Just Back From Paris
 

We just returned from Paris yesterday late afternoon. We are still trying to recover from jetlag, but I thought I would start a post at least.

First of all, thanks to all of you for answering my questions before we left. I can't tell you the number of times I quoted the forums to my family to answer questions we had!! All of your shared expertise really helped us a lot!! Many thanks. If I can answer any questions for first timers, I would be happy to.

We did end up staying at the VIP apt at Champs Elysee. It was just as expected in the pictures on the Net. The apt was very nice, and gave us a lot more room than we would have had in a hotel room. This was a new experience for us to stay in an apt for vacation. Thw washer and dryer was very different from the states, but really came in handy. We did have a couple things that came up with the appliances during out stay, but one call to the manager rectified it quickly.

When we first arrived at CDG airport, we had arranged for Airport Connection shuttle to pick us up. Fortunately and quite an unusual occurence, we arrived ONE hour early!! I had given Airport Connection all our flight info and hoped they would be waiting for us early. They weren't. But again, we were early, so... We got to baggage and then called them as per the email instructions (somehow I thought they would meet us at baggage with a sign but that didn't happen). It took 3 calls to get someone there. They told us the driver was waiting for us in another area of the airport. They told us what number door to go to which we were already at and the driver was somewhere else. So, we wasted a lot of time at the airport trying to get connect with the shuttle driver to get to our apt.

After settling in our apt, we walked around looking for places to eat. Champs Elysee is just as you all described it. Lots of fancy shops with the price tags to go with it. We mostly just shopped and the girls tried things on, but the price tags were prohibitive to buy much.

We found the bakeries very quickly. Yummmmm! Just as we heard, the pastried were delicious!! We couldn't get enough of them. So many to choose from. I cheated on my diet a lot, have to be good now. I tried to remember some of the names to report back on this post. I think the "chain" bakery was Midore which was very good. It was the only bakery we could find open after the infamous Aug vacation period started in France. We really liked Cahier De Patisserie (I hope I got that name spelled right). The little green iced cakes were our favorites. We did go to Monoprix as some of you suggested (like our Target). It had lots of things we needed for the apt. It was a bit far though to carry back heavy water bottles. Great place to get necessities. The airline had broken one of our suitcases. I looked there for a replacement, but it was 99 Euros. We just strapped the suitcase and thankfully, it made it home. Got some sandwiches at Bioche Doree and of course more pastries.

Next day we went off the the Drugstore and got had sit down lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches. By the way, the question everyone asked us (for those newtimers) is gas or still? This was in reference to the water we ordered. Of course they meant carbonated or not. It was just unsual to us the first time we heard it.

We went to the Arc de Triomphe near the Geroge V metro station. We debated whether to go into the Arc, but decided we would have many opportunities to do that later since it was so close to the Metro. So much to my DD's dismay, we went onto the Louvre via the Metro. As my DD feared, we never did make it back to go inside the Arc. Sigh...

We spent most of the day in the Louvre admiring all the works of art. We ate at the Cafe Louvre and just about stayed until it closed. The fixed price dinner was 97 Euros/person.

I don't know if anyone else had this reaction, but I was very surprised that the Mona Lisa was so small. The glass around it was for protection I'm guessing, but it reflected off for picture taking. The other paintings are so enormous in comparison.

Will have to take a laundry break. Will continue later...

so glad to hear about it... and glad the crew was helpful.

Did you make Disney Paris ? I knew that was a high priority and some of us tried to talk you out of it, but your DD really wanted to go...

will you do a full blown trip report ? looking forward to the details....

Hi disneymania - you're BACK! I hope you had a great time. I don't think Mona Lisa is that small... it's just that you can't get close to it, so it seems smaller from afar.

Glad you had a good time. I just visited Paris for the first time in May and am constantly plotting my return!

surfmom, yes we did make it to Disneyland. It's at the end of the TR.

Thanks for your comments yk and elcon!

