Family of 4, 2 Young Teens, 14 Nights, 4 Countries
Jul 22nd, 2016, 09:05 AM
#21
He always complained that is was like third world country with a crumbling infrastructure. If that was true, it is no more. It felt all cleaned up and is such an easy city to navigate.>>
lolfn - I'm enjoying your description of your trip but my experience of visiting London recently was rather different. I worked there from about 1979 - 1997 and I found it a friendly less hectic place then compared to how it is now - and the skyline is irreparably changed [and IMO not in a good way]. And the crowds! I used to love arriving at Victoria station every morning but no longer.
lolfn - I'm enjoying your description of your trip but my experience of visiting London recently was rather different. I worked there from about 1979 - 1997 and I found it a friendly less hectic place then compared to how it is now - and the skyline is irreparably changed [and IMO not in a good way]. And the crowds! I used to love arriving at Victoria station every morning but no longer.
Jul 22nd, 2016, 09:43 AM
#22
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The Eurostar trip was uneventful other than the A/C in our carriage didn’t seem to be working and it was very warm. Every now and then, you’d feel a breath of air like it was finally kicking in and then back to warm. A walk through the train indicated that a handful of carriages had properly working A/C but not all. It seemed a third to a half the toilets or their sinks were out of order. But what both my husband and I marveled at were the number of people who were treating the trip like a long haul overnight train ride. A good number were sacked out cold with pillows and neck rolls, shoes off and others were loaded up with enough food and drink for a week. It is a 2 ½ hour trip and it was the middle of a Tuesday afternoon. I found it funny.
We arrived at Gare du Nord on time at just before 7pm. We jumped on the Metro M4 line from the station to Les Halles and had about a 10 min walk to our accommodations. We walked down one street lined with sidewalk cafes below lovely french buildings. It was so quintessentially Paris that I honestly felt like we were somewhere like Universal Studios walking on the “Paris Street” set. There was a music festival for the summer solstice going on in the city that evening so live bands were set up in different areas.
A former coworker/friend of mine is French and runs his own company. He spends a lot of time in Africa with the company and has a small apartment in Paris that he uses when he needs to be in town (plus a real home outside the city as he hates Paris.) Since I wasn’t finding many hotel rooms that slept 4 and reserving 2 doubles was really getting expensive, I contacted him to see if he had any ideas. He offered us his apartment. It is in the 1st, near the Louvre. It has one bedroom with a queen bed and the living room has a sectional couch that was essentially two twin sized beds put together as an L. We felt very fortunate. The plan was for his assistant to let us into the apartment, set us up with keys and get us oriented. We arrived at the apartment building at 7:30, buzzed up and no answer. Luckily, my husband was able to access a public wifi and we saw an email from her that she had been delayed and was on her way. She arrived about 20 min later and we spent a bit of time getting settled into the apartment.
The kids’ one non-negotiable for Paris was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Apparently, if someone finds out you went to Paris they will ask you if you went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and you look like a fool if you didn’t. At least in middle school world. We had a choice to do it tonight or first thing Thursday morning. I was unsure how the Euro Cup fan zone on the Champ du Mars would affect the tower but knew that this evening was probably our best opportunity to do it so we did.
We headed off on the M1 to the FDR station and transferred to the M9 to the Trocadero so we could give the kids the money shot of the tower as you walk up the stairs of the Trocadero. The 6pm Euro Cup game between Germany and Northern Ireland had recently ended and the metro was flooded with fans. The Germans were in white jerseys and the Irish in green. I took the following video as we were exiting.
www.instagram.com/lolfn1704/
In case it isn’t obvious, the Germans had won 1-0 but the Irish know how to have fun anyway. If anyone knows what they were chanting, I’d love to know. I kept hearing that same chant or tune from the stands when watching the games on TV.
We emerged from the metro and walked over to the stairs to head up and see the Eiffel Tower. The kids were wowed by the tower but a bit horrified by the mass of football fans all over the area. We walked down the stairs toward the river and there were hawkers everywhere selling their trinkets and bottles of beer for €1 each.
Security was tight for the tower which I appreciated. We were patted down, bags checked multiple times and we were ‘wanded’. Once through security we felt like we were in a large empty square. There weren’t many people there at all which was unexpected even though it was getting late. There was a line that snaked a bit for elevator tickets. The kids wanted to do the stairs so we headed to that corner, purchased our tickets at 9:25pm (€24 total), and headed straight up with no wait. 674 steps up to the second level. And it really was not bad at all. St. Paul’s seemed more tiring. They must have the perfect rise/width ratio or something. We stopped at the first level and did a lap around the perimeter before heading to the second level for another lap. The fan zone was all lit up and filled with people. The screens were facing away from the tower so you couldn’t see those. But while on the tower we heard the crowd erupt twice as two goals were scored. I had been pretty bummed out when I heard about the fan zone but it actually was quite cool to have it there. Especially at night since it was all lit up.
We purchased our tickets to get to the top (another €24 total) and got in line for the elevator. On our walk around the perimeter we noticed two lines that approached the elevator from opposite sides. Unfortunately, we chose unwisely and ended up in the longer line. We waited about 10 minutes and headed straight up which I imagine would be terrifying for those scared of heights. We were up top at 10:05. Sunset was at 9:58 and the views were really nice. It was cool to see the city change as the sun went down and the building lit up. There were a number of people on the summit but you never had to wait more than a couple minutes to get up to the fencing for a view. Having learned our lesson, we chose the short line with no wait for the descent to the second level and then had another 5-10 min wait for the elevator to the bottom.
We walked back up the Trocadero. The Irish had learned they were one of the 4 third place teams to make it through to the second round so now were singing “We’re not going home” to the same tune as before. The gate to the metro entrance we departed was shut tight and we had a slight panic wondering if they had shut down the metro. But with a walk around the area toward the restaurants, we found an open entrance and took the metro back to the apartment happy to crash for the night.
From Buckingham Palace to the Eiffel Tower, it had been a long day but we all enjoyed it. And the kids had loved going up the Eiffel Tower.
NEXT: Walking Paris-Our Most Exhausting Day
We arrived at Gare du Nord on time at just before 7pm. We jumped on the Metro M4 line from the station to Les Halles and had about a 10 min walk to our accommodations. We walked down one street lined with sidewalk cafes below lovely french buildings. It was so quintessentially Paris that I honestly felt like we were somewhere like Universal Studios walking on the “Paris Street” set. There was a music festival for the summer solstice going on in the city that evening so live bands were set up in different areas.
A former coworker/friend of mine is French and runs his own company. He spends a lot of time in Africa with the company and has a small apartment in Paris that he uses when he needs to be in town (plus a real home outside the city as he hates Paris.) Since I wasn’t finding many hotel rooms that slept 4 and reserving 2 doubles was really getting expensive, I contacted him to see if he had any ideas. He offered us his apartment. It is in the 1st, near the Louvre. It has one bedroom with a queen bed and the living room has a sectional couch that was essentially two twin sized beds put together as an L. We felt very fortunate. The plan was for his assistant to let us into the apartment, set us up with keys and get us oriented. We arrived at the apartment building at 7:30, buzzed up and no answer. Luckily, my husband was able to access a public wifi and we saw an email from her that she had been delayed and was on her way. She arrived about 20 min later and we spent a bit of time getting settled into the apartment.
The kids’ one non-negotiable for Paris was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Apparently, if someone finds out you went to Paris they will ask you if you went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and you look like a fool if you didn’t. At least in middle school world. We had a choice to do it tonight or first thing Thursday morning. I was unsure how the Euro Cup fan zone on the Champ du Mars would affect the tower but knew that this evening was probably our best opportunity to do it so we did.
We headed off on the M1 to the FDR station and transferred to the M9 to the Trocadero so we could give the kids the money shot of the tower as you walk up the stairs of the Trocadero. The 6pm Euro Cup game between Germany and Northern Ireland had recently ended and the metro was flooded with fans. The Germans were in white jerseys and the Irish in green. I took the following video as we were exiting.
www.instagram.com/lolfn1704/
In case it isn’t obvious, the Germans had won 1-0 but the Irish know how to have fun anyway. If anyone knows what they were chanting, I’d love to know. I kept hearing that same chant or tune from the stands when watching the games on TV.
