Thyra

Just back last night and since I am such a travel trip report appreciator, I suppose I will take a moment and post mine: NOTE: This is for myself and my Sig O, (I visited both Paris and UK multiple times, but first time over for Sig O, which factors in when trying to decide what to do

Flights: Virgin economy uneventful but best kind!
Hotel in Paris: Jardin de L'Odeon on rue Casimir Delavigne (really close to Theatre Odeon and Luxembourg Gardens: I always stay in this neighborhood, very quiet and I usually take in a jog or two in the gardens: This hotel was very nice for the price and the staff was fantastic, particularly the night manager who became a friend! The bathroom was roomy and very nicely appointed, the room was TINY which doesn't bother me, if you want a larger room, I would book a suite. All attributes very clean, nice water pressure and charming b-fest room if you are one of those people who is silly and likes to spend x-tra on hotel b-fests like me (can't get out the door without my morning coffee) not too crazy, but fresh and adequate.
Tours: Paris Muse: Can't say enough nice about them, I had to make reservations, then change then cancel then rebook, so you know they are really on their game when the paypal refund came within 24 hours and they accommodated all of my changes promptly and accurately with a GOOD attitude! We did the Pompidou Center which is really a treat, our guide Ellen was just fantastic and managed to interest both myself (with a fine arts degree and my SO who likes motorsports!) highly recommend Paris Muse.
Day Tour 4 Roues et un Parapluie (4 wheels and an umbrella) nice overview city tour in one of these old VW type cars perfect for SO, who has never been to Paris and a fun way to zip around, luckily the weather was clear as a bell though chilly! so we were able to open the top and have a wonderful private tour of the high points of the city.

Thyra

Of course we took in many many crepe kiosks (my record is 4 2 cheese and 2 Nutellos) and 2 trips to Cafe de Flore for the KILLER KILLER hot chocolate special which is just divine on a freezing afternoon! The people were wonderful, Metro in fine working order and SO is now also in love with Paris!
Did no shopping and not really much of a foodie I fear so not too much to report on those topics.
Rental car: based upon a tip from a Fodor's poster I booked online with NOVA car rental picked up car at Orly West and drove to a Chateau:
Chateau: SO and I decided at the last moment to attempt to do a vow ceremony in France on Valentines day.. of course, we decided this 2 weeks before valentines day! The good news is that I found a WONDERFUL coordinator at a company called Fete in France named Anne Mulvihill who is an American living in France. It is no understatement to say that she is a miracle worker, with the clock ticking, she found us a wonderful chateau, called Chateau D'Esclimont about 1 hour outside of Paris, past Versailles and on the way to Chartreuse. A celebrant who spoke English, a 14 century salon in the Chateau, Flowers, and sent maps.. all this in like 5 days! For only 400 Euros and worth every penny!

Michel_Paris

Good start. Always nice to hear about hotels and how someone rates them. Add to my list. Any restaurants recommendations? I had read about the VW tour, are they expensive, what is the format (standard tour or do you pick spots, do they stop or is it drive-by,etc..)

What were your fav sights, less so?

Thyra

Ceremony in Chateau: Well what can I say, it was amazing from start to finish, a spectacular location and we had a special suite with 2 bathrooms. A bottle of champagne on arrival and Anne (the coordinator mentioned above) had arranged for candles and flower petals all over the room and my bouquet. Since we were there on a special package after the ceremony we had an amazing 6 course gourmet meal which was spectacular with yet another bottle of champagne.. superlative!
Links for French things:
Hotel
http://www.hoteljardinodeonparis.com/
Tour Companies:
Paris Muse
http://www.parismuse.com/
4 Roues
http://www.4roues-sous-1parapluie.com/index.php
Chateau
http://www.grandesetapes.fr/v2/en/Ch...ont/index.html
Anne Coordinator
http://www.feteinfrance.com/

Thyra

Sorry Michael, didn't see your post, the VW tour was just great, they have several packages but you can also customize them. For interest I asked to be dropped out at Place de Terte in Montmatre which was a custom request, cost was.. 150 Euros for 2 hours which I thought was a good value for a complete city overview with good commentary when you are on a limited time: restaurants, unfortunately this was the spaghetti trip we ate italian most every night.. (I am a right horrible foodie type, sorry )

