The other way of getting from London to Italy is via Munich and the Brenner Pass.
There are two ways to do this route:
(1) Depart London by Eurostar in mid-afternoon and use German-run City Night Line sleeper train to Munich then a day train next morning through the scenic Brenner Pass to Verona.
(2) Depart London by mid-morning Eurostar and afternoon TGV to Munich, stay overnight in Munich, then take a morning train to Italy through the scenic Brenner Pass next day.
Option 1: Using the Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper train...
1. London St Pancras depart 15:31 arrive Paris Gare du Nord at 18:47.
2. Walk from Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est - 10 minutes. (Instructions given below.)
3. Travel from Paris to Munich overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train Cassiopeia.
Departs Paris Gare de l'Est 20:05 and arriving in Munich at 07:10 next morning.
4. Travel from Munich to Verona or Bologna on air-conditioned Austrian EuroCity train.
Departing Munich at 09:38 and arriving in Verona at 14:58 or Bologna at 16:20. For the best views find an unreserved seat on the right hand side of the train
5. Change in Verona for Venice, change in Bologna for Florence or Rome. Use Trenitalia to find am onward connection. Allow at least 45 minutes for connections in Verona or Bologna.
Option 2: Using daytime trains with overnight hotel in Munich.
Day 1: Travel from London to Munich by Eurostar to Paris and TGV to Munich, leaving London St Pancras at 10:25 (11:01 on Saturdays), changing trains and stations in Paris and arriving Munich at 21:36.
Depart London St Pancras at 10:25 (11:01 on Saturdays) arrive Paris Gare du Nord 13:47
Walk to Gare de l'Est.
Depart Gare de l'Est 15:25 arrive Munich 21:36.
Day 2: Depart Munich 09:38 arrive Verona at 14:58 and Bologna at 16:20.
Change in Verona for Venice, change in Bologna for Florence or Rome
Alternatively, have a look round Munich, then take a direct EuroCity train from Munich at 11:38 to Venice arriving 18:10, also travelling via the scenic Brenner Pass - this direct train may be cheaper, too, as one ticket gets you all the way from Munich to Venice from as little as €39. This train also features a full-service restaurant car
NOTE: Travel from Verona to Milan either on a fast train or a regional train. (Takes about 1 hr 25 mins and costs from 19 euro)
Gare du Nord ▶ Gare de l'Est
a) Walk out of the Gare du Nord onto the street in front of the station.
b) Turn left along the front of the station, and keep going straight ahead of you up the Rue de Dunkerque until the tracks leading into the Gare de l'Est stop you going any further.
c) Turn right into the Rue d'Alsace along the tracks, descending the long flight of pedestrian steps to the side entrance of the Gare de l'Est.
Note: This is the quickest and shortest route, but to avoid the long flight of steps, walk out of the Gare du Nord and across the road into the Boulevard de Denain straight ahead of you, turn left into the Boulevard de Magenta, then left again into the Rue du 8 Mai 1945. This route is a bit longer, but gives level access from one station to the other.
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Thursday, 21 November 2013
21. London to Italy via the Gotthard Pass through the Swiss Alps...
I am thinking of doing this trip instead of the seven nights in Paris. There is a map further down showing the different routes and also in the "Maps" tab. There's also the Brenner Pass which I'm considering. At the moment, I'm running through them seeing how it could work, how many day's I'd need. I've already determined for the Gotthard Pass, I'd have to get the early train from London so as to reach Zurich at a reasonable time which will give me a few hours to stroll around and see something of the place.
1. Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar
2. Travel from Paris to Zurich by 198mph Lyria TGV, departing Paris Gare de Lyon and arriving in Zurich Hauptbahnhof.
3. Spend the night in Zurich.
4. Travel from Zurich Hauptbahnhof to Como and Milan by air-conditioned EuroCity train,
London St Pancras depart 13:31, arrive Paris Gare du Nord 16:47
How to Cross Paris by metro from Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon,
a) At Paris Nord, walk to the end of platform
b) Turn left. Look for the steps down to RER (Express Metro and Metro)
c) Follow the signs to RER Line 'D'
d) Buy a metro ticket from the machines
e) They have a touch screen and English button...Cash and cards are accepted
f) Enter the ticket gates to RER D
g) Head for Platform 44 (Trains run every 3 to 6 minutes) All southbound RER D stop at Gare de Lyon but always check screens. It's two stops, only six minutes.
h) Follow the sign to 'SNCF - Grandes Lignes'...
i) Exit the RER and head upstairs to the SNCF main line concourse.
j) The Gare de Lyon has two concourses - Hall 1 (Platfomrs A to N) and Hall 2 (platforms 5 to 23)
Travel from Paris to Zurich by 198mph Lyria TGV,
Depart Paris Gare de Lyon 18:23 arrive Zurich Hauptbahnhof 22:26. (Book an upper deck seat for the best views.) (catch an earlier service from London to Zurich if you want to reach Zurich earlier in the evening)
Day 1: London St Pancras depart 07:55, arrive Paris Nord 11:17
Cross Paris by metro to the Gare de Lyon for the TGV-Lyria train to Switzerland..