Anyway, the next day we went to the Eiffel Tower. We had lunch reservations at the Jules Verne. We were unable to get a window seat as requested due to the high demand for one. We had booked on the internet but not soon enough. It was very neat to be able to get past all the long lines and go straight up to the restaurant. The food wasn't up to our expectations (since the price was so high I guess we expected too much). However, it was a spectacular view once we went out on the observation deck. It was a windy day and quite cool, so we had to take it all in quickly. Once we got back on the ground level, we were hit up multiple times by the people selling the Eiffel Towers on the huge round rings. It was hard to get away from them since they were everywhere! One person bargained with them and finally bought one. I remember someone told me or I read it that the quality of those souvenirs are horrible.




I had experienced vertigo before the trip and unfortunately the elevator ride up and down the Eiffel Tower triggered it again for me. So things started spinning and I wasn't able to walk straight. This put me out of commission for the next day also.




I also had back and knee problems which were exasperated by walking long distances and up and down the stairs in the Metro. So my mantra became have Motrin and Antivert, will travel.




There were also many folks who went around asking, "Do you speak English?" I knew that was part of another scam, so we all said no or just shook our heads and avoided them. What do they do afterwards if you say you do speak English?




The next day, the family went on without me to see Marmottan and Musee d'Orsay I think. I met them that night for Chinese food at the Elysees Mandarin which was close to our apt. The food there was quite good. The hostess and the owner were super friendly. We enjoyed dim sum there. We kept waving "hi" each subsequent night since they were on the way home from the Metro. Very nice folks. They offered to convert back to USD to save us money on our bill.They said could give us a good rate we can't get elsewhere. They seemed SO nice, I was tempted. I remembered that someone on the forum told me DEFINITELY don't ever let them them do that. So we politely declined.




Next day we took a day trip to Versilles. Took RER to get there. Beautiful chateau and gardens. Very hot that day and nothing was air conditioned. Then took RER and many Metros to Chinatown. The prices there were very reasonable. Had another dim sum meal and then called it a day. Ate at the Pacifique there, was pretty good.




Next day I got hit with traveller's diarrhea and was sidelined again. Somehow just not my trip. This caused me some problems for a few days again.




The family went without me again to Notre Dame Cathedral and some other places. They said it was magnificent. That was one I hated to miss. However, with no bathrooms at the metro stations, etc... not an option.




We took some shopping in at the Galeries Lafayette, quite an impressive dept store. My DD actually was able to get a blouse for 15 Euros in the sale rack.




BTW, we did buy museum passes which I would highly recommend.




I called for a shuttle for the next day to go to Disneyland. The Airport Connection said they had no shuttles left. So, for any first timers using the shuttles-book ahead!! We looked up any company in the Yellow pages since I didn't have the phone number for Shuttle Inter (one mentioned on the forums a lot). Couldn't find it on their internet site also. I believe this company was somthing like Novette?? We asked that he come 9:45A since we had to do all the apt prepping procedures before we left. He never showed. When we called, they said he was there at 8:45A and no one was there, so he left. Sigh, we didn't have good luck with shuttles. He finally did come within about 10 min after we called, so it worked out.




BTW, after all the discussions on the board, we did use the ATM's there and found them plentiful and a good way to get Euros for us. I did get a small amount before we left to pay for things along the way. The ATM's were great!!




We arrived at Dream Castle Hotel at Disneyland, stored our luggage and




I just lost this whole post. So I am going to submit and then continue.

Ok, back to the TR. We went to Dream Castle which got horrendous reviews on the internet. I was very leary of going, but we had to go with availability. I checked in and they gave me a room with 1 double and 2 bunk beds. My kids are adults and couldn't fit into the bunk beds obviously. I had worked on this very problem for hours before the trip to correct this. They finally assured me I would get a quad with 2 queens. So we get there and encounter the same problem. Sigh. They said they fixed it and we stored our luggage and went to the parks.




