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Hi Lisa...just another encouragement to keep the secret!! A few yrs back I surprised my husband with a weekend in N.Y. for his 50th b'day. He had never been to N.Y. City. He thought he was driving me to the airport to drop me off for a business trip. I didn't tell him until we were in the airport. I handed him his birthday card (birthday was a week later) and inside the b'day card was his airline ticket. I can tell you that he still talks to this day about that surprise. I had to call his work to arrange for time off, get his friends to plan things with him while I was "gone" so he wouldn't make any serious plans himself, hide the camera, pack his clothes, etc. etc. The first night in N.Y. at Shea Stadium watching a ballgame, he kept shaking his head and saying "I woke up this morning to go to work and tonite I'm in N.Y. watching a ballgame!!"....he couldn't believe it. The secret will get harder to keep the closer it comes so just hang in there!!! It will be so worth it.
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Wow. Sounds like everything is going well. Your hotel location is great - you'll be able to walk everywhere. Make sure to spend a day wandering around getting lost. And make a reservation for at least one "splurge" dinner, a 9:30 or 10:00 reservation is best (and hardest to get).
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Regarding VE day, there are usually ceremonies over by the Arc de Triomphe that are quite impressive and you would find it interesting to watch them for a while. And to tie in with that, as you walk around the city, look at the little plaques on the buildings honoring individuals who fell in battle at that spot liberating the city from the Nazis (there are also plaques honoring those who died in WW I). You can often see bullet marks and other signs of street battles around the plaques.
Paris is a great choice. You should have a terrific time. The only thing I can add to all the excellent advice here is to take a taxi to your hotel from the airport. As this is your first visit and you don't speak French, it would be much more relaxing for you to take a cab rather than RER/Metro combo or a shuttle bus. Also, buy a copy of Pariscope your first day to see what's going on in town during your week. Free concerts abound. If you want to do something a little different, ride the hot air balloon over in the Parc Andre Citroen. It's a tethered hot air balloon that gives you a wonderful view of Paris. Here is a link with more info: http://www.whatsontheplanet.com/wow/...event_id=79655 |
Fantastic idea~ I'm guessing you'll both have the time of your lives. I've only been to Paris once and that was with absolutely no preparation. It was grand!!
My best advice is to book a centrally located hotel (5th, 6th or 7th would be my choices) - sounds like you're doing/have done that. The best map we used was a free one from the hotel lobby. We walked ALL over, and had a blast. My favorite things to do in Paris are drink wine in sidewalk cafes, have picnics in the public parks, and eat steak & frites for lunch. There are bus tours, hop on hop off, around the city. I never tried it but think it would make a great introduction, with less stress than trying to navigate Metro on your own. My best cautionary tip is to carry the business card from your hotel & money for taxi fare. I got *extremely* lost in the Latin Quarter (even with a map & really not far at all from my hotel). Bon voyage! |
lisa8314 - I have loved reading this post and all the replies. Give us a final update before you leave. And we'll all be waiting for your report when you get back home!
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Thanks Norskie,
You are right. With the information from this thread and subsequent searches on the forum, I have learned so much. We have less than two weeks until our departure. I admit to still having moments of panic.....I am definitely out of my comfort zone. Fortunately most everything I read reaffirms that this surprise just had to be Paris. The secret is still intact. I have been leaving some decoy travel brochures for Vegas "hidden" around the house in places I know he will find. Every night I find something new and helpful. Last night I printed out the food translator, that I believe was recommended on another thread by Rex. I had intended to use the Steve's translator, but this glossary is much better. (There are a few foods I want to make sure I skip.) It also had a great section regarding the wines of France. I have been practicing some french phrases from the Fodor site. It helps to actually be able to hear the pronuciation. I have spent so many late nights on this website that I think I have already adjusted to Paris time! My thanks to all of you who post your experiences on this forum. |
What a generous thoughtful wife!!! I agree with francophile03 as to where you might consider staying. Yes do the hop on hop off bus trip..I did it and enjoyed the fact you could set your own time and not have to listen to guide drivel. It will be especially good for your compulsive husband who can jump off when he feels the need!Another lovely romantic thing you might do is the boat trip along the Seine at night.Hubbie's life is just starting at 50!Bon Voyage and enjoy! But book soon!!!!!
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You and your husband are going to have so much fun. We just got back from Paris over Easter and it still amazes me everytime I go how easy it is to get around this great big foriegn city.
