3sica

After weeks of anticipation... I can finally pack my bags and be ready to leave!
Here is a rundown of my itinerary.
I know it may seem rushed to some, but this is me and DH's 1st Europe trip and maybe we are just keen to see as much as we can.
We will certainly TRY to let go at times, to go where our legs/eyes/mouth/nose take us... you know, to not be obsessive about keeping our pre-planned schedule.

Any feedback is welcome, never too late, I will check back regularly even when I am there!

3 June Wednesday
- Arrive at LHR 0620.
- Tube to Chesterfield Mayfair.
- Check in and get to Buckingham Palace in time for Changing of the Guard
- Maybe the Royal Mews (a maybe becoz it is pointless for me if i cant see the horses)
- Oxford Street (wanna catch the LV Speedy Exhibition at Selfridges!) and Regent Street
- Covent Garden in the evening and Chinatown for dinner (Does anyone know of a Chinese restaurant called Rasa Sayang near Gerrad Street?)

4 June Thursday
- Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral
- Tate Modern, followed by short walk to Borough Market
- King's Cross for Platform 9 and 3/4 (HP fan am I!) and over to St Pancreas to collect Eurostar tix for Saturday
- British Museum (opens till 2030)
**Anyone thinks this day is way too heavy??

5 June Friday
- Westminster Abbey/Parliament House/Big Ben
- London Eye
- Afternoon Tea
- Harrods
- Wedding Anniversary dinner at Nobu (our anniversary tradition is to have japanese for dinner)

6 June Sat
** Leaving London on the 1404 Eurostar to Paris... anyone can think of something we can fit in before this??**
- Arrive at Paris 1726
- Check into apartment (7th arr) and explore for dinner options
- Climb ET at night!

7 Jun Sun
- Rue Cler
- Marais OR Montmartre
- Ile St. Louis & Ile de la Cite
- Seine Cruise

8 Jun Monday
- Lourve
- Place VendomeHotel Crillon, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees (and of course to LV!!!!)
- Arc de Triomphe
- Need to get to 12th arr by 1830 to collect something

9 Jun Tuesday
- Musee Rodin
- Luxembourg Gardens
- St Germain-des-Pres/Latin Quarter Walk
- Galaries Lafayette/Printemps

10 Jun Wednesday
- ET (yes again!) in the morning
- Versailles (still pondering.........)

11 Jun Thursday
- 0746 TGV to Nice
- Arrive Nice and check into Hotel La Perouse
- Castle Hill
- Walk along Promenade des Anglais

12 Jun Friday
- Cours Saleya
- Bus to Monaco (still pondering.........)
- Return to Nice in the evening

13 Jun Saturday
- Walk around Old Town
- Leave for airport at 1300
- Home


That is it....
any comments?
am i being too ambitious?

So excited!!

yk

Have a great time, 3sica!

On your morning before leaving for Paris, I'd just take it easy and take a walk - perhaps St James's Park or Kensington Gardens if the weather is nice? If weather is not nice, then any museums you didn't have a chance to visit (all museums open at 10am).

GregPCM

3sica,

WOW! and I thought I was an over planner. When I read through your schedule I could feel how excited you are, after day 4 I was exhausted. I have been to London and Paris several times because I feel they are great cities to explore. If you were to see the T of L, St. Paul's, The Tate and the BM in one day you would have to run at top speed all day long. I would say pick two and enjoy yourself. If you identify the things you want to see on your trip and accept that you wouldn't be able to see them all, you will have a great time.

Greg

thursdaysd

Wow, I'm exhausted! Yes, day 2 is way overloaded. But you don't need to pick up your tickets for the Eurostar ahead of time - do it the day you're leaving. And you could do the King's Cross visit then too. How abut moving afternoon tea and Harrods (do you HAVE to do that?) to Thursday afternoon, and the BM to Sat morning?

3sica

thanks yk! i was thinking of squeezing in a craft market but i suppose your suggestion is probably more sane...will pick one of the parks (hubby will like that)

greg...i guess i am having a hard time doing what u say, accept that i cant see everything in one trip...and i think i have subconciously squeezed most of the musuems into 1 days...
is it really so undoable...will have to rethink that day...
really dunno which to drop!

