I spent the last week in Paris. Paris! It seems amazing to just say that. A dream come true.
The beginning of March, we-my husband and I-found we had a week off together, a rarity, so we decided to go to Paris. It would be our first trip together since covid-2020. I was so excited I started planning the itinerary, perusing the travel forums for how to travel light with only carryon baggage, comfortable shoes to walk on the cobblestones for miles, foods to try, museums to visit, learning basic French from Duolingo etc.
When it came time to book the flights, we realized we had sent our passports for renewal and we might not get them back in time for the trip. Did that bring me down. I put a full stop to anything Parisian and sulked around for a couple of days. Then it was ‘oh well’ and back to business as usual.
Two weeks before the planned trip, wonder of wonders, we got our passports. The trip was back on! We booked the flights, a tad bit more expensive than they would have been initially. We did get a good deal on the hotel.
There was a flurry of activity to prepare for the trip. We decided carryon only for the 9 day trip. I carried one extra pair of shoes because rain was predicted, so I could alternate the shoes. I took 3 sets of clothing apart from my night suit. The travel forums have all sorts of advice on how to travel light, and I must have spent hours to get it right. I was satisfied with the result.
My sister got me a Travelon bag to use as a personal item. I was in two minds to take it because it seemed bigger than what I like to carry, but it worked out well. I put my passports, medicines, candy, ear pods in separate plastic bags so everything was very organized.
We started the trip 240 pm on a Sunday and reached Paris around 10 AM. From the CDG airport we took the RER-B metro to our hotel. Initially we had thought we would take a taxi-cab, but we were told the metro is easy to use and it was. I had written down the name of the metro station next to our hotel. We had got the AT&T international coverage so we could use our phones, and google maps helped with getting the names of the metro stations, walking distances etc.
Once we reached the general area of the hotel, which was in the 6th arrondissement, we did have some trouble finding the exact street because it was a really narrow one and I kept missing it while walking around. I had to get help from the front desk of another hotel and that sweet girl pointed us in the right direction.
The hotel-Hotel de Fleurie-was actually nice. I loved its location, we were close to all the major tourist spots, and area was bustling with activity at all times of the day. But during the night it wasn’t noisy at all, inspire of being so close to the main Street. There was a tiny bit of apprehension because just after booking the hotel, I read a couple of four month old reviews saying it had bedbugs. However the more recent reviews did not mention that.
No, there were no bedbugs. The bed was the most comfortable hotel bed I have slept in and the area around the hotel was not noisy. Yes, the carpet was dark and dirty, and what is it with the French system of not having shower curtains so the whole bathroom gets wet when one takes a shower? And the rooms are small and cramped. But it seems all European hotel rooms are. The staff was wonderful, and helpful. Overall, a good experience. No, I wouldn’t stay there again only because I do want to try out different things on each trip.
That evening we walked to the River Seine which was at only 5-8 min from our hotel. We took the Vedettes du Pont Neuf river cruise, which was a good decision because we were both jet lagged and too tired to do anything else. It was drizzling and cold and of course windy on the river. The river cruise runs under all those great bridges and the commentary, which by the way, is given in English, French and Spanish by a real live person!, gives one a fair idea of the layout of Paris along the river Seine.
After the cruise we just walked back to the hotel and called it a night.
Our first day was good. I was just excited to be in Paris, I am sure I was staring at everybody. What struck me was the noise, the people, the fact that everyone was rushing, the traffic with buses, cars, bikes, pedestrians, scooters, rickshaws. No one waits for the traffic lights to change, people and motorists just move on if they find they can cross over without being mauled.
Sorry, no pictures for this post. Because my phone got stolen. That will be a whole separate blog post coming up.