We emerged from the metro and walked over to the stairs to head up and see the Eiffel Tower. The kids were wowed by the tower but a bit horrified by the mass of football fans all over the area. We walked down the stairs toward the river and there were hawkers everywhere selling their trinkets and bottles of beer for €1 each.
Security was tight for the tower which I appreciated. We were patted down, bags checked multiple times and we were ‘wanded’. Once through security we felt like we were in a large empty square. There weren’t many people there at all which was unexpected even though it was getting late. There was a line that snaked a bit for elevator tickets. The kids wanted to do the stairs so we headed to that corner, purchased our tickets at 9:25pm (€24 total), and headed straight up with no wait. 674 steps up to the second level. And it really was not bad at all. St. Paul’s seemed more tiring. They must have the perfect rise/width ratio or something. We stopped at the first level and did a lap around the perimeter before heading to the second level for another lap. The fan zone was all lit up and filled with people. The screens were facing away from the tower so you couldn’t see those. But while on the tower we heard the crowd erupt twice as two goals were scored. I had been pretty bummed out when I heard about the fan zone but it actually was quite cool to have it there. Especially at night since it was all lit up.
We purchased our tickets to get to the top (another €24 total) and got in line for the elevator. On our walk around the perimeter we noticed two lines that approached the elevator from opposite sides. Unfortunately, we chose unwisely and ended up in the longer line. We waited about 10 minutes and headed straight up which I imagine would be terrifying for those scared of heights. We were up top at 10:05. Sunset was at 9:58 and the views were really nice. It was cool to see the city change as the sun went down and the building lit up. There were a number of people on the summit but you never had to wait more than a couple minutes to get up to the fencing for a view. Having learned our lesson, we chose the short line with no wait for the descent to the second level and then had another 5-10 min wait for the elevator to the bottom.
We walked back up the Trocadero. The Irish had learned they were one of the 4 third place teams to make it through to the second round so now were singing “We’re not going home” to the same tune as before. The gate to the metro entrance we departed was shut tight and we had a slight panic wondering if they had shut down the metro. But with a walk around the area toward the restaurants, we found an open entrance and took the metro back to the apartment happy to crash for the night.
From Buckingham Palace to the Eiffel Tower, it had been a long day but we all enjoyed it. And the kids had loved going up the Eiffel Tower.
NEXT: Walking Paris-Our Most Exhausting Day
Jul 22nd, 2016, 01:06 PM
#24
If anyone knows what they were chanting, I’d love to know. I kept hearing that same chant or tune from the stands when watching the games on TV.>>
lolfn - i tried to make it out but couldn't pick out any of the words; it's not any of the songs I could find on the internet either.
I am so impressed with you fitting all that into one day plus climbing the Eiffel Tower - superb!
lolfn - i tried to make it out but couldn't pick out any of the words; it's not any of the songs I could find on the internet either.
I am so impressed with you fitting all that into one day plus climbing the Eiffel Tower - superb!
Jul 25th, 2016, 06:59 AM
#25
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I'm back after a relaxing but hot weekend.
annhig, I also tried to find the chant online and couldn't but it was definitely a popular tune to sing to during the Euro Cup this year.
Onward with Paris...
Today was our only full day in Paris and we took full advantage. My feet are hurting just thinking about this day.
My husband and I purchased the 2 day museum pass at €48 each (kids were free). The five places that were on our must do list were covered by the pass. If we had purchased tickets to each it would have cost us €52 each. So the Pass saved us money. Plus, we now were able to pop into 3 other museums to look at one or two things that we wouldn’t have done otherwise since it wouldn’t have been worth the admission. And, thirdly, the separate fast pass and security lines really made a difference at some places. So for our purposes, the museum pass was very much worth it.
After the late night, we let the kids sleep in a bit and my husband and I snuck out to a great boulangerie down the street from the apartment to grab breakfast. Nothing better than fresh French pastries! When we returned with the goodies to the apartment, we opened the windows and the cacophony of the street noise came flooding in, jolting the kids awake. I hadn’t realized how quiet the place was with the windows closed. Oops, sorry kids! They rallied and we were out the door around 9:15.
Our first stop was to be Saint-Chappelle and its stained glass windows. We walked toward the Ile de la Cite stopping at a BNP Paribas for cash since their partnership with Bank of America meant no ATM fees. It was a warm and sunny morning and would get up to about 85/29 both days so definitely our hottest days of the trip. Crossing the Pont au Change we marveled at the architecture of the Conciergerie. We still needed to purchase our museum passes so we stopped at the Conciergerie as we passed it figuring it would be easier than doing it at Ste Chappelle which would have more crowds. It was an easy transaction and since we were already there and no one else was, we decided to take 10-15 minutes to wander through and see the prisoner rooms and Marie Antoinette’s cell. The architecture of the building is the best part, otherwise it is mostly a large empty building.
We then headed down the block to Saint-Chappelle which was a must do as neither my husband nor I had been before on previous trips. There was a very long line to purchase tickets/ go through security so we were glad we stopped to buy the passes elsewhere. The pass holders had a separate entrance/security and we were inside quickly. We glanced around the first floor with its painted blue ceiling and then headed upstairs to the showstopper and it literally stops you in your tracks. The windows are incredible. It wasn’t terribly crowded yet and we were able to sit for a bit and take it all in. My daughter was entranced by it.
Next, we walked down the street to Notre Dame. We had already decided it wasn’t worth our limited time to wait in line to climb up the towers. There was a pretty large crowd congregated on the plaza in front of the church. Today, we saw a lot of Austrian fans out and about wearing their red jerseys, carrying large Austrian flags, and the flag painted on their cheeks. Sadly, I believe they lost their game later in the day. We did go inside the cathedral, which is free, and really enjoyed wandering around. We then walked around the back side checking out the flying buttresses. There was a band playing on a little stage in the park behind the cathedral and they were playing nothing but Disney songs.
We walked over the bridge and had a wander around Saint Louis which was quaint but very quiet. Maybe we were too early in the day, but there didn’t seem to be much activity. Then we walked along the river, crossed back over it and headed straight for BHV. We are big DIYers, and after hearing so much about it, I wanted to see the famous basement. It was like an upscale Lowes/Home Depot. The window locks made me wish we had the types of windows that used them just so I could buy them. The little street number tiles and small door signs were great. The kids dragged my husband and me away and we went up to the 5th floor café to see if the food looked good for the kids’ lunch. Because they were hungry and wanted to eat then, my son ended up getting roast chicken and potatoes and my daughter got a large piece of pizza. Neither was thrilled with the food but it was nice to sit near the windows overlooking the rooftops.
When people heard we were going to Paris, almost everyone told us we had to have falafel in Le Marais and go to Musee d’Orsay. At the Royal Mews in London, we stopped to ask an attendant about the closest tube stop and she chatted with us a bit about our trip. Even that girl, who actually was Canadian, told us she would be remiss if she didn’t tell us to go to the falafel place and the museum. So we had to try the falafel and chose to go to the most talked about one, L’As du Fallafel. You can get take away at a window or sit inside. We chose to sit inside and waited a few minutes for a table. Since the kids were still hungry, we got a big plate of healthy fries while we waited for our food. I got the standard falafel in pita, my husband got the chicken schwrama and a side of falafel. I don’t eat falafel often and thought it was good. My husband had been on a recent kick of eating it often because there is a great place near his office in NYC. He thought it was good but he didn’t think it was the best he’d ever had. But the sandwiches were huge and we left stuffed and satisfied.
We wandered through Le Marais taking in the neighborhood. When we passed Berthillon on Saint Louis we told the kids we would go back after lunch. So we zig zagged our way through Le Marais back toward the river. As we approached the bridge and were waiting for the light to change, a sweet little old man approached us and asked us in broken English if we were American. We told him we were and he said that the best ice cream in Paris was just ahead at Berthillon. We laughed and said that was exactly where we were headed. We arrived ahead of him and as he entered the store he was surprised we had gotten there so quickly. We each got a cone at the street side counter. I am not much of a sweets person so I loved the petite portions they give you. It is the perfect size to satisfy a sweet tooth and not be too much. My kids thought otherwise. The man was leaving as we were and we asked what he purchased. He proudly showed us his bag of 4 pints of different flavors.