3sica

yes... thursdayd... i HAVE to do Harrods! 8-)
becoz I love the cute little Harrods corner that we have back in Singapore and would love the see the actual thing!

We will have to lug our bags to BM if I do it on Saturday, would that be wise?
Someone had suggested in another thread that I could go to St Pancreas earlier and leave my luggage there, THEN walk over to BM...
But DH has bought YK's quiet morning idea and I doubt I can get him to agree to a museum just before we leave! hahaha

thursdaysd

You should be able to leave your bags in the BM's cloakroom. Another option for that morning would be the British Library (www.bl.uk ), which is next door to St. Pancras, and also has a cloakroom - but you already have too much to do!

BTW, you could do afternoon tea at Harrod's - http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/index....&id=3&Itemid=3 - although I like the Orangery, this would cut down on transit time.

yk

For June 10, you'd be better off to head to Versailles first thing in the morning (preferably before it opens), or you'd find yourselves in huge crowds.

Are you interested in Modern Art? If not, you can easily just pop in for 10 minutes to look at the building but not the art. If you ARE interested in Modern Art, then yes, your Day 2 in London is too busy.

yk

Sorry, the 2nd paragraph above meant to be about Tate Modern.

3sica

afternoon tea is complimentary by the hotel, so we would be going back to the hotel for it and rest before we go out again for Harrods and dinner...
maybe i SHOULD consider dropping Tate Modern or BM from my Thursday...thinking...

thursdaysd

In contrast to London, you seem a bit light on Nice. You can do the old town at the same time as the Cours Saleya. Personally, I wouldn't spend much time in Monaco, unless you're gamblers. If you click on my screen name you can check out my recent TR that includes Nice.

3sica

Nice is for RnR and I think we will probably skip Monaco.
Just want a place to wander around, without much agenda...this is to satisfy DH, the laid back traveller...
i figured after dragging him through London and Paris, Nice would be a nice respite, albeit a short one...

3sica

hi yk, i will try to get DH to wake up as early as possible for the day we go to Versailles (he is a late waker while on holidays...something we always argue about!)
Initially thought we would reach there around 1 or 2 when the tour crowds are almost gone, and spend some time doing nothing in the morning...

thursdaysd

Sounds like you and DH may have different definitions of the ideal holiday. Have you thought about splitting up part of the time? Maybe you can park DH in a cafe (or a park!) while you visit a museum? Or let him sleep in and meet up later?

yk

The crowds at Versailles may be okay if you go in the afternoon - esp if you tour the gardens first and save the Palace interior for last. What time does Versailles close? It depends on how much ground you want to cover; as the Trianons and the hameau are far in distance. If you want to visit everything, it's an all-day outing w/lots of walking.

white_apple

Hi 3sica,

Where did you plan to have your afternoon tea for the 5th July?? Can I recomend you The Lanesborough? www.lanesborough.com I had a fantastic time when I was there a few weeks ago.

Have a good trip!

3sica

thursdayd, we have always known each other's different vacation styles, but this time he was the one who suggested Europe. I DID warn him that this will be a totally different thing from Mauritius, Maldives or Bali.
think he is already preparing to be parked...he was saying it is a great thing that Paris has so much cafes (this man is a serious coffee drinker!)

yk, i am planning to see it like how u said...
but we will see... if we fall in love with the apartment and just walking around Paris, we will forgo Versailles

white apple, my afternoon tea is complimentary from my hotel, but i wouldn't mind another good one! good food is never too much!

flanneruk

"Does anyone know of a Chinese restaurant called Rasa Sayang near Gerrad Street?"

Of course not. How could there possibly be a Chinese restaurant with a name like that?

There is a restaurant with this name in Macclesfield St, which runs into Gerrard St. Unsurprisingly, it serves food from the Malay peninsula, though this inevitably includes a few dishes (like "Hainan" chicken) that have a vaguely Chinese parentage.

It's cheap, and gets highly mixed reviews from the more sensible papers (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...n-rasa-sayang; http://www.timeout.com/london/restau...ews/14978.html)

But, except for a handful of Singaporean basics, you're not going to find any Chinese food there.