Trip report- England & Paris
Sep 8th, 2006, 03:14 AM
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Trip report- England & Paris
Author: MelissaBeckoff
Date: 09/06/2006, 03:27 pm
Here goes my trip report for the 4 of us.My husband and myself and my two children 11 year old son and my 14 year old daughter went to England and Paris for three weeks.Please feel free to ask any questions.
Flight ur flight was scheduled for 9:45 pm from Newark to Heathrow on Tuesday August 15. During the day, when I checked the Virgin Atlantic web site, the flight was delayed until 1:15am.Virgin suggested that we go to JFK and take the 9:30pm flight instead.When we got to JFK, that flight was already delayed one hour .There was a 7:30 pm flight that had 4 seats.They rebooked us on that flight.They checked us in and our luggage.Off we went to have some dinner.Then we went to the gate.We found some passengers already security checked and seating with in a secured area.They told us that we should wait in another area until we are called.Across the ropes people were passing items back and forth.Then they told us that the flight was delayed .Now the 9:30pm flight took off @11pm and we are still waiting. Then the security announced that security had been broken and all of us would have to go thru the whole process Finally, @12:30am they told us that the flight was cancelled and the next flight was @7:30AM.They gave us food vouchers and told all of us that we would be bussed to a hotel.We had to be back at 4:30am so it was not really worth going to leave.As per our luggage, they had, at first, told us they would rebook it directly on the 7:30am flight.When 2 passengers said they wanted their luggage ,Virgin then said that we would have to go get our luggage and bring it with us when we check in for the flight.Finally, we got on the plane and we took off.Flight went well.
England Lodging: We rented a flat off of Knightsbridge.It was great.It was located between two different underground lines.It had 2 bedrooms and 1 and one half bathrooms and a kitchen.In the court yard, there was pastry shop, news stand and a wait rose
England Shows: We saw Mary Poppins.What a great show! It was neat seeing them sell ice cream in the theater.We went to the Globe theater and saw A Comedy of Errors. It was interesting to be in this building, even through it is a reproduction. When we went to Stratford upon Avon, we saw Julius Caesar.
England Places we went:
Parliament- explained the British gov't very clearly
Ben Franklin House- very interesting as we live near Phil
Imperial War Museum - great exhibit on children and WW11
Buckingham Palace
British Museum
British Library
Dickens House
Tower of London
St Paul's- climbed to the whispering wall
Museum of London- did not earn great marks with us
Sherlock Holmes Museum
Windsor Castle
London Eye
Windsor Eye
Kensington Place- did not enjoy
Dining:
We went to the National Portrait Gallery for dinner. Great view!!
The rest of the time we either ate at Pubs or else Pizza on the Park, near our flat.
The one thing we all noticed was how fresh the food was.It was delicious.We did not have a bad meal.
Out of London:
Hatfield house- Kings Henry Feast
Stonehenge & Bath- We took a tour as I wanted to go when we could go into the stones and touch them.
Leeds Castle
Stratford -upon Avon- saw all of the Shakespeare's houses
Euro Star to Paris:
A excellent way to travel.Very easy
Paris Lodging :
We stayed at the Hotel La Bourbonnais- thanks to excellent suggestions from Foders. Good location, right near the Eiffel Tower.
Paris sights we saw:
Eiffel Tower-
Arc de triomphe-
Places we visited with Scott, Michael Osman's friend:
Louvre
Victor Hugo's House
Norte Dame
Conciergerie
St Chapelle
L'Orangerie
Tours:
Versailles
Normandy
Flight home:
We flew home with out any problems.
It was a great way to end the trip.
Melissa
Date: 09/06/2006, 03:27 pm
Here goes my trip report for the 4 of us.My husband and myself and my two children 11 year old son and my 14 year old daughter went to England and Paris for three weeks.Please feel free to ask any questions.
Flight ur flight was scheduled for 9:45 pm from Newark to Heathrow on Tuesday August 15. During the day, when I checked the Virgin Atlantic web site, the flight was delayed until 1:15am.Virgin suggested that we go to JFK and take the 9:30pm flight instead.When we got to JFK, that flight was already delayed one hour .There was a 7:30 pm flight that had 4 seats.They rebooked us on that flight.They checked us in and our luggage.Off we went to have some dinner.Then we went to the gate.We found some passengers already security checked and seating with in a secured area.They told us that we should wait in another area until we are called.Across the ropes people were passing items back and forth.Then they told us that the flight was delayed .Now the 9:30pm flight took off @11pm and we are still waiting. Then the security announced that security had been broken and all of us would have to go thru the whole process Finally, @12:30am they told us that the flight was cancelled and the next flight was @7:30AM.They gave us food vouchers and told all of us that we would be bussed to a hotel.We had to be back at 4:30am so it was not really worth going to leave.As per our luggage, they had, at first, told us they would rebook it directly on the 7:30am flight.When 2 passengers said they wanted their luggage ,Virgin then said that we would have to go get our luggage and bring it with us when we check in for the flight.Finally, we got on the plane and we took off.Flight went well.
