Hello Gang,
Sorry it took so long to post this report, I came home to problems, Grandfather had heartattack. So after much thought and typing, here is my report.
WEDNESDAY We took the Eurostar over from our ten day stay in London I%26#39;ve posted that report on the London Forum. We learned that arriving to the Waterloo Station to early is a waste of time, be sure and only arrive 30 minutes early they won���t allow boarding until 20 minutes before departure. The trains are very fast and clean. We encounter 1 hr. delay since a train is in our path and we have to back up and change tracks. We find an hour wait for a taxi once we arrive; it only cost 12.5 Euro from train to hotel. We are approached my many cab drives trying to get us to pay 80 Eruo for our trip. I remembered what Trip Adv. People said and tell them NO, Ha! We finally arrive at our crappy little hotel. We are disappointment all around. That night we take a boat tour up the Seine and see the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and National Assembly, Lady Liberty so many others I can���t even remember, now we are beginning to enjoy Paris.
SATURDAY I try the crepe with Nutello for breakfast, it���s good but a bit sweet. We shop for all sorts of things, near Notre Dam. The street vendors are by the dozen. They sell everything from postcards, old magazines, watercolors, oil painting, miniature landmarks, etc. We sit and have coffee at a little shop and take pictures with some Asian gals.
SUNDAY Nutello crepe again, lol. Flea Market is huge, but everything is duplicated 10X���s its crazy to see the same stuff again and again. We eat one of our best meals in an Italian restaurant where the owner serves us the food. Dinner was fantastic pasta and salad, yummy. We had so much Mediterranean food I could just spit. I discover an Internet Caf�� close to the hotel, so I check it out. 30 minutes for 2 Euro, 1 hour is 3 Euro, great deal. Even offer phone calls for a few Euros, cheaper then hotel. I���ll be back.
MONDAY Off to the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, 8.50 Euro. She���s got a huge mob in front of her. No order to the madness, it���s like 40 people deep and I have to sliver through the mass to see her. Prepare yourself for large crowed if you go any time but opening. We also get to see Napoleon the II apartments that he lived in. I���ve never seen such luxury, wow gold and red velvet everywhere. After checking out the museum, which has no English or any other language other then French, we head off to shop. Going down to the Galleria Lafayette area was great. We bought some cosmetics then headed back to see if mom felt better. She had been suffering from exhaustion. After dinner at a familiar restaurant, over priced, we headed to the Eiffel 10.70 Euro to go to the top level. Denise refused to go up, afraid that the top was open, but mustarded up enough courage to do it anyway. I was very excited, and was going with or without her. We got to the top and it was all caged in, no more fear and so beautiful. We could see for miles, the tower stands at 1050 ft. tall. Head back to Internet Caf�� to meet my 11 year old daughter and hubby on the net. We talk for close to an hour and it���s terrific to see each other. Its midnight when we finish and I RUN back to my hotel, it���s still buzzing with people and I feel quite safe. I don���t take a chance though and run so no one will attempt to speak to me. Hee hee
TUESDAY One last pastry from France, yummy. I���ve had the same pastry since I���ve been here. We are all off to the Musee d���Invalid to see Napoleon Bonaparte���s Tomb, 7 Euro, worth every penny. It���s a huge building once a hospital for military individuals. This is my third favorite moment. I take loads of photos and then we are off to the Musee d���Orsay 7.50 Euro. I love this museum. I love the Monet, Degas, Van Gough, etc. The place is amazing and beautiful. Off for Chinese food and it���s good and different. Thank God for that.
Wednesday ��� Back to USA on Air France.
PARIS Thoughts I had about Paris....
Tried to use French as much as possible, it helped; people were willing to help me. I think I had some fooled.
Went to internet caf�� and saw my daughter on it. It was a great moment. �� hr for 2 Euro, 1 hr. for 3 Euro, not bad deal. Keyboards are different, the M, A, Q, W, Z, are in different places. Interesting trying to figure it out. Ugh
Markets are amazing, especially the flea markets, fun.
French pastry for 1.5 ��� 1.9 Euro
It stays light out until around 10 pm in May, that���s unbelievable.
Overall, I loved Paris once I got comfortable with the surounding area and my use of French. The bad beginning didn%26#39;t help our attitudes in the beginning, but changed as time passed. I did enjoy my stay very much. Please post any questions you might have.
Cheers, Run4Fun
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thanks for the good trip report - what flea market do you refer to on sunday?
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Hi Run - thanks for the post - and I read your London post too. What%26#39;s the deal with the cab ride ?? I haven%26#39;t checked other threads about this - do we need to ask up front what the cost will be?? I%26#39;ll be going from the train station to the 7th. How will I know I%26#39;m not being ripped off?.
Thanks.
