Random Paris memories...
- the "Mickey" breads at Disneyland Paris... no pretzels or ice cream bars, but lovely brioche...
- the candy seller near the Metro station... never managed to buy candy from him, but the display was spectacular
- the fancy fire extinguisher store... who knew there was a market for fancy fire extinguishers?!?
- the gold ring scam. Bless.
- the denizens of the Pharmacy nightclub beneath our flat
- Gustav Eiffel wrapped in protective plastic... looking somewhere between a Christo work and Katherine Helmond in "Brazil"...
- singing la Marseillaise surrounded by thousands of French fans watching France's opening game in the World Cup
I do wish we had gone for a run... or rented a velib bike.... or swam in the Josephine Baker pool. That's my plan for our next trip -- a Parisian triathlon of sorts.
I was surprised at how much Wil enjoyed Paris -- and, through him, I enjoyed it too. So I suspect we'll go back someday. If only we had more vacation!!!!
We got up early on our last morning, dragged our things to the RER and on to the airport, where we queued seemingly forever in a long and winding queue to get "out" of France. We somehow couldn't find anything to buy at the airport. Morocco rearing its ugly head again! It just made me think of Barcelona airport and their amazing shops. Perhaps we got shunted off into a horrible "you're flying to America so you won't buy anything" wing? But we settled happily into our seats on the plane... and were even happier to arrive home on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Not sure when our next trip to Europe will be... perhaps Italy in 2012? 2013? Who knows...
But our next "big" trip -- New York for the marathon!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
on yer bike! Paris day 6
Months before we went to Paris, we saw a woman wearing a shirt that said "Fat Tire Bike Tours: Paris". We made a note of it, said we'd look it up when we got home, and then promptly forgot. A couple of months before we left, I was leafing through a guidebook and Wil remembered the shirt. I turned the page to where my ring finger was "holding" a page... and read "Fat Tire Bike Tours". It was destiny!
We had talked about a bike tour of Paris, but then decided what we really wanted was their day trip to Versailles. So we booked it for our last full day in the city of light.
We met up at the office, picked out our bikes, and met our guide, Andrew. Andy talked us through the morning -- we ride as a group, we "take the street", and we stick together. Thus prepared, we rode to the RER station. A bit chaotic ... lots of different "strengths" and levels of confidence among the group. But we got to the station with plenty of time, and Andy coached us through what we would do. Basically, we were grouped in sets of 4, given pairs of bungee cords, and instructed to get on trains when the doors opened and then bungee our bikes together to the poles in the entryway. It was a little panicky when the train arrived, but we all got on board safely.
As we rode to Versailles, Andy worked the train, moving along to chat with the people on the tour. He also gave us the good news -- that Versailles was the end of the line, and that we'd have plenty of time to get off the train.
After arriving in Versailles, we regrouped, and then rode to the market to buy provisions. Andy had told us where the essential shops were -- the wine store, the cheese store, and (for us) the Lebanese store, where we could get tasty veggie options. I think all of us bought a week's worth of food. We came back to the bikes, strapped our picnics to our bike racks, and then set off for the palace.
We pedalled around the grounds -- lovely and flat -- stopping for photo ops in a few places. I started daydreaming about living near the palace and going for my runs in the park... Eventually we arrived at the far end of the Grand Canal -- and settled in for our amazing picnic. Great wine, great bread, great cheese, etc. etc. Lots of nice chatting with the sweet people on the tour.
I will say that the people on the tour were surprisingly nice -- perhaps because this is an active tour, rather than a standard bus tour. A couple who were on their honeymoon, another couple who had gotten engaged the night before,
Then we went for a bit more of a ride... and things got weird. We "lost" a couple of riders, there was some anxious chattering, and a few angry words. But in the end, we all made it to the entrance of the Chateau...
Going in to the Chateau... crowded, lots of shuffling, but amazing interiors... the hall of mirrors is justly amazing. We wandered around for a while, but soon tired of the heat and the crowds. Andy had made a point of telling us where he would be drinking while we were in the Chateau, so we made our way there and found a few other "tour"ists. We drank beer, swapped stories, and talked about football before going back to the bikes for our trip home.
Pretty uneventful trip back to Paris -- we were much better at getting the bikes on and off the train, and chatted with two nurses who were on holiday. We all rode back to the office, and then, somewhat anticlimactically, disbanded. It made me wish we had gone on one of the city tours -- because Fat Tire puts on a great tour -- and when we go back to Paris we'll definitely do it.
That night we wandered flaneur-style around Paris... lingering on the Pont des Arts. We loved all the people gathered on the bridge with picnics and guitars, and loved watching the Eiffel Tower go all sparkly. We even loved the Bateaux Mouche. But most of all, we just loved being in Paris together.
We had talked about a bike tour of Paris, but then decided what we really wanted was their day trip to Versailles. So we booked it for our last full day in the city of light.
We met up at the office, picked out our bikes, and met our guide, Andrew. Andy talked us through the morning -- we ride as a group, we "take the street", and we stick together. Thus prepared, we rode to the RER station. A bit chaotic ... lots of different "strengths" and levels of confidence among the group. But we got to the station with plenty of time, and Andy coached us through what we would do. Basically, we were grouped in sets of 4, given pairs of bungee cords, and instructed to get on trains when the doors opened and then bungee our bikes together to the poles in the entryway. It was a little panicky when the train arrived, but we all got on board safely.
As we rode to Versailles, Andy worked the train, moving along to chat with the people on the tour. He also gave us the good news -- that Versailles was the end of the line, and that we'd have plenty of time to get off the train.
After arriving in Versailles, we regrouped, and then rode to the market to buy provisions. Andy had told us where the essential shops were -- the wine store, the cheese store, and (for us) the Lebanese store, where we could get tasty veggie options. I think all of us bought a week's worth of food. We came back to the bikes, strapped our picnics to our bike racks, and then set off for the palace.
We pedalled around the grounds -- lovely and flat -- stopping for photo ops in a few places. I started daydreaming about living near the palace and going for my runs in the park... Eventually we arrived at the far end of the Grand Canal -- and settled in for our amazing picnic. Great wine, great bread, great cheese, etc. etc. Lots of nice chatting with the sweet people on the tour.
I will say that the people on the tour were surprisingly nice -- perhaps because this is an active tour, rather than a standard bus tour. A couple who were on their honeymoon, another couple who had gotten engaged the night before,
Then we went for a bit more of a ride... and things got weird. We "lost" a couple of riders, there was some anxious chattering, and a few angry words. But in the end, we all made it to the entrance of the Chateau...
Going in to the Chateau... crowded, lots of shuffling, but amazing interiors... the hall of mirrors is justly amazing. We wandered around for a while, but soon tired of the heat and the crowds. Andy had made a point of telling us where he would be drinking while we were in the Chateau, so we made our way there and found a few other "tour"ists. We drank beer, swapped stories, and talked about football before going back to the bikes for our trip home.
Pretty uneventful trip back to Paris -- we were much better at getting the bikes on and off the train, and chatted with two nurses who were on holiday. We all rode back to the office, and then, somewhat anticlimactically, disbanded. It made me wish we had gone on one of the city tours -- because Fat Tire puts on a great tour -- and when we go back to Paris we'll definitely do it.
That night we wandered flaneur-style around Paris... lingering on the Pont des Arts. We loved all the people gathered on the bridge with picnics and guitars, and loved watching the Eiffel Tower go all sparkly. We even loved the Bateaux Mouche. But most of all, we just loved being in Paris together.
Friday, June 11, 2010
too darn hot -- Paris day 5
Crazy freakin' hot day in Paris. We started the day at Pere Lachaise cemetery, wandering around and admiring famous graves. I have to admit, I'd hate to have been buried next to Jim Morrison! Nice to see Gertrude and Alice B. buried together... much nicer than seeing Heloise and that faithless Abelard. Still love Oscar Wilde's tomb, too... perhaps none the better for the purple lipstick kisses all over it.
At some point we also made our way into Notre Dame -- big, beautiful, cool Notre Dame. Sigh.
Perhaps now I should capture some thoughts about food.... we ate well, even if we mainly ate bread and cheese. Paris isn't exactly a vegetarian paradise. We should have had more Lebanese food, methinks, but were a little frightened off by the "ham in everything" mood of much of the food we saw. One complete highlight: Berthillon ice cream... amazing. Not sure why we didn't have it every single day... We also drank bottle after bottle of fizzy water... fantastic. And is there any shame in eating amazing bread and incredible cheese all the time?
At some point we also made our way into Notre Dame -- big, beautiful, cool Notre Dame. Sigh.
