Our trip to Paris 31/08-01/09

We just got back yesterday so I thought I'd just type up the first 2 =
days of my trippy for anyone to peruse. No need to tell me what I =
'should' have done tho' as I'm back now. I'll post the other 2 days =
tomorrow or Tuesday.
Enjoy
Paris

Day 1 - August 31st 2004

Trippers - Colin and myself.

=20

Tuesday Morning - we departed at 10.00am to reach the Purple Parking car =
park by 12.00. After petrol stop and a loo break, we eventually got =
there at about 12.15. They were extremely efficient - ready and waiting =
for us and we were whisked off to Terminal 4 immediately.

=20

I checked us in using a self-service kiosk and the fast bag drop. I must =
say this is a lot faster than standing in line and waiting around for =
desks to come free - just stuck in my Exec club card and confirmed all =
seating details, dumped our bags and that was it!!

=20

We poodled around the airport for a bit, buying some books and having =
lunch at Costa Lotsa before boarding at 14.45 for our 15.00 flight - we =
left late - about 15.20 but made up the time and landed at 17.05 French =
time. The journey was fine; we had time for a coffee and munchies - =
choice of sweet or savoury. Savoury was veggie sticks and some sort of =
dip and the sweet was yummy biccies, doughnut and a kit-kat.

=20

It was total chaos at CDG; I think they are in the process of changing =
it around a bit as it has all changed since I was there last year. =
Basically about 3 flights emptied at once to find 2 guys inspecting =
passports and no recognisable queuing system in place - just a mad rush =
to get to through. As the crowd built, new people didn't bother joining =
the end, just attached themselves to the sides so the crowd grew =
widthways as well. Took us about =BD hour to get through!!! Only took a =
few mins to get our bags and then had the amazingly long walk to get to =
the station at the other end. We could have got the bus but that would =
have entailed waiting for the next one, lugging bags on and then off =
again and as we had wheelies, it just wasn't worth it. Got our tickets =
for the RER to St Michel - 7 Euros each and it only took about 30 mins. =
We had intended to then get the metro from Cluny to Cardinal Lemoine, =
but it was only a 20 min walk to our final destination and it was a =
glorious evening so we headed up Place St Jacques, then along Boulevard =
St Germaine, Rue Monge and up the hill to the Hotel Grand Ecoles.

=20

The hotel is gorgeous http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005ecoles.htm =
and it's in a wonderful location. They didn't bother checking us in just =
handed us the key and showed us where the room was. You basically step =
through an enormous gateway into a beautiful courtyard brimming with =
flowers; it is like stepping into the countryside!



I knew the room was going to be chintzy but ours was waaaay over the =
top!!!! The paper matched the curtains and they had also papered the =
doors so there was not a plain spot anywhere to be seen!!!! Bed was =
amazingly comfortable, even if they still use blankets rather than =
duvets. We had a corner room so had the benefit of 2 windows to let in =
the light. Bathroom was just right with a little sitz bath and shower. =
After unpacking we decided to wander out in search of dinner. =20

Just a little further up the hill we came to the Place de la =
Contrescarpe, which was a beautiful little square with a fountain =
surrounded, by bars and bistros. Just around the corner was Rue =
Mouffetard, a wonderful little street lined with restaurants, bars and =
shops.=20



=20

We stopped for a drink at the Caf=E9 Tantra, as it was happy hour, where =
I had a BananaMama (yummy) and Col had a beer. After wandering up and =
down both sides, we settled on a little Greek place for dinner. I had =
the mixed plate for a starter, which consisted of baby squid, marinated =
peppers, Cretan beans, taramasalata and tsatsiki, whilst Colin had =
Dolmades. For the main course I had the meatballs and Col had a chicken =
brioche. We made a mistake with the wine as we ordered a Cretan red - =
blech!!!!! Desert was Baklava for myself and Chocolate Mousse for Col. =
All of this was from the ?14 menu so didn't set us back mightily =
either!!

=20

We then stopped off again at Caf=E9 Delmas in the Place de la =
Contrescarpe - possible the most expensive place we visited - ?9 for a =
beer!!!! Very nice place tho', lovely atmosphere, cool staff and laid =
back music.