A few of things I learned on this trip: Don't even bother taking traveler's checks. Bank cards are the way to go and there are cash machines at every bank, whereas a place to cash traveler's checks is hard to find. Get yourself $200-300 worth of Euros before you go (enough for taxi and a meal once you get there at the very least).You usually have to order Euros ahead of time from your bank. Bring moleskin! We went through 2 packages we walked so much. Good, comfortable walking shoes are a must!!! In fact, my husband lost 7 pounds and I lost 5, doing nothing but all the walking while eating like there was no tomorrow. Let's see, first there's breakfast with those wonderful croissants, then you walk, then you have to stop for a cafe au lait and a little something (another croissant?) to go with that, then you walk, then it's lunch, then you walk, then it's another cafe stop (and another croissant?), then you walk, then do you go back to your hotel to lay down or do you just keep walking until dinner??, then you have to walk after dinner because you eat so late there, then you drop into bed exhausted (so who cares how fancy the hotel room is...you're never there except to sleep!). Which leads me to my next pointer, by the third day of walking your feet off, it's time to adventure down into the Metro. It is the most amazing transportation system (along with London's Underground)and once you've figured out the map system, you will never ever get lost and can always find your way home! All you have to remember, is the name of the place at the end of the line in the direction you are headed. If you have to transfer, then you will need to remember to end-of-the-line destinations. Then just keep following the signs with those names on it. Trains come every 10 minutes, and it's such a fun and different way to travel. Then just ask your hotel what the nearest Metro station is and keep that in mind. If you plan on using the Metro quite a bit, you can by a book of ten tickets at a better price. It's called a carnet (Kar-nay). Also, just at the entrance to each Metro station, is a large map up an the street. That's a much better and easier place to determine your route than once your down in the tunnels. The Eiffel Tower lights up like a sparkler every night at around 11:30-12:00. Check at your hotel about the time. Walk to the event then hop on the boats on the Seine nearby and take a nighttime cruise. How romantic. Also, take advantage of the Eiffel Tower or any other high vantage point on a nice day, because you never know when it will cloud over. A nice freebie view is at the Samaratine Department Store on the 9th floor. My favorite art museums: The D'Orsay (which is housed in a fantastic piece of architecture in itself). Go there to avoid the long lines at the Louve and get your Museum Pass there. The Pompidou Center has the modern art from Matisse to current artists and I loved it. The Rodin Museum is amazing. It's a tour of his house (with examples of his works) and gardens (the Thinker is just another statue in his wonderful gardens). The National Technical Museum is supposed to be very interesting but we never did make it. If you like Picasso, his little museum is worth a visit. The Musee Carnavalet is a stroll through French history and when we went it was free! We never did make it to the Louve this time! Start reading all the forums and checking out web sites. Make lists and then type out what you want to do. Shopping, Eating out, touring, museums, etc. and organize it all by the Arrondisement (5th,6th, 7th, etc.) I found a wonderful little guidebook called "Access Paris" by Richard Saul Wurman. It's one of the best I've ever used on Paris and his restaurant recommendations were quite good, whereas Rick Steves must not have the same taste as I do (and I come from the land of Rick Steves). If you're looking for a day-trip to the French countryside I can recommend two: Monet's gardens at Giverny and one you almost never hear about but which we tried this trip and found it to be fantastic: Take a train to Chantilly and Senlis. Visit the Chateau de Chantilly and then take a bus to Senlis (the whole town has been declared an historical monument), a small Roman-walled medieval town...and I might add, a cute little tourist trap with shops, restaurants, etc. Then either bus back or taxi back to Chantilly and catch the train back to Paris. We left Paris for Senlis at 2:30pm, not knowing there was a Chateau to see in Chantilly, and got back to our hotel in Paris around 8:00. I would recommend leaving early in the morning if you plan on doing both towns. Our hotel staff was very good about recommending places to eat and making reservations for us. Most places could be reserved that same day/evening. One of our favorite type of restaurants to eat at in Paris is the Morroccan/Tunisian places (i.e., Chez Bebert) where some of the best couscous I have ever eaten is served). You should try it and it has a festive rather celebratory atmosphere. I could go on and on. Just one thought...as I kept telling my 18 year old daughter and her friend who were with us, you have to learn to go with the flow and in Paris the flow is slow (they really hated that): so know that you won't get to do everything that you perhaps had wanted to, but then that just means you'll have to go back!!! Enjoy. |
Metro every 10 mn? Perrlease... Paris is not Barcelona, thank God there is a metro every 1 to 2 mn in the day time, fading down towards 10 after 21h00 (ie 9 PM, yes, another thing you have to get used to, in continental Europe, times are given on a 24 hour scale).