England Lodging: We rented a flat off of Knightsbridge.It was great.It was located between two different underground lines.It had 2 bedrooms and 1 and one half bathrooms and a kitchen.In the court yard, there was pastry shop, news stand and a wait rose
England Shows: We saw Mary Poppins.What a great show! It was neat seeing them sell ice cream in the theater.We went to the Globe theater and saw A Comedy of Errors. It was interesting to be in this building, even through it is a reproduction. When we went to Stratford upon Avon, we saw Julius Caesar.
England Places we went:
Parliament- explained the British gov't very clearly
Ben Franklin House- very interesting as we live near Phil
Imperial War Museum - great exhibit on children and WW11
Buckingham Palace
British Museum
British Library
Dickens House
Tower of London
St Paul's- climbed to the whispering wall
Museum of London- did not earn great marks with us
Sherlock Holmes Museum
Windsor Castle
London Eye
Windsor Eye
Kensington Place- did not enjoy
Dining:
We went to the National Portrait Gallery for dinner. Great view!!
The rest of the time we either ate at Pubs or else Pizza on the Park, near our flat.
The one thing we all noticed was how fresh the food was.It was delicious.We did not have a bad meal.
Out of London:
Hatfield house- Kings Henry Feast
Stonehenge & Bath- We took a tour as I wanted to go when we could go into the stones and touch them.
Leeds Castle
Stratford -upon Avon- saw all of the Shakespeare's houses
Euro Star to Paris:
A excellent way to travel.Very easy
Paris Lodging :
We stayed at the Hotel La Bourbonnais- thanks to excellent suggestions from Foders. Good location, right near the Eiffel Tower.
Paris sights we saw:
Eiffel Tower-
Arc de triomphe-
Places we visited with Scott, Michael Osman's friend:
Louvre
Victor Hugo's House
Norte Dame
Conciergerie
St Chapelle
L'Orangerie
Tours:
Versailles
Normandy
Flight home:
We flew home with out any problems.
It was a great way to end the trip.
Melissa
Sep 8th, 2006, 04:44 AM
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thanks, Melissa, for reposting this with the UK indexed. Since you've promised us more details, I'll spare you the needling on this thread too! Have a great weekend, and I'm looking forward to reading more about your family's reactions to what y'all did and saw.
Sep 8th, 2006, 10:06 AM
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Hi Melissa, glad that you and your family had an enjoyable & safe trip. Sorry you got into such an ordeal in the airport, but these days what are you going to do? Seems like you were all able to roll with the punches - good for you! I followed your trip planning and I'm anxious for a few more details about your adventure! Welcome home.
Sep 11th, 2006, 07:31 AM
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Well,I am back from NYC
We took a Paris vision tour to Normandy.
It was a mini van, holding 8 people.
The four of us plus 2 other couples.The father of one of the men was a ranger who had landed at Normandy.
They picked us up at 6:30 am from our hotel.One of the other couples also was staying at the same hotel so they only had to make one other stop.On the way to Normandy, which was about 2 hours we stopped at a rest stop for a bathroom break and a chance to have a bite to eat.
We went directly to Normandy , seeing
Arromanches,Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery.
We had lunch in Arromanches.
Then we went to Caen to the museum.We only has time to see the movie.
Then we headed back to Paris.We got there about 7pm.
It was very enjoyable.The driver made it interesting.Seeing the American cemetery was moving.All you saw were the rows of crosses and Jewish stars.We were surprised to see female names listed there as nurses.
All of us really enjoyed the day.
Regarding the Hotel Bourdonnais, we had a room with 2 double beds and 1 fold out couch.The room was a good size with air conditioning.It opened onto a court yard.the only night that it was noisy was Saturday night , which was our last night there.They had a breakfast 10 euros in the lobby that was not bad.Cereal, yogurt, juice and bread,coffee and tea.You could get eggs for 4 euros as well.
Regarding our trip back from Paris to Newark, the only items we could not take with us were liquids or gels.They made a mother drink the baby bottle and they did search us very carefully before we got on the plane.
When we went thru security the first time, we were surprised to see that not every one had to remove their shoes, belt etc.They were picking certain travelers.
Regarding Michael , He had Scott charge us 75 euros for the day.Scott told us that was what Michael charged everyone. what a bargain!! Scott met with us at 8:45 am and spent the entire day with us until 7pm. We had a great day .Scott told us some many interesting facts about Paris.
