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Post by TexasChick on Mar 31, 2023 7:24:45 GMT -5
Sounds great! We also had a Europe trip planned in 2020. We will finally be going next year but unfortunately we probably won’t be able to bring my eldest now that he will be going off to college. We may have missed our window. At least he can join us on our Japan trip this summer. That stinks that your eldest can't go. I'm sorry. I've never been to Japan. We will get over to that part of the world one of these days... Happy to help out with some tips/trips for London and Paris. Esp Disneyland if you would like to go there. Thank you. I'd love any advice on what areas of town to stay in. I'm kind of flying blind there. The more centrally located, the better. I know Paris is divided up into arrondissements, but I don't which one to stay in. |
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Post by rescueranger on Mar 31, 2023 7:50:47 GMT -5
Sounds great! We also had a Europe trip planned in 2020. We will finally be going next year but unfortunately we probably won’t be able to bring my eldest now that he will be going off to college. We may have missed our window. At least he can join us on our Japan trip this summer. That stinks that your eldest can't go. I'm sorry. I've never been to Japan. We will get over to that part of the world one of these days... Happy to help out with some tips/trips for London and Paris. Esp Disneyland if you would like to go there. Thank you. I'd love any advice on what areas of town to stay in. I'm kind of flying blind there. The more centrally located, the better. I know Paris is divided up into arrondissements, but I don't which one to stay in. I guess it depends on what you plan to do/see. Paris is pretty easy to get around with the metro. (have your wits about you mind you) Same with London, Easy to get around. I like Saint-Germain-des-Prés, As it's very French. Think area around Remy's in Epcot. Paris like many places has some fabulous quick and easy food. Normally in places that look run down. I had the best Croque Monsieur ever by chance as I saw lots of office workers waiting at an old bakery. If you do want to go to Disneyland, Its a 40 min train journey from the city centre. Think it cost around 2.50 euros each way in February. |
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Post by TexasChick on Mar 31, 2023 7:58:46 GMT -5
That stinks that your eldest can't go. I'm sorry. I've never been to Japan. We will get over to that part of the world one of these days... Thank you. I'd love any advice on what areas of town to stay in. I'm kind of flying blind there. The more centrally located, the better. I know Paris is divided up into arrondissements, but I don't which one to stay in. I guess it depends on what you plan to do/see. Paris is pretty easy to get around with the metro. (have your wits about you mind you) Same with London, Easy to get around. I like Saint-Germain-des-Prés, As it's very French. Think area around Remy's in Epcot. Paris like many places has some fabulous quick and easy food. Normally in places that look run down. I had the best Croque Monsieur ever by chance as I saw lots of office workers waiting at an old bakery. If you do want to go to Disneyland, Its a 40 min train journey from the city centre. Think it cost around 2.50 euros each way in February. Thank you. The last time that we went, we were at a hotel pretty far out. The first time I ever went back when I was 12, we stayed at Le Meridien Etoile. I don't know how I remember that BTW. We want to see all the things. I plan to use the hop on/hop off bus a lot in addition to the Metro. We have had some pretty sketchy Metro experiences including someone trying to pickpocket my aunt when I was a kid, but I want to ride it at least a few times with the kids. It's going to be a very different experience for my little sheltered American children.  |
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Post by jedimom3 on Mar 31, 2023 8:16:03 GMT -5
How exciting!!! that is wonderful! DH and I have dreamed of going to London for years and years, and we are FINALLY taking baby steps in making it happen. He's started pricing packages, and we bought a Rick Steves book.....that's progress for us. We are procrastinators to the max. We are clueless about how to plan it. We plan to go just the 2 of us. BUt I would love to take the kids. They are currently almost 19 and 16, so would be a little older when we might acutally go, but DH says no way to bringing kids, at least not on the first visit (they do have a history of complaining a lot when we've dragged them historical sites and museums, which would be the primary goals.)
I am excited to follow along with all of your plans, and hope y'all have the most awesome trip!!!