Paris Gare de Lyon depart 12:22, arrive Zurich 16:26
Day 2: Depart Zurich 11:09 arrive Milan (MILANO CENTRALE) 14:50
What does it cost?
London to Paris by Eurostar: (From) £39 approx $69
Paris to Zurich by TGV-Lyria: train: From £21 (Book-ahead fare) approx $37
Zurich to Milan by EuroCity: From €32 approx $47
All up around $153. Not including Eurostar, $84.
Eurostar and Europe train map
Reservations for Paris-Switzerland trains open 90 days before departure. Eurostar reservations open 120 days ahead. The Man in Seat 61 "strongly recommend waiting so you can book all your trains together and double-check the Paris arrival/departure times before booking a non-refundable non-changeable Eurostar ticket."
How to buy tickets in Australia
If you live in Australia or NZ, Asia or Africa, you can buy tickets for Eurostar, the Paris-Zurich TGV Lyria and the Zurich-Milan train online at RAIL EUROPE. They sell print-at-home tickets in many cases or they will send tickets to any country worldwide except the USA for a small fee.
Finally, the absolute cheapest way to book is direct with the relevant train operators, though this means splitting the journey and booking in two stages. First use capitainetrain to book from Paris to Switzerland or the Swiss Railways site SBB to book from anywhere in Switzerland to Paris. Then use Eurostar to book a London-Paris Eurostar connection, allowing at least 60 minutes southbound or 90 minutes northbound to change trains & stations in Paris. (Information from The Man in Seat Sixty-One.
1. Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar
2. Travel from Paris to Zurich by 198mph Lyria TGV, departing Paris Gare de Lyon and arriving in Zurich Hauptbahnhof.
3. Spend the night in Zurich.
4. Travel from Zurich Hauptbahnhof to Como and Milan by air-conditioned EuroCity train,
London St Pancras depart 13:31, arrive Paris Gare du Nord 16:47
How to Cross Paris by metro from Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon,
a) At Paris Nord, walk to the end of platform
b) Turn left. Look for the steps down to RER (Express Metro and Metro)
c) Follow the signs to RER Line 'D'
d) Buy a metro ticket from the machines
e) They have a touch screen and English button...Cash and cards are accepted
f) Enter the ticket gates to RER D
g) Head for Platform 44 (Trains run every 3 to 6 minutes) All southbound RER D stop at Gare de Lyon but always check screens. It's two stops, only six minutes.
h) Follow the sign to 'SNCF - Grandes Lignes'...
i) Exit the RER and head upstairs to the SNCF main line concourse.
j) The Gare de Lyon has two concourses - Hall 1 (Platfomrs A to N) and Hall 2 (platforms 5 to 23)
Travel from Paris to Zurich by 198mph Lyria TGV,
Depart Paris Gare de Lyon 18:23 arrive Zurich Hauptbahnhof 22:26. (Book an upper deck seat for the best views.) (catch an earlier service from London to Zurich if you want to reach Zurich earlier in the evening)
Day 1: London St Pancras depart 07:55, arrive Paris Nord 11:17
Cross Paris by metro to the Gare de Lyon for the TGV-Lyria train to Switzerland..
Paris Gare de Lyon depart 12:22, arrive Zurich 16:26
Day 2: Depart Zurich 11:09 arrive Milan (MILANO CENTRALE) 14:50
What does it cost?
London to Paris by Eurostar: (From) £39 approx $69
Paris to Zurich by TGV-Lyria: train: From £21 (Book-ahead fare) approx $37
Zurich to Milan by EuroCity: From €32 approx $47
All up around $153. Not including Eurostar, $84.
Eurostar and Europe train map
Reservations for Paris-Switzerland trains open 90 days before departure. Eurostar reservations open 120 days ahead. The Man in Seat 61 "strongly recommend waiting so you can book all your trains together and double-check the Paris arrival/departure times before booking a non-refundable non-changeable Eurostar ticket."
How to buy tickets in Australia
If you live in Australia or NZ, Asia or Africa, you can buy tickets for Eurostar, the Paris-Zurich TGV Lyria and the Zurich-Milan train online at RAIL EUROPE. They sell print-at-home tickets in many cases or they will send tickets to any country worldwide except the USA for a small fee.
Finally, the absolute cheapest way to book is direct with the relevant train operators, though this means splitting the journey and booking in two stages. First use capitainetrain to book from Paris to Switzerland or the Swiss Railways site SBB to book from anywhere in Switzerland to Paris. Then use Eurostar to book a London-Paris Eurostar connection, allowing at least 60 minutes southbound or 90 minutes northbound to change trains & stations in Paris. (Information from The Man in Seat Sixty-One.
