Best French Kiss Ever! (Bienvenue à Paris) About This Page:

[DouglasE]

<font color="blue"> For those of you who have been reading along from the beginning of my journey you can skip this first post. This is a repeat post providing an orientation to those who decided to start with this second thread of my trip report.

31 August – 10 September, 2006

A French kiss can be a transcendent experience. At least when it is done well I feel like I have been transported to another plane of existence. This trip surpassed the limits beyond my ordinary existence. What a wonderful gift travel can be! The year 2006 has been a year of personal growth for me. This journey marks a milestone in personal growth. The trip was a challenging one. I was traveling outside North America for the first time totally on my own. There was no one to take up the slack or make sure all the dots are connected. Also, I’d be journeying to a land where I only spoke a little bit of the language. I’d be experiencing a culture that does things differently and has a different perspective. My challenge was to live like a local.

Overview:

a. Spend two days biking through the Loire River Valley on rented bikes. I used Amboise, France as my home base. Visited wonderful châteaux in the region.

b. Join the Rick Steves’ 7 day “Best of Paris” tour. Tour the sights, sounds, and smells of Paris with 21 other Americans, a Parisian lead guide, and two other local guides over the course of a week. The 7th arrondisement became “my neighborhood”.

c. Fly from Paris to London. Meet my friends, Chez and Mark, for a night out in London. Stay at the B+B Belgravia. Have a tasty dinner.

Note to Passporters: This vacation came about when I experienced a downturn in finances midway through 2004. I realized that I would not be able to travel at all in 2005. I also started to think that you never know what life has in store for you. September 11, 2001 definitely sent that message home. So I got to thinking. I thought I wanted to take a trip that I have always dreamed about. Paris has been a destination of my dreams from when I was a kid. While I could have gone earlier in my life, I was always waiting to take that trip so that I could share the experience with a soul mate. Well, I decided that life is too precious and I was not about to continue to live life as if it were on hold. That decided that. I was going to head to Paris in 2006 solo. Now all of us fans of Disney parks are very much aware of a little piece of pleasure called Disneyland Paris. So you would be forgiven if you would assume that since I am traveling thousands of miles across an ocean that I would be popping in and visiting Disneyland Paris. Well, as noted earlier, my finances aren’t on the same league as the Banks or Biddles (old Philadelphia money). I had to plan this trip as if I would never be able to return. I wanted to see and do things that aren’t remotely like anything at home. Disneyland Paris is too close of an experience to Walt Disney World to merit being on my agenda for this trip. Hopefully, life will cooperate and I will be able to return to La Belle France once more and in that trip visit Disneyland Paris.
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[DouglasE]

<font color="blue"> Sunday, 3 September, 2006

Bienvenue à Paris


The train ride from St. Pierre-des-Corps to Paris took only a little over an hour. After arriving at Gare Montparnasse I transferred to the Paris métro system and took a train to the St. Sulpice métro stop. The train ride was quick and easy.
At the St. Sulpice métro stop I emerge up to the surface of Paris. When I hit the streets of Paris, it took my breath away. The impact was immediate. Paris is a beautiful city.
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This is the entrance/exit to the St. Sulpice Metro stop:



This is what I see when I emerge from the subway:

[DouglasE]

<font color="blue"> I had planned to visit the church of St. Sulpice to experience the Grand Orgue with world-class organist Daniel Roth. I just did not arrive in Paris early enough. I had lingered over breakfast instead. I am happy with my choice. Time has been ticking and by the time I arrive at the church, I realize I really needed to head over to my Parisian hotel. I had a meeting with my tour guide and tour members at 3 pm.

Originally, I had planned to pick up picnic items on Rue de Buci, experience the organ concert and then take a walking tour of the Left Bank. My walking tour would have included a picnic lunch at Luxembourg Garden. Sounds like a wonderful Sunday afternoon, doesn’t it? Oh well, maybe next time.

Since it was getting late, I wander around St. Sulpice Church. Then I walked up towards the Seine River to hop onto a train at St. Michel to take me to my hotel. When I emerged from the streets of the Left Bank, or Rive Gauche, I discovered the Seine River. I just didn’t expect as much river traffic as there is. There is a constant stream of water craft cruising up and down the river. Most of it is sightseeing related. Just seeing the river was exciting. As I walked along the quai that borders the river Seine, I passed stall after stall of entrepreneurs selling postcards, old books, and posters. These bouquinistes are all in green stalls. I later found out that it is the green color of old train cars. It is one of those traditional sights that Americans think of when they imagine Paris.
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Street scene from the left bank:



St. Sulpice Church:

[DouglasE]

<font color="blue"> The RER train runs underground parallel to the Seine. I enter the RER system at St. Michel and exit at Pont de l’Alma. But it was during this train ride I had a “cultural experience”. Some French guy with a portable karaoke machine “serenaded” the passengers with English hits like “Yesterday” and “You are the Sunshine of my Life”. I am trapped on this train with someone who can just barely carry a tune. At least in a piano bar I can always leave!

Once I reach the surface, I check my handy-dandy Rick Steves’ Planning Map of France and Paris. The map came free with the tour. After consulting my map I charge off in the direction of my hotel. One of my favorite moments of this trip was as I am walking to my hotel I see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I have one of those “I’m really here!” moments. It was incredibly exhilarating to know that I had made it. I don’t think it had fully sunken in until that moment.