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Post by minniesueb on Mar 31, 2023 8:38:04 GMT -5
Ditto on Nickys recommendations but also add the Charles Dickens House - absolutely loved it plus he is one of my favorite authors. Draper's Hall is fantastic - where "The King's Speech" was filmed. I also recommend The George and Vulture - one of the oldest pubs. DH & I were discussing when we could go back. Looking at our 35th anniversary which is just 3 short years from now. ENJOY!!!
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Post by rescueranger on Mar 31, 2023 8:52:48 GMT -5
I guess it depends on what you plan to do/see. Paris is pretty easy to get around with the metro. (have your wits about you mind you) Same with London, Easy to get around. I like Saint-Germain-des-Prés, As it's very French. Think area around Remy's in Epcot. Paris like many places has some fabulous quick and easy food. Normally in places that look run down. I had the best Croque Monsieur ever by chance as I saw lots of office workers waiting at an old bakery. If you do want to go to Disneyland, Its a 40 min train journey from the city centre. Think it cost around 2.50 euros each way in February. Thank you. The last time that we went, we were at a hotel pretty far out. The first time I ever went back when I was 12, we stayed at Le Meridien Etoile. I don't know how I remember that BTW. We want to see all the things. I plan to use the hop on/hop off bus a lot in addition to the Metro. We have had some pretty sketchy Metro experiences including someone trying to pickpocket my aunt when I was a kid, but I want to ride it at least a few times with the kids. It's going to be a very different experience for my little sheltered American children. Like most cities anywhere in the world, Its just about keeping your wits about and knowing your surroundings. I felt no less safe on Paris metro than I did on MBTA, Subway or some of the underground systems in eastern europe. But I pretty much stand with hands in pockets so many im wary on all of them! Im sure if you dropped me on in the middle of Texas or somewhere id end up in some sketchy situation ! For London if you want to catch a show in the Westend there is always offers on. One of the best free things is list the Sky garden. You have to book it but no cost and it's well worth it. Personally for the UK id say leave London after you have explored and visit some other attractions. England is pretty small and we have loads of attractions and History. Shakespeare house in Stratford and Warwick castle. Stonehenge. Highclere castle if you like Downtown Abby. All around hour or two away from London. |
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Post by henrycpa on Mar 31, 2023 9:09:23 GMT -5
How many nights in Paris and do you know where you are staying?
Our info is pre-covid but we found the Metro very usable and walking pretty easy. We stayed in Rue Cler area and had very easy access to Tour Eiffel and La Defense and a metro station right there.
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Post by annamaria on Mar 31, 2023 13:50:59 GMT -5
Sounds like a great trip is planned. We cruised on the 11 N. DCL Med cruise with my then 3 young kids. They were awesome touring most/all of the day in the ports in really hot weather.
We finally booked Italy for September. It has been in the works also the last few years. We are visiting Sicily (my hometown, my husband's hometown and possibly Eastern part/Taormina). First two portions, B&B, hotel booked, air booked, travel insurance bought.
My daughter went to London for her senior trip and loved it!!!
Happy planning!
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Post by applegrcoug on Mar 31, 2023 18:57:12 GMT -5
This past November we went to London for a week, then Bolzano, It (apple growers conference for me) for about four days and then Paris for about four days. We also flew international business...now my son nine year old son thinks that is the only way to travel.
My son and I are history people, so for us London is a very good place.
One tip is to think about where you want to go versus where you want to stay. Make sure you stay close to a tube station and hopefully one that doesn't have a lot of transfers to the places you want to go or you'll spend all your precious time on the tube instead of seeing and learning.
Also, the TFL app is brilliant. We actually did a fair amount of bus riding because the app made it easy and you get to ride on top and really get a good view of things.
The hop on hop off tours are not a very good form of actual transportation unless you are only planning a couple stops. We did it while in Paris because we only went into Paris proper for a day (the rest was at Disneyland). We got on, road to the Louvre, then to the Eifel Tower and then back to where we started. To get off more places wouldn't have really been practical.