Perhaps now I should capture some thoughts about food.... we ate well, even if we mainly ate bread and cheese. Paris isn't exactly a vegetarian paradise. We should have had more Lebanese food, methinks, but were a little frightened off by the "ham in everything" mood of much of the food we saw. One complete highlight: Berthillon ice cream... amazing. Not sure why we didn't have it every single day... We also drank bottle after bottle of fizzy water... fantastic. And is there any shame in eating amazing bread and incredible cheese all the time?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
the lovely bones... Paris, day 4
Thursday morning we went out on a suitably rain-soaked morning to visit the Catacombs. We had to wait in the queue outside for a while -- they try to keep the numbers relatively low, so someone has to leave before you can go in. It's all very charming and low-tech... old-school turnstiles, some yellowed postcards at the ticket desk, and then a steep spiral staircase. It takes a while for your eyes to adjust, though there are lights.
First we walked through some pretty empty tunnels created out of the old stone quarry. It seemed to go on and on, and I wondered if maybe I had been misled by the pictures I had seen. Perhaps there's only one ossuary room? But then, eventually, we passed a sign: "Arrête, c'est ici l'empire de la Mort" and came to the corridors lined with that must have been millions and millions of carefully arranged bones. Some were simple -- just lines and lines of femurs, with the "knee joints" on the outside. Others used other bones for decorations -- some had patterns of skulls, for example -- while others had insets of tombstones or other carved stones.
I was really pleased that they limited the number of people who could be down there at any one time -- it meant that quite often we had rooms to ourselves. And most people stayed pretty quiet in the catacombs... except a bored-sounding tour guide. It was surprising how many bones there were -- they just went on and on. I began to imagine holding a goth wedding in the larger rooms. Probably wouldn't be allowed by the authorities.
It was almost a relief to climb the spiral stairs at the other end of the tunnels and emerge into the still-wet, but brightening Paris morning.
Later that day we made our way to the Institut Pasteur to visit the museum. Not sure what to expect, we just turned up and had a battered "guidebook" thrust in our hands as we were taken into laboratories lined with display cases crammed with relics. There were displays on crystallography, his work on yeast and fermentation, his work on anthrax, and, of course, his work on rabies. Hand-blown glass jars of various shapes and sizes, filled with various items... including the (okay, to me) very recognizable "rabbit spinal cord dangling in a jar". (Tiny thrill.)
But then we were collected, along with two other hapless visitors, and taken upstairs to Pasteur's apartments -- typically overstuffed and overfurnished rooms, lots of awards, some random art, flocked wallpaper. Could have been anyone's... though slightly amusing to find it in a city, rather than in a country house.
But then we came to my favorite part of the tour... the trip to the crypt. A glorious mosaic arched ceiling depicting several of his great achievements... snarling dogs, happy cows, frolicksome bunnies, and laden grapevines. And in the middle, a big black marble sarcophagus. Oh, and a bronze death mask. Awesome.
I had hoped to go back up to the "gift shop" (they had some books and postcards), but we were basically then escorted to the exit. Methinks the museum staff are just grad students bored out of their mind.
In the evening we made our way to Montmartre and wandered around following a "walking tour" from the City Walks card. First we stopped at Cafe des 2 Moulins -- aka Amelie's cafe -- and drank red wine at the bar while smiling at besotted tourists (and feeling besotted ourselves). Then we climbed up the hill, seeing the Lapin Agile and a restaurant, whose name I have of course forgotten, that looked amazing. But I had other plans.
We were wandering around, thinking everything was beautiful and quiet, and wondering about out next trip to Paris, finding an apartment there, etc. Until we rounded a corner and the street was suddenly full of drunken teenagers. What? Crazy noisy busy icky. Romance completely gone. We made our way up the steps to Sacre Coeur and had a quick wander around the very pretty church, then back outside for the view over the city. The hub-bub made us not want to linger, so we wandered off.
Eventually found our way to our dinner destination, Au Grain de Folie, a vegetarian restaurant. Let me just say... this place was bizarre. It maybe seats 10 people who know each other very well. We arrived and there were two people in the place... they had a certain haggard look to them... but we sat down, got our menus, and prepared to be amazed.
The wine was okay -- basic red table wine, drinkable without being noticeable in any way. We had starters and a main... and waited about 20 minutes for starters. Tasty something or other... perhaps a salad with a bit of goat cheese on toast? It's been too long to remember. But it was okay. After we finished our starters, the two other diners left. I should point out that we were the only two people in the restaurant at this point.
A good hour later, we got our main course. It was... hmm. Nothing special. Quite a bit of random small collections of food. As if perhaps she had rummaged around in the tiny kitchen and scraped various things out of tupperware and arranged it on a plate. We also had the distinct feeling that she was drinking plenty of the house red herself... she kept wandering by the table and chatting with us... as we sat there, without food.
After our main course, we sat there for a while... until she came back and told us that she had made a lemon cheesecake that she was very proud of, and thought we should have some, Um, okay. It was indeed good, in that "little bits of lemon peel" sort of way.
We were probably in there for 2 hours. No one else came in while we were there. How does this crazy old dear survive?
When we left, I told Wil to take a photo of the facade to remember it. As he was framing the shot, she came sprinting out to pose in front of her restaurant. Adorable.... if crazy.
First we walked through some pretty empty tunnels created out of the old stone quarry. It seemed to go on and on, and I wondered if maybe I had been misled by the pictures I had seen. Perhaps there's only one ossuary room? But then, eventually, we passed a sign: "Arrête, c'est ici l'empire de la Mort" and came to the corridors lined with that must have been millions and millions of carefully arranged bones. Some were simple -- just lines and lines of femurs, with the "knee joints" on the outside. Others used other bones for decorations -- some had patterns of skulls, for example -- while others had insets of tombstones or other carved stones.
I was really pleased that they limited the number of people who could be down there at any one time -- it meant that quite often we had rooms to ourselves. And most people stayed pretty quiet in the catacombs... except a bored-sounding tour guide. It was surprising how many bones there were -- they just went on and on. I began to imagine holding a goth wedding in the larger rooms. Probably wouldn't be allowed by the authorities.
It was almost a relief to climb the spiral stairs at the other end of the tunnels and emerge into the still-wet, but brightening Paris morning.
Later that day we made our way to the Institut Pasteur to visit the museum. Not sure what to expect, we just turned up and had a battered "guidebook" thrust in our hands as we were taken into laboratories lined with display cases crammed with relics. There were displays on crystallography, his work on yeast and fermentation, his work on anthrax, and, of course, his work on rabies. Hand-blown glass jars of various shapes and sizes, filled with various items... including the (okay, to me) very recognizable "rabbit spinal cord dangling in a jar". (Tiny thrill.)
But then we were collected, along with two other hapless visitors, and taken upstairs to Pasteur's apartments -- typically overstuffed and overfurnished rooms, lots of awards, some random art, flocked wallpaper. Could have been anyone's... though slightly amusing to find it in a city, rather than in a country house.
But then we came to my favorite part of the tour... the trip to the crypt. A glorious mosaic arched ceiling depicting several of his great achievements... snarling dogs, happy cows, frolicksome bunnies, and laden grapevines. And in the middle, a big black marble sarcophagus. Oh, and a bronze death mask. Awesome.
I had hoped to go back up to the "gift shop" (they had some books and postcards), but we were basically then escorted to the exit. Methinks the museum staff are just grad students bored out of their mind.
In the evening we made our way to Montmartre and wandered around following a "walking tour" from the City Walks card. First we stopped at Cafe des 2 Moulins -- aka Amelie's cafe -- and drank red wine at the bar while smiling at besotted tourists (and feeling besotted ourselves). Then we climbed up the hill, seeing the Lapin Agile and a restaurant, whose name I have of course forgotten, that looked amazing. But I had other plans.
We were wandering around, thinking everything was beautiful and quiet, and wondering about out next trip to Paris, finding an apartment there, etc. Until we rounded a corner and the street was suddenly full of drunken teenagers. What? Crazy noisy busy icky. Romance completely gone. We made our way up the steps to Sacre Coeur and had a quick wander around the very pretty church, then back outside for the view over the city. The hub-bub made us not want to linger, so we wandered off.
Eventually found our way to our dinner destination, Au Grain de Folie, a vegetarian restaurant. Let me just say... this place was bizarre. It maybe seats 10 people who know each other very well. We arrived and there were two people in the place... they had a certain haggard look to them... but we sat down, got our menus, and prepared to be amazed.
The wine was okay -- basic red table wine, drinkable without being noticeable in any way. We had starters and a main... and waited about 20 minutes for starters. Tasty something or other... perhaps a salad with a bit of goat cheese on toast? It's been too long to remember. But it was okay. After we finished our starters, the two other diners left. I should point out that we were the only two people in the restaurant at this point.
A good hour later, we got our main course. It was... hmm. Nothing special. Quite a bit of random small collections of food. As if perhaps she had rummaged around in the tiny kitchen and scraped various things out of tupperware and arranged it on a plate. We also had the distinct feeling that she was drinking plenty of the house red herself... she kept wandering by the table and chatting with us... as we sat there, without food.
After our main course, we sat there for a while... until she came back and told us that she had made a lemon cheesecake that she was very proud of, and thought we should have some, Um, okay. It was indeed good, in that "little bits of lemon peel" sort of way.
We were probably in there for 2 hours. No one else came in while we were there. How does this crazy old dear survive?
When we left, I told Wil to take a photo of the facade to remember it. As he was framing the shot, she came sprinting out to pose in front of her restaurant. Adorable.... if crazy.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Voulez Vous Disney Avec Moi? Disneyland Paris, Day 2
Staying at one of the DLRP hotels means that you can take advantage of "extra magic hours" -- basically, an hour's head start over the crowds. We foolishly thought it was good for both parks... until we walked over to a suspiciously quiet Walt Disney Studios Park and discovered that the gates were locked. Harrumph.
So back over to the main park which, in the morning rain, was empty. Weirdly empty. We got pictures of Main Street USA that were virtually empty. Not "extra magic hours" empty -- more like "pre-opening restaurant reservation" empty. Pity the weather wasn't better... but maybe that's why the park was so empty.
We went into the castle walkthrough -- fantastic stained glass, "sleeping" suits of armor, pillars turned into trees, etc. Really gorgeous -- especially when empty. We walked by it again later in the day, and it was rammed with people -- clearly we got lucky.
At some point we wandered over to the Disney Studios park.. but we were totally underwhelmed. Most of the rides weren't open... either not open yet for "summer" (hey, it was only June 8), closed due to some mechanical problem, or, in the case of Toy Story Playland not yet open at all. Boo. So we walked around a bit, went on Tower of Terror, saw lots of closed rides, and managed to successfully see the "Armageddon Experience". But then we gave up. At one point we joined a huge queue for Crush's Coaster... to be told that things were not working, but they hoped to fix them, maybe in an hour, maybe tomorrow, peuf. Infuriating. So after poking around in some shops, we just went back over to Disneyland.
What else is there to say about DLRP? We had this idea that it would be glorious... but a lot of it simply wasn't up to snuff. For example, the teenagers who work the railroad are bored teenagers, rather than train geeks. Because, of course, Europeans who love trains can actually WORK ON TRAINS. Seeing that snotty kid with his overalls undone "just so", his bandanna and hat in his pocket, and absurd hipster sunglasses almost made me angry. So pathetic.
And the whole character thing... the absolute crush that greeted any character "in the wild' was terrifying. Take cultures for whom standing in lines is simply not done, and throw excited kids in the mix. Yikes. At first we thought they only had fur characters out there... but then at one point we saw Snow White essentially pinned against a railing by a 6-deep crowd of people. So much for our finding out what language the princesses all spoke!
By about noon, we were pretty much done. We had another night we could have stayed, but for what? A wander around the dispiriting "Disney Village"? Another weird meal in the hotel? Plus, the weather was getting worse and worse... absolutely dumping with rain.
We went back to the hotel to have a nap and to think. A couple of hours later, with the rain still pouring down, we decided to just pack up and head back to Paris.
We took the shuttle bus to the train station, the train back to Paris, and were in our lovely little flat by evening. Nice!
So back over to the main park which, in the morning rain, was empty. Weirdly empty. We got pictures of Main Street USA that were virtually empty. Not "extra magic hours" empty -- more like "pre-opening restaurant reservation" empty. Pity the weather wasn't better... but maybe that's why the park was so empty.
We went into the castle walkthrough -- fantastic stained glass, "sleeping" suits of armor, pillars turned into trees, etc. Really gorgeous -- especially when empty. We walked by it again later in the day, and it was rammed with people -- clearly we got lucky.
At some point we wandered over to the Disney Studios park.. but we were totally underwhelmed. Most of the rides weren't open... either not open yet for "summer" (hey, it was only June 8), closed due to some mechanical problem, or, in the case of Toy Story Playland not yet open at all. Boo. So we walked around a bit, went on Tower of Terror, saw lots of closed rides, and managed to successfully see the "Armageddon Experience". But then we gave up. At one point we joined a huge queue for Crush's Coaster... to be told that things were not working, but they hoped to fix them, maybe in an hour, maybe tomorrow, peuf. Infuriating. So after poking around in some shops, we just went back over to Disneyland.
What else is there to say about DLRP? We had this idea that it would be glorious... but a lot of it simply wasn't up to snuff. For example, the teenagers who work the railroad are bored teenagers, rather than train geeks. Because, of course, Europeans who love trains can actually WORK ON TRAINS. Seeing that snotty kid with his overalls undone "just so", his bandanna and hat in his pocket, and absurd hipster sunglasses almost made me angry. So pathetic.
And the whole character thing... the absolute crush that greeted any character "in the wild' was terrifying. Take cultures for whom standing in lines is simply not done, and throw excited kids in the mix. Yikes. At first we thought they only had fur characters out there... but then at one point we saw Snow White essentially pinned against a railing by a 6-deep crowd of people. So much for our finding out what language the princesses all spoke!
By about noon, we were pretty much done. We had another night we could have stayed, but for what? A wander around the dispiriting "Disney Village"? Another weird meal in the hotel? Plus, the weather was getting worse and worse... absolutely dumping with rain.
We went back to the hotel to have a nap and to think. A couple of hours later, with the rain still pouring down, we decided to just pack up and head back to Paris.
We took the shuttle bus to the train station, the train back to Paris, and were in our lovely little flat by evening. Nice!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Bonjour Mickey! Disneyland Paris Day 1
Woke up early – well, okay, the noisy garbage collectors woke us up early. But it meant that we got up, showered, threw a few things in our small shoulder bags, and we were out of the apartment by 8:45…. So that we could go to Disneyland!!!
We took the RER from Luxembourg to Les Halles, and transferred to the red line to take us all the way out there. The ride was pretty uneventful – not a lot of people heading out of the city at that time. At 9:45 we arrived at Marne la Vallee station – up the escalators, and suddenly Disneyland! Sorta.
It was easy to spot the signs to the buses to the hotels – where, weirdly enough, Hotel Santa Fe is the closest bus. (Clearly Disney hasn’t worked out that they are supposed to put the “value” hotel buses farther away…) One arrived within a few minutes, and it was loaded to the gills. A far cry from the buses at WDW in Florida, there were children pressed against the windows and doors – kinda scary. Watching that bus empty out made me a bit nervous, but I was still excited at the time.
We rode to the hotel along windy roads, so it wasn’t super obvious how far the hotel was. That said, I had read that it was only a 15-20 minute walk (though Disney describes it as 20-25 minutes) – we just didn’t know which way to go. Our first glimpse of the hotel was pretty positive – a giant “drive in movie” screen picture of Clint Eastwood, a big reception area, and a separate area to get off the bus. We went in to reception, walked up to the desk, and within minutes the helpful castmember had given us our park tickets, breakfast reservations, and told us where we could stow our bags until our room was ready at 3. So within 20 minutes of arriving by train, we were ready to set off!
Again, not really knowing how to walk to the park, we decided to take the bus. This may have been a mistake. Now, in Florida, there are organized bus queuing areas, and everyone is relatively orderly. Of course, that’s because our culture doesn’t approve of line jumping. Here, it was chaos. Rather than queues, it was more of a pen – with openings that aligned with the various openings on the bus. It’s clear that at some point they had to alter the pens – by putting up pollards at the point where the “pen” meets the curb – to deter people from just pushing in at the back (if that makes sense).
Then the bus pulled up, it was chaos. Even before the bus had stopped, people were running at it, hoping, perhaps, that the doors would open before it arrived at the “pen”. Once it stopped, the doors opened, and everyone just pushed in, regardless of children, strollers, etc. Crazy. We got trapped behind an English family who just didn’t know what to do. In the end, we basically had to go around them and squeeze ourselves on.
Thankfully, it was a very short ride – but it made us realize that we really needed to figure out where the walkway was!