It is time for a commercial break. I fully admit this next bit will sound like I am shilling for the Rick Steves “Europe Through the Back Door” (ETBD) company (www.ricksteves.com). That’s ok. Let’s just say I am a fan. When I decided to take this trip I was convinced I wanted to be a part of a tour. First, I wanted help in mitigating the whole language barrier issue. Second, I wanted to learn about the sights that I was going to experience. I knew there were all types of artwork, sculpture, and stained glass at Notre Dame. It would be a shame just to say, “ooo that’s pretty”. Instead, I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the sights I was going to explore. I did some research and discovered Europe Through the Back Door. It was a perfect fit in terms of travel philosophy for me. Both ETBD and I believe that the idea of travel is to experience other cultures and leave your preconceptions behind, learn a new perspective and keep an open mind. Try to experience the land as a local. The price of the tour included all group sightseeing. Other companies have extra-cost “optional excursions”, which are usually the experiences you really want to do. A major reason I liked ETBD is the amount of flexibility built into the tours. Half the time is structured group touring, the other half you are free to be on your own to do your own exploring. The free time was important to me, not just for freedom sake. I was concerned about if I happened to be a part of a group of people that rubbed me the wrong way, it was nice to have some time to be free. The tours include all of my breakfasts and half my dinners or lunches in off the beaten track local eateries. No “English spoken here” tourist traps for me! The tour guides are focused on providing the best travel experience possible. Rick Steves pays his guides a decent salary. Other companies pay their guides very little and the guide makes the bulk of their income through kickbacks from shopping and eating opportunities. Who needs a tour guide to help me shop? More than 1/3 of the tour members are repeat customers. Obviously, that says something is being done right. You are able to read uncensored reviews online (If you want, you could find my review of this tour online at the Rick Steves web site. They copied my email review verbatim). ETBD have small groups. They average 24 travelers compared to 40-50 people in other tours. Traveling with a small group is much more manageable. Centrally-located, small boutique hotels are where you stay. They have character. I wanted to experience things that were European, not stay in a generic suburban Holiday Inn. The price of the tour was guaranteed at the moment I made my deposit. Other companies will adjust the final cost of the tour based on fuel and foreign currency price changes. The tour also came with cancellation/interruption coverage. I am a fan of walking tours. It really allows you to explore and delve into greater depth. You can learn so much more this way. Bus tours have a tendency to skim the surface. Europe Through The Back Door means lots of walking around and that is just fine with me. I had signed up for the Best of Paris 7 day tour.

This is day one. I was meeting my tour group and lead guide at 3 pm this afternoon. I was staying at Hôtel de Londres Eiffel, 1 rue Augerau (www.londres-eiffel.com). The hotel was in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. It is about a five minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. When I arrived there was scaffolding in front of the façade of the hotel. The gentleman working the reception desk was having a smoke outside of the hotel and as I walked toward the entrance he quickly made his way inside ahead of me. This hotel had a number of surprises in store for me. I had a room on the fourth floor. I was fully expecting having to take the stairs. The hotels that Rick Steves’ tours use frequently don’t have elevators. My first surprise was that this hotel had an elevator!

I opened the door to my room. There was one large double bed. Oh my god! I have a room all to myself! That was my second surprise. On most of the Rick Steves’ tours single travelers get paired up with another tour member of the same gender. On the 7 day city tours they do offer the option of a single supplement to have a room all to yourself. I had decided I could use the $400 in other ways. On my particular tour I was the only single male traveler. Therefore, I got a room all to myself without having to pay the single supplement. Cool! The room was a cute, bright, cheery little room. For those of you who by now think I am inhuman, you can take a sigh of relief. It is at this point that I collapse. I had about 45 minutes before it was time to meet everyone from my tour. The adrenaline had finally run out. I felt like a drug addict going through withdrawal. The lack of sleep caught up to me. I was exhausted. I put my suitcase and backpack into the closet and just lied down on the bed. I would really have liked to take a nap, but there just wasn’t time. I just enjoyed the peace, the stillness, and being off my feet.

NEXT: Meeting my tour group and lead guide
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Chambre 45 at L'Hotel Eiffel Londres


The desk in my hotel room:

[chezp]

How beautiful - you're making me look forward to our day trip in Paris in a couple of weeks' time. Thanks for posting this now - perfect timing! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Great updates Douglas [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[crystalloubear]

PAris looks beautiful. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.

[WDWfan]

Douglas - ETBD touring sounds wonderful! I can't wait to hear about the Paris portion of your vacation!

[jimmymac]

Great start to the Paris leg. Looking forward to hearing the rest - Paris is one of my favorite cities. I usually stay in the premiere arrondissement so I can walk to all the highlights. Walking along the Seine at night is so pretty

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Douglas!!!!!

[LisaJ]

This is fun! I'm enjoying your TR. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[JaimeandChad]

Thanks Douglas for writing a great trip report. i can't wait for the next installment.

[DrDolphin]

Great update Douglas!

[KrisLuvsDisney]

Great update! I can't wait to hear about Paris and see your pictures! How lucky are you to have a room all to yourself!

[BritDisFan]

Great update Douglas, I love Paris, it's one of my favourite cities.

Karen