Strasbourg, Alsace, Freiburg, Paris and where not to be on July 14
Aug 7th, 2013, 10:52 AM
#41
There was an excellent farmers market in the square in front of the Cathedral that looked excellent, the quality and range of food is so good - I dont know why we can't do these better in UK.>>
you should come to Cornwall, tjhome! we have regular twice weekly farmers' markets in Truro, and weekly ones in quite a few other places throughout the county. The quantity of stalls varies of course, but rarely the quality, and even some tiny places can have some excellent goods on offer.
there, advert over.
I'm sorry to read that you're down to your last €35 - this does not bode well for "tomorrow".
you should come to Cornwall, tjhome! we have regular twice weekly farmers' markets in Truro, and weekly ones in quite a few other places throughout the county. The quantity of stalls varies of course, but rarely the quality, and even some tiny places can have some excellent goods on offer.
there, advert over.
I'm sorry to read that you're down to your last €35 - this does not bode well for "tomorrow".
Aug 11th, 2013, 11:32 AM
#42
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And so to our last full day, one that turned out to be both one of the best and the worst of days. First task was how to have a good day while spending just 32 euros (£27, $42). Tomorrow was pay day so it was just the one 24 hour period to deal with. First of all though one of my favourite days to be in Paris - July 14, Bastille Day. I love the military parade in the morning - its so much more inclusive than the parades we have in the UK such as the Trooping of the Colour - other countries are represented, its huge - 58 aircraft, 4,823 personnel, 241 horses, 265 vehicles and 35 helicopters, navy, army and airforce are there and the Paris Fire Brigade takes part too. I would so love to get a seat in the increasingly big seated area closer to the Place de la Concorde but instead getting there early and finding as good a vantage point as possible is the best I'm going to do.
Having done my reasearch the roundabout half way down the Champs Elysee - the Rond Point - where the Franklin D Roosevelt metro stop is, is meant to afford the best views so there we headed and as our commitment to getting up extra early to get the best places isn't that strong we got an ok view but enjoyed it nevertheless. Back to the hotel for breakfast - the half bag of crisps (potato chips) saved from yesterday and a peach and then what to do with the rest of the day...
As is often the case one of the nicest things about Paris is just being there and experiencing it and so thats what we decided to do. We did have metro tickets and so we went across the city to Deaumesnil metro to catch the start of the elevated section of the Jardin Plantee, the model for the High Line Park in New York. We'd walk short lengths of this elevated park on earlier trips but it was good to see more of it. Really annoyingly we'd left our bottle of water in the hotel minibar and it was yet another scorchingly hot day. Luckily though there were small water fountains dotted along the promenade - having to scoop the water up with our hands though felt a bit desperate.
The park ends close to Bastille and so we walked down the last stretch of the Canal St Martin before it meets the River Seine - we'd walked some of the upper bits previously so again it was lovely do this little bit and on a hot day it was good to be alongside water. And then when you reach the river you have one of Paris's best views in front of you - the Ile St Louis and Notre Dame. Walking along the river banks is perfect and there are so many people sunbathing. Another favourite thing is exploring the narrow streets on the islands so we got off the river and walked along the street that runs along the middle of the Ile St Louis. It was so hard to have to pass the Berthillon ice cream shops that are dotted over the island, our euros are precious today though.
Notre Dame is beautiful but there is a huge viewing platform in front that I'm not sure is a good idea. It does allow you to see a better view of the facade of the building but it is huge and pretty close - part of my job involves assessing how new buildings affect the setting of Listed Buildings. I think the disadvantages outweight the benefits.
From Notre Dame we have a lovely walk through the Louvre and the Tuileries gardens, Place de la Concorde and up the Champs Elysee, passing the leftovers from the mornings parade that included thousands of half full bottles of water that we eye enviously! Walking uphill on the Champs Elysee after such a long hot day was hard - we even went into a couple of stores just to experience the air conditioning. Going back to yet more water was not going to cut it for me so we dived into a burger place on the Champs Elysee and had milkshakes for 2 whole euros each - THE best milkshakes ever.
The highlight of the day though is the firework display. In the past we've seen it from the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower. This time though we were closer to the opposite bank and the bridge is closed so Trocadero was the place to be. First though 28 Euros left for a meal. There was a buffet restaurant close to our hotel and for 13.50 Euros each we could get three courses plus a soft drink!! The food of course was pretty basic but we were very happy that we'd been able to fill up without restorting to a burger place.
We followed the crowds walking down to the Trocadero and the place was packed - way too many people and far too claustrophobic for us - also we couldn't see the Eiffel Tower so we walked down the road some passing gaps in the buildings where crowds of people were filling the pavements and the road where there was a glimpse of the Tower. Eventually we chose our place by one of these gaps in the buildings that affored a view of the Eiffel Tower and waited... And when the fireworks started with a huge blast we saw absolutely nothing! Half the people ran back up towards the Trocadero but it had been so crowded that we stuck where we were and listened to a very loud firework display. Such a disappointing end to the day. So thats where not to stand on July 14.
Our last day and final thoughts to finish.
Having done my reasearch the roundabout half way down the Champs Elysee - the Rond Point - where the Franklin D Roosevelt metro stop is, is meant to afford the best views so there we headed and as our commitment to getting up extra early to get the best places isn't that strong we got an ok view but enjoyed it nevertheless. Back to the hotel for breakfast - the half bag of crisps (potato chips) saved from yesterday and a peach and then what to do with the rest of the day...
As is often the case one of the nicest things about Paris is just being there and experiencing it and so thats what we decided to do. We did have metro tickets and so we went across the city to Deaumesnil metro to catch the start of the elevated section of the Jardin Plantee, the model for the High Line Park in New York. We'd walk short lengths of this elevated park on earlier trips but it was good to see more of it. Really annoyingly we'd left our bottle of water in the hotel minibar and it was yet another scorchingly hot day. Luckily though there were small water fountains dotted along the promenade - having to scoop the water up with our hands though felt a bit desperate.
The park ends close to Bastille and so we walked down the last stretch of the Canal St Martin before it meets the River Seine - we'd walked some of the upper bits previously so again it was lovely do this little bit and on a hot day it was good to be alongside water. And then when you reach the river you have one of Paris's best views in front of you - the Ile St Louis and Notre Dame. Walking along the river banks is perfect and there are so many people sunbathing. Another favourite thing is exploring the narrow streets on the islands so we got off the river and walked along the street that runs along the middle of the Ile St Louis. It was so hard to have to pass the Berthillon ice cream shops that are dotted over the island, our euros are precious today though.
Notre Dame is beautiful but there is a huge viewing platform in front that I'm not sure is a good idea. It does allow you to see a better view of the facade of the building but it is huge and pretty close - part of my job involves assessing how new buildings affect the setting of Listed Buildings. I think the disadvantages outweight the benefits.
From Notre Dame we have a lovely walk through the Louvre and the Tuileries gardens, Place de la Concorde and up the Champs Elysee, passing the leftovers from the mornings parade that included thousands of half full bottles of water that we eye enviously! Walking uphill on the Champs Elysee after such a long hot day was hard - we even went into a couple of stores just to experience the air conditioning. Going back to yet more water was not going to cut it for me so we dived into a burger place on the Champs Elysee and had milkshakes for 2 whole euros each - THE best milkshakes ever.
The highlight of the day though is the firework display. In the past we've seen it from the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower. This time though we were closer to the opposite bank and the bridge is closed so Trocadero was the place to be. First though 28 Euros left for a meal. There was a buffet restaurant close to our hotel and for 13.50 Euros each we could get three courses plus a soft drink!! The food of course was pretty basic but we were very happy that we'd been able to fill up without restorting to a burger place.
We followed the crowds walking down to the Trocadero and the place was packed - way too many people and far too claustrophobic for us - also we couldn't see the Eiffel Tower so we walked down the road some passing gaps in the buildings where crowds of people were filling the pavements and the road where there was a glimpse of the Tower. Eventually we chose our place by one of these gaps in the buildings that affored a view of the Eiffel Tower and waited... And when the fireworks started with a huge blast we saw absolutely nothing! Half the people ran back up towards the Trocadero but it had been so crowded that we stuck where we were and listened to a very loud firework display. Such a disappointing end to the day. So thats where not to stand on July 14.
Our last day and final thoughts to finish.
Aug 11th, 2013, 01:57 PM
#44
oh no, tj - no fireworks.
we had fireworks aplenty but it was incredibly hot where we were in Vannes - but at least we weren't dressed in medieval costume as well like the people who were dressed up in the procession which preceded the fireworks.
we had fireworks aplenty but it was incredibly hot where we were in Vannes - but at least we weren't dressed in medieval costume as well like the people who were dressed up in the procession which preceded the fireworks.
Aug 12th, 2013, 05:10 AM
#46
tj - Vannes was pretty busy for "catorze juillet" [we didn't twig until after we booked that it was THAT weekend] so I can't imagine what Carcassonne would be like.
if there were a repeat of that weather, I'd want to be staying somewhere with a swimming pool.
if there were a repeat of that weather, I'd want to be staying somewhere with a swimming pool.
Aug 15th, 2013, 01:08 PM
#48
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Our train wasn't until 5pm so we decided to get our luggage stored at Gare du Nord and then get a decent late lunch. Getting a bus was easy with directions from the hotel and it was so much nicer to be able to see more of the city - we tend not to take buses much but one lesson learnt is definately to try them more. Using the metro tickets was easy and it is good that you can use tickets for both buses and the metro.
The luggage facilities were less good though. They have lockers and almost all seemed to be either full or not working - we had to hover until people took luggage out and then had to pounce. I guess it was a busy weekend but even so it was Monday so unless you are prepared to wait then you may want to think twice about this option.
For lunch we headed back into the Marais and just chose somewhere that looked nice - Jaja on Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, it has a cute little courtyard and it was so nice to be eating decent food again and drinking nice wine again. Last tasks were food shopping which was done very successfully at a little cheese shop and a month later we are still eating the gorgeous saucisson sec we bought (yes it is a few days over its best before date!).
The Eurostar area at the station was crowded and super hot. Am glad we didnt get there too early. Journey back went smoothly and without event.
So some thoughts:
1. Everywhere except Colmar maybe, exceeded or met expectations. Strasbourg is particularly lovely and worth a weekend of anyone's lifetime. The route des vins was an excellent choice and it would have been nice to be able to spend more time there, do more walking and chill more - another trip definately. Freiburg is also somewhere I'd like to go again and explore more. This was our third time in Colmar so adding them all up again definately worth a weekend, just enjoyed it more on previous trips.
2. France is so, so lovely and spending time there is a huge pleasure in itself.
3. Ditto Paris.
4. It is very easy to do Paris fairly cheaply, not so much fun, but definately doable.
5. The first two weeks in France seemed to be very quiet and a great time to be there - I'd definately choose these two weeks again.
6. I really, really, really don't want to stay in cheap rubbish hotels again. A mix of cheap and decent hotels is fine but there were too many poor choices although to be fair we were unlucky with the overbooking in Freiburg and the broken air conditioning in Colmar.
7. The Hilton was a fantastic bargain - they are definitely on my list of places to stay again.
8. The tried and tested method of deciding where we want to go, getting a big map, getting some guide books, thinking and then asking questions on this site worked very well - I feel I made the absolute most of my precious holiday - running out of money notwithstanding!
9. Tripadvisor came though again - used carefully it's an excellent resource.
10. Travelling by train was excellent and fun, so much less hassle than flying.
The luggage facilities were less good though. They have lockers and almost all seemed to be either full or not working - we had to hover until people took luggage out and then had to pounce. I guess it was a busy weekend but even so it was Monday so unless you are prepared to wait then you may want to think twice about this option.
For lunch we headed back into the Marais and just chose somewhere that looked nice - Jaja on Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, it has a cute little courtyard and it was so nice to be eating decent food again and drinking nice wine again. Last tasks were food shopping which was done very successfully at a little cheese shop and a month later we are still eating the gorgeous saucisson sec we bought (yes it is a few days over its best before date!).
The Eurostar area at the station was crowded and super hot. Am glad we didnt get there too early. Journey back went smoothly and without event.
So some thoughts:
1. Everywhere except Colmar maybe, exceeded or met expectations. Strasbourg is particularly lovely and worth a weekend of anyone's lifetime. The route des vins was an excellent choice and it would have been nice to be able to spend more time there, do more walking and chill more - another trip definately. Freiburg is also somewhere I'd like to go again and explore more. This was our third time in Colmar so adding them all up again definately worth a weekend, just enjoyed it more on previous trips.
2. France is so, so lovely and spending time there is a huge pleasure in itself.
3. Ditto Paris.
4. It is very easy to do Paris fairly cheaply, not so much fun, but definately doable.
5. The first two weeks in France seemed to be very quiet and a great time to be there - I'd definately choose these two weeks again.
6. I really, really, really don't want to stay in cheap rubbish hotels again. A mix of cheap and decent hotels is fine but there were too many poor choices although to be fair we were unlucky with the overbooking in Freiburg and the broken air conditioning in Colmar.
7. The Hilton was a fantastic bargain - they are definitely on my list of places to stay again.
8. The tried and tested method of deciding where we want to go, getting a big map, getting some guide books, thinking and then asking questions on this site worked very well - I feel I made the absolute most of my precious holiday - running out of money notwithstanding!
9. Tripadvisor came though again - used carefully it's an excellent resource.
10. Travelling by train was excellent and fun, so much less hassle than flying.
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