Trip Report - Paris and Provence
 

We're back from a fantastic holiday and one way I'm looking forward to re-living it all over again is by posting our trip reoprt. There are about 18 days, so I won't be able to get it all done at once (too much great stuff to share!)
We planned a little over two weeks in France - one week in Paris, one week in Provence, and then back to Paris for the last day before our flight home.

Day 1 -
Our Air Canada flight from Halifax and connecting flight in Montreal arrived without any delay or incident in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport at 8:45 am local time.
After disembarking, passport control (nope - we weren't able to get our passport stamped) and picking up our one checked bag, we were ready to figure out where to get the train to downtown Paris. I was a bit intimidated on arriving at CDG - as it's a huge international airport, but we found it was well laid out, and although there was a lot of walking, not confusing at all to get to baggage pick up and the RER train station. The good news about taking the RER from the airport to Paris - it only costs about 8 Euro each for the ride (compared to the higher price of taxis) and the fact that all trains leaving CDG go to downtown Paris!
The subway system in Paris is phenomenal - complex but it entirely makes sense, and ather than walking (where you get to enjoy he sights) is the best way to get around the city.
Our hotel, Hotel de Nevers, on Rue de Bac, was easy to find. While it did nothing to impress us, it was pretty much what we expected for 90 euro/night. We got a small, clean room (shower and toilet were external, but private). The bed was a little uncomfortable, but as we were so tired afer the end of each long day we had no problem sleeping! We were onthe top floor, and there were no elevators, the stairs were very curved, and the hotel staff does not help carry your luggage...but the exercise was great and we only had to carry the luggage a couple of times. The weather was sunny, breezy, and 16 degrees. We took a shower and a short nap after checking in, but we were soon anxious to see the city. We started walking toward the Seine, with our initial destination of the Hard Rock Cafe...our first view of the Seine brouht tears to my eyes - it was more beautiful than I had imagined with all the bridges. We had a bite to eat along the way at a small brasserie - the food was good and filling. Later in the evening we walked to the Eiffel Tower...that was incredible to see all lit up in the evening. We were too late for the last trip up (last one is at 10:45pm) so we decided to take a boat cruise...there are a couple of options Bateau Mouche is one, but we took the other ( I can't remember the name). It was 11 euro each for the hour cruise, and you could bring wine or snacks along - pick them up beforehand. The cruise was wonderful - it was a clear night and not too cold. It was a great way for us to get a sense of the city as it related to the river - and the lights all around the city were incredible - a sight we won't soon forget!
After the cruise we picked up a crepe near the Eiffel Tower - cheaper than I expected as it was so close to such a major tourist destination, bu it was oh so good!!! We walked back to our hotel (another 45 minute walk) and we were definitley feeling the effects of such a long first day, including getting used to the 5 hour time change, and we were quite happy to crawl into bed.

How did you choose your hotel? Would you stay there again?

Jenn-Mitch, great start! I'm looking forward to reading more.

We chose the hotel through on line searching...mostly based on price. The location of the hotel was great...however I'll reserve my answer on whether I would return or not based on the response from the hotel manager,. We had a mix up on our last night, and although we had confirmed reservations, in writing, the manager had given our room to someone else who wanted it for 4 days as opposed to our one remaining night, and then offered us another room, which was significantly more expensive, without any type of discount. We had no choice as it was our first night back in the city after the week in Provence, and we were leaving the next day for home...
My recommendation is that the hotel itself was fine...but the last incident left a bit of a bad taste.

Day 2 (Sunday May 18, 2008) -

We woke up and were on the way at 9am. We stopped at a cafe on Rue du Bac for caffe and croissant to go (cheaper than the sit down equivalent!). We decided to enjoy our breakfast on the bridge crossing the river by the Louvre!

After breakfast we went to the Louvre. The louvre is a fantastic place and must be seen to be believed. We arrived shortly after 9:15am and did not have to wait in any lines to get in. We saw the Mona Lisa and the Regent Diamond and many other exhibits... we did the Denon and Sully wings only. By lunch we felt we had seem as much as we could for the day.

We had chicken and baguettes outside the Louvre and headed to musee Rodin after lunch! We saw "the thinker", he was thinking... hehe
The best part of the Rodin Museum was how causual it was, and the incredible gardens which had large size bronze sculptures throughout.

After musee Rodin we walked toward Luxembourg gardens and had an early supper along the way at a cafe (we knew eating so early - 5pm would mean we'd be hungry later, but we'd already done a lot of walking!). The gardens were very busy! They even had a bee colony in the middle of the gardens - cool to see.

