Unfortunately when travelling I never really got the chance to go to France due to other commitments and urgent needs to travel elsewhere. Despite how this sounds I wouldn't say I am a 'well-travelled' person but it's something right now I am concentrating on.
I have travelled to Germany (Berlin), Japan (Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, Miyajima and Saga), and England (Newcastle, London and Liverpool). I wouldn't even say I have explored Ireland too much, except a few days trips to Galway, Dublin, and Donegal. Around Northern Ireland I have been to Enniskillen, Lusty Beg Island, Newry and North Coast. I have also been to Spanish-esque islands on family holidays such as Lanzarote, Fortaventura, Menorca etc.
I never got to France, and I always kinda hated myself for it. On returning from a month Japan in January this year (the second trip to Japan within 3 years) I decided I needed to go to France. I landed and a week or so later asked my best friend if he would be interested in coming with me - thankfully he was and I organised the trip from the ground up!
We found cheap flights from City Airport with KLM (who I had flown with twice to Japan) which meant we could roll from our beds to the airport to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
Day One - Travelling and Port D'Orleans
Ironically the worst part of travelling is the travelling. After two planes, one layover, 3 trains, we found ourselves in our first Hotel (after a few mishaps and many sighs). Hotel Virginia was in a part of Paris called Port D'Orleans. On arriving the city seemed pretty grand and after we threw our luggage in and washed off our layers of stress we ventured into the town to see what it had to offer.
Around us was a small town complete with local supermarkets, bars, restaurants, chemists which was comforting after travelling through nothing for hours! I noticed straight away what 'Parisian' meant which seemed in relation to restaurants to mean laid back. The restaurants as expected were quite expensive and offered food written in French and English. The tables were mostly outside and were tiny with woven chairs. We decided to get cocktails, both of which were just pure alcohol and not the sweet delights we were expecting. The food was good though, even though I only got a dessert.
We were delighted to get back to our hotel to sleep off our day in a lovely fully equipped hotel with air conditioning and a comfy double bed.
Day Two; Exploring Paris
Armed with a good 10 hour sleep we were ready to face the day in central Paris. I was curious as to how the metro system there would work and how comparable it was to Tokyo/London. I would say that Paris is not very disabled access friendly. We found ourselves many times charging up stairs with no lifts available (fine, but I am lazy) which could obviously be a problem. To be fair there were lifts in the bigger stations and these were clearly marked.
We looked at the tube map and decided to go to Notre Dame. On exiting the station we found a very cute market filled with homemade craft gifts which were very reasonably priced but photos were prohibited here. It's worth pointing out that Paris was ROASTING, seriously we were so hot and slathered ourselves in sun cream twice a day. Outside said market we seen a hose set on sprinkler for the public to cool down - it was heaven!
Notre Dame was incredible. When we seen it I felt overwhelmed with joy and awe. I would say it was Notre DAMN cool, and I felt so excited to be there and have it in front of my eyes. The whole time I was around it I just had the soundtrack of Disney's the Hunchback of Notre Dame playing in my head, and sometimes being sung out of my mouth...
We arrived early morning/lunchtime and there were at least 600 people waiting to enter Notre Dame so we decided to leave it for now and explore its surroundings. It was circled by many cafes, ice cream shops and countless tacky souvenir shops which I secretly love. After getting an amazing lemon slush puppy we found ourselves chilling by La Sienne and just gazing around us.
We grabbed a light lunch of AMAZING quiche in a quaint café where they charged us for water like it was solid gold. Seriously 12 euro for water? We then sat by some beautiful ruins, statues and fountains delighting off the slight coolness coming from it.
We then found a boat which took us round La Sienne. The man sold us a ticket each for 13 euro which we thought was an absolute bargain! It was called the Batobus and it was a dream, you could stand or sit and the breeze give life meaning. It stopped at all the major attractions in Central Paris such as Effiel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre, Musay D'Oray etc. You could hop on and off as many times as you want or just sit and tour La Sienne. We got on the Batobus from Hotel De Ville to La Louve.
Day Three; The Catacombs
I wanted to see the darker Tourism of Paris so we thought it would be a good idea to see some dead bodies from 1700-1800's piled up underground in artistic places.
We got the Metro to the stop outside the Catacombs and seen the queue and decided to wait in it... all in all we waited almost 3 hours to get in! Seriously guys if you want to see the Catacombs definitely get up early and be there for 10am. It was 10 euro in and it was a pretty amazing experience, here are some pics;
We found ourselves afterwards in a nice part of Paris where we got some dinner and drinks and generally sat down.
On our way back we decided to go back to La Sienne where we seen Notre Dame again (and went inside)
We wanted to not walk for a while, so we got on the Batobus and sailed around the Sienne feeling the breeze and taking in the sights around us. We finished our day and then went back to our hotel called Hotel Design which looked really funky, but sadly did not have air conditioning which made us sad as it was constantly BOILING in France.
Day Four; Disneyland
Day 3 we ventured to Disneyland Paris!
Like every kid growing up in the 90's, Gerald and I love Disney and have always wanted to but never got the opportunity to go. We booked a hotel close to Disney called Golden Tulip and after dumping our stuff there in early morning we ventured into Disneyland Paris.
