Eurotrip IV | FindPenguins

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Trip start
June 2, 2012
Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Paris, France
June 2, 2012 in France ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
We had left on 6/1/12 at 6:25pm from Logan Airport.

Arrived in Paris ~10AM via Dulbin (Aer Lingus). Took the RER B from CDG to Gare de Nord, got off the train because it was having delays. Met a man who was too helpful (scam artist) and finally ended up at our hotel at 12:30. Check-in was not ready so we wandered around, had lunch at Le Phare Creperie which was average. Walked through Luxembourg Gardens then back to the hotel for a shower and rest.

After Myron's nap, we went to Les Pyrimides tourism office to buy metro passes. Wandered over to the Lourve and down the Seine. We walked through the Tuleries Gardens, had gelato and walked to Champs Elysees.

Quick hotel stop to change clothes then dinner at Je the...me in 15e. Myron had a Spanish steak with mashed potatoes, foie gras and a pineapple napoleon. I had monkfish with couscous, white asparagus and poached pears with chocolate and foam. Very good! We had found this place because it was on Anthony Bourdain's show.

Back to the hotel at 10:30PM!

-SherilynRead more
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Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Paris, France
June 3, 2012 in France ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Today we woke up later than we planned. We had breakfast of cafe and croissant near the hotel, then went to the catacombs, where the line was already way too long! Instead we went to the Rodin Museum and wandered through the gardens there. We made our way to Notre Dame and saw the inside lines long but moved fast.

At 2PM we met our tour guide for a Sight Seekers Delight, "Paris along the Seine" tour, basically an intro to Paris 4-hour tour. The tour was fantastic and so was our guide, Maranda. We met two New Yorkers our age, Justin and Miranda. Lunch at Q&Co. with the tour group.

After the tour we walked over to Eiffel Tower. Lines for the elevator were so long so we took the stairs for 10.50euro each. The 670 steps took us about 40 minutes including rest stops. Very nice views from up top! Once on the ground, we decided on a picnic on the Champs du Mars, which was donor kebab and panini. We saw the Eiffel Tower lit up and the light show at 10PM, then came back to the hotel.

-Sherilyn

Myron's notes "Things to Remember"
-green water fountains have potable water, bring water bottles on walking tour
-Eiffel Tower at 6:30PM, lines really short
-small "to-go" restaurant by Ecole-Military had cheap food and drinks.

Things we saw on the tour:
-Shakespeare & CO. bookstore, Notre Dame, Ste Michael (fountain), little alley with greek restaurants, Pont Neuf / Locks Love Bridge, Eva Longoria Church, Lourve, roseline, Opera House, Tulieries Gardens, Champs d'elysees, obelisk, Les InvalidesRead more
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Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Paris, France
June 4, 2012 in France ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
Woke up around 9, after getting ready we headed over to Montmartre for a free walking tour with Bruno of Discover Walks. While waiting for the tour we grabbed a coffee and croissant from a cafe across the street. The tour started at 11 and went to roughly 1 PM.

We started out meandering up the hill to the Sacre Couer Church. Montmatre is (the impression I got) an artsy/yuppy area with many local artists through the sites history. Bruno showed us sites that were inspiration to some of the more famous artisits/works from the era. I cannot remember the specifics. The tour itself was rather dull for my tastes but Bruno was interesting and told some rather interesting stories.

After the tour we wandered down the hill, bought a piece of art, some Hard Rock souveniers. We had lunch at Zephyr Cafe. S had duck confit, fries and haricot verts. M had steak with bernaise, fries and haricot verts.

After lunch we went to Ile de Cite and made our way to Saint Chappelle. On our way we stopped at a highly recommended ice cream place, Berthillon. Very good ice-cream.

Saint Chappelle (9 euro) was small but had quite beautiful and detailed stained glass that told the story of the bible from creation to the resurrection.

After we returned prizes to the hotel, went on the Seine river cruise (discounted because of the earlier tour. It was nice for the described price).

Had dinner at a Thai restaurant by Saint Micheal (average Thai). S got a Prawn soup and chicken fried rice. M got coconut chicken soup and penang curry. Food was good and filling but not exceptional.

Walked back to subway and to hotel.

-MyronRead more
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Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Paris, France
June 5, 2012 in France ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
Versailles day! We woke up around 7AM and got a nice breakfast at Patisserie... , near the Vavin metro stop. Cafe, OJ and 2 elephant ears. Very good for 10 euro, would go back. We took the metro to Cite where we met our tour guide Christian, the founder of Bike About Tours.

35 minute RER train ride to Versailles, we rode around the town and went to a market to pick up picnic suppose. Stowed them in our bike basket and went on our way. First we saw the massive gardens and fountain show, then made our way to the canal for a picnic. We had cheese, baguette, pate (game meat with apple calvados), fresh fruit, wine and fleur de sel caramels. All delicious. We bought too much cheese though. Tip: bring knife, corkscrew, blanket and bungee cord. Next up: Marie Antoinette village and farm, very picturesque and cozy. At this point, I was sore from all the riding.

