NYC, Orlando, Chicago, London, Paris, Rome. A trip report from a novice. Part 2 (part 1 on the USA thread)
 

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34753427


If i have done this correctly, above is part one.
Below is the beginning of the Europe side of our trip.


We've decided we like afternoon flights. Had time for a nice breakfast and one more walk before we headed off to the airport. It was an easy flight to London. Departed about 4pm Chicago time and flying time was only about 6 hours but the down side to that with the time difference, we arrived in London about 6.30am. YUK!!

Oh, I forgot something. When we were getting close to landing in Chicago, the pilot let us all know that there may be a delay and we may have to circle for a while. And I think he said very 'tongue in cheek' that "our Commander in Chief will be landing at O'hare and he gets right of way". How cool! And as it turned out, we were'nt delayed at all and we got a look at AirForce one on the tarmac. 4 very impressed Aussies, especially when we saw those rather large helicopters (sorry don't know what there called) flying around also.

Sorry, but I had to tell that even if its out of sequence!

Now back to London.

Our organized driver was there to collect us and took us directly to our apartment. I really liked using car services. Especially at this part of our trip, as our luggage had begun to 'swell' and we had about 6 suitcases now. So an organized van with a driver who knew ahead of time where we were going was really easy. The gentleman who's apartment I had booked arranged the transport.

So we get to the apartment about 7.30am. Drag all our luggage in and meet the owner. Lovely man. But alas our room is not ready. Ok, so its pitch black,freezing cold and drizzling. We've missed a nights sleep and we're all hungry and tired. Sounds like fun, hey? NOT!!

The apartment was in Kensington, so we grabbed a map and started walking towards Kensington Gardens. Passed a Starbucks, thank god and stopped in for a coffee and a muffin.

Get to the Gardens, quite a walk actually. Its now light, but bleek and cold. Not really in the mood for 'sight seeing'. How are we going to fill in 'till 2pm? If this ever happens again, I would absolutely pay for the extra night to confirm that we could arrive and just 'crash'.

Then we spot a open top tour bus. Thats it, we all get on DD2 stayed downstairs, I believe she slept for most of it. Good value for money, hey? But DH & DD1 came up with me. It was actually really good. Gave us an overview as it was our first trip to London (& Europe). It did get too cold,and we all moved down stairs. Got a call about midday to say the room was ready. Yipeee, changed the route we were on and headed back.

Little did we know what a surprise our apartment would be!!!!!!

Hi AD,

>If i have done this correctly...

Most correctly.

Well written. Looking forward to more.

((I))

So, we drag our tired bodies back to the flat. We then start the climb up to the 3rd floor, with our 6 very heavy suitcases. Poor DH made at least 4 trips and was hyperventilating by the time he'd finished. I found this apartment/flat myself, as I did with most of the accommodation on this trip. The location was fantastic, a short walk to Earls Crt tube station.

But.....they were the worst stairs ever encounted. They were steep (I know, the're stairs, and the're meant to be steep) and so narrow, DH foot didn't fit on them. So he had the added disadvantage in having to climb them on his tip toes. Then to add to the 'misery' the 2nd & 3rd floors had fire doors on the top step. So, you've managaed the stairs but you have to exude your last bit of oxygen to !!push!! the dam door open. It was a nightmare. But wait, theres more.

If once you had climbed these stairs,you found your self in a lovely flat, it would be all worth it, right? Didn't happen!! On first glance, not too bad. So, we all made it up, and literally fell into bed and slept for about 4 hours. When I say 'fell' I meant, once we opened up the sofa DH & I fell. Why then did we both wake with a head ache and a numbness....mmmmm???

more, please

aussiedreamer - We know the London flat is grim but more details please.

Sandy

A run down on the flat. It was small, but I knew it would be. There was living room c/w sofa bed, tv & a small dining table. A kitchenette (not too bad, but not very user friendly) bathroom and bedroom c/w 2 single beds.

The problem was, the whole room was a a slope. Yep, the floor had a real lean to it, so when we opened the sofa (after closing and standing up our suitcase and pushing furniture against the wall, so we had enough room to open it) our heads were pointing 'down hill'.

Ok, that was the first nap. So that night, we thought, we wont let this get us down. We'll sleep up the other end. Nah, the slats had given way and down we went. Straight to the floor. Ok, no problem. so every night after moving the furniture and packing the suitcase up, we turned the sofa bed around so at least our head were up hill and the blood didn't rush to our heads!

So every morning before the girls could come into the living room or kitchen, we had to do all that in reverse.

Their room was fine, except, only enough room for the beds,nowhere to put luggage. Which became a real pain.