20. When Something Isn't Working - Change It
It's all been a bit mundane working out this trip. While I am pleased to be going to Europe, (I was so excited when my son gave as a mother's day present two Lonely Planet books, Great Britain and Discover Ireland, (he said I know you've always wanted to go there (meaning Ireland) and a hand drawn voucher with "Exchange for return trip to London" on it; I find the planning isn't the same as my previous trips. It's different, I really enjoyed working out all the places I wanted to go (my last trip was to Viet Nam, China, Hong Kong and Macau) and trying to fit in all the places I wanted to see, shopping and changing, adding a day here, dropping a day there so it fitted within the time frame - I knew had had a certain number of nights and it took a lot of work and effort to be able to see the things I wanted to see and stay in the places I wanted to stay in. It was exciting doing all that, and then comes the part where you have to check and re-check transport times so they link up, work out travel distance and time, checking fares, cost of accommodation, cost of tours etc.
I've done this before for all my other trips, but this time ...it wasn't the same. Something was missing. It was not exactly boring but rather like a glass of lemonade that had lost its fizz. It was flat. Yes, I'll be in London and yes, I'll get the Eurostar to Paris and yes, I'll fly to Dublin and go around Ireland but it was just frankly dull and boring. There's really very little planning involved - the only "planning" at all, was working out the Ireland bit, but even that wasn't really exciting. Perhaps because I've been to "exotic" places experienced cultures very different from my own, the sights, sounds and smells are far removed from suburban Melbourne.
On Remembrance Day this year, I started thinking about WWI and realised I'd be in a part of the world where those battles took place - I decided I'd like to see the WWI batlefields. It was quite pleasing researching that, tours, where to stay. I had to be in Paris on the 10th so had to work it all in with that. But ..... I found I was really only going through the motions. I thought right - go London to Lille, then Lille to Ypres for two nights, Amiens for two nights then on to Paris. But, it meant I had to leave London on the Sunday - I realised I didn't want to leave London on Sunday, I wanted to spend first full the weekend with family. I suddenly realised cutting down the number of nights in Paris wasn't such a big deal. When I was only going to be seeing Paris when in France, a week seemed like a good idea at the time, but if I'm going to be seeing other places, I don't need seven nights there.
And then I couldn't get the dates to gel, the two cheaper accommodation places in Ypres didn't have the dates I wanted. I went through different ways of doing it, like having three nights there and doing both the Ieper and Somme tours from Ypres and not staying in Amiens at all. I've wasted so much time on trying to get it to fit and found myself wasting so much time on it yet I wasn't really enjoying it. I toyed with the idea of going instead to Nice and the French Riviera and popping over to Monaco and Italy. That didn't last long I can tell you - after a day and a half, I knew I didn't rally want to do that. Not really interested in seeing the Riviera - it doesn't call to me or tug at the heart strings.
I think I've found something I really would enjoy and I'm currently working on it. I can do a train journey. I was looking at the Man in Seat 61 for something (forget what it was now), but found something I think would be great and I'm sure I'll enjoy it a heck of a lot more than seven nights in Paris or looking at battlefields. Don;t get me wrong, I would really enjoy seeing the battlefields, but when I weigh it up, I think I will enjoy the now, more so than the before. I could go to Italy by train from London via the Gotthard Pass through the Swiss Alps. Spend a night in Zurich and well I haven't worked the rest out yet. But I like trains and holidays and experiences aren't just about being in a place, it's all about the journey. I forgot one of the most important things - it is not the stars, or the moon, the towns or many roads you travel...the journey is the destination. This was what was missing - the journey.
I've done this before for all my other trips, but this time ...it wasn't the same. Something was missing. It was not exactly boring but rather like a glass of lemonade that had lost its fizz. It was flat. Yes, I'll be in London and yes, I'll get the Eurostar to Paris and yes, I'll fly to Dublin and go around Ireland but it was just frankly dull and boring. There's really very little planning involved - the only "planning" at all, was working out the Ireland bit, but even that wasn't really exciting. Perhaps because I've been to "exotic" places experienced cultures very different from my own, the sights, sounds and smells are far removed from suburban Melbourne.
On Remembrance Day this year, I started thinking about WWI and realised I'd be in a part of the world where those battles took place - I decided I'd like to see the WWI batlefields. It was quite pleasing researching that, tours, where to stay. I had to be in Paris on the 10th so had to work it all in with that. But ..... I found I was really only going through the motions. I thought right - go London to Lille, then Lille to Ypres for two nights, Amiens for two nights then on to Paris. But, it meant I had to leave London on the Sunday - I realised I didn't want to leave London on Sunday, I wanted to spend first full the weekend with family. I suddenly realised cutting down the number of nights in Paris wasn't such a big deal. When I was only going to be seeing Paris when in France, a week seemed like a good idea at the time, but if I'm going to be seeing other places, I don't need seven nights there.