We got back to the train station and headed through the lackluster security for our first glimpse of Disneyland Parc. They’ve designed the entrance beautifully, placing the grand hotel right at the gates – fantastic! You go through the arches underneath the hotel and through the turnstiles and you emerge at the familiar view of the Main Street USA train station – but without the “floral Mickey” garden. But once underneath the train tracks, it’s again a very familiar vista – looking up Main Street toward the castle – which, here, is a pinkish red. (Gorgeous, but I still think Magic Kingdom in Florida has the best castle so far.)
You could see other design improvements, however. At DLR and WDW, when there are parades, it’s nearly impossible to move in or out of the park. Here they built arcades that run behind the shops so that you can quickly move through. Very smart!
We decided to head directly for one of our two favorite rides – “Phantom Manor” – and to try to get there by “guessing” rather than by looking at the map. So we headed into Frontierland, and soon saw Big Thunder Mountain – or Big Thunder Mesa, as it’s called here. Up on a hill to our left, in a fantastic old “wooden” house, was Phantom Manor. Gorgeous! We essentially ran in, and were let in to the first possible elevator. It was strange – the introductory voiceover is in French, which meant that most visitors couldn’t understand it, so most people completely ignored it. We entered the “stretching room” – which felt very small, but did have 4 totally different portraits. The castmembers are having a tiny bit of fun, but not enough, frankly. My very basic French meant that I could understand that it’s the same speech – “this chamber has no windows, and no doors!” There’s also no scream on the track, and it was so dimly lit that I couldn’t tell if there was a “body” on the rope in the cupola or not. Still, exciting. When the doors open, most people rush out, which meant we had plenty of time to enjoy the morphing “paintings” (which, as at WDW, are digital, rather than painted). One interesting difference: the cat lady turns into a black panther, not a tiger. Strange choice?
Then into the loading area – same lovely brass bats, and a much more attractive backdrop. Weird lack of voiceover here – no “doom buggies” or “I will lower the safety bar”, etc. In fact, there’s no voiceover at all, so it was difficult to sense the “story” throughout the house. There’s something about a bride, but not sure what happened to the groom. Other differences – the bride is holding the “floating” candlestick in the hallway, and the coffin in the conservatory has a cheap shadow piano player (nothing nearly as nice as the one in DLR). The ballroom, rather than being a birthday, is a wedding party – though it still looks as if a hearse has crashed in to the room. Not sure if anything is going on in the “picture” of the house – it’s not the two dueling gentlemen. Madame Leota speaks in English and French, but there’s no response when she asks the spirits to ring a bell, etc. The biggest difference is in the graveyard scene – rather than an old world graveyard, it’s a wild west graveyard and ghost town. The singing busts are still there, but that’s the only time you hear “Grim Grinning Ghosts” at all – sad. And there’s a “mayor” who doffs his hat (and head), while speaking lines from the American voiceover, but that’s all. And then at the end, rather than hitchhiking ghosts, you get little demons hanging on to the top of your doom buggy. And at the very end, you see the bride talking – perhaps saying things like Constance says at DLR, but not sure.
Wil liked the wild west graveyard, but I thought it was a little cheesy. We both missed having the song playing as a finale, and both really missed the voiceover. Just what, exactly, happened to the bride? And we never saw the groom?!? Or was he the cackling skeleton? Who knows.
We rode it again immediately… and over the course of our stay rode it a few more times. It’s fun, but not as good as either DLR or WDW. We did, however, like the inclusion of a “Boot Hill” cemetery after the exit – nice touch.
Leaving Phantom Manor we walked along the “Rivers of America” frontage towards the (sadly closed for maintenance) Indiana Jones ride – which apparently is very different from our Indiana Jones ride. With great restraint (meaning we didn’t run), we then saw the big pirate ship and the banner for Pirates of the Caribbean – my favorite ride.
Their Pirates has a long interior queue area – much like Florida, where you wind around a castle for what seems like forever. The loading is pretty much the same, but after that there are a lot of differences.
We had heard that Paris’s Pirates is a “true” ride – meaning that it hasn’t been “Jack Sparrowed”. Well, sorta. It’s a much different ride – as if the ride had been shuffled – and starts with a very brief float past a restaurant and then a lift up to the top of the castle – where you glimpse the battle below.
Here’s the thing – sometimes things in rides break. In our time at DLP, we noticed several differences within individual rides. On “It’s a Small World” on Tuesday, one of the “carousels” in the finale room was stopped. But on Wednesday it worked. And things changes in Phantom Manor. So the fact that the cute teenage “wench” next to the “pooped pirate” wasn’t there when we went through on either day could mean that she has also been edited out of the story… or it could mean that she just wasn’t working. I’m going to assume the latter – since there was a weirdly graphic “shadow” in a nearby window that showed two men pulling a woman this way and that – including holding her legs. Weird.
So we liked a lot of the parts of Paris’s Pirates, though I still prefer the original. There wasn’t very much “Pirates Life for Me” action, and some of the tableaus were missing or limited at the end. But we still rode it several times over the course of our visit!
After leaving Pirates, we wandered through Fantasyland (yep, the queues for Peter Pan’s Flight are crazy here, too), admired the castle, and did the “dragon” walk-through. (Fantastic!) Then we headed over to Discoveryland, which is perfect in its Jules Vernian theming. Giant airship hangar? Check. Nautilus in water? Check. Great big gorgeous mountain, with a giant cannon on the side? CHECK! Of course, it was closed…. But they hoped to have it open later in the day. We did walk through the Nautilus, which was very pretty, but I would rather have slowly moved through a lake.
We wandered around a bit more, going on rides occasionally, looking in the shops, and doing a lot of people watching. We went on Star Tours – in French – which was still fun but needed some serious work on the soundtrack. (Unless French people assume that all robots have warbly voices?) Fun to hear C3-P0 speak French – but, of course, he speaks millions of languages… Experienced some pretty hardcore line dodging – lots of people just trying to push through the line. Very, very weird.
Eventually, we noticed that Space Mountain Mission 2 had opened… so we hurried in. After only a 10-minute wait (in an attractive queue area), we were on board. And… I hated every second of the ride! I guess I thought it would be pretty and swirly – like a prettier version of the ride at Disneyland. Nope. Completely different ride – loops, barrel rolls, lots of smacking my head on the restraints. Never again. (But it was gorgeous to be “shot out of a cannon” to start our trip.)
It felt weird to have the park closing at 7 – I mean, what else are people going to do? We did wander around Disney Village for a while – just some Disney shops, a few restaurants, and a big cinema that happened to be showing Sex and the City 2. I have a hard time imagining the cinema in Downtown Disney putting up a giant billboard advertising that movie.
We went back to our room after having a look at the buffet – the only dining choice at our hotel. (Why we didn’t have a look around, I don’t know. But we didn’t.) The lines were crazy, so we decided to get a bottle of wine from the gift shop (where we met the first truly good castmember of our visit) and head back to the room to rest. When we returned to the buffet, we ended up behind a group of 5 French girls at the cashier.
Here’s something we noticed right off in France. Cashiers are always asking for correct change, or at least closer change. My favorite is when Wil was paying for something that cost 7 Euros, and paid with 10… and was asked if he had 7 instead. Really? Anyway, the restaurant sold one thing, essentially: a buffet. You could choose to add a drink to your bill for 2 euro more. So why it took 3 or 4 minutes per person in the queue I cannot imagine. Because we had more than 15 minutes to prepare, Wil and I made exact change, which we handed to the cashier. The cashier looked at us as if we were insane, and inspected each coin as if he had never seen such wonders in his life. I should point out that this man was French, and most likely used euro in his real life. He also WORKED AS A CASHIER.
Once in to the buffet, it was just as chaotic as we expected. Though there weren’t a lot of people (it was after 9 by this point), it was still strangely crowded. And whereas most menus in the park were clearly labeled as far as vegetarian choices go, the buffet was not. Still, some of the salads were good, and we liked the cheesy potatoes and the fresh guacamole.
Back to the room – quiet! – and then to bed.
We took the RER from Luxembourg to Les Halles, and transferred to the red line to take us all the way out there. The ride was pretty uneventful – not a lot of people heading out of the city at that time. At 9:45 we arrived at Marne la Vallee station – up the escalators, and suddenly Disneyland! Sorta.
It was easy to spot the signs to the buses to the hotels – where, weirdly enough, Hotel Santa Fe is the closest bus. (Clearly Disney hasn’t worked out that they are supposed to put the “value” hotel buses farther away…) One arrived within a few minutes, and it was loaded to the gills. A far cry from the buses at WDW in Florida, there were children pressed against the windows and doors – kinda scary. Watching that bus empty out made me a bit nervous, but I was still excited at the time.
