7 months ago as a joke my husband,Dennis, suggested that we weekend in Paris for our 35th anniversary. I immediately took him up on his generous offer-we had never been and we love to travel, it seemed like a no-brainer. I went to Trip Advisor to look at hotels and our TA began helping with plans. We both were coming up with airfares that were sort of steep in August, but she suggested that if we were willing to be open to the absurb we could try Air India at $350pp nonstop round trip Newark to Paris.
I did my homework. Checked websites rating airlines and AI was rated high for food and service, safety excellent; the only down was that if you were getting off at Paris your luggage may still end up in Bombay--so we decided to do carryon. The flight times were perfect, leaving Newark at 9:05 and getting into Paris 10AM Friday morning.
After much looking we reserved a top floor room at Hotel Caron deBeaumarchais in the Marais and I started to plan. I cannot emphasize the importance of reading guidebooks, websites and appropriate literature before you go. My local library is small, but I was able to order any book in the Commonwealth of Pa system to read. Everyone will have a favorite set of guidebooks-find one that suits your style, and do not blow off the suggested fiction, non-fiction and movie lists the guidebooks provide. I found that these made Paris come alive for me.
We packed light and each piece of luggage come in under 20lbs. We drove to the airport, parked off site and were soon dropped off at the airport. AI requires gate check-in for seats and there was a huge line. I said that we had no luggage, but we were told we had to get in line anyway. After an hour we were told that we didn%26#39;t have to be in line. It really didn%26#39;t matter bercause the plane was 7 hours late!!! Dennis freaked!!!
So instead of winging our way to Paris we were in a hotel in Newark eating Holiday Inn food (on Air India of course). Finally we were called back at 2AM to board the plane and leave. BTW I had checked both the airport and AI the day before we left and right before we left home. We were told that the flight was on time. Oh-well lesson learned.
The flight was pleasant and uneventful and we were standing in CDG around 4PM. I had studied up on procedeure and the ATM gave us cash while the RER took us to Paris. At this time I was soooo happy that we had no luggage. This Paris stuff is a snap!!
We popped out of the St Michal-Notre Dame station and could not believe it. We were standing right in front of Notre Dame!!! All the frustration and fatigue vanished. There is something in the air of Paris; you breath in and you are happy. They really should bottle this stuff!!!
Dennis sat down in the square while I wandered around looking for point zero, looking at Notre Dame, looking at statues, well just looking at Paris for the first time. The walk to the hotel was as easy as it looked on the map and soon we were at the Caron deBeaumarchais.
The hotel reviews here accurately described the hotel and rooms. We chose a top garret room which we knew would be tiny, but we wanted the view and balcony. The room was tiny-about 12x12 with a tiny bathroom and shower, but the balcony was more than worth it! On the roof of the hotel we overlooked the rooftops of the Marais. In the distance you could see Notre Dame, in another direction Hotel de Ville and we could even see the top of Pompidou Center. If you want a larger room you can pick a lower floor, but this was perfect for us. We would come back and rest on the balcony and in the evening sit out and watch the Effle Tower lights go around(oh if we were a tiny bit higher....) as the Marais action went on below. Someone here warned us that steet niose may be a problem but we were not bothered. We even liked the sound of the police sirens!!!
I rambled on here about nuts and bolts because whenever I go to a new city I like to hear how others have planned. It helps me to read about both experienced visitors and newbies like me. Chapter 2 will actually be about Paris.
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Great trip report! Can%26#39;t wait to read more.
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Fabulous- one of the best - can%26#39;t wait for part deux
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This is soooo great!! I%26#39;m bumping these up so everyone eles will see them!
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My husband and I are coming to Paris in June next year. We want to stay at this hotet so bad, but lately it has had bad reviews. Can you email me so I can ask you specific questions. Thanks jspicer2@tampabay.rr.com
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