And then I couldn't get the dates to gel, the two cheaper accommodation places in Ypres didn't have the dates I wanted. I went through different ways of doing it, like having three nights there and doing both the Ieper and Somme tours from Ypres and not staying in Amiens at all. I've wasted so much time on trying to get it to fit and found myself wasting so much time on it yet I wasn't really enjoying it. I toyed with the idea of going instead to Nice and the French Riviera and popping over to Monaco and Italy. That didn't last long I can tell you - after a day and a half, I knew I didn't rally want to do that. Not really interested in seeing the Riviera - it doesn't call to me or tug at the heart strings.
I think I've found something I really would enjoy and I'm currently working on it. I can do a train journey. I was looking at the Man in Seat 61 for something (forget what it was now), but found something I think would be great and I'm sure I'll enjoy it a heck of a lot more than seven nights in Paris or looking at battlefields. Don;t get me wrong, I would really enjoy seeing the battlefields, but when I weigh it up, I think I will enjoy the now, more so than the before. I could go to Italy by train from London via the Gotthard Pass through the Swiss Alps. Spend a night in Zurich and well I haven't worked the rest out yet. But I like trains and holidays and experiences aren't just about being in a place, it's all about the journey. I forgot one of the most important things - it is not the stars, or the moon, the towns or many roads you travel...the journey is the destination. This was what was missing - the journey.
Sunday, 10 November 2013
19. Great War Battlefield sites - Ypres, Flanders and the Somme
With tomorrow being Remembrance Day, I would like to see the WWI Battlefields of the Somme and Flanders Fields in Belgium and being in Paris next year gives me the opportunity to do this. With this in mind, I have been searching for day tours from Paris. I found one company that does this but they aren't cheap.
Cityrama have day tours to both the Somme and Flanders departing from Paris. The one to Flanders is (from) $292.13 and only runs on Thursdays. Although Cityrama offer two tours to the Somme, only this tour would be suitable because it includes the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux whereas the other one doesn't. It runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and costs (from) $257.01. They aren't cheap and adding them together, I'd be looking at $549.14 at least. I have an idea the price quoted is US dollars which equates to $585.37 Australian. A lot of money, plus I'd have to alter my accommodation and stay extra nights in Paris. Add an extra 65 euro per night with two nights extra, that's 130 euro - $185.25 plus the tours is $734.19. Way too much for someone on a budget.
The alternative is to either skip one of the tours and do just one, or get the Eurostar to Amiens, stay two nights and do a local tour. Alternatively I could go from London to Bruges, stay two nights and do a local Flanders tour. I found a tour company based in Bruges which offer a Flanders tour and a tour of the Somme as well. I'll have to find that website again and look into it.
Tours to WWI Battlefields
Some of the websites I found do tours from Flanders and Lille. I am putting them here for future reference as it's easier to just click on the links than go searching again.
Flanders Fields Tours
In Flanders Fields - The battlefields of the Great War
Flanders Fields Battlefield Daytours
Salient Tours
Travel advice on visiting the battlefields - Battlefield Guide Books
True Blue Digger Tours
Battlefield Tours - Visit Ypres, Somme and Flanders (expensive 810 euro, around $1100)
Battlefield Tours From Paris | Paris Insiders Guide
Flanders Battlefield Tour
Visit Flanders
Cityrama have day tours to both the Somme and Flanders departing from Paris. The one to Flanders is (from) $292.13 and only runs on Thursdays. Although Cityrama offer two tours to the Somme, only this tour would be suitable because it includes the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux whereas the other one doesn't. It runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and costs (from) $257.01. They aren't cheap and adding them together, I'd be looking at $549.14 at least. I have an idea the price quoted is US dollars which equates to $585.37 Australian. A lot of money, plus I'd have to alter my accommodation and stay extra nights in Paris. Add an extra 65 euro per night with two nights extra, that's 130 euro - $185.25 plus the tours is $734.19. Way too much for someone on a budget.
The alternative is to either skip one of the tours and do just one, or get the Eurostar to Amiens, stay two nights and do a local tour. Alternatively I could go from London to Bruges, stay two nights and do a local Flanders tour. I found a tour company based in Bruges which offer a Flanders tour and a tour of the Somme as well. I'll have to find that website again and look into it.
Tours to WWI Battlefields
Some of the websites I found do tours from Flanders and Lille. I am putting them here for future reference as it's easier to just click on the links than go searching again.