We rode to the hotel along windy roads, so it wasn’t super obvious how far the hotel was. That said, I had read that it was only a 15-20 minute walk (though Disney describes it as 20-25 minutes) – we just didn’t know which way to go. Our first glimpse of the hotel was pretty positive – a giant “drive in movie” screen picture of Clint Eastwood, a big reception area, and a separate area to get off the bus. We went in to reception, walked up to the desk, and within minutes the helpful castmember had given us our park tickets, breakfast reservations, and told us where we could stow our bags until our room was ready at 3. So within 20 minutes of arriving by train, we were ready to set off!
Again, not really knowing how to walk to the park, we decided to take the bus. This may have been a mistake. Now, in Florida, there are organized bus queuing areas, and everyone is relatively orderly. Of course, that’s because our culture doesn’t approve of line jumping. Here, it was chaos. Rather than queues, it was more of a pen – with openings that aligned with the various openings on the bus. It’s clear that at some point they had to alter the pens – by putting up pollards at the point where the “pen” meets the curb – to deter people from just pushing in at the back (if that makes sense).
Then the bus pulled up, it was chaos. Even before the bus had stopped, people were running at it, hoping, perhaps, that the doors would open before it arrived at the “pen”. Once it stopped, the doors opened, and everyone just pushed in, regardless of children, strollers, etc. Crazy. We got trapped behind an English family who just didn’t know what to do. In the end, we basically had to go around them and squeeze ourselves on.
Thankfully, it was a very short ride – but it made us realize that we really needed to figure out where the walkway was!
We got back to the train station and headed through the lackluster security for our first glimpse of Disneyland Parc. They’ve designed the entrance beautifully, placing the grand hotel right at the gates – fantastic! You go through the arches underneath the hotel and through the turnstiles and you emerge at the familiar view of the Main Street USA train station – but without the “floral Mickey” garden. But once underneath the train tracks, it’s again a very familiar vista – looking up Main Street toward the castle – which, here, is a pinkish red. (Gorgeous, but I still think Magic Kingdom in Florida has the best castle so far.)
You could see other design improvements, however. At DLR and WDW, when there are parades, it’s nearly impossible to move in or out of the park. Here they built arcades that run behind the shops so that you can quickly move through. Very smart!
We decided to head directly for one of our two favorite rides – “Phantom Manor” – and to try to get there by “guessing” rather than by looking at the map. So we headed into Frontierland, and soon saw Big Thunder Mountain – or Big Thunder Mesa, as it’s called here. Up on a hill to our left, in a fantastic old “wooden” house, was Phantom Manor. Gorgeous! We essentially ran in, and were let in to the first possible elevator. It was strange – the introductory voiceover is in French, which meant that most visitors couldn’t understand it, so most people completely ignored it. We entered the “stretching room” – which felt very small, but did have 4 totally different portraits. The castmembers are having a tiny bit of fun, but not enough, frankly. My very basic French meant that I could understand that it’s the same speech – “this chamber has no windows, and no doors!” There’s also no scream on the track, and it was so dimly lit that I couldn’t tell if there was a “body” on the rope in the cupola or not. Still, exciting. When the doors open, most people rush out, which meant we had plenty of time to enjoy the morphing “paintings” (which, as at WDW, are digital, rather than painted). One interesting difference: the cat lady turns into a black panther, not a tiger. Strange choice?
Then into the loading area – same lovely brass bats, and a much more attractive backdrop. Weird lack of voiceover here – no “doom buggies” or “I will lower the safety bar”, etc. In fact, there’s no voiceover at all, so it was difficult to sense the “story” throughout the house. There’s something about a bride, but not sure what happened to the groom. Other differences – the bride is holding the “floating” candlestick in the hallway, and the coffin in the conservatory has a cheap shadow piano player (nothing nearly as nice as the one in DLR). The ballroom, rather than being a birthday, is a wedding party – though it still looks as if a hearse has crashed in to the room. Not sure if anything is going on in the “picture” of the house – it’s not the two dueling gentlemen. Madame Leota speaks in English and French, but there’s no response when she asks the spirits to ring a bell, etc. The biggest difference is in the graveyard scene – rather than an old world graveyard, it’s a wild west graveyard and ghost town. The singing busts are still there, but that’s the only time you hear “Grim Grinning Ghosts” at all – sad. And there’s a “mayor” who doffs his hat (and head), while speaking lines from the American voiceover, but that’s all. And then at the end, rather than hitchhiking ghosts, you get little demons hanging on to the top of your doom buggy. And at the very end, you see the bride talking – perhaps saying things like Constance says at DLR, but not sure.
Wil liked the wild west graveyard, but I thought it was a little cheesy. We both missed having the song playing as a finale, and both really missed the voiceover. Just what, exactly, happened to the bride? And we never saw the groom?!? Or was he the cackling skeleton? Who knows.
We rode it again immediately… and over the course of our stay rode it a few more times. It’s fun, but not as good as either DLR or WDW. We did, however, like the inclusion of a “Boot Hill” cemetery after the exit – nice touch.
Leaving Phantom Manor we walked along the “Rivers of America” frontage towards the (sadly closed for maintenance) Indiana Jones ride – which apparently is very different from our Indiana Jones ride. With great restraint (meaning we didn’t run), we then saw the big pirate ship and the banner for Pirates of the Caribbean – my favorite ride.
Their Pirates has a long interior queue area – much like Florida, where you wind around a castle for what seems like forever. The loading is pretty much the same, but after that there are a lot of differences.
We had heard that Paris’s Pirates is a “true” ride – meaning that it hasn’t been “Jack Sparrowed”. Well, sorta. It’s a much different ride – as if the ride had been shuffled – and starts with a very brief float past a restaurant and then a lift up to the top of the castle – where you glimpse the battle below.
Here’s the thing – sometimes things in rides break. In our time at DLP, we noticed several differences within individual rides. On “It’s a Small World” on Tuesday, one of the “carousels” in the finale room was stopped. But on Wednesday it worked. And things changes in Phantom Manor. So the fact that the cute teenage “wench” next to the “pooped pirate” wasn’t there when we went through on either day could mean that she has also been edited out of the story… or it could mean that she just wasn’t working. I’m going to assume the latter – since there was a weirdly graphic “shadow” in a nearby window that showed two men pulling a woman this way and that – including holding her legs. Weird.
So we liked a lot of the parts of Paris’s Pirates, though I still prefer the original. There wasn’t very much “Pirates Life for Me” action, and some of the tableaus were missing or limited at the end. But we still rode it several times over the course of our visit!
After leaving Pirates, we wandered through Fantasyland (yep, the queues for Peter Pan’s Flight are crazy here, too), admired the castle, and did the “dragon” walk-through. (Fantastic!) Then we headed over to Discoveryland, which is perfect in its Jules Vernian theming. Giant airship hangar? Check. Nautilus in water? Check. Great big gorgeous mountain, with a giant cannon on the side? CHECK! Of course, it was closed…. But they hoped to have it open later in the day. We did walk through the Nautilus, which was very pretty, but I would rather have slowly moved through a lake.
We wandered around a bit more, going on rides occasionally, looking in the shops, and doing a lot of people watching. We went on Star Tours – in French – which was still fun but needed some serious work on the soundtrack. (Unless French people assume that all robots have warbly voices?) Fun to hear C3-P0 speak French – but, of course, he speaks millions of languages… Experienced some pretty hardcore line dodging – lots of people just trying to push through the line. Very, very weird.
Eventually, we noticed that Space Mountain Mission 2 had opened… so we hurried in. After only a 10-minute wait (in an attractive queue area), we were on board. And… I hated every second of the ride! I guess I thought it would be pretty and swirly – like a prettier version of the ride at Disneyland. Nope. Completely different ride – loops, barrel rolls, lots of smacking my head on the restraints. Never again. (But it was gorgeous to be “shot out of a cannon” to start our trip.)
It felt weird to have the park closing at 7 – I mean, what else are people going to do? We did wander around Disney Village for a while – just some Disney shops, a few restaurants, and a big cinema that happened to be showing Sex and the City 2. I have a hard time imagining the cinema in Downtown Disney putting up a giant billboard advertising that movie.
We went back to our room after having a look at the buffet – the only dining choice at our hotel. (Why we didn’t have a look around, I don’t know. But we didn’t.) The lines were crazy, so we decided to get a bottle of wine from the gift shop (where we met the first truly good castmember of our visit) and head back to the room to rest. When we returned to the buffet, we ended up behind a group of 5 French girls at the cashier.