Next stop, the Pantheon, a ¾ mile walk through the Latin Quarter. We loved the Pantheon, partly because it was very cool inside and it had gotten hot and sticky outside and there was some uphill walking to get there. We flashed our passes to get in and there weren’t many people there. The building is absolutely gorgeous and my son and I spent a lot of time sitting on a bench and staring up at all the details. I grew up in the DC area and loved going downtown to the American History museum because they had the large Foucoult pendulum in the entry hall with the Star Spangled Banner flag behind it. I remember staring endlessly at the pendulum ball swinging back and forth getting closer and closer to the next peg. A few years ago, I took the kids to the museum and was so sad that the pendulum is no longer there. Now there is an exhibit on the flag which they had to create to better protect it from the elements. It is a terrific exhibit but I missed the pendulum. So I was excited that the Pantheon has a Foucoult pendulum. It wasn’t as large as the one I remembered in DC but that could be a function of growing up and everything seems larger in memory? There were numbers based on the clock painted around the perimeter of the circle. But only 270 degrees around. So hour 24 was at the 9 o’clock position on the circle and 0 was up top at the 12 o’clock position. What happens at midnight to move it 90 degrees? Regardless, at 2:40 that afternoon, based on the painted numbers, it was keeping perfect time.
We spent a lot of time at the Pantheon and then got our energy up to get going and headed over to Luxembourg Gardens which are beautiful. We watched the little kids pushing off their sailboat and squealing as it sailed around the water in front of the palace. The French really know how to dress their children and they were so adorable. No graphic tees and athletic shorts and flashy sneakers in sight. Just little smocked dresses or rompers or a cute cotton blouse and shorts with mary janes or sandals. We strolled through the gardens and headed in the direction of our apartment walking through the St. Germain area on the way back. That area had a more upscale vibe and was crowded with people enjoying the sidewalk cafes.
We picked up some sandwiches, snacks and drinks at our local boulangerie and market before arriving back at the apartment. The last few days going full tilt were catching up with us and we needed to kick back and relax for a couple hours.
NEXT: Evening at the Louvre and a Boat Cruise
annhig, I also tried to find the chant online and couldn't but it was definitely a popular tune to sing to during the Euro Cup this year.
Onward with Paris...
Today was our only full day in Paris and we took full advantage. My feet are hurting just thinking about this day.
My husband and I purchased the 2 day museum pass at €48 each (kids were free). The five places that were on our must do list were covered by the pass. If we had purchased tickets to each it would have cost us €52 each. So the Pass saved us money. Plus, we now were able to pop into 3 other museums to look at one or two things that we wouldn’t have done otherwise since it wouldn’t have been worth the admission. And, thirdly, the separate fast pass and security lines really made a difference at some places. So for our purposes, the museum pass was very much worth it.
After the late night, we let the kids sleep in a bit and my husband and I snuck out to a great boulangerie down the street from the apartment to grab breakfast. Nothing better than fresh French pastries! When we returned with the goodies to the apartment, we opened the windows and the cacophony of the street noise came flooding in, jolting the kids awake. I hadn’t realized how quiet the place was with the windows closed. Oops, sorry kids! They rallied and we were out the door around 9:15.
Our first stop was to be Saint-Chappelle and its stained glass windows. We walked toward the Ile de la Cite stopping at a BNP Paribas for cash since their partnership with Bank of America meant no ATM fees. It was a warm and sunny morning and would get up to about 85/29 both days so definitely our hottest days of the trip. Crossing the Pont au Change we marveled at the architecture of the Conciergerie. We still needed to purchase our museum passes so we stopped at the Conciergerie as we passed it figuring it would be easier than doing it at Ste Chappelle which would have more crowds. It was an easy transaction and since we were already there and no one else was, we decided to take 10-15 minutes to wander through and see the prisoner rooms and Marie Antoinette’s cell. The architecture of the building is the best part, otherwise it is mostly a large empty building.
We then headed down the block to Saint-Chappelle which was a must do as neither my husband nor I had been before on previous trips. There was a very long line to purchase tickets/ go through security so we were glad we stopped to buy the passes elsewhere. The pass holders had a separate entrance/security and we were inside quickly. We glanced around the first floor with its painted blue ceiling and then headed upstairs to the showstopper and it literally stops you in your tracks. The windows are incredible. It wasn’t terribly crowded yet and we were able to sit for a bit and take it all in. My daughter was entranced by it.
Next, we walked down the street to Notre Dame. We had already decided it wasn’t worth our limited time to wait in line to climb up the towers. There was a pretty large crowd congregated on the plaza in front of the church. Today, we saw a lot of Austrian fans out and about wearing their red jerseys, carrying large Austrian flags, and the flag painted on their cheeks. Sadly, I believe they lost their game later in the day. We did go inside the cathedral, which is free, and really enjoyed wandering around. We then walked around the back side checking out the flying buttresses. There was a band playing on a little stage in the park behind the cathedral and they were playing nothing but Disney songs.
We walked over the bridge and had a wander around Saint Louis which was quaint but very quiet. Maybe we were too early in the day, but there didn’t seem to be much activity. Then we walked along the river, crossed back over it and headed straight for BHV. We are big DIYers, and after hearing so much about it, I wanted to see the famous basement. It was like an upscale Lowes/Home Depot. The window locks made me wish we had the types of windows that used them just so I could buy them. The little street number tiles and small door signs were great. The kids dragged my husband and me away and we went up to the 5th floor café to see if the food looked good for the kids’ lunch. Because they were hungry and wanted to eat then, my son ended up getting roast chicken and potatoes and my daughter got a large piece of pizza. Neither was thrilled with the food but it was nice to sit near the windows overlooking the rooftops.
When people heard we were going to Paris, almost everyone told us we had to have falafel in Le Marais and go to Musee d’Orsay. At the Royal Mews in London, we stopped to ask an attendant about the closest tube stop and she chatted with us a bit about our trip. Even that girl, who actually was Canadian, told us she would be remiss if she didn’t tell us to go to the falafel place and the museum. So we had to try the falafel and chose to go to the most talked about one, L’As du Fallafel. You can get take away at a window or sit inside. We chose to sit inside and waited a few minutes for a table. Since the kids were still hungry, we got a big plate of healthy fries while we waited for our food. I got the standard falafel in pita, my husband got the chicken schwrama and a side of falafel. I don’t eat falafel often and thought it was good. My husband had been on a recent kick of eating it often because there is a great place near his office in NYC. He thought it was good but he didn’t think it was the best he’d ever had. But the sandwiches were huge and we left stuffed and satisfied.
We wandered through Le Marais taking in the neighborhood. When we passed Berthillon on Saint Louis we told the kids we would go back after lunch. So we zig zagged our way through Le Marais back toward the river. As we approached the bridge and were waiting for the light to change, a sweet little old man approached us and asked us in broken English if we were American. We told him we were and he said that the best ice cream in Paris was just ahead at Berthillon. We laughed and said that was exactly where we were headed. We arrived ahead of him and as he entered the store he was surprised we had gotten there so quickly. We each got a cone at the street side counter. I am not much of a sweets person so I loved the petite portions they give you. It is the perfect size to satisfy a sweet tooth and not be too much. My kids thought otherwise. The man was leaving as we were and we asked what he purchased. He proudly showed us his bag of 4 pints of different flavors.
Next stop, the Pantheon, a ¾ mile walk through the Latin Quarter. We loved the Pantheon, partly because it was very cool inside and it had gotten hot and sticky outside and there was some uphill walking to get there. We flashed our passes to get in and there weren’t many people there. The building is absolutely gorgeous and my son and I spent a lot of time sitting on a bench and staring up at all the details. I grew up in the DC area and loved going downtown to the American History museum because they had the large Foucoult pendulum in the entry hall with the Star Spangled Banner flag behind it. I remember staring endlessly at the pendulum ball swinging back and forth getting closer and closer to the next peg. A few years ago, I took the kids to the museum and was so sad that the pendulum is no longer there. Now there is an exhibit on the flag which they had to create to better protect it from the elements. It is a terrific exhibit but I missed the pendulum. So I was excited that the Pantheon has a Foucoult pendulum. It wasn’t as large as the one I remembered in DC but that could be a function of growing up and everything seems larger in memory? There were numbers based on the clock painted around the perimeter of the circle. But only 270 degrees around. So hour 24 was at the 9 o’clock position on the circle and 0 was up top at the 12 o’clock position. What happens at midnight to move it 90 degrees? Regardless, at 2:40 that afternoon, based on the painted numbers, it was keeping perfect time.