Flanders Fields Tours
In Flanders Fields - The battlefields of the Great War
Flanders Fields Battlefield Daytours
Salient Tours
Travel advice on visiting the battlefields - Battlefield Guide Books
True Blue Digger Tours
Battlefield Tours - Visit Ypres, Somme and Flanders (expensive 810 euro, around $1100)
Battlefield Tours From Paris | Paris Insiders Guide
Flanders Battlefield Tour
Visit Flanders
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
18. Ireland Itinerary
Well after many different scenarios and workings out, I've finally worked out the Ireland leg of my trip. I'll be flying from Paris to Dublin on the 17th (July) and getting the shuttle from the airport to Galway. I had initially planned on getting the shuttle bus to Dublin then going to Galway the next day for three nights and doing two day tours with the Galway Tour Company. I discovered the Dublin Tour Company which offers the same tours starting from Dublin and considered starting the tour from there (Dublin) because they make a stop on the way at Applegreen Athlone and thought it would be nice to see something of the area on the way, but when I looked it up I find it is just a petrol station - see photo below.
With this in mind plus the fact that it would be a very long day starting out at 7.00pm and I would need to be up earlier than that to get there by 6.45am, it really didn't seem worth it hence going straight to Galway from the airport.
Cork and Kilkenny?
I'd like to visit Cork to see Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone plus go to the Blarney Woollen Mills, but this would mean an overnight stop between Killarney and Dublin and I've been asking myself how important is it to stop there. Will I be disappointed if I don't and will I regret it? I'm not sure, from past experience, if you don't go to something you often have regrets and if you have gone to something you might think along the lines of, 'Had I known it was like that I wouldn't have wasted my time.'
Having seen a picture of Kilkenny, it is just the sort of place I'd love to stay but again, it means another overnight stop before Dublin. After leaving Killarney, I have the choice of one night Cork, one night Kilkenny, then three nights in Dublin. I will be doing a Glendalough day tour from Dublin, some companies include Avoca with Glendaglough, others include Kilkenny. I can also do a day tour from Dublin to Cork/Blarney/Rock of Cashel. This would be a very long day and it seems a bit silly in one way to go all the way to Cork when you have to change buses anyway at Cork on the way to Dublin. I really would like to see the Rock of Cashel and apart from the day trip from Dublin with Daytours IE, so far I haven't found any other tours that go there.
This is what I've settled on for my Dublin leg.
Thursday 17: Paris - Dublin - Galway
Friday 18 - Cliffs of Moher and the Burren tour
Saturday 19 - Connemara and Cong tour
Sunday 20 - Galway to Killarney
Monday 21 - Dingle Peninsula tour
Tuesday 22 - Gap of Dunloe tour
Wednesday 23 - Killarney to Dublin
Thursday 24 - walk around the city
Friday 25 - Glendalough and Kilkenny day tour
Saturday 26 - Rock of Cashel and Blarney Castle day tour?
Sunday 27 Dublin to London
Undecided whether to go by ferry and train or fly. I'm leaning towards the ferry/train option as I think this would be a different experience and I'd get to see a lot of scenery in England.
If I decide not to do the Rock of Cashel/Cork tour, I will probably leave Dublin a day earlier, but this is something I will decided a little later.
Killarney tours
Another change I made is in the choice of day tours. At first I was going to do just the Ring of Kerry and stay two nights, then decided I'd like to see the Dingle Peninsula as well which meant another night. Someone mentioned the Gap of Dunloe. I had a look at that tour and felt this is a tour I really would like as it included a ride in one of the jaunting cars which is one of the things I badly want to do while in Killarney so I've scrapped the Ring of Kerry and settled on Dingle and the Gap. Of course, if time and budget allowed I would stay four nights and do all three tours, but this really isn't an option. The hardest decision was choosing which two tours. I hope I've made the "right" decision. From the many travel posts I've read, it seem Dingle Peninsula is rated better than the Ring of Kerry. But like everything in life, what one person likes, someone else will like something different. With Dingle, that is around the beach, with the Ring and the Gap, both are around mountains and greenery and the Gap tour has a boat trip across three lakes which will be very scenic. I just hope the boat doesn't capsize as I can't swim!
With this in mind plus the fact that it would be a very long day starting out at 7.00pm and I would need to be up earlier than that to get there by 6.45am, it really didn't seem worth it hence going straight to Galway from the airport.
Cork and Kilkenny?
I'd like to visit Cork to see Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone plus go to the Blarney Woollen Mills, but this would mean an overnight stop between Killarney and Dublin and I've been asking myself how important is it to stop there. Will I be disappointed if I don't and will I regret it? I'm not sure, from past experience, if you don't go to something you often have regrets and if you have gone to something you might think along the lines of, 'Had I known it was like that I wouldn't have wasted my time.'