Now the bathroom. It was a good size, but to get hot water you had to turn the tap on at least 10 mins before you actually wanted to get in and then you had about 5mins before it went cold again. And the toilet wouldn't flush more than once every half hour or so. So one person would go and then we would have to wait half an hour before the next person would be able to flush.

so thats the flat. But I will report on London itself, 'cause we had a ball.

aussiedreamer:

Thanks for the flat report - must say very grim. Will you consider posting on www.tripadvisor.com where lots of us do go for reviews on hotels, flats etc.

Looking very forward to your actual London report.

Sandy

Don't want to 'hurt' anyones feelings. But I may see if the flat is on Tripadvisor and add a 'comment'. I know Iwould have appreciated someone telling me about it, when I asked. I did research it and only heard good things. Perhaps its because the owner was a joy to work with, one doesn't want to be too harsh.

If he's a joy to work with, he ought to have told you what to expect!

Great report! Re the London flat, small wonder the owner is a "joy" to work with--by being so nice, he's able to squeeze lucrative lemonade out of a place that sounds like a real lemon.

After our much needed nap, we found a good supermarked and stocked up. Then our Friend from Melbourne who is in London working on the Wembley site came around for 'dinner'. It was great to see him and as he is very homesick, he had arranged to take a day off later in the week to come 'site seeing' with us. He also had a spread sheet done up for us. What tube/bus to catch to get to each place, rough cost, etc.

So the next morning we left the girls sleeping and off we went. We found the tube to be very easy to use. We bought a daily offpeak ticket (no early starts for us!) used DF's guide and the tube map and went exploring. What fun. It was great to walk around and just 'stumble' across all the places that you grew up hearing about. We joked that we felt like we were walking on a monopoly board. ;-) Pret a Manger was a very handy place to grab a good snack. Loved their sandwiches and the mushroom soup is fantastic. It became our sustanance while walking around. We also checked out the TKTS booth, as we really wanted to see We Will Rock You in London. Tickets available, but some other friends from home were arriving that day from Aus. and they wanted to see it also. So we decided to wait 'till later in the week. It was a glorious day and we found ourselves by the London Eye. But again as the girls weren't with us we decided to wait. It turned out to be the last 'sunny' day we had.

After a 'good' nights sleep, our DF turned up to take us site seeing. I had to give it a miss as I think it all caught up with me and I felt YUK. So off they went and I promised to be brave and catch the Tube myself and meet them for lunch. I did. Felt vey brave and our so 'local'. Grabbed my ticket and off I went. Met them at Westminster station. They had had a lovely morning. Even climbed The Monument, which they all really enjoyed. Had lunch in a pub, and headed for Buckingham Palace. Of all the historical buildings we saw on this trip, I would have to say that the palace is possibly the most 'boring'. Especially with the gravel court yards. But it was fun to see it. We walked down the Mall then picking out who we thought lived in each house! Took the girls to the Horse's Guard as they hadn't been with us when we saw it. Took their photos blowing a kiss to a guard. The guards all seemed so young.

Back to Leicester Square, which we really used as a starting off point, most days. Coffee and a snack with our DF, then managed to get tickets to WWRU for that night.

What a great show. We had seen it in Melbourne & Brisbane. So to see it in London was a real treat. And for half price. We met up with our other friends there, wont see too much of them in London as they are staying with relatives, but they are coming to Paris with us, so that should be fun.

Wandered into Planet Hollywood after the show. Met the manager (as he heard our accents) he was from Australia. His friend managers the Regatta, a famous local pub at home. So he gave DD1 a card with a note on it for his mate , so he would buy her a drink, she was very impressed.

The next day the girls wanted to hang around the flat and check out the local area. DH wanted to go to Lords. So we got on the Tube and off we went. It really was good. Especially for my DH a huge cricket fan. I enjoyed the museum, but I must say I thought the tour was a bit long. And it was soooo cold.

Spent the next couple of days just wandering around, seeing the major sites. On the Sunday, our DF picked us up and took us to Windsor Castle. Woh, I had no idea how big it was. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside, except to the dolls house. But we did the outside tour and managed to fill in an hour and a half. REally enjoyed the history of the place.

On the way back to London our DF took us to Wemberly for a look. What a mamoth undertaking. We got to sit in the stands and walk out in the middle. DH really enjoyed it Had dinner in another pub. A great day.

Last day in London. Met up with our DF's and did the Tower of London tour. Very cool. And finished the day and the week off with a ride on the London Eye. It was a perfectly clear evening and we had the pod to ourselves. A lovely way to say goodbye to London.