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Post by nickys on Apr 1, 2023 3:59:22 GMT -5
This past November we went to London for a week, then Bolzano, It (apple growers conference for me) for about four days and then Paris for about four days. We also flew international business...now my son nine year old son thinks that is the only way to travel. My son and I are history people, so for us London is a very good place. One tip is to think about where you want to go versus where you want to stay. Make sure you stay close to a tube station and hopefully one that doesn't have a lot of transfers to the places you want to go or you'll spend all your precious time on the tube instead of seeing and learning. Also, the TFL app is brilliant. We actually did a fair amount of bus riding because the app made it easy and you get to ride on top and really get a good view of things. The hop on hop off tours are not a very good form of actual transportation unless you are only planning a couple stops. We did it while in Paris because we only went into Paris proper for a day (the rest was at Disneyland). We got on, road to the Louvre, then to the Eifel Tower and then back to where we started. To get off more places wouldn't have really been practical. My advice for London at least is not to use the Tube much. Sure to take a ride on it or take a longer journey. But so much is walkable, especially for people used to Disney where you walk a lot. And you see things as you go. The hop on, hop off buses certainly aren’t good for getting to your start point, but they’re great for getting from one point of call to another, if you don’t want to walk. It means you’ll see so much as you pass by, even if you’re not going in. So if you decide not to do the Cathedrals at least you’ll see them as you go past. They are also a great way to simply sit on and do the full loop,. There are several different routes so you won’t see all the sights from one tour bus. |
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Post by bakerworld on Apr 2, 2023 6:29:12 GMT -5
Congrats and good luck. Hopefully your kids are more appreciative than I was at 19. I had a hard time waking/staying up the first day. I didn't understand the shopping, the language or the transportation. It was the first time I'd ever been on a subway or bus that wasn't associated with a school. Maybe your kids are more experienced. I did take lots of pictures.
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Post by brp on Apr 2, 2023 15:05:50 GMT -5
I can help with London! But I’ll need to know a bit more - like ages of the kids, how long you have and what your family interests might be. Theatre show On this one, in particular, I will suggest going to the discount Tkts booth in Leicester Square. As long as you don't have your heart set on particular shows, this can be a very good deal. We typically visit them (and theatre) several times on a trip to London.
Cheers.
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Post by suz333 on May 23, 2023 21:03:57 GMT -5
Just be careful with your luggage on the flights. We were shocked when AirFrance weighed our carryon luggage WITH our personal items several years ago and said the combined weight couldn’t be over ( whatever the weight was ,,, maybe 14 kg?). We had booked our flight thru Delta, which had zero reference to weight limits for carryons. We had already checked our luggage, which could have handled more weight, so we were a bit miffed. It was a total shakedown and ended a fantastic trip on a sour note.
Our time in Amsterdam and Paris were on river cruises, so I’m not sure how that scales to land trips. In Amsterdam we did a “paint like Van Gogh” excursion, and we kayaked the canals. The canals were great but I’m not really a kayaker and my shoulders hurt for DAYS afterwards. Our paintings from the art class made great souvenirs and the apple tarts we had after the class were some of the best desserts ever (and I’m not normally a fan of hot fruit.). Oh, and we went to the train station to find headache medicine, and found a great cheese shop, that actually does mail orders to the U.S. (Henri Willig, for any who might be interested.)
Paris. Well, this is a Disney forum, so I think it’s okay to admit that the reason for our trip was Disneyland Paris. (Well, the inaugural half marathon in 2016, which we followed up with a river cruise on the Seine.) We did an excursion to the Palace of Versailles, and recall feeing that we should have spent way more time in the gardens. I can’t recall much else except Notre Dame (which might not be accessible when you go), the Eiffel Tower, and perhaps my favorite memory… sipping champagne from the hot tub on the river boat with a view of the lit up Eiffel Tower.
Personally, I vote to look up food places in each city, and maybe book a food tour in each place. The tours will normally include a little local history/culture, and you might find some off-the-beaten path places.
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