Firstly the merchandise sold was incredible. Really unique, one of a kind things that I have never seen in any disney shop around the world. Obviously what was on offer was expensive but it was actually cheap than I thought it would be which surprised us both!
To look at Disneyland was everything I expected it to be and more - it was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and the detail that went into each building, shop and ride was really intricate. One of the things I enjoyed the most was that the shops were all designed individually to be like certain movies like Snow White, Cinderella or even caves. They also had many theme restaurants and snack stands!
We went on about 10 rides but the main problem was definitely the waiting, and the FASTPASS system is extremely poorly explained and executed.
The best was possibly Crush's Coaster;
Overall I loved the experience but what killed it for me was the waiting. SO much waiting for rides that only lasted a mere few minutes after waiting an hour made me feel exhausted and pretty grumpy which is not how Disneyland should make you feel!
I felt Walt Disney Studio was far better laid out and it was a lot easier to navigate. I felt it was a little more 'grown up' too but still as beautiful and the Disneyland Park itself.
In conclusion Disneyland is wonderful but exhausting and I would definitely return but during a quieter season where I could go on all the rides and not have to wait more than half an hour for any individual ride.
Day Five; Parisian Sugar and Journey to Lille
After indulging in the best caramel eclair we got on the TGV to Lille where we were staying 2 nights close to the Belgium border. The train was pretty great but also VERY expensive and we landed into our hotel which was more of a small apartment filled with everything we could need.
We went for dinner in drinks in a local restaurant and we were surprised to see the didn't start serving food until 7:30pm, very European! We indulged in small sweet (quite literally) cosmopolitans which came complete with a stick of gummy sweets on top. Perfect!
The menu was entirely in French and I could only decipher a small portion and the staff did not speak any French at all. As a result I ordered a quiche starter with the smelliest cheese known to man on it. I can only describe this as smelling like dirty barn. I did gulp it down, but feared for my life when I realized my main had the same 'cheese' sauce on it. I luckily changed this swiftly to pepper sauce which was terrific.
Gerald's starter was complete mystery to us until it arrived. It was bone marrow. Literally the marrow inside an animals bone, which is apparently a thing in France. This looked revolting, and not dissimilar to a fatty deposit left from frying some meat. He said he enjoyed it although I am unsure if this was true or not.
As this was actually Bastille Day most of the shops and local things were closed but we did manage to see some parades and also a magnificent firework display that evening just 10 minute work from our apartment. Felt really happy that everybody and their children had gathered to celebrate Bastille Day. It held a community feel that we don't get back home due to our sectarianism and breeded hate.
Day Six; Exploring Lille
The next day we were fully able to explore the local city. It was incredible and reminded me strangely of Galway with it's cobblestone streets. It was also a LOT bigger and busier than I expected which was welcomed after the insane busy-ness of a summer in the center of Paris!
We shopped in the centre, had churros and seen the local sights such as big fountains, statues, churches and local Opera Houses. That evening we went to dinner in a restaurant called Pancook with some very authentic French food. The menu was completely in French and on a small blackboard which the waiter translated for us and described each dish and how it was cooked in order for us to make a more informed decision. I had some delicious slow cooked beef dish and Gerald had a 'spider of beef'. On this menu there were many rare meat and rabbit options which we did not fancy...
The waiter in Pancook was adorable and could not have helped us more if he tried. Helped that he was incredibly attractive too...
Day Seven; Back to Paris Airport and to CitizenM Hotel
After travelling about 2/3 hours from Lille back to the Airport we were very tired and needed a warm bed and a last chilled night. When we arrived back at the Airport which our luggage full of dirty clothes and our bellies full of hunger we were delighted to land in the best hotel of all time.
The hotel was very slick and chic and had absolutely everything you could want. The lounge area was massive with many comfy areas to read and sit in. The decor was fantastic and the staff were so full of life and happy.
For about 20 Euro we got the buffet dinner which were all hearty homemade food. They had chicken, pork ribs, veal, beef, soups, salads, breads etc. They also had a range of desserts including apple pie, lemon pie and mousses. They had an incredible supply of nutella which we helped ourselves to and then ate in our room.
The room itself was also incredible and so high tech. On entering the room they had a personal tablet set up for you which said
This of course could be used as a tablet, but could more excitedly be used to control other functions in your room such as lights (and the colour of the lights!), temperature, blinds, TV and alarm clock. The bed itself was a XL king-size bed perfect for when you don't want to touch the person you are travelling with. :P It had a full wall window where we could see the planes flying, which was exceptionally pretty at night time. The rooms were all soundproof and the blackout blinds made it impossible to not have a perfect night sleep. I couldn't recommend this hotel enough - really!
It would be travesty to speak of the CitizenM hotel without mentioning the shower. It had two shower gels (AM/PM) one designed to invigorate and one to calm. It was a rain shower directly from overhead and worked like a dream. Gerald said it was the best shower he has ever had in his life and honestly I struggle to disagree.
Day Eight, Back to Belfast;
Our flight was at 7:50 and before we knew it we were back on Belfast ground and hearing our bellowing accent echo in it's home environment.
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