Here’s something we noticed right off in France. Cashiers are always asking for correct change, or at least closer change. My favorite is when Wil was paying for something that cost 7 Euros, and paid with 10… and was asked if he had 7 instead. Really? Anyway, the restaurant sold one thing, essentially: a buffet. You could choose to add a drink to your bill for 2 euro more. So why it took 3 or 4 minutes per person in the queue I cannot imagine. Because we had more than 15 minutes to prepare, Wil and I made exact change, which we handed to the cashier. The cashier looked at us as if we were insane, and inspected each coin as if he had never seen such wonders in his life. I should point out that this man was French, and most likely used euro in his real life. He also WORKED AS A CASHIER.
Once in to the buffet, it was just as chaotic as we expected. Though there weren’t a lot of people (it was after 9 by this point), it was still strangely crowded. And whereas most menus in the park were clearly labeled as far as vegetarian choices go, the buffet was not. Still, some of the salads were good, and we liked the cheesy potatoes and the fresh guacamole.
Back to the room – quiet! – and then to bed.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Arrivée…
Got up super early – 3:30 – to say our tearful goodbyes to Sue and Joe (who was a total hero for getting up with us). Then Tony took us to Birmingham Airport, where we got a little lost (ah, Terminal 2…) but still arrived at the check-in counter before they opened. As a result we were able to watch the agents studiously ignore the people standing 2 feet away from them (us).
One good thing about an absurdly early flight: no queues at the security screening. Which meant that it was a little confusing as to what was expected. And apparently you no longer need to remove your shoes. (Though I did. I’m funny like that.)
Then we had a lot of time to kill at the airport. We wandered and shopped, trying to use the last of our British coins. We bought sodas and then sat in the completely empty “Vue Lounge” to eat our leftover Linda McCartney pies – Wil was right, they’re the perfect breakfast.
Finally, it was time to board, so we all went down the runway and onto…. A bus. Which drove us around for a little while before setting us down next to a tiny plane… with propellers. Gulp. We had two options for boarding – front door, or back door. We decided to head for the back door since we were seated in row 21 – a wise choice, as it was the last row of the plane.
The flight was short – only about an hour – so we were up and down before we knew it. We seemed to have to go a long way through the airport before suddenly emerging in the midst of a big group of Americans – so we must have somehow ended up merging with a big flight from the US. Still, immigration was weirdly easy (bored looking agent opened our passports, looked, and waived us through).
We then went to baggage claim, where my bag was already circling and Wil’s came within seconds. On the way to shuttle, we decided to go ahead and change our UK cash – knowing it would be a terrible rate, but whatever. I’m embarrassed to say just how bad the rate was!
Then on to the shuttle, to the RER, and after a bit of fiddling with the machine (good thing Wil has a chip and pin card!) we had our tickets and were headed to Paris!
Uneventful ride (though it was hard having suitcases on the train), and we got off the train at Luxembourg station. We had a 50-50 chance of picking the correct exit… and lost. :) But we did have a chance to stop at a cash machine and pick up the wodge of cash we would need to pay Nathalie.
We found Rue Monsieur le Prince very easily, but I had a harder time spotting the house numbers – and was again confused by the fact that the numbers don’t match up on either side of the road. Never mind – eventually we found the building and made our way inside and up the steep, windy stairs to the 3rd floor (4th floor to us!). The key was right where Nathalie said it would be, so we let ourselves in (a teensy bit early – it was 10:40) after a bit of fiddling with the lock. Five bolts! Wow.
The apartment is tiny – but perfect and has everything we need. A tiny shower, a tiny bathroom, a tiny kitchenette, a tiny table, but a decent sized bed. And everything – everything – is orange!
So we settled in, freshened up a bit, and then headed back out to explore a little. Our first stop: lunch. We picked up some beautiful cheese sandwiches and sodas and headed over to Notre Dame to picnic in the square. We got our first “Do you speak English” scam, watched very bold little birds that hovered in front of your face hoping for food, and basked in the sunshine. (And ate our awesome sandwiches.)
We then walked over to the Louvre – and along the way got our first “gold ring” scam. We didn’t understand it at first – in fact, we walked away figuring it was probably a scam, but also fretting that we were being rude somehow. Until, of course, we got the same scam a couple of hours later. It’s a famous scam, apparently, so glad we didn’t get caught up in it.
We went in to the Louvre at about the right time – not too crowded, no queues for tickets or security. We admit it: we were there to see the big items, so we headed for the Mona Lisa first (though stopped along the way to admire other things, including the Nike of Samothrace, which is one of my favorite pieces). Mona Lisa – small painting, big room, huge crowds. I still think one gets a better sense of it from postcards (heresy, I know). Also saw some great sculpture, a couple of Vigee le Brun’s, but then wanted to get outside. Funny: the gift shops at the Louvre are very posh, with nice postcards, prints, etc., but they don’t have any of the fun stuff that, say, the National Gallery has. No t-shirts, no scarves, no mugs. Weird. It’s only when you leave the museum that you find the fun things. But I’m sure the Louvre is doing all right.
We then decided to walk along the river to the Eiffel Tower – so pretty! Got there, saw the huge queues, and decided that we should use a restroom first. Except, apparently, there are no restrooms in the park. Now, there’s a lot of construction work going on, so perhaps they are renovating the restrooms… but is there really only one of those public restroom pods to satisfy the needs of EVERYONE who visits the tower each day? Really???
We ended up going for a little walk and stopping somewhere for some water (we were dehydrated) and a loo. We couldn’t buy a liter of water without eating, so we ordered a cheese sandwich. Yes, all we eat now is bread and cheese…
Refreshed, we headed back to the tower and the giant queues. Queue for security. Queue for tickets. Queue for the lift to the second level. Queue forever for the lift to the tippy top. Queue for the lift from the tippy top back to the second level. Queue for the lift to the bottom. Of course, this queuing was broken up by some breathtaking views of the city. :) I love going up to high towers and buildings to see a city. And though it was cloudy, it was also pretty clear and we could see everything.
Amusing: there are signs all over at the tower saying that it is illegal for the “itinerant salesmen” to be selling merchandise, and that the only official merchandise is that available in the shops on the tower. A girl behind me in a lift queue read it and said, “Oh, I get it – they want you to purchase the $20 item, not the same thing for $1 from those guys.” Yep.
We walked back towards home along the river (and had our second gold ring scam attempt, along with several “do you speak English” attempts) and stopped in at the Monoprix along the way to pick up provisions – cheese, bread, salad, tomatoes, fizzy water, and wine. It was fun to wander around and look at the food, though the checkout lines were insane. But we left there, got home, and had a delicious “picnic” at our little table by the window.
We decided to have a semi-early night, since we want a semi-early start on Tuesday. Why? Because we are going to Disneyland!
One good thing about an absurdly early flight: no queues at the security screening. Which meant that it was a little confusing as to what was expected. And apparently you no longer need to remove your shoes. (Though I did. I’m funny like that.)
Then we had a lot of time to kill at the airport. We wandered and shopped, trying to use the last of our British coins. We bought sodas and then sat in the completely empty “Vue Lounge” to eat our leftover Linda McCartney pies – Wil was right, they’re the perfect breakfast.
Finally, it was time to board, so we all went down the runway and onto…. A bus. Which drove us around for a little while before setting us down next to a tiny plane… with propellers. Gulp. We had two options for boarding – front door, or back door. We decided to head for the back door since we were seated in row 21 – a wise choice, as it was the last row of the plane.
The flight was short – only about an hour – so we were up and down before we knew it. We seemed to have to go a long way through the airport before suddenly emerging in the midst of a big group of Americans – so we must have somehow ended up merging with a big flight from the US. Still, immigration was weirdly easy (bored looking agent opened our passports, looked, and waived us through).
We then went to baggage claim, where my bag was already circling and Wil’s came within seconds. On the way to shuttle, we decided to go ahead and change our UK cash – knowing it would be a terrible rate, but whatever. I’m embarrassed to say just how bad the rate was!
Then on to the shuttle, to the RER, and after a bit of fiddling with the machine (good thing Wil has a chip and pin card!) we had our tickets and were headed to Paris!
Uneventful ride (though it was hard having suitcases on the train), and we got off the train at Luxembourg station. We had a 50-50 chance of picking the correct exit… and lost. :) But we did have a chance to stop at a cash machine and pick up the wodge of cash we would need to pay Nathalie.