We had a 2 day park hopper. It was fun, just quite hot, (86 and 87 I believe) and we didn't find many places with air conditioning. The US has all the indoor shows with A/C. Didn't find that there. Much smaller parks, the studio one is somewhat similar to the MGM Studios at Disney World. Disneyland is an smaller version of Magic Kingdom. It was still enjoyable, they had mostly the same rides, some differences. They had fast passes but not for many of the rides. The folks there don't follow "lines" as much, so there was a lot of crowding and line jumping. The kids enjoyed the French flair to the parks. Many of the rides were closed due to problems. The irritating part was you would stand in a long line and then find out they are closing it and you wasted all that time. It would open and close and open and close.




When we got back late to the hotel, we found that they booked us in the room with the bunks AGAIN. they said they switched us to a room with 2 queens, then switched it back to the bunks. The room with the bunks had a musty odor and we were glad we weren't staying there. It was exactly what the reviews had warned us about. We finally got a room with 2 kings I think. The beds were glorious, we had a great night sleep. Maybe pure exhaustion.


We had the breakfast buffet the next morning. I think it was suppose to be an American buffet. The food was absolutely horrible. Again, something they mentioned on the reviews. I would totally agree. So, for anyone thinking of going to this hotel, I would suggest you NOT get the room rate including the breakfast.




I booked a private shuttle to CDG which worked out well.




The CDG was a mess just as you all warned me. For some reason they wouldn't allow us to check in via the internet the night before. We walked to the airport itself and still got blocked. They told us to just come extra early the next morning. We were staying at the Sheraton at the CDG which was super convenient, though pricey.




You all warned me that 3 people in front could make you wait 45 min. You are exactly right. We were in a LONG line to check-in. Once we finally got up to the counter we waited forever because the little conveyor belt wouldn't move to dump our suitcases onto the bigger moving belt. I asked if I could just jump back there and push it manually myself? Nope. They don't seem to have any sense of urgency there at all, never mind we have to make our flight.




We made it, and even had some time to do some duty free shopping.




Thats it! Thanks again for all of your help!

Glad you enjoyed your trip - welcome back! For future reference, asking if you want gas or still, it's a way to up sell you to bottled water, which is totally unnecessary unless you want it. As you probably noticed, it was pretty pricey. Just ask for <<un pichet d'eau>> and you will get a pitcher of tap water at no cost.

Thanks, Seamus! Lots of things were so pricey.

Glad you enjoyed your Paris vacation. I remember visiting some of these places during my '05 trip. To me, the Mona Lisa is awe- inspiring in person.... and I thought of her as quite a celebrity with people of all ages -- many of them young -- crowded around to see her and take her picture.

Yes the gypsies were out in the park leading to the Louve when I was there. "Do you speak English?" as they waved a sheet of paper. I believe the others come and rob you as you attempt to read their document. I reacted same as you, shaking my head without stopping.

There are so many wonders in Paris aside from the high prices and tourist scams; makes me want to return.

Glad you had a nice time although, unfortunately, there were a lot of bumps in the road. But, it was summer and it's very crowded in summer and things don't always move as smoothly as they might at other times of the year.
I was at EuroDisney at the opening many years ago and yes, the situation with not standing in line, but crowding, and cutting in line is very annoying. I don't know what's so difficult about standing in a line. Things would move a lot smoother. It's the same at CDG and Orly. I remember one , of several nightmare experiences at Orly in which I wanted to scream. Folks were pushing and shoving and crowded around and there was no line and people were cutting in line etc. And as you said, there's a no-urgency, move at snails pace attitude although people need to get to their flights. I understand it. Have been dealing with the situation since the mid 70s. Smiles. Happy Travels!

susan, thanks for clarifying what they would do if you said you do speak English. I had no idea what came next, nor did I want to find out. They appeared to be just single folks, but I bet their "group" was nearby once they found someone who would talk to them.

Guenmai,
You hit the nail right on the head. No respects for lines really made each situation chaotic instead of organized. The kids did it a lot, but so did the adults. If you respected the lines, it took a lot more time to get through due to this.
I don't think the folks at CDG meant to frustrate us by their snail's pace, I think that is just their culture. Just when you want to insure you make it to the plane, it's like they are moving in slow motion... Have a great trip!