We spent a lot of time at the Pantheon and then got our energy up to get going and headed over to Luxembourg Gardens which are beautiful. We watched the little kids pushing off their sailboat and squealing as it sailed around the water in front of the palace. The French really know how to dress their children and they were so adorable. No graphic tees and athletic shorts and flashy sneakers in sight. Just little smocked dresses or rompers or a cute cotton blouse and shorts with mary janes or sandals. We strolled through the gardens and headed in the direction of our apartment walking through the St. Germain area on the way back. That area had a more upscale vibe and was crowded with people enjoying the sidewalk cafes.
We picked up some sandwiches, snacks and drinks at our local boulangerie and market before arriving back at the apartment. The last few days going full tilt were catching up with us and we needed to kick back and relax for a couple hours.
NEXT: Evening at the Louvre and a Boat Cruise
Jul 25th, 2016, 01:35 PM
#26
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After a few hours rest, we headed back out to the Louvre which is open late, until 9:45, on Wednesday evenings. We entered through the Carousel entrance down in the mall and waltzed right in. The lack of line was probably due to a combination of using an alternate entrance and going in the evening. The kids really just wanted to see the highlights, especially the Mona Lisa, so we noted where everything was on the map and headed off in what seemed like a logical order. Now, I have to admit that I’d have a hard time navigating my way out of a paper bag which causes frustration for my husband as he always wants to drive, therefore, I’m the navigator. My mind just doesn’t work well with maps and I don’t instinctively know my left and right. Once in Ireland, I exclaimed, “Kids look out to the right!” while I was looking out to the left. It is a crapshoot whether the correct word will come out. I pity the poor souls who ask me on the street for directions and always hope I got it right (I use lots of hand gestures in case that helps.) Please tell me I’m not the only one with this affliction. Anyway, the Louvre is not the easiest of places to navigate around even though it is clear there are 3 wings and all the rooms are numbered in order. But since it is such an old building that has been cobbled together over the years, there are lots of stairs up and down, and honestly, I don’t think the map is all that great. Somehow, I was the one with the map guiding us but my daughter quickly realized the issue and took over.
We managed to maneuver our way through and see everything we wanted to see though it took a lot longer than we anticipated. We realized this was going to be the case early on and just enjoyed walking through the beautiful palace marveling that we were surrounded by such incredible art. On previous trips, I had never gone to Napoleon’s apartments and couldn’t believe the opulence. Completely over the top, yet magnificent. The museum felt empty until we got to the Denon wing which does house some of the most famous pieces. But even that didn’t feel crowded. As expected, the Mona Lisa room had the most people but was only about 2-3 people deep in front of the painting. So it didn’t take long to get up to the ropes to view it. The kids were very satisfied with the visit.
Prior to leaving our apartment, I asked if everyone was up for doing a boat cruise after the Louvre. Everyone was, so I pre-purchased the tickets on my phone for a €2 discount each over buying at the pier. After leaving the Louvre, we strolled along the river to the Pont de Neuf and had to wait about 20 min for the next boat. I think it was the 8:30 boat. It would have been nice to have taken the 9:30 so that we’d do the return trip after sunset, but that would have meant getting to bed close to midnight again and we didn’t have it in us. The downside of racing through a city. We were first on board and we sat up in front of the boat. The guide did the commentary in french and then english. He was very perfunctory pointing out the interesting buildings with maybe a fact about each. He had no color commentary (at least in english, maybe he added more in french) like the guy did in London. Due to the previous flooding, the boat did not go around the islands so we didn’t see Notre Dame but instead went up to the little Statue of Liberty which is beyond the Eiffel Tower. The tour lasted an hour and afterwards, we headed home to bed.
NEXT: Our last day in Paris and then off to Belgium!
We managed to maneuver our way through and see everything we wanted to see though it took a lot longer than we anticipated. We realized this was going to be the case early on and just enjoyed walking through the beautiful palace marveling that we were surrounded by such incredible art. On previous trips, I had never gone to Napoleon’s apartments and couldn’t believe the opulence. Completely over the top, yet magnificent. The museum felt empty until we got to the Denon wing which does house some of the most famous pieces. But even that didn’t feel crowded. As expected, the Mona Lisa room had the most people but was only about 2-3 people deep in front of the painting. So it didn’t take long to get up to the ropes to view it. The kids were very satisfied with the visit.
Prior to leaving our apartment, I asked if everyone was up for doing a boat cruise after the Louvre. Everyone was, so I pre-purchased the tickets on my phone for a €2 discount each over buying at the pier. After leaving the Louvre, we strolled along the river to the Pont de Neuf and had to wait about 20 min for the next boat. I think it was the 8:30 boat. It would have been nice to have taken the 9:30 so that we’d do the return trip after sunset, but that would have meant getting to bed close to midnight again and we didn’t have it in us. The downside of racing through a city. We were first on board and we sat up in front of the boat. The guide did the commentary in french and then english. He was very perfunctory pointing out the interesting buildings with maybe a fact about each. He had no color commentary (at least in english, maybe he added more in french) like the guy did in London. Due to the previous flooding, the boat did not go around the islands so we didn’t see Notre Dame but instead went up to the little Statue of Liberty which is beyond the Eiffel Tower. The tour lasted an hour and afterwards, we headed home to bed.
NEXT: Our last day in Paris and then off to Belgium!
Jul 25th, 2016, 05:21 PM
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lolfn, I am really enjoying your trip report, and I want to tell you that you are not alone in being directionally challenged. My daughter and I went to Williamsburg, VA, when she was 14, and that is when I found out that I will invariably go in the wrong direction and she almost never will.
Jul 26th, 2016, 07:25 AM
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Thank you carolyn for letting me know I'm not the only one! I could totally relate to Joey on Friends when they were in London and he put the map on the ground and stepped on it to figure out which direction to go. Hey, we can't be perfect at everything, right? 
Jul 26th, 2016, 07:47 AM
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Thursday was our last day in Paris and we’d be leaving on the 3:40 train to Belgium. We got another great breakfast from the boulangerie and packed up our things so everything would be ready to go when we were. Originally, I envisioned walking through the Jardin des Tuileries to our first destination but that idea was met with stone cold stares. After walking 12 miles the day before, they were done. So we hopped the metro for the short ride to the Place de la Concorde. Due to the Euro Cup, they had kept the ferris wheel up. I think it is usually only up during the winter? A second ferris wheel had just been erected on the side of the gardens for the Fête des Tuileries, the fair opening in a couple days. I find ferris wheels lovely to look at but will never ride one, they’ve always made me nervous.
We walked over to the Musee L’Orangerie, a bonus museum because we had the museum pass. We checked out the 6 large Monet waterlilies, 3 each displayed in a large oval room as he had intended. He wanted the viewer to feel like they were immersed in the landscape, surrounded by the meditative environment. I suppose this is heresy, but we were underwhelmed. Yes, the room was quiet and serene and the paintings are very large. I guess I expected to be more wowed, but what do I know?
We walked over to the river and crossed it on the pedestrian bridge, Passerelle Solférino. A crew of about 20 men were removing those “love” padlocks one by one with large hand cutters and reciprocating saws. It looked like extremely tedious work.
Next stop was the Musee d’Orsay. I had visited back in 1997 but my husband had never gone. There was quite a bit of a line but with the passes we bypassed it all. My son did have to check his day pack here as well as at Musee L’Orangerie. The kids had brought smaller drawsting backpacks to use daily to hold water, sunglasses, etc. But he preferred to carry his larger backpack. He didn’t have any issues with it the day before but we did witness someone denied access to the Pantheon because they said his normal sized pack was too big, though it was the same size as my son’s. As everyone says, Musee d’Orsay is an awesome museum. We spent quite a bit of time wandering through the galleries focusing mainly up on the 5th floor. Done with art, my son zipped through it quickly and happily spent most of his time looking through the massive clock and taking in the view from the terrace. My daughter surprised me having remembered a good bit from what little art history she has had.