The best thing that we did in London was for me Stonehenge and for my son Warwick Castle.He loves knights and castles and so he had a great day at Warwick.
We all liked Cabinet war Rooms and the Imperial war museum
All of us did not like Kensington Palace or Museum of London.
We also enjoyed Mary Poppins and A Comedy of Errors better than Julius Caesar.
Tower of London was very interesting .
Hope I was more informative this time
Melissa
We took a Paris vision tour to Normandy.
It was a mini van, holding 8 people.
The four of us plus 2 other couples.The father of one of the men was a ranger who had landed at Normandy.
They picked us up at 6:30 am from our hotel.One of the other couples also was staying at the same hotel so they only had to make one other stop.On the way to Normandy, which was about 2 hours we stopped at a rest stop for a bathroom break and a chance to have a bite to eat.
We went directly to Normandy , seeing
Arromanches,Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery.
We had lunch in Arromanches.
Then we went to Caen to the museum.We only has time to see the movie.
Then we headed back to Paris.We got there about 7pm.
It was very enjoyable.The driver made it interesting.Seeing the American cemetery was moving.All you saw were the rows of crosses and Jewish stars.We were surprised to see female names listed there as nurses.
All of us really enjoyed the day.
Regarding the Hotel Bourdonnais, we had a room with 2 double beds and 1 fold out couch.The room was a good size with air conditioning.It opened onto a court yard.the only night that it was noisy was Saturday night , which was our last night there.They had a breakfast 10 euros in the lobby that was not bad.Cereal, yogurt, juice and bread,coffee and tea.You could get eggs for 4 euros as well.
Regarding our trip back from Paris to Newark, the only items we could not take with us were liquids or gels.They made a mother drink the baby bottle and they did search us very carefully before we got on the plane.
When we went thru security the first time, we were surprised to see that not every one had to remove their shoes, belt etc.They were picking certain travelers.
Regarding Michael , He had Scott charge us 75 euros for the day.Scott told us that was what Michael charged everyone. what a bargain!! Scott met with us at 8:45 am and spent the entire day with us until 7pm. We had a great day .Scott told us some many interesting facts about Paris.
The best thing that we did in London was for me Stonehenge and for my son Warwick Castle.He loves knights and castles and so he had a great day at Warwick.
We all liked Cabinet war Rooms and the Imperial war museum
All of us did not like Kensington Palace or Museum of London.
We also enjoyed Mary Poppins and A Comedy of Errors better than Julius Caesar.
Tower of London was very interesting .
Hope I was more informative this time
Melissa
Sep 11th, 2006, 12:00 PM
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Melissa...lovely report. It would be helpful if some of the things you went to incurred long delays and we should be aware of how to avoid those delays or if tickets could be bought in advance. Did you buy the Eurostar in London? Curious what they charged you as this can be bought in the US also.Surprised you didn't go home on "öpen jaw" from Paris and only do Eurostar one way.
Sep 11th, 2006, 02:00 PM
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There was not any lines as we followed Foders advice.
Regarding the tower of london,as we were warned about the lines;we got there when it opened and went right to the crown jewels and then back for the Beefeater tour.Later ,in the day, we saw the long line for crown jewels.
We rented the flat from a Place Called Home.The email is [email protected].
We used a tour guide in paris but not in london.
yes we flew home from paris
Yes we purchased our euro star tickets in america.I will have to check what we paid.
Just a note ,if you have any science fiction lover, you must shop at Forbidden Planet.It is on Shafesbury Street in london
Hope that answered the questions.
Any more questions, just ask
Also, my daughter and I loved England while my son loved Paris
Melissa
Regarding the tower of london,as we were warned about the lines;we got there when it opened and went right to the crown jewels and then back for the Beefeater tour.Later ,in the day, we saw the long line for crown jewels.
We rented the flat from a Place Called Home.The email is [email protected].
We used a tour guide in paris but not in london.
yes we flew home from paris
Yes we purchased our euro star tickets in america.I will have to check what we paid.
Just a note ,if you have any science fiction lover, you must shop at Forbidden Planet.It is on Shafesbury Street in london
Hope that answered the questions.
Any more questions, just ask
Also, my daughter and I loved England while my son loved Paris
Melissa
Sep 11th, 2006, 04:00 PM
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Melissa, thanks for the added details and for the info on Scott and Michael. I had no idea that he was so reasonable, I had expected it to be quite a bit more. I've been waiting over a month for his reply, so maybe I'll send him another email in the next few weeks as we'll be there is December.
The American cemetary with the rows and rows of stars and crosses is indeed a memorable sight, one that I will never forget.
Nina
The American cemetary with the rows and rows of stars and crosses is indeed a memorable sight, one that I will never forget.
Nina
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