Guenmai,
What's funny is that on the Metro, the sense of the urgency was palpable. Everyone was rushing and pushing. The opposite of the CDG workers.

We just got back two weeks ago from a two week stay in Paris. Some things you say are really true. The beggers at the Eifel Tower are pushy, to say the lest. Speak Klingon or Pig Latin to them and they go away. Did anyone try the "found a gold ring" scam on you? We had 3 tries in 10 minutes at the Louve.

We booked the Ibis (no AC) at CDG and it was just across the street from the entrance to termainal 3-Hotel Ibis Charles de Gaulle Aéroport / Terminal. Be careful when reserving. There are two Ibis's. The other is 5km away. I did it online before I left and got a 20% discount for booking early. It was around E55. They have a decent breakfast for E8 if bought at the desk. They were running a sale. If bought online it is E10. It was worth it.

We try to use the buses when possible. Get to see a tour of Paris for E1.30. I use an electric scooter, so Metro is out of the question. We (wife) walks a lot when in Paris. I scooter ride. We take bus close to where we want to go and walk from there. Also, by busing, we get away from the tourist sections and eat at cafe's and Brasseries with price fix menus at around E8-12. Good, cheap food.

We found the best prices on clothes down from the Moulin Rouge a couple of blocks and at the market at Saint Ouen. Wife found leather purses for 5 or 6 Euro, blouses and skirts for less than E10. Also shopped ETAM. Great prices there too. Les Halles, which is undergroud had some great shops. Be warned, you will get lost there in the winding halls.

jkbritt,
Man, you really found the right places to shop. We didn't find any of those. We paid through the nose at the touristy areas. $120 USD for 4 sandwiches, $300 for a dinner. We knew instinctively that if we got out of the touristy areas, we would get lot better prices, but time didn't allow and we really didn't know where to go. Didn't want to wander down a place that was a bad area.
Agreed the beggars are very aggressive. It was challenging to get to your destination and avoid all of them since they were everywhere!! Fortunately we didn't get hit with the ring scam. Is that the one where they drop a ring and then ask if it's yours? Then what do they do?
I tried to "people watch" which some on the boards said was one of the most interesting things to do. I constantly got asked if I spoke English which caused me to keep moving and I couldn't just relax and "take it all in".
You got a tremendous deal for the Ibis.
We did choose from the fixed price menus, but where we were, they cost 97 euros, 86 euros/ person. Again, as they say in real estate: location, location, location!!

I am really sorry to hear about your meal expereinces. I think that's what scares people off of Paris and I can say that as a single female I have NEVER spent that much per person on a meal. (I have spent some decent amounts, but those were on meals that were at "respected" places, not "tourism")

Honestly, it's "hard" to wind up in the "wrong area" of Paris. I have done it, but I had to work at it LOL! Just wandering off for food... nope, I don't walk that far:) )

Carol,
We just didn't seem to pick the right ones. Most of ours were around the Champs Elysee area and then the touristy spots. I wish I went to where jkbritt went!!

Congratulations on resisting the offer to let the Chinese restaurant charge your bill in dollars. Their special rate would not only have been higher than your own bank's rate, but your bank would probably have tacked on their own fee on top of the restaurant's fee. This is dynamic currency conversion, and it is good that you read about it here before traveling to Paris.

Sorry to hear of your travails.

Next time stay away from the Champs Elysées and Disneyworld. In countless trips to Paris, I've never paid what you were paying for those experiences/restaurants. When I pay as much as you did for a meal, it's at a place I consider to be very, very nice, with meals up to my somewhat foodie standards.

Hope you'll go back and enjoy a less expensive and problem-free trip sometime again.