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Lisa,
A tour is definitely not necessary. It would be good to learn how to say hello, please, thank you, goodbye, etc. in French, but otherwise, you can get by, especially if you're staying in the central area of Paris. You can always point to what you want. Sign language will take you a long way. Have you booked a hotel yet? You should, as you're going very soon. May I suggest the 6th arrondissement? It's centrally located, and easy to get to much of Paris on foot. You will get lots of great information on this list :-) What a wonderful 50th surprise!! Best, Sandy |
Ira, I checked out the batobus site and it looks like a great idea.
Ojoy, You provided such great information. Thanks for the detailed post. You have added to my list of things to see and do in Paris. The practical tips are always a help to the inexperienced traveler(ie. me). It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Vincent, We will be riding the metro, so I'm glad to hear it is efficient. Sandypaws, Yes the hotel is booked. It is the Hotel Le Regent in the 6th. I picked it primarily based on its location and the reviews here on Fodor's. One probably silly question. I know that euros are the currency of France and I have purchased enough for cab fare into town. Do I have any need to know about FF's and their conversion? I had the impression that everything in France is priced in euros, but a recent post I read made it sound like some vendors price items in francs? Thanks, Lisa |
Hi Lisa,
What a wonderful surprize. No you will not need to know FF, everything is now in Euros. I dont believe they even accept FF anymore. |
Be prepared to fall in love all over again......truly,madly,deeply!
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Hi Lisa,
>Do I have any need to know about FF's?< Many merchants still post prices in both E and FF because their customers haven't gotten used to prices in E. The only thing to watch out for is to not pay the FF price with E. |
Hotels? Check these out- my wife and I have stayed at both and will return in October for a long weekend.
1) Le Sainte Beuve 2) Pas des Calais Both are in the 6th and are small, friendly hotels- close to metro and restaruants, etc. Check out on web. |
There are many ATMs in Paris, you will have no problems getting EUs. In the airport there are several machines as well. As with here, the prices to use the machine can vary greatly and you may see 2 charges, one from the french banla nd one from your US bank. I have hit the $5 mark a few times. I always take the max out eac h time to help manage the charges. An important thing to keep in mind is that your bank may have a daily limit. That limit still applies, but your bank is on US time and you will be on Paris time. So, Don't try to take out a large amount in the veneing and again in the AM...you ned to think in terms of US banking hours.
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Is Lisa back? Any feedback? Did she manage to save the surprise?
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Mirela,
Yes we are back and had a wonderful trip. The secret was kept. The hardest part was finding the time to do the research and planning. I didn't have evenings to sit and read travel books as I would have liked, because we spend our evenings together. That left late night hours after he went to sleep and times when he was not home. I took every opportunity of alone time to do my research. I probably should have allowed more than two months to plan, but things worked out well anyway. (He joked on the plane that he thought I had met someone on the internet, and I told him yes, Fodor and I have quite a thing going on.) The morning of our trip we had a very early morning flight to catch, so I woke him up at 3am to a blast of Maurice Chevalier singing Paris sera toujours Paris. ( I ordered Paris en Chansons from Amazon. It is a great cd of old songs by Chevalier, Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker, and others.) To his startled, half awake, what the h--- is that, I replied, it is a clue. He then said something about Venetian, and I said no, not Italy. He listened another moment and said Paris. (This is a guy that rocked to Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull in the 60's so he was certainly not familiar with Chevalier. He was too asleep to distinguish French from Italian.) Also, please keep in mind that it was VERY early in the morning. What then followed was a confused conversation in which I finally realized that I had left too many Vegas decoys around the house, and he was thinking we were headed to the Paris Resort at Vegas. It was a great moment for me when he finally realized where we were really headed. At the airport counter, the clerk asked what our final destination was and I laughed when my husband answered, Paris...................FRANCE. Again, thanks so much to all of you that offered such great advice before the trip, not just in this thread, but in others also. It really made a difference in the quality of our trip. In fact, I would probably have chickened out and changed the destination if not for all the encouragement. I brought a copy of the post and my husband read it on the plane. He was amazed with the response. Thanks again! |
That is just too cool . . amazing that you were able to keep it a suprise. This inspires me to do something similar for LB's 50th next year. Rich |
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