From here we walked over to the Rodin Museum grabbing a crepe as a snack along the way. I thought this museum was fantastic and wish we had had more time to spend there. It was another bonus stop because we had the museum pass and had just planned on checking out the Kiss and the Thinker. But I really enjoyed walking through the museum and strolling a bit through the garden. Maybe because it was getting to be midday, but this museum was more crowded than I expected it to be.
Last on our attraction list was going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. My son, especially, was very excited and it didn’t disappoint. We took the metro over to the Arc and walked through the pedestrian tunnel under the road to get to it. There was quite a long line for tickets which we could bypass since it is included in the Pass. They also have a separate security line for Pass holders. I had read that the kids were free but would still need a paper ticket. That was not the case, we just said they were with us and we were waved through. For some reason, I expected some sort of holding area before you got to the staircase but you literally walk through security and whoosh, you’re funneled up the 284 steps to the top with not a second to realize it and catch your breath. The view is great. It was a bright, sunny day and it is very cool to be at the center hub with the 12 spokes of the avenues radiating outward. The intricate carvings on the outside of the arc are beautiful. I guess my daughter thought so too as I found a ton of photos of them that she had taken with my camera.
As our time in Paris was coming to an end, we took the metro back to our neighborhood to have lunch at a restaurant near our apartment. We sat inside hoping for a bit of cool air as we were hot and sweaty. The restaurant had a meager A/C system but it was better than sitting in the heat. We went back to our apartment to gather our stuff and head to the train station.
While I hate to say it, my son did not vibe on Paris at all. My daughter enjoyed it, not quite as much as London, but she liked seeing places that she has heard and read a lot about. She enjoyed the different neighborhoods and the food. But she is my practical, analytical kid. My son is a creative that flies by the seat of his pants. He goes a lot on gut feel and from the time he arrived in Paris, he wasn’t feeling it. The hordes of drunk Euro Cup fans that we saw the first night might have influenced him but he is standing by his view that Paris is a one and done city for him. He says he can’t imagine returning while he is talking about studying or living in London or Belgium when he gets older. I’ve encouraged him to give other parts of France a chance as I have enjoyed Dordogne and Provence much more than I enjoy Paris.
NEXT: Train to Belgium - Sometimes the journey is not better than the destination
We walked over to the Musee L’Orangerie, a bonus museum because we had the museum pass. We checked out the 6 large Monet waterlilies, 3 each displayed in a large oval room as he had intended. He wanted the viewer to feel like they were immersed in the landscape, surrounded by the meditative environment. I suppose this is heresy, but we were underwhelmed. Yes, the room was quiet and serene and the paintings are very large. I guess I expected to be more wowed, but what do I know?
We walked over to the river and crossed it on the pedestrian bridge, Passerelle Solférino. A crew of about 20 men were removing those “love” padlocks one by one with large hand cutters and reciprocating saws. It looked like extremely tedious work.
Next stop was the Musee d’Orsay. I had visited back in 1997 but my husband had never gone. There was quite a bit of a line but with the passes we bypassed it all. My son did have to check his day pack here as well as at Musee L’Orangerie. The kids had brought smaller drawsting backpacks to use daily to hold water, sunglasses, etc. But he preferred to carry his larger backpack. He didn’t have any issues with it the day before but we did witness someone denied access to the Pantheon because they said his normal sized pack was too big, though it was the same size as my son’s. As everyone says, Musee d’Orsay is an awesome museum. We spent quite a bit of time wandering through the galleries focusing mainly up on the 5th floor. Done with art, my son zipped through it quickly and happily spent most of his time looking through the massive clock and taking in the view from the terrace. My daughter surprised me having remembered a good bit from what little art history she has had.
From here we walked over to the Rodin Museum grabbing a crepe as a snack along the way. I thought this museum was fantastic and wish we had had more time to spend there. It was another bonus stop because we had the museum pass and had just planned on checking out the Kiss and the Thinker. But I really enjoyed walking through the museum and strolling a bit through the garden. Maybe because it was getting to be midday, but this museum was more crowded than I expected it to be.
Last on our attraction list was going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. My son, especially, was very excited and it didn’t disappoint. We took the metro over to the Arc and walked through the pedestrian tunnel under the road to get to it. There was quite a long line for tickets which we could bypass since it is included in the Pass. They also have a separate security line for Pass holders. I had read that the kids were free but would still need a paper ticket. That was not the case, we just said they were with us and we were waved through. For some reason, I expected some sort of holding area before you got to the staircase but you literally walk through security and whoosh, you’re funneled up the 284 steps to the top with not a second to realize it and catch your breath. The view is great. It was a bright, sunny day and it is very cool to be at the center hub with the 12 spokes of the avenues radiating outward. The intricate carvings on the outside of the arc are beautiful. I guess my daughter thought so too as I found a ton of photos of them that she had taken with my camera.
As our time in Paris was coming to an end, we took the metro back to our neighborhood to have lunch at a restaurant near our apartment. We sat inside hoping for a bit of cool air as we were hot and sweaty. The restaurant had a meager A/C system but it was better than sitting in the heat. We went back to our apartment to gather our stuff and head to the train station.
While I hate to say it, my son did not vibe on Paris at all. My daughter enjoyed it, not quite as much as London, but she liked seeing places that she has heard and read a lot about. She enjoyed the different neighborhoods and the food. But she is my practical, analytical kid. My son is a creative that flies by the seat of his pants. He goes a lot on gut feel and from the time he arrived in Paris, he wasn’t feeling it. The hordes of drunk Euro Cup fans that we saw the first night might have influenced him but he is standing by his view that Paris is a one and done city for him. He says he can’t imagine returning while he is talking about studying or living in London or Belgium when he gets older. I’ve encouraged him to give other parts of France a chance as I have enjoyed Dordogne and Provence much more than I enjoy Paris.
NEXT: Train to Belgium - Sometimes the journey is not better than the destination
Jul 26th, 2016, 07:47 AM
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Thursday was our last day in Paris and we’d be leaving on the 3:40 train to Belgium. We got another great breakfast from the boulangerie and packed up our things so everything would be ready to go when we were. Originally, I envisioned walking through the Jardin des Tuileries to our first destination but that idea was met with stone cold stares. After walking 12 miles the day before, they were done. So we hopped the metro for the short ride to the Place de la Concorde. Due to the Euro Cup, they had kept the ferris wheel up. I think it is usually only up during the winter? A second ferris wheel had just been erected on the side of the gardens for the Fête des Tuileries, the fair opening in a couple days. I find ferris wheels lovely to look at but will never ride one, they’ve always made me nervous.
We walked over to the Musee L’Orangerie, a bonus museum because we had the museum pass. We checked out the 6 large Monet waterlilies, 3 each displayed in a large oval room as he had intended. He wanted the viewer to feel like they were immersed in the landscape, surrounded by the meditative environment. I suppose this is heresy, but we were underwhelmed. Yes, the room was quiet and serene and the paintings are very large. I guess I expected to be more wowed, but what do I know?
We walked over to the river and crossed it on the pedestrian bridge, Passerelle Solférino. A crew of about 20 men were removing those “love” padlocks one by one with large hand cutters and reciprocating saws. It looked like extremely tedious work.
Next stop was the Musee d’Orsay. I had visited back in 1997 but my husband had never gone. There was quite a bit of a line but with the passes we bypassed it all. My son did have to check his day pack here as well as at Musee L’Orangerie. The kids had brought smaller drawsting backpacks to use daily to hold water, sunglasses, etc. But he preferred to carry his larger backpack. He didn’t have any issues with it the day before but we did witness someone denied access to the Pantheon because they said his normal sized pack was too big, though it was the same size as my son’s. As everyone says, Musee d’Orsay is an awesome museum. We spent quite a bit of time wandering through the galleries focusing mainly up on the 5th floor. Done with art, my son zipped through it quickly and happily spent most of his time looking through the massive clock and taking in the view from the terrace. My daughter surprised me having remembered a good bit from what little art history she has had.