We walked back to our hotel and slept for 2 hours since we were pretty tired. After waking up we took the metro to the Eiffel tower. We bought tickets to get to the top floor for 28 Euro (3rd floor). The view of Paris was incredible. A little chilly up there but we managed ok. We took the stairs down to the ground (much quicker than waiting for the elevator - only takens 10 minutes) and walked back to our hotel.

Overall it was a wonderful day in Paris!

We felt lucky today that we didn't have to stand in any lines, particularly the Louvre, for long! The longest wait was for the Eiffel tower, and that was waiting for the elevators to go up.

Nice report! I'm looking forward to the rest.

Jenn_Mitch...

I'm enjoying your report. Looking forward to the rest!

bookmarking

Enjoying your report as we were there same time and it's nice to see what other folks got up to!

Day 3 (Monday May 19, 2008) -

We woke around 8:30am, still tired from our extremely packed day the day before. We got outside, and noticed it was a fair bit cooler, probably 12 degrees C. Our "favorite" bakery was closed, so we were a bit at a loss for what to do for breakfast. We wandered on a bit further, but decided not to do the "petit dejeuner" in the cafes we saw. Instead, we picked a place one block from Notre Dame, and sat down. We ordered 2 cappucinos and 2 pain au chocolate. It came to 18.40 Euro!!!!! We learned our lesson about sitting down for breakfast!! We continued walking toward Notre Dame.

Still reeling from our breakfast, we walked into Notre Dame. The line was short and we went quickly inside to see the magnificent stained glass and detailed sculptors. We chose to walk up to the bell towers... 400+ steps later we had magnificent views of Paris!! Do not miss the bell towers!!!!!!!!Wobbly legs later after getting down, we happened upon a Fete du Pain, and picked up lunch, crossant and pain au chocolate, and bagette for 7 Euro - quite a deal considering our morning breakfast.
Our total expenses today were only 57 euro. We walkde around a bit more, and then spent a quiet evening in our hotel...and went to bed a bit early.

ttt for later

DDay 4 (Tuesday May 20, 2008) -

After a quiet night with a good rest we woke early and walked to get breakfast from Eric Kayser (world class bakery) and ate on the bridge on the seine. It was a lovely sunny morning with a nice breeze.

Earlier in Canada we booked a walking tour with a local Parisian (through parisgreeter.org) and it was time to meet up!! We made our way to the Rue de Bac metro stop as we were meeting our Paris walking guide. We met up at Denfort Rochereau stop and waited for a couple minutes. We were hoping to get a "local view" of Paris in an arrondissment we had not been to, the 14th. We met up with Christian (our guide, a spry 66 who has lived in Paris for over 35 years, and another visiting couple from Chicago... Robert and Sheila). The neighbourhood we walked was significantly less touristy than others we visited; we went at a nice pace, and Christianne was happy to provide facts and interesting comments on the local architecture.She walked us through a local market and bought cherries for our walk. We passed through a large cemetery where Jean Paul Sarte and Simone de Beauvoir were buried together. The 2 hours passed quickly and afterwards Christianne guided us to a quiet section with nice places for lunch. We bid her a fond au revoir.

After a quick light lunch at cafe odessa (club sandwich + chicken pannini) with water, we oriented ourselves and headed toward the catacombs!!!!!

The catacombs is not a spot that is well documented in many travel guides, but we certainly wanted to make it part of our visit! The line went quickly (again quite lucky with waiting so far) and we paid and started the trek.

Once you enter you go down approx. 170 steps and the total walk is approx. 1.7 km. The final steps up to street level are a very steep 80 steps.

The catacombs themeselves are facinating!!!!!! Long dark narrow and short tunnels lead to stacks and stacks and stacks of human bones!!!!.....it seems never ending!!! You can't conceive how many are there unless you experience it yourself. It is one of the most unique things we ever experienced!! (approx 6 million people). The sight of all the bones and skulls stacked with such precision was erie and chilling....
The entire visit lasted about 45 minutes.

We were glad to make our way back into the hot sunshine. We stopped into a monoprix for a few staples as we weren't planning on eating out tonight. Water, wine, baguette and cheese makes for a great satisfying meal after a long day of walking!!!!
Our total expenses for the day (including a purchase of two carnets of metro tickets) was 65 euros.

Day 5 (Tuesday May 21, 2008) -

We got up around 7:30am and had breakfast in our room (pain au chocolate and milk). We had a busy day at Versailles planned and wanted to get an early start.