We found Rue Monsieur le Prince very easily, but I had a harder time spotting the house numbers – and was again confused by the fact that the numbers don’t match up on either side of the road. Never mind – eventually we found the building and made our way inside and up the steep, windy stairs to the 3rd floor (4th floor to us!). The key was right where Nathalie said it would be, so we let ourselves in (a teensy bit early – it was 10:40) after a bit of fiddling with the lock. Five bolts! Wow.
The apartment is tiny – but perfect and has everything we need. A tiny shower, a tiny bathroom, a tiny kitchenette, a tiny table, but a decent sized bed. And everything – everything – is orange!
So we settled in, freshened up a bit, and then headed back out to explore a little. Our first stop: lunch. We picked up some beautiful cheese sandwiches and sodas and headed over to Notre Dame to picnic in the square. We got our first “Do you speak English” scam, watched very bold little birds that hovered in front of your face hoping for food, and basked in the sunshine. (And ate our awesome sandwiches.)
We then walked over to the Louvre – and along the way got our first “gold ring” scam. We didn’t understand it at first – in fact, we walked away figuring it was probably a scam, but also fretting that we were being rude somehow. Until, of course, we got the same scam a couple of hours later. It’s a famous scam, apparently, so glad we didn’t get caught up in it.
We went in to the Louvre at about the right time – not too crowded, no queues for tickets or security. We admit it: we were there to see the big items, so we headed for the Mona Lisa first (though stopped along the way to admire other things, including the Nike of Samothrace, which is one of my favorite pieces). Mona Lisa – small painting, big room, huge crowds. I still think one gets a better sense of it from postcards (heresy, I know). Also saw some great sculpture, a couple of Vigee le Brun’s, but then wanted to get outside. Funny: the gift shops at the Louvre are very posh, with nice postcards, prints, etc., but they don’t have any of the fun stuff that, say, the National Gallery has. No t-shirts, no scarves, no mugs. Weird. It’s only when you leave the museum that you find the fun things. But I’m sure the Louvre is doing all right.
We then decided to walk along the river to the Eiffel Tower – so pretty! Got there, saw the huge queues, and decided that we should use a restroom first. Except, apparently, there are no restrooms in the park. Now, there’s a lot of construction work going on, so perhaps they are renovating the restrooms… but is there really only one of those public restroom pods to satisfy the needs of EVERYONE who visits the tower each day? Really???
We ended up going for a little walk and stopping somewhere for some water (we were dehydrated) and a loo. We couldn’t buy a liter of water without eating, so we ordered a cheese sandwich. Yes, all we eat now is bread and cheese…
Refreshed, we headed back to the tower and the giant queues. Queue for security. Queue for tickets. Queue for the lift to the second level. Queue forever for the lift to the tippy top. Queue for the lift from the tippy top back to the second level. Queue for the lift to the bottom. Of course, this queuing was broken up by some breathtaking views of the city. :) I love going up to high towers and buildings to see a city. And though it was cloudy, it was also pretty clear and we could see everything.
Amusing: there are signs all over at the tower saying that it is illegal for the “itinerant salesmen” to be selling merchandise, and that the only official merchandise is that available in the shops on the tower. A girl behind me in a lift queue read it and said, “Oh, I get it – they want you to purchase the $20 item, not the same thing for $1 from those guys.” Yep.
We walked back towards home along the river (and had our second gold ring scam attempt, along with several “do you speak English” attempts) and stopped in at the Monoprix along the way to pick up provisions – cheese, bread, salad, tomatoes, fizzy water, and wine. It was fun to wander around and look at the food, though the checkout lines were insane. But we left there, got home, and had a delicious “picnic” at our little table by the window.
We decided to have a semi-early night, since we want a semi-early start on Tuesday. Why? Because we are going to Disneyland!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
our last days in Blighty
Had a relaxing weekend at Beck and Steve's, hanging out with the family. We went to the chippy, where I had my first (and, let's face it, probably last...) pickled egg. Beck and Steve were packing for their honeymoon, doing endless loads of laundry. We also went for a walk in the park with Beck, Steve, and the young kids.
Sunday morning we got to see Beck and Steve off, and I quickly scribbled "JUST MARRIED" on their car. William and Lydia had selected special hats for the couple to wear -- large "nemo" clownfish hats -- and they were good sports and put them on to drive away in. Great to see them both so happy!
Wil and I went for a little run, discovered that there was a countryside fair, and planned on returning to it. We took Bella (freed from the kennel that morning), the kids, and Tony and Sue and had a look around. I saw a hedgehog, so it was epic.
Decided, in the end, not to go to the Glee Club to see Milo and Erica. It would have been great to see them, but it was also great to sit up late with Tony.
Sunday morning we got to see Beck and Steve off, and I quickly scribbled "JUST MARRIED" on their car. William and Lydia had selected special hats for the couple to wear -- large "nemo" clownfish hats -- and they were good sports and put them on to drive away in. Great to see them both so happy!
Wil and I went for a little run, discovered that there was a countryside fair, and planned on returning to it. We took Bella (freed from the kennel that morning), the kids, and Tony and Sue and had a look around. I saw a hedgehog, so it was epic.
Decided, in the end, not to go to the Glee Club to see Milo and Erica. It would have been great to see them, but it was also great to sit up late with Tony.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Wedding!
Have just arrived back from Beck and Steve's gorgeous wedding -- absolutely lovely!
The day before the wedding Wil and I went into town to see "our painting" (Albert Moore's Dreamers) at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. We also did some nosing around in the shops since we are now obsessed with the thought of new table mats. Then home, where we had a relaxed dinner with Tony and Sue and got ourselves ready for the wedding day.
Friday morning was glorious -- after breakfast we loaded up the car and drove to Dunsley Hall to get settled in. Gorgeous place! We had a quick visit with Beck (with her updo complete, but still in jeans) and Steve (still in shorts), and then went to check out our room. We had been assigned the Rose Room, which was beautiful, and had a fantastic view of the garden.
We visited for a while with some early arrivals, and then went upstairs to get into our wedding clothes -- Wil's black suit and my black and white floral dress. Then downstairs for a glass of the fruitiest, fanciest Pimms I had ever had, and some mingling. Then we were shepherded into the ceremony room, where we were given seats up front because the couple had asked us to do a reading. William, Joe, and Steve looked fantastic in their suits -- dark blue, with cream waistcoats and shirts. William had a tiny magenta tie and matching gerbera boutonniere, while Joe and Steve had orange ties and boutonnieres. Lydia had a cream colored dress with magenta rose trim and roses in her hair. When Beck came in there was a spontaneous burst of applause -- her strapless dress was gorgeous and -- even better -- she looked so happy.
The registrar was funny and kind and sweet and charming, and moved through the ceremony at a good clip. I concentrated on not looking at either Sue or Tony, both of whom were trying from the minute they walked in. :) Beck and Steve were sweet and emotional, but got through their lines just fine. And Wil and I got through our reading without crying, too.
After the ceremony the fun began. We had champagne and a lot of photos in every conceivable grouping, and then went in for toasts (which are done before mealtime in the UK). Tony wasn't sure he'd get through is, but he did, and it was beautiful. Joe gave a lovely toast, too -- very brave. And Steve's brother and a few of his mates also gave funny toasts. Then -- dinner! The starter was asparagus with cheese (and ham, for some). Omnivores had fantastic looking legs of lamb on mountains of mashed potatoes. We had delicious potato gnocchi in cheese sauce, and we all shared cooked carrots, green beans, and cauliflower cheese. We finished with profiteroles, which were lovely.
After dinner we were asked to clear out of the dining room so they could set up for the evening. We all moved outside and spent a while chatting with our tablemates -- all college friends of Beck's. The weather was hot and sunny and lovely. We also spent some time chatting with Tony's brothers and their wives -- such lovely people! I think we might also have gone upstairs to freshen up at some point -- how nice it was to have a little room to escape to!
I felt a bit sorry for the DJ; he was playing dance music but no one was dancing for the first couple of hours. I guess it's always that way at weddings. But eventually most of us got out on the floor for at least a little while. William was out there strutting his stuff -- but Lydia was so tired she fell asleep on one of the couches.
We stayed up till the last of the guests had left or gone up to their rooms, feeling a tiny bit the worse for wear (and with very sore feet from 12 hours in heels).
This morning we were downstairs at 8:30 for a full English breakfast, and on the road before 10:00 -- which meant we got home and had a nap. :)
A fantastic wedding for a very a lovely couple -- we're so thrilled we were able to be part of it!