Thyra

UK: Took Eurostar EZ as pie: arrived in London for a whirlwind tour of that city!
London
Hotel: London Bridge Hotel
Very nice hotel, on the South side of the river, an area which used to be (like in the 80's) kinda shady, but which is now really bustling! Right around the corner from the reconstructed Globe and next to the Southwark Cathedral (where Shakespears brother and Oscar Hammerstein and one of the Harvards are burried, well worth a visit). Very nice hotel, around the corner from the london Bridge tube stop so super easy to get around town (buy the day passes), but be aware that LOTS of the tube seemed to have limited service on weekends and many lines, stops seem to be temporarily shut down you may need to be flexible in revising your route. Very nice hotel staff, excellent b-fest buffet, huge modern room with 4 star amenities and very clean they also have a deal with a fitness center next door, but be aware that the fitness center has limited weekend hours so plan accordingly, also they gave me the option of paying in pounds or dollars so I paid in dollars and saved that pesky credit card conversion fee.
Show: Cabaret at the Lyric hmm, interesting production, but have seen better, lots of nudity, which doesn't faze me, but it didn't always seem like it fit into the story sometimes it struck me as gratuitous.
Tour: Black Taxi Tour, again and excellent tour for city overview with lots of stops and customized, it was 95 pounds total for 2 hours which, though everything in London is crazy expensive seemed a good value for the depth of commentary by Richard (a historian) he was also flexible, I asked to see Smithfield and he gave us a whole history of the area which is somewhat off of the typical tourist map.
Walk: Haunted London with the Walks with Sean great walk through nooks and crannies of London!
London Eye: Spent extra and booked a champagne flight which was great, you don't have to wait in line and you get candy and a book and of course, more champagne.. but I am TERRIFIED of heights, unfortunately so I spent the trip looking at the little bench in the center, my SO reports that it's wonderful!
So that was it, a super fabulous special 7 days of fun and frolic, as usual I found both the French and English very nice and the weather was perfect.
Here are English links:
http://www.londonbridgehotel.com/
London Eye
www.ba-londoneye.com.
Black taxi tour
http://www.blacktaxitours.co.uk/
Theatre Tickets booked via
http://www.theatreticketsdirect.co.uk/

Lee4

Oh Thyra, We are kindred spirits when it comes to the London Eye. I spent the entire ride glued to that little bench! I know everyone in our pod thought I was nuts and such a chicken, but if you are scared of heights, you're scared of heights! My husband actually took pictures of my hands tightly gripping the bench! I have enjoyed your report--thanks for sharing. We're going to Paris for the first time in March and I love reading anything I can about it right now. Thanks again!

Thyra

Dear Lee4: Yeah by the end of that London Eye ride I had memorized the grain of the wood slats on the benches that my hand was wrapped around.. scary!

Lee4

While on the London Eye, this teenage girl in our pod tried to "explain" to me how this was just like a roller coaster ride. I think my look must have let her know she should hush right away--that did not help!

Nikki

Thanks for the interesting report.

I am curious, though, whether you still think it was a good idea to charge your hotel in dollars after you see your credit card bill. My understanding is that when this is done you pay an exchange rate which is usually higher than that charged by your credit card company, and you may still have to pay the credit card's fee for a foreign transaction. Search this message board for posts about dynamic currency conversion.

johanna

Hi Thyra: Enjoyed your report. Off to London in May and
want to take the Chunnel from London to Paris. Did you
book ahead? First Class? Where do you store your luggage on the trip? Any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks, johanna

Kavey

Hey Thyra
Congrats on the wedding renewal!

Thyra

Thanks for the comments: Joanna, I booked online via the Eurostar website: they were economy (non refundable) tickets at $77.USD per person/per direction. I typically don't store luggage because I never take more then one carry-on sized bag with a tote no matter where I go or for how long. Everything fits in the overhead spaces. The way over was directly after a 10 hour international flight that arrived in the late afternoon so we pretty much passed out in the darkness during the Eurostar train ride; the way back was better for seeing the countryside.
As far as the conversion, I checked the rate and didn't see any glaring over charge it came in at what it would have cost doing it in pounds (you know the dollar is so crazy right now that it seemed to fall a little every day we were there).
Kavey: Thanks for you kind wishes..and happy belated birthday to both of us from last September, I haven't posted for a long long time!

Thyra

Oh PS Lee, 2 thumbs up for having the wherewithal to actually "speak" to another person while in flight.. I think if anyone had said boo to me, it might have triggered a terrible anxiety attack.. roller coaster??.. sheesh!!!

Kavey

Thanks, Thyra, hope you had a good one? No, I haven't seen you around for a while...

I post more on the Africa board these days but still check out Europe from time to time.

I also post on another board, travlerstogo.com which you should check out!

johanna

Thyra: Thanks for your response. When you said slept "in the darkness" what do you mean? Is it dark on the train?
This may be a silly question, but if one is claustrophobic, would one feel it on the Eurostar? Do you have a website for your London hotel. Thanks for all the help

Thyra

Hey Kavey, I definately will! For the Eurostar, well it's not dark on the train, it's well lit, which makes it look very dark outside (when traveling at night), and of course it's dark when you go through the tunnel part of the chunnel.
When you are traveling on the train at night all you see is your own reflection staring back at you.. my ex husband was EXTREMELY claustrophobic and we took the Eurostar tunnel train 4 or 6 times and he had no problems whatsoever It truly is very convenient to travel back and forth.. I remember the good old days of trying to get to the coast and hope the ferry was running and the sea was calm enough and spending a whole day getting between Paris and London.. ahh I really love the Eurostar!

Thyra

Oh sorry Joanna, I posted the website for the london bridge hotel above.
http://www.londonbridgehotel.com
Should do it!

schnauzer

Sounds like you both had a great time Thyra. Thanks for the links. Have already checked them out!!

Schnauzer

gomiki

Thyra, Great report! Since you mentioned your 'Sig O', was this a wedding ceremony or a vow renewal?
Either way, it sounds wonderful! Congratulations!