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Do you remember where the internet cafe is? That sounds like a great deal. If you can remember the address or at least general place- Did you make any phone calls? How were they? Thanks.
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TAXI: you should be fine if you go to the official TAXI RANK outside Gare du Nord. Avoid anyone who walks up to you in the station or just at the door by the taxi rank, offering a ride.
You walk out to the taxi rank, and usually there is a %26#39;monitor%26#39; who makes sure the first taxi waiting in line gets the next fare (unless your party needs a minivan or something like that).
My experienced is that a taxi from Gare du Nord to the Left Bank (5th, 6th, 7th) should cost between 9-15 Euro. A few more euro depending on number of bags/passengers.
A taxi further south - 13th, 14th, 15th - might cost more like 15-20 Euro, roughly estimated.
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The point being: it doesn%26#39;t cost 80 Euro for a taxi from CDG to Paris, much less a couple of kilometers across Paris.
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note to travelnutty - is it still a good idea for me to ask how much before we get in - it will be my husband and two children (age 8 and 10). I%26#39;m really trying hard to brush up on my french, but i%26#39;ll probably still be confused.
thanks
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out of curiousity, which hotel did you stay at?
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Mustseeparis Travelnutty is right on the money, please take his advice and only speak to the cabbies that are lined up for the cue. Anyone who approaches will rip you off. If you want to know how much a cab should cost, ask a Trip Adv. person. That%26#39;s what I did, I posted the station to my hotel and asked the general cost, somone said 12 Euro another said 8 Euro. Don%26#39;t be scared to ask...we don%26#39;t know who you are.
As for the taxi to CDG, it cost us 55 Euro for three ladies with a ton of luggage, so they sent a mini van. We each spent 20 US dollars for that, and it%26#39;s worth the money. Your hotel conceirge should be abel to give you options for this leg of the trip, just ask what%26#39;s available. We had a shuttle that picks up others for 54 Euro or our own van for 55 Euro a preset price. Best of luck and keep the questions headed this way if you need help.
JustGrace The hotel we stayed in was Blackston Opera Hotel, 12 Rue de Parme, Paris. It%26#39;s in theater district and not so nice, sagging beds, rude desk guy, no coffee in your room, etc.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Goodluck
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%26gt; is it still a good idea for me to ask how much before we get in?
You can ask but because it%26#39;s metered it%26#39;ll only be a rough guess at the overall price. If you%26#39;re in a cab that doesn%26#39;t have the meter running then it%26#39;s time to find a new cab!
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;is it still a good idea for me to ask how much before we get in - it will be my husband and two children (age 8 and 10). I%26#39;m really trying hard to brush up on my french, but i%26#39;ll probably still be confused.%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
FIRST...you should use ONLY taxis with a TAXI PARISIEN dome light on the roof. These are all properly licensed cabs. Each taxi will have a meter and when you get in, the %26#39;..drop..%26#39; should be 2 Euro (unless you have telephoned to have a taxi sent to your location and then the meter begins running from wherever the taxi was when the driver received the radio-call). When you get into a taxi that hasn%26#39;t been radio-dispated to the location, take notice of the amount on the meter. If it is more than the initial 2 Euro %26#39;..drop..%26#39;. make sure the driver resets it. This happens occasionally and most of the time it is simply an inadvertent oversight on the driver%26#39;s part. Taxi fares are governed by the metered rate. ***BUT*** there may be additional surcharges allowed by the official fare structure. ,90 Euro per bag (some drivers will %26#39;round%26#39; this up to 1 Euro..it%26#39;s not right but it%26#39;s not exactly %26#39;highway robbery
%26#39; either), 2,70 Euro for a 4th or 5th passenger; ,70 Euro surcharge for pick-up at a SNCF train station. These surcharges are in addition to the metered amount. Unlike restaurants and cafe, there is NO automatic gratuity added to the fare (tipping taxi drivers is a whoely individual thing. Some will tip a few centimes or 1 Euro, others will tip 10% of the %26#39;metered%26#39; fare, some more if the driver has provided some additional service. There are no hard and fast taxi tipping rules) The basic fare rates increase at night. It is possible to take a taxi to a location during the day and pay one fare and then return in the evening, over precisely the same route and pay a higher metered fare. These surcharges and rate changes are NOT %26#39;..tourist rip-offs..%26#39; but a part of the regular, official Paris taxi fare structure.
PARIS TAXI STUFF--
http://www.taxi-paris.net/page38.html
http://www.infotaxiparis.com/
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Moonwisper76 Sorry I forgot to answer your question, the Internet Cafe is really close to the hotel I stayed at. If you are in front of my hotel you take a left and go down to the corner. Turn left again and go to the next block, it%26#39;s on the right hand side, on a corner, you can%26#39;t miss it. I stayed at Blackston Opera hotel, 12 Rue de Parme, Paris. Gookluck