From here we walked over to the Rodin Museum grabbing a crepe as a snack along the way. I thought this museum was fantastic and wish we had had more time to spend there. It was another bonus stop because we had the museum pass and had just planned on checking out the Kiss and the Thinker. But I really enjoyed walking through the museum and strolling a bit through the garden. Maybe because it was getting to be midday, but this museum was more crowded than I expected it to be.
Last on our attraction list was going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. My son, especially, was very excited and it didn’t disappoint. We took the metro over to the Arc and walked through the pedestrian tunnel under the road to get to it. There was quite a long line for tickets which we could bypass since it is included in the Pass. They also have a separate security line for Pass holders. I had read that the kids were free but would still need a paper ticket. That was not the case, we just said they were with us and we were waved through. For some reason, I expected some sort of holding area before you got to the staircase but you literally walk through security and whoosh, you’re funneled up the 284 steps to the top with not a second to realize it and catch your breath. The view is great. It was a bright, sunny day and it is very cool to be at the center hub with the 12 spokes of the avenues radiating outward. The intricate carvings on the outside of the arc are beautiful. I guess my daughter thought so too as I found a ton of photos of them that she had taken with my camera.
As our time in Paris was coming to an end, we took the metro back to our neighborhood to have lunch at a restaurant near our apartment. We sat inside hoping for a bit of cool air as we were hot and sweaty. The restaurant had a meager A/C system but it was better than sitting in the heat. We went back to our apartment to gather our stuff and head to the train station.
While I hate to say it, my son did not vibe on Paris at all. My daughter enjoyed it, not quite as much as London, but she liked seeing places that she has heard and read a lot about. She enjoyed the different neighborhoods and the food. But she is my practical, analytical kid. My son is a creative that flies by the seat of his pants. He goes a lot on gut feel and from the time he arrived in Paris, he wasn’t feeling it. The hordes of drunk Euro Cup fans that we saw the first night might have influenced him but he is standing by his view that Paris is a one and done city for him. He says he can’t imagine returning while he is talking about studying or living in London or Belgium when he gets older. I’ve encouraged him to give other parts of France a chance as I have enjoyed Dordogne and Provence much more than I enjoy Paris.
NEXT: Train to Belgium - Sometimes the journey is not better than the destination
We walked over to the Musee L’Orangerie, a bonus museum because we had the museum pass. We checked out the 6 large Monet waterlilies, 3 each displayed in a large oval room as he had intended. He wanted the viewer to feel like they were immersed in the landscape, surrounded by the meditative environment. I suppose this is heresy, but we were underwhelmed. Yes, the room was quiet and serene and the paintings are very large. I guess I expected to be more wowed, but what do I know?
We walked over to the river and crossed it on the pedestrian bridge, Passerelle Solférino. A crew of about 20 men were removing those “love” padlocks one by one with large hand cutters and reciprocating saws. It looked like extremely tedious work.
Next stop was the Musee d’Orsay. I had visited back in 1997 but my husband had never gone. There was quite a bit of a line but with the passes we bypassed it all. My son did have to check his day pack here as well as at Musee L’Orangerie. The kids had brought smaller drawsting backpacks to use daily to hold water, sunglasses, etc. But he preferred to carry his larger backpack. He didn’t have any issues with it the day before but we did witness someone denied access to the Pantheon because they said his normal sized pack was too big, though it was the same size as my son’s. As everyone says, Musee d’Orsay is an awesome museum. We spent quite a bit of time wandering through the galleries focusing mainly up on the 5th floor. Done with art, my son zipped through it quickly and happily spent most of his time looking through the massive clock and taking in the view from the terrace. My daughter surprised me having remembered a good bit from what little art history she has had.
From here we walked over to the Rodin Museum grabbing a crepe as a snack along the way. I thought this museum was fantastic and wish we had had more time to spend there. It was another bonus stop because we had the museum pass and had just planned on checking out the Kiss and the Thinker. But I really enjoyed walking through the museum and strolling a bit through the garden. Maybe because it was getting to be midday, but this museum was more crowded than I expected it to be.
Last on our attraction list was going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. My son, especially, was very excited and it didn’t disappoint. We took the metro over to the Arc and walked through the pedestrian tunnel under the road to get to it. There was quite a long line for tickets which we could bypass since it is included in the Pass. They also have a separate security line for Pass holders. I had read that the kids were free but would still need a paper ticket. That was not the case, we just said they were with us and we were waved through. For some reason, I expected some sort of holding area before you got to the staircase but you literally walk through security and whoosh, you’re funneled up the 284 steps to the top with not a second to realize it and catch your breath. The view is great. It was a bright, sunny day and it is very cool to be at the center hub with the 12 spokes of the avenues radiating outward. The intricate carvings on the outside of the arc are beautiful. I guess my daughter thought so too as I found a ton of photos of them that she had taken with my camera.
As our time in Paris was coming to an end, we took the metro back to our neighborhood to have lunch at a restaurant near our apartment. We sat inside hoping for a bit of cool air as we were hot and sweaty. The restaurant had a meager A/C system but it was better than sitting in the heat. We went back to our apartment to gather our stuff and head to the train station.
While I hate to say it, my son did not vibe on Paris at all. My daughter enjoyed it, not quite as much as London, but she liked seeing places that she has heard and read a lot about. She enjoyed the different neighborhoods and the food. But she is my practical, analytical kid. My son is a creative that flies by the seat of his pants. He goes a lot on gut feel and from the time he arrived in Paris, he wasn’t feeling it. The hordes of drunk Euro Cup fans that we saw the first night might have influenced him but he is standing by his view that Paris is a one and done city for him. He says he can’t imagine returning while he is talking about studying or living in London or Belgium when he gets older. I’ve encouraged him to give other parts of France a chance as I have enjoyed Dordogne and Provence much more than I enjoy Paris.
NEXT: Train to Belgium - Sometimes the journey is not better than the destination
Jul 26th, 2016, 01:10 PM
#33
I keep being thrown by your timings, to Europeans 3:40 is pretty early, great story telling BTW>>
lol, yes I had to look at that twice too!
DH and I can never get enough of Paris but our kids, having been taken once by us about 15 years ago, show no desire to go back. Given they neither of them like oysters either I sometimes wonder whether they were swapped at birth!
lol, yes I had to look at that twice too!
DH and I can never get enough of Paris but our kids, having been taken once by us about 15 years ago, show no desire to go back. Given they neither of them like oysters either I sometimes wonder whether they were swapped at birth!
Jul 27th, 2016, 01:33 PM
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Sorry about the double post above, I don't know how that happened.
I keep being thrown by your timings, to Europeans 3:40 is pretty early>>
Sorry, bilbo, you Europeans with your celcius, kilometers and 24 hours clocks! I made sure to use the proper times in the next segment.
Thanks everyone for letting me know that my kid isn't the only one who didn't like Paris. Good to know it is more normal than I thought.
When we made our train reservations to Belgium, the TGV to Lille to Bruges was significantly cheaper than the Thalys to Brussels to Bruges. It was about 40% cheaper and only about 30 min longer. The 1st class fare was just a few euros more per person so we ‘splurged’ and bought those. Since I didn’t find much information on this route when searching prior to our trip, most people use Thalys, I will detail it here. We would travel from Gare du Nord on the TGV to Lille Europe station where we would have 22 min to walk the 400m to the Lille Flanders station and hop on the Belgian Rail train to Kortrijk (no 1st class on this train). Then we’d transfer a few minutes later to the train to Bruges (in 1st class again), arriving in Bruges at 18:36. Our itinerary had us taking a train that departed Kortrijk 3 min later and made more stops arriving in Bruges at 18:56. I guess they thought 6 minutes would not be long enough to change to the next platform? Since you have no seat or train reservation on the Belgian Rail, you can take any train so we decided we would grab the earlier one.
With all of the strikes occurring in France and the terrorist threats with the Euro Cup as well as threats just in general, I decided to register our trip with the US State Department. You let the state department know where and when you will be somewhere and they send you email notifications about safety conditions that arise in your destination. Plus, the embassy can contact you in the event of a disaster or terror event, and family and friends can get in touch in an emergency. I received just a handful of emails from them, usually alerting to a demonstration happening in Paris or Dublin advising us to stay clear. When I checked my emails the previous afternoon, the state department had sent an alert that there would be multi-sector strikes in France the next day, Jun 23, the day we take the train to Belgium. I did a news search and only found warnings of an air traffic controller strike which did, in fact, cause many flights to be cancelled. But I was worried our trip would be disrupted.