I ate one meal on the Champs Elysées, and on a scale of 10 it was about a 4. Not worth the price by any means. That was a couple of years ago and we have learned. This was our 4th Paris trip and I have found that Boulangers have wonderful sandwiches and great deserts for around 4 to 6 Euros each. At times, one is enough for two if you want a light meal. Buy cheese and drink from Monoprix, Champion or other store and have fresh sandwich and find a park, which should not be hard, and have a wonderful picnic and people watch, like the French. Also I have found that Brassaries, as many have stated before, wonderful places for price fix menu with great food. Cous-Cous is also a filling meal that is fairly cheap. One order will usually do two people unless you are starving. We ate at the best Cous-Cous restaurant in Paris(supposidly) -La Oriental on Avenue Trudaine, and the meal, with 1/2 liter of wine, for the two of us was around E34 for dinner. I had chicken Cous Cous and my wife had a wonderful chicken in pastry. I could not eat all of mine. Should have just gotten Cous-Cous, but did not know size of meal unitl it arrived. Chicken in pastry was wonderful also. Good deal, I thought.

Also, La Pergola, a Brassarie on Boulevard Bessieres and the intersection of Avenue de Saint-Ouen. Coming down St. Ouen, take a left at Bessieres, and it is 45 yards down the street on the left. It has a green awning. Good price fix menu and wonderful owner. Good place to stop and eat after shopping the St. Ouen flea market all day.

When we stopped at a Brassarie and ordered cafe' Americano and tap watter, we just sat, drank coffee and water and watched people go by. We had very few questions. I usually initiated any conversations with people around us.

Also, about the French in general. I use a scooter, as mentioned above. At times the battery would run down before I got home. Everytime I asked in a Brasserie, Restaurant, etc. could I plug it in and charge it, they were more than willing to let me. Moving tables and chairs so I could get close to an outlet. Could not have asked for better help. Also, when I got stuck on curbs or on ledges at doors, people came out of the woodwork to help me get over the rough spots. This was also true in Milan, Italy, our next stop on our trip this summer.

Nikki, I'm glad now that we did resist the temptation. It's just that they seemed so nice. I guess that's how you get taken.

StCirq-agreed those two areas are quite pricey and not the best quality.

jkbritt-you certainly had the opposite experience than us for getting good deals.

Thanks for the report--I'm gathering info for our trip.

Like you, I'm still curious re: the next step in the golden ring scam!

Disneymania-Just saw your post to me. I just got back Wednesday evening. Things went pretty well except that I'm not keen on being in Paris in August. Before I left, I was thinking that the last time I was there in August was about 15 years ago, but then it hit me that it was actually in the summer of 1990, so a little longer. From around 1975 or 1976, to 1990, I had always gone to Paris annually during the summer. Then after 1990, I decided to try the spring and loved it.

The only reason that I went in August, although I had just been there in April, was that I needed to go up to Denmark first and take care of some things. I lived in Copenhagen for 20-plus years of summers starting in the 70s, a few weeks after high school graduation when I went off to Europe, back in the exchange student and backpacking days.

The weather is decent in Denmark in August, so I'm always working around Danish weather. Smiles. The flight was on Air France through Paris, out of Los Angeles, so I figured I'd spend a week in Paris on the way home. My Parisian friend mailed me the key to the apartment that he owns in the 10th, as he was on vacation, and would return home the night after I had arrived.

Quite a few places that I needed to go to were closed in Paris. The restaurant, in my regular neighborhood, the 6th, that I eat at daily was closed as were many shops and businesses. Some places were closed in my Parisian friend's neighborhood in the 10th, like the boulangerie near his apartment. I had just stayed with him in April, so I could therefore see a big difference in the neighborhood in August. And had also visited him, at his apartment in spring 2008, although I had a rented apartment in the 6th then.

Oh, something interesting happened when I landed at CDG Airport in Terminal 2D, when I was arriving into Paris from Copenhagen. I had booked with www. airport-connection.com shuttle service and went to dial the toll free number from the phones at Door 9. The pick up point was to be at Door 10. So, I went to the phones at door 9 and tried dialing, but the toll free number wouldn't go through on any of the phones. It just kept popping up in French that the number was invalid. I tried all of the phones in that area, several times, and the same thing kept happening.

