30-06-2005, 07:25 AM
I have been to Paris twice before. Once passing through in 1987 on my way to Calais thanks to the cheap student fare prices we used to get. The second to watch the final day of the Tour de France, that particular day it was a blistering 28 degrees. On both occasions I never got around to doing any of the touristy things you should do. Who can go to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower?
Thanks to my new world of singledom a friend (Sarah) and myself decided we should spend a couple of days in Paris.
We booked tickets on Easy Jet. Not the best idea we have had.
As the airport is so far away I would recommend taking the Eurostar, then you enter Paris at one of the main stations Garde du Nord. Our trip from the airport to our hostel took us over 3 hours and was a total nightmare. We left Codicote at 7.30 and arrived at our hostel at around 7.30 that night so you can imagine that it was not a good start.
We chose to use a hostel for our stay as we had planned to be out all day and most nights. It was touch and go choosing one of the websites available but we took the chance that we could always leave and find something else. The hostel was not great; the main area for people to get together was not comfortable and inviting. The kitchen was great; we cooked meals for ourselves some of the evenings. They had Internet access, which was reasonably priced. You can either book private rooms or chose the cheaper options and share, you do get to say if you don't mind sharing with the opposite sex but they normally put the same sex together in the rooms. Our room had two sets of double bunks and there were four of us in the beginning and for one night just two of us and our last night there were four again. The girls we shared with were friendly which was great. It's also good for sharing notes on places to visit and places to avoid. I would suggest choosing a hostel if you are not fussy and you know you will be out the whole day. What is the point of paying a huge amount if you won't see the room that much? All you want really is a place to shower and bunk down for the night. The curfew was 2 am and we only missed that once - more about that later!
We found a lovely little cafe to eat at the first night. Not many people speak English but we had a translation book and made a huge effort to speak their language and invariably they were very good about helping us out. If you make an effort they appreciate it. We did also make a point of saying we were from 'Afrika de Sud' and they were really interested in chatting to us.
We chose the option of having one meal out during the day and the other at the hostel. Their kitchen facilities were ample. We did take things like salt and pepper with us, as those were not available. By doing this we saved money.
We did the usual tourist sights like the Eiffel Tower, river cruise, Notre Dame and the Loevre. Unfortunately we left the Loevre until the last day and we had serious hang overs, not the best time to walk around this amazing building and try and comprehend all that is inside it. I have to admit to being disappointed with the Notre Dame. I have seen more impressive cathedrals in the UK, but I guess it was not about the building rather the story behind it. The Eiffel Tower was great and I managed to take some lovely photos despite it being misty. By walking and not using the metro much and wondering around with our map we came across some pretty buildings and markets.
The Latin Quarter is a must see. It also has a great party atmosphere at night; this was the night we never made it back to the hostel. We met some American guys who were intent on showing us the nightlife in Paris. We landed up getting provided with Dom Perignon, which was probably wasted on us by that stage. By the time we left their apartment the next morning we were surprised to find ourselves on the Champs. These were corporate attorneys who had the use of the most amazing apartment I have every seen. Imagine the ones you see in French movies, high windows, and beautiful wooden floors just totally amazing architecture. And let me add some clarification, we did behave ourselves – good South African gal's that we are!
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip (besides all the dog poo on the pavements). I found the people very warm and friendly, the food was great and will have great memories of it.
Next trip planned is Amsterdam, but I have to first cross the hurdle to get my ILR [achieved] before I can get yet another Schengen Visa.
Thanks to my new world of singledom a friend (Sarah) and myself decided we should spend a couple of days in Paris.
We booked tickets on Easy Jet. Not the best idea we have had.
As the airport is so far away I would recommend taking the Eurostar, then you enter Paris at one of the main stations Garde du Nord. Our trip from the airport to our hostel took us over 3 hours and was a total nightmare. We left Codicote at 7.30 and arrived at our hostel at around 7.30 that night so you can imagine that it was not a good start.
We chose to use a hostel for our stay as we had planned to be out all day and most nights. It was touch and go choosing one of the websites available but we took the chance that we could always leave and find something else. The hostel was not great; the main area for people to get together was not comfortable and inviting. The kitchen was great; we cooked meals for ourselves some of the evenings. They had Internet access, which was reasonably priced. You can either book private rooms or chose the cheaper options and share, you do get to say if you don't mind sharing with the opposite sex but they normally put the same sex together in the rooms. Our room had two sets of double bunks and there were four of us in the beginning and for one night just two of us and our last night there were four again. The girls we shared with were friendly which was great. It's also good for sharing notes on places to visit and places to avoid. I would suggest choosing a hostel if you are not fussy and you know you will be out the whole day. What is the point of paying a huge amount if you won't see the room that much? All you want really is a place to shower and bunk down for the night. The curfew was 2 am and we only missed that once - more about that later!
We found a lovely little cafe to eat at the first night. Not many people speak English but we had a translation book and made a huge effort to speak their language and invariably they were very good about helping us out. If you make an effort they appreciate it. We did also make a point of saying we were from 'Afrika de Sud' and they were really interested in chatting to us.
We chose the option of having one meal out during the day and the other at the hostel. Their kitchen facilities were ample. We did take things like salt and pepper with us, as those were not available. By doing this we saved money.
We did the usual tourist sights like the Eiffel Tower, river cruise, Notre Dame and the Loevre. Unfortunately we left the Loevre until the last day and we had serious hang overs, not the best time to walk around this amazing building and try and comprehend all that is inside it. I have to admit to being disappointed with the Notre Dame. I have seen more impressive cathedrals in the UK, but I guess it was not about the building rather the story behind it. The Eiffel Tower was great and I managed to take some lovely photos despite it being misty. By walking and not using the metro much and wondering around with our map we came across some pretty buildings and markets.
The Latin Quarter is a must see. It also has a great party atmosphere at night; this was the night we never made it back to the hostel. We met some American guys who were intent on showing us the nightlife in Paris. We landed up getting provided with Dom Perignon, which was probably wasted on us by that stage. By the time we left their apartment the next morning we were surprised to find ourselves on the Champs. These were corporate attorneys who had the use of the most amazing apartment I have every seen. Imagine the ones you see in French movies, high windows, and beautiful wooden floors just totally amazing architecture. And let me add some clarification, we did behave ourselves – good South African gal's that we are!
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip (besides all the dog poo on the pavements). I found the people very warm and friendly, the food was great and will have great memories of it.
Next trip planned is Amsterdam, but I have to first cross the hurdle to get my ILR [achieved] before I can get yet another Schengen Visa.
