Just back from Paris
 

I'm back. Oh my goodness! It was awesome. Trip of a lifetime. Two weeks in Brugge and Paris. Well, 2 days in Brugge, 8 days in Paris, and 1 day in Brussels. Then two days for travel. I really could have lived without the days of travel. 18 hours of travel people. Changing planes, and taxis, and trains. Yuck.

I'm not posting a trip report. I'm sure you've all read it all before. I am gonna write about the hotels we stayed at though.

Absolut Verhulst: Awesome. Fantastic deal for a B&B. Frieda and Brunno are just so kind and they'll help you with anything. Great breakfasts here, actually we ate really well here. Nothing but good things to say about the place. If you have to stay in Brugge and you are able to splurge (110 E for 2 a night), go stay here. No wifi, but there's an internet cafe a block away.

Hotel Jeanne D'arc: the cutest place. The Marais area was perfect for newbies to Paris. Go to the restaurant across street. Starts with a B forgot name. But really good. Had TV and pay 2 E for WIFI

Hotel Port Royal: in the Latin District. Decent. Comfier bed than the previous two. Les Gobelins is right across the street so Metro is very convenient. Just a 20 minute walk to Montparnasse. Did this at night and saw Paris in all her glory all lit up at the 59th floor terrace. Had no TV and no WIFI though.

Hotel Atlas: In Brussels. Really nice. Great breakfast here too. Not as well as the first one as it was more croissants, cheese, and coffee but I'll take it. Only 85 E and has free WIFI and a tv!

Sigh* It's over. 5 monhs of planning went to good use but its all very different once you get there. I mean, iteneraries were sometimes just thrown out the window on certain days. I had more fun that way though.

Glad you had a nice visit to Paris. Now that this trip is over, you have to begin planning another one!

msrani thanks for sharing, and giving such thorough and honest assessments of your hotels.

If you are so inclined, a trip report would be appreciated. Not everyone has seen or done everything that you did/saw on your trip. We all learn from trip reports .... hint, hint - but of course it's up to you.

Glad Hotel Atlas was still ok... We stayed there in 2002 and liked it fine.

I appreciate your comment about the disparity between the planning and the actual trip. I really enjoy the planning part and then it's also fun to see how things actually unfold...It's like I've written a script and then things actually come to life and it's sometimes fun just to notice how things actually are compared perhaps to what you might have anticipated...

When I have followed the Tour de France, it has required a fairly strict itinerary in order to see the race over a succession of days. One of my favorite moments though, came one time when I was driving through the Luberon, saw a sign for a hotel that I had nearly stayed at that was reputed to have an extraordinary restaurant (Les Bories.) I ended up veering off course a bit to stop in and ended up having a cold lobster poolside that had me thinking that I was on a movie set! Incredibly large, round pool with painted floor overlooking vast expanse of Luberon Mountains. Great deviation that day. Went back the following summer with my daughter with a reservation and swimming suits in tow, but there was no cold lobster on the menu and the experience just didn't have the same magic....despite the company of daughter!