Having seen a picture of Kilkenny, it is just the sort of place I'd love to stay but again, it means another overnight stop before Dublin. After leaving Killarney, I have the choice of one night Cork, one night Kilkenny, then three nights in Dublin. I will be doing a Glendalough day tour from Dublin, some companies include Avoca with Glendaglough, others include Kilkenny. I can also do a day tour from Dublin to Cork/Blarney/Rock of Cashel. This would be a very long day and it seems a bit silly in one way to go all the way to Cork when you have to change buses anyway at Cork on the way to Dublin. I really would like to see the Rock of Cashel and apart from the day trip from Dublin with Daytours IE, so far I haven't found any other tours that go there.
This is what I've settled on for my Dublin leg.
Thursday 17: Paris - Dublin - Galway
Friday 18 - Cliffs of Moher and the Burren tour
Saturday 19 - Connemara and Cong tour
Sunday 20 - Galway to Killarney
Monday 21 - Dingle Peninsula tour
Tuesday 22 - Gap of Dunloe tour
Wednesday 23 - Killarney to Dublin
Thursday 24 - walk around the city
Friday 25 - Glendalough and Kilkenny day tour
Saturday 26 - Rock of Cashel and Blarney Castle day tour?
Sunday 27 Dublin to London
Undecided whether to go by ferry and train or fly. I'm leaning towards the ferry/train option as I think this would be a different experience and I'd get to see a lot of scenery in England.
If I decide not to do the Rock of Cashel/Cork tour, I will probably leave Dublin a day earlier, but this is something I will decided a little later.
Killarney tours
Another change I made is in the choice of day tours. At first I was going to do just the Ring of Kerry and stay two nights, then decided I'd like to see the Dingle Peninsula as well which meant another night. Someone mentioned the Gap of Dunloe. I had a look at that tour and felt this is a tour I really would like as it included a ride in one of the jaunting cars which is one of the things I badly want to do while in Killarney so I've scrapped the Ring of Kerry and settled on Dingle and the Gap. Of course, if time and budget allowed I would stay four nights and do all three tours, but this really isn't an option. The hardest decision was choosing which two tours. I hope I've made the "right" decision. From the many travel posts I've read, it seem Dingle Peninsula is rated better than the Ring of Kerry. But like everything in life, what one person likes, someone else will like something different. With Dingle, that is around the beach, with the Ring and the Gap, both are around mountains and greenery and the Gap tour has a boat trip across three lakes which will be very scenic. I just hope the boat doesn't capsize as I can't swim!
Sunday, 13 October 2013
17. Paris Accomodation
I've been spending a lot of time looking for a hotel in Paris and they are pretty pricey. For someone who's used to going around SEA where you're paying around $30 for a nice room in a guesthouse or hotel, it's a bit of a shock looking for accommodation in Europe. Asian prices they aint! As I wrote in a previous post, it's either $30 to $40 a night for a dorm bed in a hostel, or you're looking at nearly a thousand dollars or more for a week in a hotel. A few nice budget hotels I found are booked out. I've decided after all, not to go for a place in the Marais area.
I did find a place in the 6th arrondissement in the Saint Germaine area, the
Pension - Résidence du Palais on Rue d'Assas, opposite the Luxembourg Gardens. The photos below are from their website. I thought the courtyard garden sounded and looked pretty and asked when I booked for a balcony overlooking the courtyard. I reasoned it would be more private sitting there than facing the street. Plus, it would be nice looking at a garden courtyard. This decision was based on their pictures.
Above: Room at hotel
This is the photo shown for a single room - the strange thing with this photo is the information says single bed, yet clearly this is a double bed. According to the hotel information, the room size is 15 m² - the same as a double. Room Facilities, Balcony, View, Cable Channels, Flat-screen TV, Desk, Wardrobe/Closet, Shower, Hairdryer, Bathroom, Shared Toilet. All the toilets are in the hallway. That's nice - the telly is in the room but the toilet is outside!
Above: Dining room and breakfast
Doesn't this look lovely? Lovely furniture, fresh rolls/croissants and glasses of orange juice. Yet when reading the reviews, you only get a croissant/bread and coffee or tea, no juice. One has to wonder why the hotel shows breakfast as having orange juice if you don't get any. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm complaining, it's the principle of the thing. If it is shown as breakfast, then it should be part of breakfast. If for example, it was written breakfast includes bread or croissant and tea or coffee, then okay, fine. You know. Clever people who run this place, they don't actually say what breakfast consists of, they just show photos!
Above: Front of hotel and courtyard
The hotel is above/next to a cafe on the corner and the courtyard is somewhere behind. Based on these photos, I asked for a balcony overlooking the courtyard. However...I came across an independent photo of the courtyard and it looks nothing like this.
Guest photos
Above: Courtyard
This is the photo I found of the courtyard. As you can see, it bears little or no resemblance to the courtyard photos supplied by the hotel. Perhaps after all a balcony overlooking the street would be preferable. The view wouldn't be of a courtyard or greenery - you'd be seeing ugly hotel walls. You'd have to be actually standing on the balcony looking down. And still, it isn't a pretty sight is it?
Above: Stairs!
