Dates: 24-27 December 2023 (Pictures in the link)
Airports: LTN ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, CDG ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (+/- 1/2), LGW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Airlines: EasyJet ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (+/- 1/2)
Paris Hotel: Hotel Albert 1er ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (+/- 1/2)
I have been wanting to visit Paris for many, many years (Thanks Mme. Reidmiller where ever you are). I was really worried about the bed bug pandemic that haunted Paris over the summer, but I did really want to do!
I used Hotels.com first to find the hotel. Hotel Albert 1er is just a very shorty walk from both the Gare Du Nord and Gare De L'Est. This made navigating the town really easy. That is, if you can navigate the Gare De Nord. I was proud of my rudimentary French as it helped me through the day and kept most of Paris friendly towards me.
I do love LTN airport. Even with the drop off being further away then it used to be due to the carpark fire - it's very easy to navigate and cheap to eat at (meal deal for a fiver). Wish they would get some jetways - I hate climbing the stairs onto a plane out in the open during the cold months.
I heard horrors of CDG. It was lovely. Everything was quite easy about the airport. Not a lot of walking. Much better than its reputation. I took the RER B from the Airport to the Gare De Nord.
The Gare De Nord is (or will soon be) the largest train station in Europe. It is under a bit of construction still for this summer's olympic games so, I will try to be kind. However, the train station is almost impossible to navigate well when you're trying to leave! I am still unsure what the best way out was. The exit signs (Sortie) were awful. Just beware if you have to navigate the train station. After a few minutes of walking around trying to figure out how to leave!
The hotel was lovely. Perfect amount of room, friendly people, good breakfast. Housekeeping seemed the weakest point along with some condition of the loo. The front desk staff was perfect. Check out was noon. Awesome.
I got a Navigo Card and used the Metro for most of my visit (as well was the RER).
The first day I was in town, I was able to secure a ticket to the Louvre. You should reserve tickets ahead of time and they aren't expensive for people who do. Use the Louvre's own website (there are tons of websites that sell tickets). I paid £31 when tickets at the Louvre's website are about £18. When people have explained to me in the immensity of the Louvre, they did the best they could. You cannot prepare yourself for the size of the museum. The magic and creativity that surround you make you feel very small; it is quite humbling and it makes you see yourself in perspective (rather small). This made me overwhelmingly sad and made me desire to have some of the creativity I was surrounded by. I know the feeling the Salieri character from the movie Amadeus felt.
The crowds (I picked a busy day) were insane at the Louvre. Be prepare to feel violated by how close people get to you and invade your personal space.
I wish I had more time to see the place and more energy. The only time I could get a ticket was the day of my arrival. It is definitely a place I want to return to.
Christmas day was a rest day. Yes - things were open to see, and I did have a Christmas meal across from the Gare Du Nord (big mistake I am sure I should have gone further away from a tourist area). I also did buy some pastries and a croissant - the food was wonderful. I found out McDonalds was giving away Christmas Socks so I had to go and pick some up. The meal was awful (worst McDonalds ever), the socks are pretty cool!
The next day (Boxing Day) was my busy touristy day. I had always talked with old friends about going to the grave of Jim Morrison and pay respects. I was in Paris, so I started the day there - the cemetery Pere-Lachaise to the east of the city proper. Many celebrities are buried there and I wish I had devised a proper plan to visit; like Paris, the place is immense. Caution: wear good shoes. The cobblestone paths through the cemetery are tough on your feet and I was wearing Nikes. I also saw Chopin's grave. I wish I had the energy to walk further on to see Oscar Wilde's but he was another 11 minutes away on the same cobblestone paths. Next time! I was then on to see St. Michele and Notre Dame.
There was so much to see around St. Michele. It was awesome to see how far Notre Dame had come from the recent fire but also how long it has to come. Again, the immensity of Paris made its mark on on me.
I then headed to the Eiffel Tower (another landmark you need to get tickets from directly and in advance - I did better on this site). This is a huge landmark so, learning from my short time in Paris, I decided to head to the tower early. I got off at the RER and climbed the stairs. There was a Christmas market sausage stand - great time for lunch. The stand was the only place where I felt that I was treated like a "tourist" in the bad sense of term - the stand's workers treated me awfully and I felt like I was over charged. I wish I had said something in French, but I just feel too slow using it. I was wondering how far the tower was and then I looked up. The immensity of Paris strikes again. I was just mere feet from the tour.
I arrived 2 hours early and decided to talk around the base. I took a ton of pictures and finally had some roasted Chestnuts (yuck - the chestnut puree Hungarians make is so much nicer). I was able to see people trying to sell knock-off souvenirs. The tour was heavily guarded by police with large weapons walking about the base. The sellers kept running away from the guards - could you imagine having to make a living doing this and being on the run always. I wonder what the story is here. I went through security and got into the area of the base. After some time, it was time to get into the queue to then queue for the elevator (and I thought Brittons were the master of queues). I finally got into the elevator -the tower was amazing and I wish I had more time there (and my coat - why did I think I didn't need my coat with me). I took some amazing photos from the middle tier of the tower and I remembered my Dad had been to Paris. Had he seen all of this, too?
On the way back to the Hotel, I went through the Gard Du Nord, got lost and went out the wrong exit, made a 4 minute walk into a 15 minute walk. Sheesh!
The next day I decided to get to the airport early. Going into the Gare du Nord is not the hard part - however getting round the construction inside takes its toll. Got to the airport way too early and found - a Carl's Jr!! Hadn't had any since Los Angeles - so I had to have some.
This brings me full circle back to EasyJet. I am somewhat of a fan - at least once you are on the plane. There is just one thing I do not get about EasyJet (and subsequently WizzAirand perhaps RyanAir - not sure). Why do airports (or in this case airlines) make you wait, to then call you, to then get into a queue to make you wait longer, to then get on the plane? Being American, I like how you get tot he airport, go to a gate, wait there at the gate, and then called on to the plan booking group by booking group. It seemed the CDG was the later. Then the gates changed twice - then changing to a gate where you could not wait at it until the airline wanted you, then you waited in a cue for a long, long time and then boarded the plane. Why make customers stand and wait when you have the gate with lots of comfortable furniture. I guess I will never know, Just was glad for jetways at CGD and LGW.
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