So, I went to the information booth to ask a question about it and was told that it was a toll free number and that I could use any phone to dial the number free. I told the girl that I understood that, but that it wasn't working. Then I dug through the carry-on bag and got a hold of my unlocked, triband, cell phone programmed with a French telephone number through www.callineurope.com. I thought I'd try calling the other number to the company that was listed for those wanting to dial from a cell phone. Well, I couldn't get a signal in the airport where I was standing. I wanted to scream then. However, the cell phone worked perfectly fine the rest of the week in Paris and I would definitely use, Call in Europe, again although the SIM card was an outrageous $29.00, plus $12.00 to send it out on Federal Express. ( I pay around $2.54 for my SIM cards in Bangkok). But, with that company the telephone number is issued before one leaves home which is important for me especially having elderly parents, one nearly 90 years old.

Anyhow, then I went back to the information desk and asked what I should do as I couldn't contact the shuttle company. Well, the girl said I'd need to buy a calling card. So, to the booth I went to buy a calling card for 7.50 Euros, I think it was, to try using it to dial the non-toll free number. Then the woman at the booth pointed at some phones in the opposite direction for me to use. When I got to that section I noticed that the phones were different from the one at door 9. They were the big gray phones. Remember, the pick up area for the shuttle service was at door 10. And I had forgotten that there are two styles of pay phones although that shouldn't matter.

Something told me to try the toll free number one more time, but on the gray-colored phone, so I did and the number went through. But, then I was stuck with a 7.50 Euro calling card. I mentioned to the shuttle operator of the problem and that I had wasted nearly 30 minutes with the phone situation. She said maybe something had changed with the phones and that she would mention it to the higher up, so to speak.

I've used this company twice before and have recommended them, and will take them again in spring 2010, but there are some BASIC things that they need to straighten out, like marking their shuttles with a NAME. It's not rocket science. There was another shuttle service (Paris Shuttle) that was waiting outside that had its name on the shuttle, so I knew not to get into that shuttle.

When I got outside, there was a man holding up a sign with a male name on it. He pointed to me asking if I was that person. I'm female. I said no and kept waiting to try to spot my shuttle. Well that WAS my shuttle, but it was just a white, unmarked shuttle. There were a few people inside. So, something told me to walk over to the driver and ask what company he was with. I then found out that that was my shuttle. But "I" had to figure this out. The shuttle then went to another terminal to pick up some passengers who happened to be British and they were frustrated,too.

On the trip back to the airport a week later, I was told that I would have a 9:00AM pick up, from my friend's apartment in the 10th. My friend dialed the number and reconfirmed everything two days before the scheduled pick up. I figured I would probably be the last person picked up being in the 10th and that's exactly what happened which was all but fine with me. After my pick up, straight to the airport.

At 8:45AM, I just happened to look out of my friend's living room window, down onto the street, when I noticed a gray-colored van with a name written on the side that I didn't recognize. Something told me to zip down the several flights of stairs to check it out. So, I ran down the stairs and noticed two passengers in the van and knocked on the window and asked the driver if he was from airport-connection. He said that he was. I don't know how long he had been sitting out there. Who knows, maybe it's illegal to honk a horn in Paris. But, had he honked, I would have known that he had arrived. It's good I glanced out the window.

So, I ran back upstairs and told my friend that the shuttle had already arrived. He was in the shower as he was getting ready for work. So, out of the shower he went and we picked up all the luggage and hurried down all of the steps to the street level. It was a rushed goodbye. The two female passengers in the shuttle were Australian and said that they had thought that the driver might have been lost since he stopped in front of an apartment building instead of a hotel since a lot of hotel-dwellers take that shuttle service. They also said that when the desk clerk, at their hotel, tried to call the shuttle service, that she/he also had a hard time getting through as there was something about the number being invalid.