Another thing I learned today, according to one guest review, they had to climb two flights of stairs as the lift doesn't go all the way which wasn't advertised. I'm going to have to email them asking for a room on a floor which the lift does got to.
I used Booking.com to make my reservation as don't have to pay until you arrive and they offer free cancellation. There were two prices, € 409.50 ($587) and € 455 ($652). The lower price is the non-refundable figure, so I chose the higher price. Better to pay a bit more in case you do cancel. I'm looking around on airbnb and have found a number of studios/apartments for similar prices. If I find something I really like then I'll go for one of them. The thing to remember about booking a place with airbnb, when you click on the "Book it" button, it doesn't mean you've got it - you have to wait for the owner to accept your booking. Another thing to know is they have three standardised cancellation policies. Strict, Moderate and Flexible. The host chooses which one.
Strict - For a 50% refund, cancellation must be made seven full days prior to listing's local check in time,
Moderate - For a full refund, cancellation must be made five full days prior to listing's local check in time and
Flexible - For a full refund, cancellation must be made a full 24 hours prior to listing's local check in time.
The Airbnb service fee is non-refundable. I will discuss this fully in a later post with information about Airbnb.
I did find a place in the 6th arrondissement in the Saint Germaine area, the
Pension - Résidence du Palais on Rue d'Assas, opposite the Luxembourg Gardens. The photos below are from their website. I thought the courtyard garden sounded and looked pretty and asked when I booked for a balcony overlooking the courtyard. I reasoned it would be more private sitting there than facing the street. Plus, it would be nice looking at a garden courtyard. This decision was based on their pictures.
This is the photo shown for a single room - the strange thing with this photo is the information says single bed, yet clearly this is a double bed. According to the hotel information, the room size is 15 m² - the same as a double. Room Facilities, Balcony, View, Cable Channels, Flat-screen TV, Desk, Wardrobe/Closet, Shower, Hairdryer, Bathroom, Shared Toilet. All the toilets are in the hallway. That's nice - the telly is in the room but the toilet is outside!
Doesn't this look lovely? Lovely furniture, fresh rolls/croissants and glasses of orange juice. Yet when reading the reviews, you only get a croissant/bread and coffee or tea, no juice. One has to wonder why the hotel shows breakfast as having orange juice if you don't get any. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm complaining, it's the principle of the thing. If it is shown as breakfast, then it should be part of breakfast. If for example, it was written breakfast includes bread or croissant and tea or coffee, then okay, fine. You know. Clever people who run this place, they don't actually say what breakfast consists of, they just show photos!
The hotel is above/next to a cafe on the corner and the courtyard is somewhere behind. Based on these photos, I asked for a balcony overlooking the courtyard. However...I came across an independent photo of the courtyard and it looks nothing like this.
Guest photos
This is the photo I found of the courtyard. As you can see, it bears little or no resemblance to the courtyard photos supplied by the hotel. Perhaps after all a balcony overlooking the street would be preferable. The view wouldn't be of a courtyard or greenery - you'd be seeing ugly hotel walls. You'd have to be actually standing on the balcony looking down. And still, it isn't a pretty sight is it?
Another thing I learned today, according to one guest review, they had to climb two flights of stairs as the lift doesn't go all the way which wasn't advertised. I'm going to have to email them asking for a room on a floor which the lift does got to.
I used Booking.com to make my reservation as don't have to pay until you arrive and they offer free cancellation. There were two prices, € 409.50 ($587) and € 455 ($652). The lower price is the non-refundable figure, so I chose the higher price. Better to pay a bit more in case you do cancel. I'm looking around on airbnb and have found a number of studios/apartments for similar prices. If I find something I really like then I'll go for one of them. The thing to remember about booking a place with airbnb, when you click on the "Book it" button, it doesn't mean you've got it - you have to wait for the owner to accept your booking. Another thing to know is they have three standardised cancellation policies. Strict, Moderate and Flexible. The host chooses which one.
Strict - For a 50% refund, cancellation must be made seven full days prior to listing's local check in time,
Moderate - For a full refund, cancellation must be made five full days prior to listing's local check in time and
Flexible - For a full refund, cancellation must be made a full 24 hours prior to listing's local check in time.
The Airbnb service fee is non-refundable. I will discuss this fully in a later post with information about Airbnb.
Saturday, 12 October 2013
16. Souvenirs from Paris or What to Bring Back
Shoes
Shoes made/manufactured in France would be far cheaper than buying them here. Brands? Arche, Mephisto.
Perfume
Is it true French perfume bought in France is a fraction of the cost of buying it at home?
Clothing
Where to go fro Plus size clothing? Well like all good little computer literate girls of the 21st century, I went to Mr. Google. Typed in "plus size clothing in paris" and what was the first website that showed? Paris Plus Size Shopping for Women Size 10 Plus I did a double take - Size 10 Plus? Size 10 is big? It's a plus size? You gotta be kidding me, size 10 is tiny. Boobs the size of pinheads. Really! Whoever in their right mind thinks of Size 10 Plus? No no no no no - Plus sizes are 16 plus. Size 16 - 24/26 that's plus sizes.