Off to Paris on the Eurostar, next.

aussiedreamer - Glad the bad flat situation did not stop you from enjoying your time in London.

Looking forward to Paris - full details please.

Sandy

Used car service again and made our way to Waterloo station, for our trip to Paris on the Eurostar. What a lovely way to travel. No getting there too early, no lines. We had a great trip. Enjoyed a nice breakfast on board c/w champagne. 31/2 easy hours later we arrived at Garu De nord. There we had our first experience with toilets you pay for! Not a problem, but didnt take my purse with me. Fortunately DF was with us and had hers.

Found a taxi mini van and used that to make our way to our Paris apartment. I know we paid way too much, but it was pouring rain and we had a lot of bags, so it was just easier. Off we went, our DF's used a regular cab and also set off. We planned to meet later for dinner. As it happened their hotel was only a block or two from our apartment. And I am very happy to report that we stayed at a Paris perfect apartment, Chardonay. Woh, what an absolute delight. We were met there by one of their staff. Monique, I think, or perhaps Monica. And from the moment we walked in the London apartment was a vague memory. I love Paris...........:-)

Waiting for the rest.........

aussiedreamer:

Please come back and tell us about your wonderful Paris apartment etc.

Sandy

Sorry for the delay. Had a 'little' accident and haven't been mobile, so getting down the stairs to the study, has been a bit challenging. Better now.

When we walked into the apartment we were greated by the most lovely furnishings and decor. We had a small, but very functional kitchen c/w the best espresso machine EVER!! Dining room, c/w dining table set for our first meal. A beautiful antique desk c/w wireless internet connection. The lounge room could be devided by sliding these lovely wooden doors, which was great as DD1 decided to use that as her bedroom, as it had a very comfortable roll out bed under the couch. The girls bathroom was perfect, c/w h/dryer and makeup mirror, what more could they ask for.

Then there was a 'cupboard' c/w washer & dryer. A 'reading' room which was DD2's bedroom and then into the main bedroom with possibly the biggest bed I have ever seen. And comfortable, it was a real pleasure, we also had our own ensuite. Each room had large 'french' window with taffita curtains but also blinds for complete darkness.

It was the most well thought out apartment we have ever stayed in. And to receive a welcome basket was just lovely. It contained a bottle of wine, coffee for the machine, biscuits, maps, guide books and a guest book that was very helpful. It also had a bread bag, which was our gift to take home. All the furniture was modern looking antique (does that make sense?) and was comfortable and plush.

The kitchen came complete with everything you could need. I cannot think of one thing that I would have wished it had. There was fresh milk in the fridge, olive oil and other condiments. It was absolutely perfect.

So there, have I sufficiently raved about the apartment enough? Our DF's could not believe it when they walked in, it was that good.

And to walk out onto our 'tiny' balcony and get our first look at the Eifel Tower was magic. Our nightly ritual was to stand and watch the lights twinkle while enjoying yet another glass of wonderful french wine. Although bitterley cold (which meant we had to have a cuddle ;-))it was perfect.

Paris................now I get it.

Hello aussiedreamer, hope you are alright after your accident. That is not fun!

Your apartment in Paris sounds perfect, sigh! And am looking forward to reading about your adventures in Paris. Take good care.

aussiedreamer - Your report on the Paris apartment was worth waiting for. It must have felt so wonderful after that awful old flat in London. I wonder about the rental cost between the two places. Was that the factor that made the difference or were you simply misled on the London flat?

Hope you continue to recover from your accident and looking forward to the remainder of your trip report.

Sandy

No cost was not the issue. In fact i would have to look up the cost of both, which i will do for comparisons on this site. But i chose based on location and ammenities. I will have a look what i paid for both, as i may be surprised......:-/

Hi Aussie --

Am enjoying your report and anxiously awaiting more.

6 of my girlfriends and I are staying in two of the Paris Perfect apartments this summer -- Sancerre & Champagne. We are all so excited!!!

Can you include in a segment of your trip report what you did in and around the 7th arr. What cafes, stores, patisseries, boulangeries, wine merchants, etc., are close by? What markets did you go to? What was available to purchase at the markets besides the fabulous foodstuffs? Merci!!

So, we had decided to settle in and then meet our DF's for dinner. Saw them from our little balcony and off we went. Walked around the corner and there it was, the Eifel Tower. Does one ever get sick of looking at it? I'd think not. Wanted somewhere casual for dinner. We're not what you would call 'foodies' but love good food in a relaxed atmosphere and this was probably the only times we found the language 'barrier' a problem. We chickened out a bit I guess, by chosing restaurants that had an english menu. So as you can tell by the report so far, I haven't listed any restaurants as such. But one I must list is Le Dome Cafe. Avoid it at all cost. The food wasn't just boring, it was bad, really bad. The wine was good :-) but the food and the service were terrible.
But we still had a wonderful first night in Paris. We bought pastries and went back for coffee (love that espresso machine) and the adults couldn't sit still, so we went back over to the Eifel Tower, just cause we could. :-).