After lunch, we went back to the apartment, connected to wifi and there was an email from SNCF that our train might be affected and personnel on the platforms could advise. It was just after 14:00 and our train was at 15:41. My husband had hoped to take one last shower but we decided to boogie up to the station in case there were issues we needed to deal with.
We discovered a bus stopped right by the apartment and it would take us right by the station. So we went down to the bus stop and hopped on the next one. The bus was an absolute sauna. No joke, easily upwards of 100 degrees. The windows were open but they did no good except blow the very hot, humid air around. The other passengers were fanning themselves with whatever they had. We arrived at the station a hot, sweaty mess about 20 minutes later.
The station was pretty hot too. Our train was posted on the departures board awaiting the assigned platform so that was good news. We had to collect our tickets from the yellow machines using our reservation code and the credit card used to purchase them. We plugged in the code, inserted the card (which has a chip) and it would not recognize the card. I tried again. Then again at another machine. No luck. In the back of my mind, I thought I remembered reading on captaintrain or seat61 that you must have the card to collect the tickets or else you’d have to buy new ones. I don’t know if that is true or if my mind was just jumping to the worst case scenario. We started to panic, which didn’t help our body temps, and look around for the ticket windows. They are tucked in the far corner and we saw no signage pointing the way. We finally asked at the information desk and found the ticket booth. After swiping the card a couple times and frowning, scaring the heck out of me, the lady at the ticket window was able to print our tickets for us. After all that, no one even asked to see a ticket on any of the three trains.
Our platform posted and we headed over to it. When I made the reservations, I remember the TGV train was a double decker train. The train at the platform was not. We were assigned carriage 13 but carriage 13 was 2nd class and only 11 and 12 were 1st class. I asked the attendant and I think she said to take any seat, I don’t speak French. We hopped on and luckily got 4 seats together. People were sitting wherever they could, causing confusion when someone came aboard with that assigned seat. But no one created a fuss and they just took another seat. The 1st class seats were nice and roomy and comfortable. It was an hour ride to Lille.
Stage 1 of the Euro Cup ended the night before. The 9pm games were Ireland vs Italy in Lille and Belgium vs Sweden in Nice. We arrived at Lille Europe station at 16:45. The place was packed with Irish, Italian and Belgian fans. When we walked out of the station to head to Lille Flanders we discovered the Lille Fan Zone was on the plaza between the two stations and it looked like the aftermath of a music festival. Debris was everywhere. Drunk people were everywhere (the next afternoon, mind you) and there were a couple young men splashing about in the fountain in their underwear.
At Flanders, we easily found our platform, hopped on the Belgian train and found 4 seats together. We were toward the front of the train in the second car. Seats started to fill up and then the train started to fill with Belgian fans in their jerseys and flag painted cheeks, most were probably in their late teens or 20s. Fan after fan walked by to the front of the train. There was just one car up there. So many people walked by and no one returned and I didn’t notice anyone walking back on the platform. I don’t know where they all went. It was like the equivalent of a clown car.
That train ride was only 40 min and most of the people had gotten off by the time we reached our stop at Kortrijk. We got off and instead of catching the train on our itinerary 10 feet across the platform on the next track, we went down the stairs, under the tracks, and up the stairs to the next platform for the train that would arrive earlier. Our train arrives and we stood outside the 1st class car and waited for the passengers to get off. Just one older man disembarked and muttered something in Flemish to us, shaking his head. We got on and realized what he was saying. I think the car was even hotter than the Paris bus. We were the only people in the car. I walked through to the next couple cars and they were all just as hot. The A/C on the whole train was out. All we could do was laugh and sweat for the next 45 minutes, at least we had plenty of room to spread out. And the countryside was beautiful. Served us right for trying to gain 20 minutes!
We arrived in Bruges and we stupidly decided to walk the 15 minutes to our hotel instead of grabbing a cab. The walk took us through beautiful Minnewater Park but we didn’t consider the cobblestone and brick paths. The little wheels on our bags clickety clacked LOUDLY the entire way disturbing the nice couples enjoying the peace and quiet and romance of the park and giving us all headaches. I’m sure we took years off the life of our suitcases. I was never so happy to arrive at a hotel. And it was nice and cool inside, thank god.
We checked into the Novotel Brugge Centrum hotel and had a family room which was a similar set up to the Premier Inn back in London, a queen bed plus a day bed which was a twin bed with a twin trundle you pulled out. Both twins were made up as beds already. The hotel was nice, clean and just outside the hustle and bustle of the town center. The staff was very helpful and friendly.
We desperately needed to do some laundry and there was a laundromat just down the street. My daughter desperately needed some alone time away from us, so she stayed in the room with wifi and her ipad. My husband, son and I took our bags of dirty clothes and headed out. We arrived at the laundromat and there was one other couple there folding their finished loads. The instructions were in Flemish and we stared dumbfoundedly at it for a bit and then asked the couple if they spoke English. They were American and had thankfully figured it out. We threw our clothes and detergent into a washer, deposited our coins and selected our machine at the booth, set the timer on our phone and headed down to a bar next to the canal. It reminded me of when my husband and I lived in NYC and we would have laundry night where we’d hang out at the Firehouse Bar next to our laundromat on the UWS. All our friends had an open invite to join us and everyone looked forward to our laundry nights.
I don’t know the name of the bar but our waiter’s name was Nick so it became Nick’s place to us. We sat outside under a large awning which kept us dry when a rain shower went overhead. I love Belgian blonde beer and drink it often at home, which means I drink a lot of Leffe blonde because that is pretty much all that is sold here. He said that they served what he considered the best blonde beer in Belgium so we ordered a round (son had a soda) and finally exhaled. We sprinkled the infield a few times while our clothes washed and dried (running up to switch them to the dryer when the timer went off.) We chatted with Nick a bit about Belgium, Flemish, and Bruges and just relaxed.
The last five days had been a whirlwind but I don’t think I’d change anything. We’d be slowing down in Belgium though.
NEXT: Lovely, charming Ghent
I keep being thrown by your timings, to Europeans 3:40 is pretty early>>
Sorry, bilbo, you Europeans with your celcius, kilometers and 24 hours clocks! I made sure to use the proper times in the next segment.
Thanks everyone for letting me know that my kid isn't the only one who didn't like Paris. Good to know it is more normal than I thought.
When we made our train reservations to Belgium, the TGV to Lille to Bruges was significantly cheaper than the Thalys to Brussels to Bruges. It was about 40% cheaper and only about 30 min longer. The 1st class fare was just a few euros more per person so we ‘splurged’ and bought those. Since I didn’t find much information on this route when searching prior to our trip, most people use Thalys, I will detail it here. We would travel from Gare du Nord on the TGV to Lille Europe station where we would have 22 min to walk the 400m to the Lille Flanders station and hop on the Belgian Rail train to Kortrijk (no 1st class on this train). Then we’d transfer a few minutes later to the train to Bruges (in 1st class again), arriving in Bruges at 18:36. Our itinerary had us taking a train that departed Kortrijk 3 min later and made more stops arriving in Bruges at 18:56. I guess they thought 6 minutes would not be long enough to change to the next platform? Since you have no seat or train reservation on the Belgian Rail, you can take any train so we decided we would grab the earlier one.
With all of the strikes occurring in France and the terrorist threats with the Euro Cup as well as threats just in general, I decided to register our trip with the US State Department. You let the state department know where and when you will be somewhere and they send you email notifications about safety conditions that arise in your destination. Plus, the embassy can contact you in the event of a disaster or terror event, and family and friends can get in touch in an emergency. I received just a handful of emails from them, usually alerting to a demonstration happening in Paris or Dublin advising us to stay clear. When I checked my emails the previous afternoon, the state department had sent an alert that there would be multi-sector strikes in France the next day, Jun 23, the day we take the train to Belgium. I did a news search and only found warnings of an air traffic controller strike which did, in fact, cause many flights to be cancelled. But I was worried our trip would be disrupted.
