't mind sitting on a bench and people-watch.
Jun 5th, 2008, 11:56 AM
#4
Sounds like a good time to seek out the activities in Paris that would interest you but you wouldn't do if your husband was with you for the day because they don't interest him as much. Particular interests? Art, music, shopping? So much Paris, so little time.
Jun 5th, 2008, 12:32 PM
#5
"I never thought I would let my 20 yr old out by herself" - did I read that right??? You weren't planning on letting a 20 year old walk around Paris alone? You do know there are kids backpacking around Europe (and Asia and other continents) younger than that?
Jun 5th, 2008, 12:41 PM
#8
My heart also missed a beat when I read <i>I never thought I would let my 20 yr old out by herself.</i>
You're just lucky she ever came back, assuming that she did. I think I would just keep running with that attitude.
You're just lucky she ever came back, assuming that she did. I think I would just keep running with that attitude.
Jun 5th, 2008, 01:24 PM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,605
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If my hubby wants to rest, I go off alone so I can play with my camera, and just wander around blissfully.
We have been fortunate to remain in good health on our trips, except last year. H. got terrible stomach issues and couldn't leave the room. We were supposed to check out (Brussels) and go on the train to Paris. I spent some time on the laptop rebooking train tickets, emailing our Paris hotel, talking to the Brussels hotel desk clerk (who offered to get a doctor), then finally I went out to the Brussels city musuem to see the Mannequin Pis costumes, and took some pix of the comic murals I found...
Hubby was able to drag out of bed the next morning to go to the train station. I told him he could be sick in Paris
We have been fortunate to remain in good health on our trips, except last year. H. got terrible stomach issues and couldn't leave the room. We were supposed to check out (Brussels) and go on the train to Paris. I spent some time on the laptop rebooking train tickets, emailing our Paris hotel, talking to the Brussels hotel desk clerk (who offered to get a doctor), then finally I went out to the Brussels city musuem to see the Mannequin Pis costumes, and took some pix of the comic murals I found...
Hubby was able to drag out of bed the next morning to go to the train station. I told him he could be sick in Paris
Jun 5th, 2008, 03:00 PM
#12
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,870
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I forgot that on our recent trip to Hong Kong, DH caught some GI illness! I got him a couple bottles of gatorade and then I went out by myself for the morning. By mid-afternoon he felt better so he came out to join me.
Hope your husband is better by now!
Hope your husband is better by now!
Jun 5th, 2008, 04:40 PM
#13
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Agreed - you "let" you 20 year old out alone. Unless your "child" is handicapped in some way I don't understand the "let" part- she's an adult and can do whatever she wants.
Is she "let" out alone at home?
Paris is hardly a dangerous city, and when we visited with our 11 and 14 yeard olds they went off shopping by themselves acouple of afternoons (although I wouldn't have let them stay out alone after dinner). Thy've both been back there with friends - one at 18 and one at 19 - along with hundreds of thousnds of other young tourists. It's hardly a dangerous city and I don;t understand your fears about a grown woman dealing with it on her own.
Is she "let" out alone at home?
Paris is hardly a dangerous city, and when we visited with our 11 and 14 yeard olds they went off shopping by themselves acouple of afternoons (although I wouldn't have let them stay out alone after dinner). Thy've both been back there with friends - one at 18 and one at 19 - along with hundreds of thousnds of other young tourists. It's hardly a dangerous city and I don;t understand your fears about a grown woman dealing with it on her own.
Jun 5th, 2008, 06:19 PM
#14
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 499
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My very first day in Paris, my first trip out of the US, my friend was sick and refused to budge from bed. NO WAY was I "sitting by myself" in Paris!! It is so liberating to go and see the city alone! If you're going to sit and read, do it at Shakespeare and Company or in the Tuileries. Or do as I did; took the Metro to The Louvre, wandered at my own pace, went to the little post office there and purchased stamps and mailed postcards, wandered in the gardens, stopped for a coffee and people watched. Or go to a smaller museum like Marmottan or the Picasso, which are more manageable and in charming neighborhoods. Take you book along and read it in a little cafe and enjoy having the world's most beautiful city as your companion for the day.
Jun 5th, 2008, 09:56 PM
#15
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,491
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Several years ago I was so sick in Paris, I literally could not get out of bed. Not that I didn't want to, but simply couldn't. High fever, coughing, aching all over, etc. Influenza, I think. So frustrating for my dear husband. I was too sick to care. He became worried, because I never get sick like that. So he asked at the hotel desk downstairs and they called a doctor for me. The doctor came into the room, a very handsome, well-dressed man, seeming somewhat taken aback to find this woman in bed clothed in long woolen underwear. He examined me, said a few things in French, then wrote out a series of prescriptions and instructed my husband to get them filled at the pharmacy down the street. This was early evening. The next day I felt weak but well enough to accompany my husband on a walking tour of Montmartre! It was February and snowing! Two days later it was as if I had never been ill. I kid you not. I don't know what all I took that night, but that doctor was a miracle-worker.
Jun 6th, 2008, 03:30 AM
#16
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think your being too harsh on the OP concerning her 20 year old. It is only natural for a parent to worry about their child, no matter the age, and some 20 year olds are more street smart than others.