=20

We finally made it back to the hotel at about 11.45, waved our key ring =
thingy in front of the enormous gates to get them to open - very =
technical - lol, staggered over the cobbles - I was wearing 4 inch high =
wedges, and collapsed into bed.



Paris

Day 2 - September 1st 2004

Trippers - Colin and myself.

=20

We didn't wake up until 10.30 - lazy slugabeds!!!! After dashing around =
frantically getting dressed etc, we then went to the square to get a =
couple of pain au chocolate from the patisserie and then took a stroll =
down Rue Descartes. We stopped off opposite the Polytechnique to get a =
coffee at a nice little bistro. We then carried on down towards the =
river, walking along Rue St Jacques and crossing the river at Rue =
D'Arcole opposite Notre Dame. We sat and looked at the cathedral for all =
of 5 minutes before heading down the right bank to find the Bastille.

=20

At 12.00 a humongous great air raid siren went off???? Haven't a clue =
what that was all about but it happened again 10 mins later. Maybe =
something to do with the Resistance celebrations last week?? We walked =
all along the river until turning up Boulevard Henri IV towards Place de =
la Bastille only stopping once for a beer. (Read beer and coffee breaks =
as me needing the loo! Very expensive toilet breaks) Anyway, once we got =
to the Place de la Bastille, we had a look at the Colonne de Juillet and =
tried to trace the outline of the Bastille. We then took a wander down =
the Fauberg St Antoine, stopping off occasionally to peek down some of =
the Passages - great little workshops and ateliers, especially down the =
Passage du Chantier. Then I made the first of a few visits to Sephora - =
I love these shops!!!! We had lunch at a little bistro, I had an =
omelette and Col had a 4 seasons pizza, which we washed down with 50cl =
pichet de vin rouge. All for the grand sum of ?23!! Eventually we ended =
up getting the Metro at Nation all the way back to Raspail. We would =
have gone further but I needed another (ahem) coffee break.

=20

After reviving ourselves with coke and bathroom breaks, we studied the =
map and decided to head back to the hotel for a break via the long way =
round - i.e. the Jardin du Luxembourg. These gardens are gorgeous and =
everyone keeps off the grass where they are supposed to!!! I love the =
municipal green chairs that are dotted all over the city parks - they =
probably wouldn't last 5 minutes at home!! Anyway we then walked past =
the Palais du Luxembourg - now the seat of the Senate, and up to the =
Pantheon from where it was only 5 mins to the hotel. We had a little nap =
- well 2 hours, before showering and dressing for dinner.

=20

We decided to head off to the touristy areas tonight, just to see what =
it was like. So off we went, walking again, this time down Boulevard St =
Germaine, Rue St Jacques and turned off into the Rue St Severin. Wow!!! =
So many restaurants, so many side streets and so many people!!!! We =
wandered around for an absolute age before collapsing at a bar just to =
get a beer and our bearings again!! We finally settled on one of the =
first places we'd seen in the beginning and went again for the ?14 menu. =
This time we had a 50cl pichet of Vin Rouge. We both had onion soup to =
start and then I had the poulet fermier (farm chicken) and Col had a =
steak, followed by Cr=E8me Brulee for me and sorbet for Col. The =
restaurant was great - it looked tiny from the outside but it went on =
and on inside and then expanded towards the back, also loads of seating =
downstairs. There weren't loads of customers and the waiters were very =
polite and attentive.=20

=20

Colin kept telling me off for talking French as it 'encouraged;' them to =
talk back to me whilst I took on a look of glazed bemusement as I =
attempted to get them to "parlez lentement, s'il vous plait' Never mind, =
I managed to get through the holiday without using the phrase - 'I'm =
English'. In fact I only spoke English to Colin the whole time, even if =
all I did was order food, buy things and get tickets for the Metro.

=20

Anyway, we rolled back up the hill to the Square to have a nightcap at =
another one of the Square's bars before heading back to the hotel.






--=20
Elise
http://uk.photos.yahoo.com/elisebutt

"elise" a écrit dans le message de
...