We walked to the Musee d'Orsay RER line in order to catch the C train to Versailles. We left at 9:25am and
once we got off the train and walked for a few minutes we saw the palace and got into line shortly after 10:00am. The line was short, but the crowds were unbelieveable; the palace soon filled with busy
tourists intent on seeing the whole palace. The palace itself was spectacular in its riches and granduer...it did lose some appeal from the masses of tourists trying to snap a picture while running to the next big room.

After a small snack (baguette jambon - yuck!!) we gratefully made our way to the gardens! They more than made up for any crowded feeling from the palace. We walked for a few hours, and found ourselves in Marie Antoinette's home away from the palace!! Rough!! The gardens are incredible...beautiful marble
sculptors and fountains... great for pictures!

We saw the ancestors of her flock of sheep! hehehe... and after a long hike back up to the palace we
caught our breath before heading back to the train station.

We got back to our hotel, rested, and freshened up before heading to a local bistro for some delicious
french food....

After a leisurely stroll around some streets we called it a day....

Don't miss Versailles!!! Although it was a little crowded and we felt they let too many tourists inside
at the same time we are glad we went now that we are back in Halifax/Nova Scotia/Canada!!!!

At the Musee d'Orsay we bought two return RER tickets to Versailles including entering the palace and
Marie Antoinette's - we got great value here and would recommend this approach to others. Two tickets
cost us 42 Euro.

Total Euro for the day was 78.

The above post should be Wednesday May 21, 2008

:)

Hey Jenn,

Enjoying your trip report so far - just found it!

Mel

Hi Jenn...

We are enjoying your trip report and look forward to the rest. We are doing just about the exact same trip in September.

Day 6
Today our plan was to go to Musee d'Orsay and Sainte Chapelle. After breakfast, we walked to Musee d'Orsay (we were a bit early for the (9:00 am opening, and were one of the first to stand in line. However, we saw a small notice on the door that the museum would be delayed in opening by an hour. Instead of waiting around we decided to walk to Sainte Chapelle and hit musee d'orsay on the way back. Sainte Chapelle is very close to Notre Dame, and we enjoyed the walk along the Seine. We arrived shortly before 10 and waited for about 20 minutes in line. We weren't sure what to expect at Sainte Chapelle - it was hard to see much of anything from the outside. Once we go through the line, the inside with the most incredible stained glass we've ever seen was worth the wait. The chapel itself was rather small, but we could see why it was such a popular place to have classical concerts. we realized the wait was due to the fact that only a certain number of people are let in at a time - it was nice not to be crowded. We had a quick lunch on the way back (yet another poulet baguette and a very good quiche) and arrived at musee d'orsay around 1pm. This place was incredible - the fact that we got to see the original Van Gogh's was one of the best parts of our trip, and that combined with all the other works of art made musee d'orsay one of our favorite spots. We spend 30 euros for the entrance fees and about 30 euros in food (lunch and relaxed meal of bread, wine, cheese, and some meats in our room).

Day 7
We slept in a bit this morning and enjoyed a leisurly breakfas on Pont Royal (one of the bridges across the Seine). We walkd from the Louvre to Champs Elysee - what a fantastic walk through the Tulleries Gardens, the Obliesk and the Place de Concorde. The total walking time from the Louve to the Arc de Triomphe was a good hour, and we walked at a fairly fast pace. Chapms Elysee was full of tourists and incredibly flashy stores - it was fun to window shop! We got to the Arc and visiting the site of the unknown soldier. I would highly recommend climbing to the top of the Arc - the views from every angle were so great - and it was a beautiful clear day - an amazing perspective of Paris!
After Arc de Triomphe we got on the metro and were headed to Montmarte, however we got off on a wrong stop and arrived in a not so tourist friendly place. We just had a bad feeling about the place, and although we attempted to check it out, we quickly decided to get back to the metro. We headed directly across the city to Trocadero, which had some beautiful buildings and a great restaurant where we had a nice lunch. we walked back to our hotel (this was a bit of a walk, but we enjoyed it) and after resting and showers we went out for dinner ( a local brasserie for a great salad and some wine). After a pleasant meal, we headed back to Hotel de Nevers to pack for Provence, and to get a good night's sleep - we had a busy day planned the next day! We spent a bit more on food today that normal (75 euros for breakfast, lunch and dinner) and 18 euros for the Arc de Triomphe.

What happened to the Provence part?

book marking