I will draft a letter to them and hopefully it will all be straightened out. I'm BIG at letter writing in order to try to resolve issues and improve things. I will use them again as they have never been late on an airport return pick up and the price is definitely right at about 52 Euros round trip. Some of the issues that I will address in my letter are; 1) Mark the van so that passengers know what company it is 2) Write the phone number information CLEARLY. For example when they wrote the phone number for folks not using the toll-free number, they didn't add a ZERO first. When I showed the number to the girl at the information booth, she wrote in a zero 3) Have employees of the company wear a name tag or something to identify themselves.
And there were a few other things that I wrote down, but cant remember off the top of my head. If you have more things to add, let me know as you used the company,too and through my recommendation. Happy Travels!

JKBrit-I experienced the gold ring scam last week. A Parisian friend and I were walking east on rue Grenelle and had just crossed Avenue de la Bourdonnais headed for the park to just sit for a few minutes and chit chat. As soon as we got to the corner of rue Grenelle and Avenue de la Bourdonnais, in the 7th, I spotted a man wandering around. This was an area in which we were the only two people as it was really dead there. Then I noticed this man holding up a large gold ring and talking in gibberish. The radar went off and I gave him "the" look. He didn't even approach me, but went straight for my Parisian friend who wasn't paying attention to the situation. My friend kind of chatted with him for a few seconds and I strongly called out my friend's name and signaled to him to move away from him. It all happened very fast. My friend then moved away. Maybe he hadn't seen the gold ring at first. The man then quickly left us alone and wandered south on Avenue de la Bourdonnais. Happy Travels!

Correction," A Parisian friend and I were walking WEST on rue Grenelle......". It must be the jetlag. Smiles. Happy Travels!

Hello

I Have just rented a flat with lodjee at http://www.lodjee.com in the Marai area today and thanks for all the details about your trip in Paris, I will be off there next month and this is the first time for me there, so we will see ! Hope I will envoy it like you, If you have more tips about the area I am going to ( Marai ) let me know
Thanks

MaraiS s at the end

Guenmai,
I just saw your post now. Wow, you had a rough time with airport connection. Actually after our experience with them, I think I will try to avoid them in the future if the opportunity arises. They couldn't get the door number right and the driver was waiting for us at the wrong door, as I recall it was door number 3. We wasted probably about 1 hour trying to find each other. You are EXACTLY right, the vans are unmarked which makes you feel uneasy to get in. You never know. Also, I noticed the other vans were distinctly marked. So your letter is absolutely correct. I don't recall having trouble dialing the phone number but it could be at that door, I had the "correct" phone like you finally found that would take their number. It's so hit and miss. I thought since they wanted my flight number and info, they should have realized we were 1 hour early and then been ready to pick us up early. Not only were they not early, but we were quite late after the not being able to find us problem.

We also found some favorite places (bakeries) that closed on July 31. We didn't find that it was less crowded or cheaper once Aug came, but some of the places closed down. So we would probably avoid Aug if we could in the future also.

What exactly happens at the end of the gold ring? Someone steals from you when someone else is talking to you about the gold ring?

Beware, I came back with a cell phone bill > $1000 . They had messed up the way I wanted my Blackberrys to work there, so they did the OPPOSITE of what I wanted. I had called them countless times before I left to make sure they got it right. They didn't. It doesn't hurt to check and double check and triple check. The Blackberrys worked there, but not too well. Probably because they put the wrong plan on the wrong phone. Sigh...

franobart,
I'm sorry I don't know anything about the Marai area.

BTW, welcome back Guenmai!!

franobart,
Your flat looks really nice. I don't know anything about this company. There is a thread about paris apt on this site I think if you search.

Now I know why I like Shuttle-inter! Nice report , Disney

Disneymania-Thanks for the welcome back and the info on airport-connection.com. I'm going to start drafting the letter now and then I'll add your complaints,too.

I will again give them a try in spring and see if things have been improved. It's not that difficult to make the improvements. Like I said though, I've had no problems with them going back to the airport as in they've either been early or right on time. They just need to get better on the pick up at the airport situation. Their price is right at around 52 Euros, round trip. There are other companies that charge quite a bit more. Happy Travels!