So .. it was back for another search and the consensus seems to be [;us size clothes in France are big things made from yards and yards of fabric which make you look like the side of a house. The thing with plus sizing is not to have big, baggy, loose pieces, but normal clothes made for larger people. Something nice, something elegant, something flattering... something which is in fashion ...instead of which the French manufacturers haven't yet caught on that larger ladies want nice clothes, not something baggy and frumpy.
I have found a few brands
Elena Mirò
The website says, "Elena Mirò is one of the historic label of Miroglio Fashion, the clothing division of the Miroglio Group which was set up in 1985 to cater for the need to give a positive response in terms of style and taste to all the women with Mediterranean-style fuller figures."
Just how this equates with plus sizes, I don't know and won't know until I'm in Paris.
The languages (on the website) offered are Italian, English, French, Spanish and Russian. If you select English, the website takes you to stores in the UK, so I had to choose French to see the names and addresses of their French shops. I selected Paris for the location.
ELENA MIRÒ (White Collection in Boutique) - 14 AV.VICTOR HUGO; Tél 0145007762
ELENA MIRÒ (White Collection in Boutique) - 16 RUE ST ROCH ANGLE RUE ST. HONOR. Tél: 0142600390
PRINTEMPS NATION - 21-25 COURS DE VINCENNES. Tél: 680009566
LOLK S.A.R.L. - 4 RUE DE MARIGNAN. Tél: 0147203100
GERLANE BOUTIQUE - 133 RUE DE SEVRES. Tél: 0147346693
After a bit more searching, I have been able to ascertain the size range is 12 - 28 or European sizing 42 - 58. AS I said earlier, I don't class size 12, 14 and 16 as plus sizes. The clothing is expensive - $225 for a long sleeved t-shirt.
Anyway, back to brand names -
Marina Rinaldi
Un Jour Ailleurs
Jean Marc Philippe
Gerlane
Another list for similar will be coming shortly.
Shoes made/manufactured in France would be far cheaper than buying them here. Brands? Arche, Mephisto.
Perfume
Is it true French perfume bought in France is a fraction of the cost of buying it at home?
Clothing
Where to go fro Plus size clothing? Well like all good little computer literate girls of the 21st century, I went to Mr. Google. Typed in "plus size clothing in paris" and what was the first website that showed? Paris Plus Size Shopping for Women Size 10 Plus I did a double take - Size 10 Plus? Size 10 is big? It's a plus size? You gotta be kidding me, size 10 is tiny. Boobs the size of pinheads. Really! Whoever in their right mind thinks of Size 10 Plus? No no no no no - Plus sizes are 16 plus. Size 16 - 24/26 that's plus sizes.
So .. it was back for another search and the consensus seems to be [;us size clothes in France are big things made from yards and yards of fabric which make you look like the side of a house. The thing with plus sizing is not to have big, baggy, loose pieces, but normal clothes made for larger people. Something nice, something elegant, something flattering... something which is in fashion ...instead of which the French manufacturers haven't yet caught on that larger ladies want nice clothes, not something baggy and frumpy.
I have found a few brands
Elena Mirò
The website says, "Elena Mirò is one of the historic label of Miroglio Fashion, the clothing division of the Miroglio Group which was set up in 1985 to cater for the need to give a positive response in terms of style and taste to all the women with Mediterranean-style fuller figures."
Just how this equates with plus sizes, I don't know and won't know until I'm in Paris.
The languages (on the website) offered are Italian, English, French, Spanish and Russian. If you select English, the website takes you to stores in the UK, so I had to choose French to see the names and addresses of their French shops. I selected Paris for the location.
ELENA MIRÒ (White Collection in Boutique) - 14 AV.VICTOR HUGO; Tél 0145007762
ELENA MIRÒ (White Collection in Boutique) - 16 RUE ST ROCH ANGLE RUE ST. HONOR. Tél: 0142600390
PRINTEMPS NATION - 21-25 COURS DE VINCENNES. Tél: 680009566
LOLK S.A.R.L. - 4 RUE DE MARIGNAN. Tél: 0147203100
GERLANE BOUTIQUE - 133 RUE DE SEVRES. Tél: 0147346693
After a bit more searching, I have been able to ascertain the size range is 12 - 28 or European sizing 42 - 58. AS I said earlier, I don't class size 12, 14 and 16 as plus sizes. The clothing is expensive - $225 for a long sleeved t-shirt.
Anyway, back to brand names -
Marina Rinaldi
Un Jour Ailleurs
Jean Marc Philippe
Gerlane
Another list for similar will be coming shortly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)