After lunch, we went back to the apartment, connected to wifi and there was an email from SNCF that our train might be affected and personnel on the platforms could advise. It was just after 14:00 and our train was at 15:41. My husband had hoped to take one last shower but we decided to boogie up to the station in case there were issues we needed to deal with.
We discovered a bus stopped right by the apartment and it would take us right by the station. So we went down to the bus stop and hopped on the next one. The bus was an absolute sauna. No joke, easily upwards of 100 degrees. The windows were open but they did no good except blow the very hot, humid air around. The other passengers were fanning themselves with whatever they had. We arrived at the station a hot, sweaty mess about 20 minutes later.
The station was pretty hot too. Our train was posted on the departures board awaiting the assigned platform so that was good news. We had to collect our tickets from the yellow machines using our reservation code and the credit card used to purchase them. We plugged in the code, inserted the card (which has a chip) and it would not recognize the card. I tried again. Then again at another machine. No luck. In the back of my mind, I thought I remembered reading on captaintrain or seat61 that you must have the card to collect the tickets or else you’d have to buy new ones. I don’t know if that is true or if my mind was just jumping to the worst case scenario. We started to panic, which didn’t help our body temps, and look around for the ticket windows. They are tucked in the far corner and we saw no signage pointing the way. We finally asked at the information desk and found the ticket booth. After swiping the card a couple times and frowning, scaring the heck out of me, the lady at the ticket window was able to print our tickets for us. After all that, no one even asked to see a ticket on any of the three trains.
Our platform posted and we headed over to it. When I made the reservations, I remember the TGV train was a double decker train. The train at the platform was not. We were assigned carriage 13 but carriage 13 was 2nd class and only 11 and 12 were 1st class. I asked the attendant and I think she said to take any seat, I don’t speak French. We hopped on and luckily got 4 seats together. People were sitting wherever they could, causing confusion when someone came aboard with that assigned seat. But no one created a fuss and they just took another seat. The 1st class seats were nice and roomy and comfortable. It was an hour ride to Lille.
Stage 1 of the Euro Cup ended the night before. The 9pm games were Ireland vs Italy in Lille and Belgium vs Sweden in Nice. We arrived at Lille Europe station at 16:45. The place was packed with Irish, Italian and Belgian fans. When we walked out of the station to head to Lille Flanders we discovered the Lille Fan Zone was on the plaza between the two stations and it looked like the aftermath of a music festival. Debris was everywhere. Drunk people were everywhere (the next afternoon, mind you) and there were a couple young men splashing about in the fountain in their underwear.
At Flanders, we easily found our platform, hopped on the Belgian train and found 4 seats together. We were toward the front of the train in the second car. Seats started to fill up and then the train started to fill with Belgian fans in their jerseys and flag painted cheeks, most were probably in their late teens or 20s. Fan after fan walked by to the front of the train. There was just one car up there. So many people walked by and no one returned and I didn’t notice anyone walking back on the platform. I don’t know where they all went. It was like the equivalent of a clown car.
That train ride was only 40 min and most of the people had gotten off by the time we reached our stop at Kortrijk. We got off and instead of catching the train on our itinerary 10 feet across the platform on the next track, we went down the stairs, under the tracks, and up the stairs to the next platform for the train that would arrive earlier. Our train arrives and we stood outside the 1st class car and waited for the passengers to get off. Just one older man disembarked and muttered something in Flemish to us, shaking his head. We got on and realized what he was saying. I think the car was even hotter than the Paris bus. We were the only people in the car. I walked through to the next couple cars and they were all just as hot. The A/C on the whole train was out. All we could do was laugh and sweat for the next 45 minutes, at least we had plenty of room to spread out. And the countryside was beautiful. Served us right for trying to gain 20 minutes!
We arrived in Bruges and we stupidly decided to walk the 15 minutes to our hotel instead of grabbing a cab. The walk took us through beautiful Minnewater Park but we didn’t consider the cobblestone and brick paths. The little wheels on our bags clickety clacked LOUDLY the entire way disturbing the nice couples enjoying the peace and quiet and romance of the park and giving us all headaches. I’m sure we took years off the life of our suitcases. I was never so happy to arrive at a hotel. And it was nice and cool inside, thank god.
We checked into the Novotel Brugge Centrum hotel and had a family room which was a similar set up to the Premier Inn back in London, a queen bed plus a day bed which was a twin bed with a twin trundle you pulled out. Both twins were made up as beds already. The hotel was nice, clean and just outside the hustle and bustle of the town center. The staff was very helpful and friendly.
We desperately needed to do some laundry and there was a laundromat just down the street. My daughter desperately needed some alone time away from us, so she stayed in the room with wifi and her ipad. My husband, son and I took our bags of dirty clothes and headed out. We arrived at the laundromat and there was one other couple there folding their finished loads. The instructions were in Flemish and we stared dumbfoundedly at it for a bit and then asked the couple if they spoke English. They were American and had thankfully figured it out. We threw our clothes and detergent into a washer, deposited our coins and selected our machine at the booth, set the timer on our phone and headed down to a bar next to the canal. It reminded me of when my husband and I lived in NYC and we would have laundry night where we’d hang out at the Firehouse Bar next to our laundromat on the UWS. All our friends had an open invite to join us and everyone looked forward to our laundry nights.
I don’t know the name of the bar but our waiter’s name was Nick so it became Nick’s place to us. We sat outside under a large awning which kept us dry when a rain shower went overhead. I love Belgian blonde beer and drink it often at home, which means I drink a lot of Leffe blonde because that is pretty much all that is sold here. He said that they served what he considered the best blonde beer in Belgium so we ordered a round (son had a soda) and finally exhaled. We sprinkled the infield a few times while our clothes washed and dried (running up to switch them to the dryer when the timer went off.) We chatted with Nick a bit about Belgium, Flemish, and Bruges and just relaxed.
The last five days had been a whirlwind but I don’t think I’d change anything. We’d be slowing down in Belgium though.
NEXT: Lovely, charming Ghent
Jul 27th, 2016, 02:05 PM
#36
love the blow by blow account of your journey, lolfn - I bet it was a lot less fun at the time than it seems when reading it.
<<People were sitting wherever they could, causing confusion when someone came aboard with that assigned seat. But no one created a fuss and they just took another seat. The 1st class seats were nice and roomy and comfortable. It was an hour ride to Lille.>>
this made we laugh - we had a similar experience on a TGV from Avignon to Paris and we almost had an international incident. the brits were the worst, insisting on having "their seats" which caused a domino effect.
<<People were sitting wherever they could, causing confusion when someone came aboard with that assigned seat. But no one created a fuss and they just took another seat. The 1st class seats were nice and roomy and comfortable. It was an hour ride to Lille.>>
this made we laugh - we had a similar experience on a TGV from Avignon to Paris and we almost had an international incident. the brits were the worst, insisting on having "their seats" which caused a domino effect.
Jul 27th, 2016, 03:02 PM
#37
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this made we laugh - we had a similar experience on a TGV from Avignon to Paris and we almost had an international incident. the brits were the worst, insisting on having "their seats" which caused a domino effect.>>
Thank god that didn't happen to us. My son had the perfect window seat and he later told me he was shaking in his boots for the 10 minutes before we departed afraid someone was going to make him move.
Thank god that didn't happen to us. My son had the perfect window seat and he later told me he was shaking in his boots for the 10 minutes before we departed afraid someone was going to make him move.
Jul 27th, 2016, 03:34 PM
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Is it true that 2nd class carriages don't have assigned seating? That was my understanding until when traveling from Bayeux to Paris a French lady who spoke no English and we who speak no French had a dumb show altercation because she evidently thought we were in her seat. We had our luggage stowed around us, and DH kept shaking his head no at her. She eventually found herself another seat, but she was not a happy camper.
Jul 28th, 2016, 01:06 AM
#40
Is it true that 2nd class carriages don't have assigned seating? >>
my understanding is that on the TGV all the seats are assigned, which can be a problem when trains have been delayed and everyone wants to get on the next train.
my understanding is that on the TGV all the seats are assigned, which can be a problem when trains have been delayed and everyone wants to get on the next train.