Just a note for Luvparee, we found that it didn't matter which patisseries, boulangeries we went to , they were all wonderful, really!

The next day we got tickets for the Le Open Tour. Fantastic. We sat up the top, which was absolutely freezing, but awesome. Stayed on the bus 'till we got to the Arc De Triomphe. Just had to get off and go up. I think we counted about 200 steps, but worth it. The view from the top was outstanding. It was a cloudy day,with dark clouds on the horizon. Which made the view spectacular. Spent a long time up there. Had lunch in one of the cafes on the Champs Elysees, and wandered around the shops,soaking up the wonderful atmosphere. Made our way back to the apartment and sent the men out out to find dinner. It was rather amusing that they chose chinese food!!! But I must say it was delicious and can you buy a bad bottle of white wine in Paris? I'm sure you can, but we never did. More pastries and coffee, just as well we are doing a lot of walking.

We used our 2nd day on the Le Open Tour to get to The Louvre. We really like Le Open Tour, its a great way to get an overview of the city. Met our DF's and in we went. not huge museum buffs, but wanted to see the obvious. Mona Lisa etc. Which we did in about 1.5 hours. We include a lot of other paintings too, but as we have no art knowledge "AT ALL" that was probably enough. But we enjoyed what we did. Had lunch and carried on to Notre Dame. Really enjoyed it. We all did. Until we need to use the bathroom. If I can convey one msg on this forum, Never Ever under any circumstances use the public toilets outside Notre Dame. It was the single most distressingly horrible experience we had. It was like a communal area and absolutely filthy. We actually felt physically sick when we came back up. (down like a subway). :@

Did our own thing for dinner in the apartment. Yum Yum, baked chicken dinner. DH proved himself to be a real trouper. He found this great street sort of behind us and came home with everything we needed. Including more pastries and wine. I would have to say my favourite pastry would be anything with raspberries. :-* and I mean anything......

Left the girls sleeping in and headed out for breakfast with DF's the next morning as it was their last day. Ended up at one of the many cafes. They all had omlettes, I really felt like poached egg on toast. This was probably one of the few places we went that they either spoke no english, or pretended not to. I ended up with literally a poached egg on a plate. Nothing else. Quite funny really. Had a look around our local area at food shops etc, found a little shop that stocked all things british and a few Australian thing. Got some more vegimite. :-) Our friends left to catch their plane. Found out the night before that our DF from London (the one thats working on Wemberly) is coming to Paris for the weekend to stay with us. We were thrilled. He was a bit homesick, so it worked out all 'round. He arrived about 8pm via the Eurostar. Would you believe he walked from the station to our apartment? Went out and had a lovely dinner in a cosy little bistro, with a great waitress who took it easy on us Aussies.

Next morning we 'braved' the RER and got off at the St Mechel station. Just walked and looked. Notre Dame again. Got a bit lost, DD1 asked a 'cute' guy for help. He was Italian, and we all (including him) had a good laugh. She then asked some local policeman and they were very helpful. The headed for the Louvre. We were looking for Angelinas for some hot chocolate. After much wondering we found it. We found very very rich. But a good experience. Walked through the Tuillees gardens and then to the Obelisk, all the way up Champs Elysees to the ARc De Triomph. Our DF from London went up, as he hadn't been before. We then jumped on atrain and headed up to the Arc Defense and had a good look around. We trained it back to Champs De Mars/Eifel station. DD's & I got off and went home! DH & DF stayed on to find the markets that were listed in the guest book, as we needed more coffee for our wonderful machine.

A few hours later they were back, with all the ingredients for a wonderful baked fish dinner. C/w champagne and tarts. A wonderful evening, we were all exhausted.

The next day our DF had to leave for London pm. So we spent the morning at Hotel d Invalides and walking the general area. REally enjoyed it. Trained to Champs Elysees again and had a great look around the shops. Got back on the train us home, DF to London.

Spent the evening packing and getting ready to leave Paris. It had been a wonderful week filled with lots of amazing memories. I will never forget.

Next stop Rome.

Cabbed to the airport for our flight to Rome via Munich. We only had about 15 minutes to catch the connecting flight. But we did it with time to spare. Munich was a great airport. And the flight in was very scenic and pretty, lots of snow.