The day before the wedding Wil and I went into town to see "our painting" (Albert Moore's Dreamers) at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. We also did some nosing around in the shops since we are now obsessed with the thought of new table mats. Then home, where we had a relaxed dinner with Tony and Sue and got ourselves ready for the wedding day.
Friday morning was glorious -- after breakfast we loaded up the car and drove to Dunsley Hall to get settled in. Gorgeous place! We had a quick visit with Beck (with her updo complete, but still in jeans) and Steve (still in shorts), and then went to check out our room. We had been assigned the Rose Room, which was beautiful, and had a fantastic view of the garden.
We visited for a while with some early arrivals, and then went upstairs to get into our wedding clothes -- Wil's black suit and my black and white floral dress. Then downstairs for a glass of the fruitiest, fanciest Pimms I had ever had, and some mingling. Then we were shepherded into the ceremony room, where we were given seats up front because the couple had asked us to do a reading. William, Joe, and Steve looked fantastic in their suits -- dark blue, with cream waistcoats and shirts. William had a tiny magenta tie and matching gerbera boutonniere, while Joe and Steve had orange ties and boutonnieres. Lydia had a cream colored dress with magenta rose trim and roses in her hair. When Beck came in there was a spontaneous burst of applause -- her strapless dress was gorgeous and -- even better -- she looked so happy.
The registrar was funny and kind and sweet and charming, and moved through the ceremony at a good clip. I concentrated on not looking at either Sue or Tony, both of whom were trying from the minute they walked in. :) Beck and Steve were sweet and emotional, but got through their lines just fine. And Wil and I got through our reading without crying, too.
After the ceremony the fun began. We had champagne and a lot of photos in every conceivable grouping, and then went in for toasts (which are done before mealtime in the UK). Tony wasn't sure he'd get through is, but he did, and it was beautiful. Joe gave a lovely toast, too -- very brave. And Steve's brother and a few of his mates also gave funny toasts. Then -- dinner! The starter was asparagus with cheese (and ham, for some). Omnivores had fantastic looking legs of lamb on mountains of mashed potatoes. We had delicious potato gnocchi in cheese sauce, and we all shared cooked carrots, green beans, and cauliflower cheese. We finished with profiteroles, which were lovely.
After dinner we were asked to clear out of the dining room so they could set up for the evening. We all moved outside and spent a while chatting with our tablemates -- all college friends of Beck's. The weather was hot and sunny and lovely. We also spent some time chatting with Tony's brothers and their wives -- such lovely people! I think we might also have gone upstairs to freshen up at some point -- how nice it was to have a little room to escape to!
I felt a bit sorry for the DJ; he was playing dance music but no one was dancing for the first couple of hours. I guess it's always that way at weddings. But eventually most of us got out on the floor for at least a little while. William was out there strutting his stuff -- but Lydia was so tired she fell asleep on one of the couches.
We stayed up till the last of the guests had left or gone up to their rooms, feeling a tiny bit the worse for wear (and with very sore feet from 12 hours in heels).
This morning we were downstairs at 8:30 for a full English breakfast, and on the road before 10:00 -- which meant we got home and had a nap. :)
A fantastic wedding for a very a lovely couple -- we're so thrilled we were able to be part of it!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Chester
Started the day with a lovely walk with Bella along the seafront. She's a funny dog -- very opinionated. When she doesn't want to continue in a particular direction, she just sits down. If encouraged, she'll lie down. Until you let her get up and dictate which direction she DOES want to go in. She's also got a lovely doggie smile, so it's easy to be won over.
Then we piled in the car and drove to Chester. Tony and Sue dropped us off (and headed to West Brom) while we had a day to spend exploring Chester. We were dropped off at the Chester Park and Ride -- only about two miles outside of the center of town -- and took a bus in along with lots of shoppers. You had to buy your tickets before getting on the bus -- there was a man in a booth in a little building. We noticed that the machines only sold return tickets, and we needed singles, so we asked him. He said, "Oh, no, we only sell returns. It's a park and ride, you see." So we said "Okay, that's fine, can we have two returns." "Oh, no, you'll have to use the machine." "Okay, great. Can we get change?" "Oh, no, you'll have to use the change machine."
Not sure what that man's job was, really. I should add that he couldn't tell you when the next bus was due to arrive, other than a "They're very frequent."
Got to Chester and had a lovely wander around -- we walked the walls all the way around, stopping off to look at various things, including some time relaxing by the river. Chester is famous for its "Rows" -- double-decker shop fronts. We looked for -- but failed to find -- the infamous stitchery shop that Suz and I visited on our visit all those years ago. And, no, I HAVEN'T finished (or started) the kit... Suz? I also was introduced to the joys of the "Scotch-style egg" -- essentially, a vegetarian Scotch egg (where "meat" replaces the pork). Frankly, the vegetarian "meat" is nicer.
Then we took the train from Chester to Birmingham, and had a "oh, yes, it's familiar" moment. Sadly, we were too late to visit the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to see "Dreamers". But lots and lots of wandering around, including a visit to a running store, a lengthy visit to a slightly icky sports store where the staff were pretty useless, and an amusing trip to Selfridges, where they had a huge display of Lucky Charms cereal for the bargain price of L7.49/box.
Then home, where we had a great dinner with the family at Beck's house, and ended up sitting up late with Tony and Steve. He's such a nice guy -- really pleased to have him in the family.
This morning we have had a water fight with little William and Lydia, while Steve and Beck gather their things to go to the wedding venue. It's great that it's so soon!
Then we piled in the car and drove to Chester. Tony and Sue dropped us off (and headed to West Brom) while we had a day to spend exploring Chester. We were dropped off at the Chester Park and Ride -- only about two miles outside of the center of town -- and took a bus in along with lots of shoppers. You had to buy your tickets before getting on the bus -- there was a man in a booth in a little building. We noticed that the machines only sold return tickets, and we needed singles, so we asked him. He said, "Oh, no, we only sell returns. It's a park and ride, you see." So we said "Okay, that's fine, can we have two returns." "Oh, no, you'll have to use the machine." "Okay, great. Can we get change?" "Oh, no, you'll have to use the change machine."
Not sure what that man's job was, really. I should add that he couldn't tell you when the next bus was due to arrive, other than a "They're very frequent."
Got to Chester and had a lovely wander around -- we walked the walls all the way around, stopping off to look at various things, including some time relaxing by the river. Chester is famous for its "Rows" -- double-decker shop fronts. We looked for -- but failed to find -- the infamous stitchery shop that Suz and I visited on our visit all those years ago. And, no, I HAVEN'T finished (or started) the kit... Suz? I also was introduced to the joys of the "Scotch-style egg" -- essentially, a vegetarian Scotch egg (where "meat" replaces the pork). Frankly, the vegetarian "meat" is nicer.
Then we took the train from Chester to Birmingham, and had a "oh, yes, it's familiar" moment. Sadly, we were too late to visit the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to see "Dreamers". But lots and lots of wandering around, including a visit to a running store, a lengthy visit to a slightly icky sports store where the staff were pretty useless, and an amusing trip to Selfridges, where they had a huge display of Lucky Charms cereal for the bargain price of L7.49/box.
Then home, where we had a great dinner with the family at Beck's house, and ended up sitting up late with Tony and Steve. He's such a nice guy -- really pleased to have him in the family.
This morning we have had a water fight with little William and Lydia, while Steve and Beck gather their things to go to the wedding venue. It's great that it's so soon!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Conwy
Another lovely day -- had a little lie-in, then got up, showered, and headed out with Tony and Sue to run some errands and poke around in Conwy. The weather had turned grey, making us extra pleased we had done our lovely Orme walk in the sunshine yesterday. We looked around in the shops a bit (we're in the market for a lovely new set of table mats...), and of course ended up touring supermarkets and collecting items we wanted to bring home. :)
In the afternoon we stopped in at the Pen-y-Bryn, the beautiful pub on the hill where we had gone at Christmastime in 2005, and had a really nice cider called Taffy Apples. After we went into Llandudno, walked around there, and then walked along the bike path home.
Sue made a gorgeous pasta puttanesca for dinner, followed by Marks and Spencer sticky toffee pudding -- heavenly! Then we took Bella for a walk along the sea front, then home, blog... and bed.
In the afternoon we stopped in at the Pen-y-Bryn, the beautiful pub on the hill where we had gone at Christmastime in 2005, and had a really nice cider called Taffy Apples. After we went into Llandudno, walked around there, and then walked along the bike path home.
Sue made a gorgeous pasta puttanesca for dinner, followed by Marks and Spencer sticky toffee pudding -- heavenly! Then we took Bella for a walk along the sea front, then home, blog... and bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)