Sunrise over the English Channel
Our overnight flight delivered us to Paris on Monday morning.
Tired and sleep-deprived, we decided to take a taxi into the city rather than the train, thinking it would be quicker and less stressful. That was a mistake. We were caught in the snarl of rush hour traffic, so our trip in took far longer (and cost twice as much) as it would have had we just taken the express.
But eventually we made it to our hotel–Hotel Jardins du Luxembourg, a nice family-owned place on a quiet side street near Luxembourg Gardens, which a friend had recommended.
This was the first time Cherie and I had ever taken a long vacation without kids. We deliberately planned nothing for our first day, other than resting and getting our bearings.
That was a good plan. We checked in, took a long nap, then a long walk. We mapped out a plan for Day 2, and had a nice quiet evening.
Let the vacation commence!
planning nothing for the first day is brilliant! ❤
Diana xo
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I can’t take credit for it. I left the Paris part of the trip entirely up to Cherie (going was her idea). She decided to leave the first day free and it was a good move. We needed a day to get rested and adjusted to the time difference.
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I always figure the first and last days are for travel, period. Even if I’m only going a couple of hundred miles, the transition’s important — they bookend the experience, if you will. Great photos, too.
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We took it easy on the last day too. Got a room at the airport so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting there before our flight, then took the train into the city for a very casual last look around. If we ever do anything like this again, I think we’ll plan to do it the way you do.
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Good plan! So looking forward to travelling with you around Paris.
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Thanks. I’ll be rolling out posts about the trip from time to time, with one post for each day we were there. I hope folks will find them interesting. I didn’t keep a journal during the trip, rationalizing that I’d journal the experience with blog posts instead. If that becomes too tedious then I’ll just write it up but not post it. We’ll see…
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Bill, my perfect vacation would be to go some where around a lake in a cabin and do nothing for a week. The cool morning with the steam rising up from the lake and a Loon’s cry echoing across the water as the smell of bacon wafts from the cabin kitchen. Fishing, hiking, meditating, reading, and other quiet things would be on the agenda for each day. Hopefully, fishing would provide the dinner (supper for country folks). I never really was a traveler except when there was a work detail on the other end. I’ve had some amazing travel experiences but never for the sake of travel. After a week, I’m sure I’d be ready to come back to civilization. As I’ve mentioned before, I like hot showers and flush toilets.
I’m glad you two had a great time and will enjoy reading all about it the coming posts.
Have a great vacation memory day.
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After traveling seemingly nonstop for 10 years or so, it’s been nice to stay home for the last 12 years. I get lots of peace and quiet here. Most days I don’t see anyone other than Cherie. So a trip to a big busy city was a major change and (in hindsight) a nice change of pace. I enjoy museums, history and experiencing another culture. I don’t want to go back to living out of a suitcase, but I’m thinking some travel now and then will be a good thing for us.
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We took the train back out to the airport (a bus on the way in.) It was rush hour, crammed, and hectic. There we were, standing room only, with our very American wheelie bags. The Parisians resented the space taken by our luggage–and we travelled light! One woman turned to her companion and said, in French, “These dirty Americans.” She didn’t know I could understand her. So, I told her, in French, that she was lucky for these “dirty Americans” because the economy of Paris depended upon visitors from all over the world. In some countries, I continued, the people understood the link between foreign dollars and the salaries in their pockets, and treated tourists well–often to their advantage–as Americans are accustomed to tipping.
She turned bright red and turned her back to me for the rest of the ride.
That was the only anti-American push-back we had on the trip. Even when my mother was the victim of subway pickpockets, we were treated well. The trip to the Police Station to make the report became the highlight of the trip. I hope yours was not eventful in any bad way, and reminded you and Cherie that it’s been too long without a romantic getaway.
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We were fortunate to have no bad experiences on the trip. Everything went smoothly.
Good point about the train that time of day. It might have been faster, but it would have been crowded and uncomfortable.
I did feel bad for our taxi driver. The fare from the airport to the city is fixed (55 euros). It took him 2 hours or so to drive us there and (presumably) another 2 hours to get back. As he told us, “Bad for you, bad for me.”
Our flight back was on Sunday morning. We returned our car at the airport on Saturday and got a room in a hotel there, to eliminate any last-day getting-to-the-airport stress. We took the express train into the city and it was a snap. It cost 20 euros and only took about a half hour to get there (if that). Not many people on the train, but it was a Saturday afternoon.
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Have a wonderful time!
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Thanks Laura. We’re back on the farm now. We were there the first two weeks of September and I’m just now getting around to blogging about the trip.
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Nice way to extend that vacation feeling. I like vicarious travel via the immediacy of Instagram, but am looking forward to hearing more via blog at your leisure ☺
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I’ve come to appreciate Instagram more lately too (no politics, for one thing). As you know I shared one photo each day on Instagram while we were there. I’ll be showing some additional pictures here and adding some thoughts. It’s been fun seeing pictures from your grand journey. 🙂
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I’m looking forward to future posts of Paris!
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Glad to hear it. Paris is a long way from our gardens and goat pastures, literally and figuratively. It might be a nice change of pace. 🙂
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me too!
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What a nice start to a vacation. Looking forward to more posts about your trip.
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Thanks. I’ll be coming back to the subject soon. 🙂
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If you go back to the continent, I heartily recommend Budapest. We just loved it so much. I am looking forward to your trip reports!
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Budapest. Sounds fun! We live in a great time. It wasn’t that long ago when there was an “iron curtain” behind which we could not travel.
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Enjoy ~ nothing like taking the step out into life on vacation.
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It was a quite a change of pace for us after having gone so long without traveling. I was reminded of why we used to enjoy it so much.
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It was a good idea to rest first. I normally just check in, freshen up and zoom off except if I am with someone else. Good to hear that you are back safely.
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Yeah, me too. I don’t like to “waste time.” But on this trip my wife set the schedule and itinerary. A relaxing start was her idea and it was a good one.
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Good to get your bearings first. Exciting trip!
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We were long overdue for a vacation. 🙂
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