We were collected by our car service at Rome airport. Then we started on our 'interesting' drive into Roma. The man was a lunatic. But on observing , he wasn't the only one. DH commented that he was very glad we hadn't arranged to drive in Rome. As he's not sure we would have survived it. We knew we were in trouble when we went sailing past a police car c/w sirens and flashing lights.

We were met at our apartment by our 'landlord'. A very nice man with great english. The apartment was huge, a bit old, but very clean. We basically looked (if we craned our necks a bit) at the Pantheon. A great location. Dropped our bags and off we went. It was bitterly cold so we just had a quick look around and grabbed some pizza & pasta and headed back. There was a Crepe/icecream shop below us (which proved to be a blessing and a curse) and a wonderful coffee shop across our little lane.

The reason the shop was a curse is, they played very loud music 'till closing every night which reverbarated into our apartment. Got very annoying. But the crepes were wonderful.

And we felt like 'locals' starting each day standing at the counter of the coffee shop having our cappucino. Yum!

we got our tickets on our open bus (The Original Tour) tour. Which we found a little disappointing. Great to get the overview but the commentary was very ordinary. WE would be passing for eg. the Coloseum and the commentary was there is the coloseum. No history, nothing. Very odd.

So we just spent the next 3 days wondering and walking. Loved that we were 'right there'. A short stroll to the Fountain D Trevi and couldn't get enough of the Pantheon. I think i ws just amazed that it was all so accessible. Loved walking around the Spanish Steps, went to the Vatican and I am left wondering if you need to be catholic to truely appreciate it? I'm not, & I found it a little obscene, if that makes sense?

Had our final dinner at Zio Ciro (spelling?) which was a delight. I had the best fish dinner, sea bass EVER! And to finish it off, our waiter gave us all a lemon liquor, which i noticed was very popular, but must be an aquired taste.

Had an early start to the airport, a much safer ride this time, for our 'direct' flight to Singapore.

Due to a catering strike, our direct flight went via Dubai. No problems, always wanted to go there anyway. Only thing is, we sat on the tarmac for 45minutes and that was Dubai. The flight had a bit of a party atmosphere, due to the fact there was no food/drink service to Dubai, so everyone took their own on board. And they handed out the worst sandwiches, not sure where they found them. But it was amusing.

Great flight from Dubai to Singapore, lots of yummy food and drinks. Singapore airlines was our favourite airline on the whole trip.

Arrive in Singapore at about 8am for our one night stop over. It was going to be our final spend up, before the harsh reality of home. but we arrive for Chinese New Year and Singapore was like a deserted ghost town. Nothing was open, save for a market we went to in Little India. Which we discovered is were 'everybody' else spent that day!!

So we just lazed around and anticipated the last flight. We were all getting very excited. But we were also very 'jet lagged'. much worse this way than the outward bound journey. Couldn't sleep all night. So we pretty much sat around waiting and watching the clock, for about 5 hours. And 15 minutes before our cab was to arrive, DD2 came in from their connecting room, letting the door slam behind her. LOCKED OUT. They had slept with the outer door bolted and the internal door to our room had only the lock on their side.

After much panic, and the concierge telling us that we would have to wait 'till 9am to get in (it was only 6am) the night manager came and cut the chain off the main door. I must say there was a little bit of tension in the room. Funny now though!

So after spending a couple of hours and a few hundred dollars at the duty free stores at the airport we boarded our final flight.

A great flight and we were met at the airport by the same wonderful friends who took us originally. And also DD2's boyfriend bearing flowers. One very happy daughter.

DF's came c/w with grocerys, wine and beer. It was a wonderful end. Lots of laughter and catching up.

So thats it..............6 weeks, many miles and memories that will last a life time. There is nothing about the trip I regret and the only thing I would change if possible is , I would have left Orlando out and stayed somewere else in London. So I guess thats not too bad.

I hope I haven;t bored anyone silly.

Thanks again for all your help in the planning of this trip,especially anyone who recommended staying with Paisperfect.

Happy Travels to all.:-)

aussiedreamer

Well done.

I liked your style of reporting and found your honesty welcome.
I could almost feel the tension when you wrote about the locked door caused by DD2.
Loved all the other little details you gave.

What wonderful memories you have. Thank you.

Sandy

Just wanted to finish this report incase anyone ever re-reads it.

I have done the comparison between the London and the Paris apartments.

London - $1996.34 Aud
Paris - $3055.84 AUD

I'm sorry its in Aussie dollars, but that was the easiest way for me to see the difference. As we see it the extra cost for Paris was worth every cent. I'm kicking myself now as I see Parisperfect also have apartments in London & Rome!!

Oh well, Qei sera sera :-)