Disneymania-As for the gold ring scam....yes, while showing you the ring, one's wallet is lifted. The scammer that we saw was alone. I had immediately looked around to see if I could see anyone else lurking. Happy Travels!

Guenmai,
Also with airport-connection, they didn't hold a sign at all. It was our guess who they were picking up.

When I called them to take us from Paris center to Disneyland area, they were all booked up. I called the day before though, so my bad.

I did hear great things about shuttle-inter, however Mms had probs with them. So, it all depends on your individual experience. But labelling the vans seems to be a no brainer. Good luck with your letter, Guenmai! I can't remember what we paid for going from the CDG to our apt.

Good to know about the ring scam. I just knew if they pulled out a ring, get out of there!! (:

Disneymania, you are complaining about everything. I suggest you stay in the US next time. Europe and you will both be better off.

Disneymania-After I posted to you, I started drafting my letter to airport-connection. The letter is completed and I'll try to mail it out tomorrow. I have listed the issues of not only myself, but those from you and all of the other passengers that have basically expressed the same issues. Hopefully, they will change some things for the better in the future. Happy Travels!

Guenmai,

I hate to say this, but... you are defeating your complaint letter in advance.

Complaint letters that say "I read on the internet about folks I don't know by name etc" tend to go in the "SO"? bucket.

I would stick to what YOUR issues were. If Disneymania or anyone else wants to complain, they should. Maybe SEVERAL letters would have more impact.

Vientianboy, Didn't your mother ever tell you "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything" We are generally better off without troll like comments. If you don't like a poster's post, just ignore thier threads.

Just a quick note on EuroDisney. I've spoken to lots of people who have been to EuroDisney, Europapark (1 hr. from Switzerland in Germany) and Gardaland (on Garda lake).

All of them have said they've liked Europapark the best.

Europapark: http://www.europapark.de/lang-en/c51/default.html

CarolA- Thanks for the advice. However, I did write about my experience and even included my reservation numbers from just week before last and last week. I wouldn't draft a letter without focusing first on my own experience. I also threw in what I've heard from other passengers as those passengers were in the same shuttles that I was in and also were not satisfied with the same things that I, and Disneymania, weren't satisfied with.

I'm one who writes letters, however most of my letters are to companies or people praising what good service that I have received, like the letter I wrote a couple of months ago to the Office Depot near me about a teenaged salesperson who had been so helpful. I wrote a letter to him and the management expressing what great service I had received.

I've been writing these types of letters for decades. Now, who knows, with the shuttle company, it may never get resolved. I remember having to write a letter in behalf of the same Parisian friend that I just stayed with in Paris when he stayed with me here in the States some months ago and took our shuttle service back to the airport (as I was working that day). The driver double charged him. I tried fighting that one for months by letter and phone, but it was never resolved and he didn't get his money back as he hadn't been given a receipt to prove that he had paid the driver cash. Later his debit card, on file, had also been charged. It's rare for a driver to give a receipt unless one asks for one. I've taken that shuttle service many times over many years. My friend didn't think of asking for a receipt. He was new at this and was focused on trying to catch his flight. So, after that experience, I personally changed shuttle services. Happy Travels!

So, who knows if this Paris shuttle company will care about a letter or not. The bottom line is that it's written and they will receive it and the rest is out of my hands. Most people are not going to sit down and spend a couple of hours drafting a letter to a company, but instead if dissatisfied with a company's service, will usually just take his/her money elsewhere. But, I believe in trying to resolve unpleasant situations. Happy Travels!

Guenmai,
Kudos to you for taking the effort to write to airport connection. I hope you get a positive response. Please let us know, if you have a chance. I think it's wonderful that you correspond to companies, esp when they do something right. That is very kind of you to take the time and effort. Too bad you couldn't get resolution with the shuttle double charging your Parisian friend.

CarolA-thanks for your support with regards to Vientianeboy. It's much appreciated.

schuler-thanks for your input. My kids did enjoy Disneyland Paris.

Disneymania-I'll keep you posted as to whether or not I hear from airport-connection. Happy Travels!