At 12.00 a humongous great air raid siren went off???? Haven't a clue what
that was all about but it happened again 10 mins later. Maybe something to
do with the Resistance celebrations last week??


This is indeed linked to war, but not in a commemorative way. Those sirens
were used during WWII and later on during the Cold war to warn the
population of incoming bombings (you didn't want to miss the "duck and
cover" signal should those Soviet ICBMs have been heading your way!... :-)).
Now that the Soviet threat is gone, their purpose is to warn the population
in case of imminent and grave danger (chemical or nuclear accident, etc...)
or, in small villages in the countryside, to call volunteers in case of fire
or accident.
To make sure they'll work the day someone needs them, every first wednesday
of the month, all the 4,500 sirens all across the country are blown once or
twice at 12:00 sharp for test purposes.

Regards,
ArVa

To make sure they'll work the day someone needs them, every first wednesday
of the month, all the 4,500 sirens all across the country are blown once or
twice at 12:00 sharp for test purposes.

Regards,
ArVa
fascinating. but wouldnt wednesday be the perfect day for the soviets
to launch a nuclear strike? they could plan for it years ahead. no one
would take cover.

Sam

To make sure they'll work the day someone needs them, every first wednesday
of the month, all the 4,500 sirens all across the country are blown once or
twice at 12:00 sharp for test purposes.

Regards,
ArVa
fascinating. but wouldnt wednesday be the perfect day for the soviets
to launch a nuclear strike? they could plan for it years ahead. no one
would take cover.

Sam

To make sure they'll work the day someone needs them, every first wednesday
of the month, all the 4,500 sirens all across the country are blown once or
twice at 12:00 sharp for test purposes.

Regards,
ArVa
fascinating. but wouldnt wednesday be the perfect day for the soviets
to launch a nuclear strike? they could plan for it years ahead. no one
would take cover.

Sam

"Sam" wrote in message
om...
To make sure they'll work the day someone needs them, every first
wednesday
of the month, all the 4,500 sirens all across the country are blown once
or
twice at 12:00 sharp for test purposes.

Regards,
ArVa
fascinating. but wouldnt wednesday be the perfect day for the soviets
to launch a nuclear strike? they could plan for it years ahead. no one
would take cover.

Sam

i think people would be more concerned about the US launching a nuclear
strike than anyone else - they have the largest store (even though they
aren't classified as "weapons of mass destruction" for some unknown reason)

Andrzej

Andrzej wrote:
"Sam" wrote in message
om...

To make sure they'll work the day someone needs them, every first

wednesday

of the month, all the 4,500 sirens all across the country are blown once

or

twice at 12:00 sharp for test purposes.

Regards,
ArVa

fascinating. but wouldnt wednesday be the perfect day for the soviets
to launch a nuclear strike? they could plan for it years ahead. no one
would take cover.

Sam


i think people would be more concerned about the US launching a nuclear
strike than anyone else - they have the largest store (even though they
aren't classified as "weapons of mass destruction" for some unknown reason)

Andrzej

Besides what good would trying to take cover do anyone?

Andrzej wrote:
"Sam" wrote in message
om...

To make sure they'll work the day someone needs them, every first

wednesday

of the month, all the 4,500 sirens all across the country are blown once

or

twice at 12:00 sharp for test purposes.

Regards,
ArVa

fascinating. but wouldnt wednesday be the perfect day for the soviets
to launch a nuclear strike? they could plan for it years ahead. no one
would take cover.

Sam


i think people would be more concerned about the US launching a nuclear
strike than anyone else - they have the largest store (even though they
aren't classified as "weapons of mass destruction" for some unknown reason)

Andrzej

Besides what good would trying to take cover do anyone?

On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 07:40:04 +0800, "Andrzej"
wrote:

i think people would be more concerned about the US launching a nuclear
strike than anyone else - they have the largest store (even though they
aren't classified as "weapons of mass destruction" for some unknown reason)

Of course they are.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Fri, 10 Sep 2004 07:40:04 +0800, "Andrzej"
wrote:

i think people would be more concerned about the US launching a nuclear
strike than anyone else - they have the largest store (even though they
aren't classified as "weapons of mass destruction" for some unknown reason)

Of course they are.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *