thursdaysd

Do not use a TA to book train tickets! Go read seat61.com

StCirq

TAs will book you on Rail Europe and you'll pay a big premium for that. You're already late for getting the least expensive fares, which are available 3 months out from dates of travel.

crazyfamilyof4

hahahaha . . ok I guess we could do it! I just read somewhere about how on some trains you get "cabins" or something for the 4 of us and I thought by using the TA she could book the seats for me. I will take a read thursday . .thanks for still advising me . . . i do appreciate it!

Oh and I read up about the star ratings and it doesn't have to be 5 star . .just has to offer a suite with separate sitting area and another room . .so three rooms if that makes sense.

Same area as I don't know Paris and my mum liked this area last time.

TA seems to think she will be able to book this for around 400euro and it will come with club benefits . .. when I have her recommendations I will let you know

thursdaysd

"you get "cabins" or something for the 4 of us"

Are you taking a night train? If not, that's irrelevant. Western European trains have airplane type seating these days.

crazyfamilyof4

oh ok . . no ...not doing any night trains . .

caroline65

Thanks bendigo, sounds fantastic! Will def read up on history of area- amazing to think who has walked where we will be treading! Crazy... I also booked train travel using seat61. Fantastic site and soo easy to book. I used France as my country so you don't get diverted to rail europe amd then printed e tickets at home!

millie2112

you can use the french and italian sites for booking train travel. The tip I have read is to specify the country of ticket collection as Antarctica, If you specify Australia it takes you to Rail Europe - which is more expensive.
You never do collect the tickets, because they are Etickets which you print out.

I have just booked Paris to Lyon doing this.

crazyfamilyof4

thanks millie and caroline I will set this out as this weeks project!

thank goodness some of you are still willing to help me.

Any chance one of you would be kind enough to tell me of the most romantic dinner we could go to. As mum is now staying on while in paris my husband and I can go out alone at night and I was thinking somewhere extra special near the Eiffel tower would be nice.

cathies

Just curious, how old is your mum!

rosemaryoz

Crazy, you are the gift that keeps on giving! I dropped out weeks ago on this mad chase, but have just caught up with it all again now. SO for what it's worth here are my suggestions: Chez L'Ami Jean, Reed, Cafe Constant, Le Violon d'Ingres or La Cuisine - all an easy 10-15 minute stroll to the Eiffel Tower for the lights afterwards. These are all good restaurants - the romance is your department! Once you get on that plane, take a huge deep breath, and RELAX! And have a lovely trip.

crazyfamilyof4

thanks rose! Cath mum mum is in her early 50's.

millie2112

Hi Claire, i am 52 years old, so I suppose I could easily be your mum. And I am happy to give you some more advice.

I really do not know any good romantic places in Paris. I am going myself at the end of August with my husband - no kids this time.

I know that lots of people do book top of the Eiffel tower - Le Jules Verne. google that and see what you thnk

crazyfamilyof4

thanks millie! I can't wait for this last bit to be booked ...just paris and london and we are done!!! sleeping places that is! What a process!

thursdaysd

Early 50s! The way you were writing about her it sounded like she was doddering around in her 70s. I'm mid 60s and I travel solo - on trains, too.

crazyfamilyof4

oh no I never meant for that. She doesn't like a lot of walking for long periods of time though. But yes I am lucky to have a young mum who is more then happy to help look after the kids. She is just super paranoid about non english speaking countries and pick pocketers etc and she feels we are more likely to avoid this by flying and getting private transfers when we have all our luggage etc etc

Christina

<<The way you were writing about her it sounded like she was doddering around in her 70s. I'm mid 60s>>

so you are going to be "doddering around" in about five years, right?

thursdaysd

You do know about money belts, right? Worn under your clothes and never accessed in public. Then you don't have to worry about pickpockets. I thought you might be worried about having too much luggage, given you're traveling with small kids. I can't stress "pack light" strongly enough. And the language barrier is pretty low for English speakers these days.

surfmom

as far as private transfers - when you are a large group (ie. parents, kids, etc.), it frequently is easier and almost the same cost to have a private transfer. However, my experience is that a taxi for 5 people can be difficult, so private transfers can save:
- time (waiting for a van for 5 people)
- cost (public transportation x5 adds up)
- hassle (kids can't carry their own clothes, so mom and dad frequently carry a lot)

Since you are staying in hotels, I would think the concierge can book that for you. In our case, we had the apartment agencies book vans for us (to accommodate 5 people) in advance, so there wasn't any concern if we could get one for 5 people.

Gretchen

Getting in a taxi queue to get transfer for 4 (only 4 at a time from the airport--dad is coming later) is VERY easy and does not involve looking for anyone, wondering if you are in the right place, calling a number to tell them you are in, etc. Go to the taxi master and tell him. Have your hotel (NOW) address with a little map and give it to the driver.
We'll need another thread for booking a van otherwise.

cathies

I don't think taxis will be a good option, only because Claire will need appropriate child seats.