We rode to the main gate and went into the Chateau. It was very crowded and stuffy. Lovely frescoes on the ceiling, opulent gold leaf everywhere. Hall of mirrors has 137 mirror made by French who were taught by master Venetian glass blowers. Christian was very knowledgeable about history of Louis XIV to Louis XVI.

Show was Oliver Girund, How to Become a Parisian in One hour. Funny and true! Dinner was at Chez Paul in 12e. Said with meat for entree (very tough steak) and tuna steak and polenta for Myron.

Back to the hotel at 12AM.

-SherilynRead more
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Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Paris, France
June 6, 2012 in France ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
This morning we had breakfast at the same place as yesterday. S got a pain au chocolate with cafe and coconut macaroon. M got pain au raisin with cafe. Both pastries were good, warm/flaky.

Short walk to the catacombs (bring flashlight - not needed but helpful). Catacombs were very interesting. The self-guided tour gave a history of the caverns from their creation as quarries for limestone to their conversion to crypts in the 1700's; the bones were arranged in artistic designs. The long meandering path lasted about an hour or so.

After a short stop at the hotel, we headed to Champs d'Elysses/ Arc de Triomphe and we walked down the street, stopping at Louis Vuitton and Prada. FNAC had Lourve tickets without lines for a little extra fee. For lunch we stopped at a fast food place called Quick-it. Had some interesting food, including a burger with a black pepper mayo (pretty good). We continued on our walk toward the Lourve. At Placa de concorde we stopped and got a chocolate banana crepe. Arriving at the Lourve around 2pm and stayed til 8pm.

8PM dinner we went to Le Brasserie in the Latin Quarter by St. Sulpice. S got lamb tongue and chocolate cake. M got cheeseburger (big mac) and red currant panneton, both got a filo-wrapped goat cheese salad.

-MyronRead more
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Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Paris, France
June 7, 2012 in France ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
The plan today was a lazy day.

After breakfast at a small cafe on our walk in the morning, we ended up with a pain au chocolate and pan au almonde.

We had a walking tour with Karen of Sight Seekers Delight of the Marais district about Jewish subculture of Paris. The tour itself, we felt out of place not being Jewish and all. The highlight for me was lunch at this falafel/Jewish food place. Falafel was very good. The tour went to a couple of small synagogues, the holocaust memorial and meandered through streets in the district.

After the tour we returned to the hotel to change (it was raining). We went to the Latin quarter to just walk around. Starting down Rue St. Michel, to Rue Pernad to Rue Monde, stopping at shops (had a salted caramel, walnut and banana crepe with coffee by the pantheon). We walked to the area of St. Michel by Notre Dame. Had a couple of beers and settled for dinner at a savory Bretonge style crepe place. Food was real good. S got a scallops, creamed leeks and cheese crepe. M got a swiss cheese, potatoe and onion crepe with prosiutto. Both were made with buckwheat. We also got a bottle of dry cider, overall dinner was delicious.

After dinner we went to Montparnasse Tower at 11pm and went up the tour. We thought it was a bit lame. Since it's inside, windows caused for obstructed pictures. Really not a good value.

-MyronRead more
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Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Brussels, Belgium
June 8, 2012 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
Early morning breakfast of a couple of pastries (different shop) and we were off to the Thalys train station for the ride to Brussels. Train ride was uneventful.

In Brussels, after a transfer to the local train (free) we arrived at a central station, across the square was our hotel, Le Meridien.

After checkin we walked around the city, the Grand Place / Hotel de Ville. Had some fries with ketchup, mustard and onions (good!), a waffle with nutella and strawberries.

At 2pm our beer tour started.
We went to a small local bar and tried some Trappist beers, learned about trappist ales vs. Abbey ales. Then a 20min walk to the Cantillon Brewery and bought some beers. Did the tour of the old brewery. Lots of interesting points about the brewery. Last we went to Morbier Lambic, a bar with lots of beer on tap and bottled. I had some interesting beers: dark spiced stout, smoked licorice

Dinner was at a not so good place called Olea Leen. Seemed touristy and fake.

-MyronRead more
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Eurotrip IV Postcards to Boston
Brussels, Belgium
June 9, 2012 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Breakfast was pastries and OJ since S was feeling sick with a head cold/flu. Wandered around the local area, got tea with honey from a juice bar.

Our bike tour started at 10AM at Grand Place. Rode through the town, saw Mannekin Pis and view of Brussels from atop a large hill. Biking was very difficult for S due to cobblestones and head cold and hills. Had lunch of frites and beer and met two nice people traveling through Western Europe, one from Texas and one from malaysia. Visited the E.U. headquarters. S fell off her bike while going over a curb and was helped by fellow bikers but was very embarrassed. After the bike tour we bought many beers and chocolates for us and friends at home.

Spent the rest of the day packing and getting ready for flights. Dinner was at an upscale burger place called Hedges on Rue Dominican behind the aggressive shitty tourist places. S got a burger with camembert, onion chutney shiitake mushrooms and truffle mayo. M got a burger with mozzarella, pesto mayo,sundries tomatoes and arugala. Fries came with a blue mayo. Dinner was real good, restaurant was nice/upscale, good atomosphere. We would absolutely go back here. Best burger to this day.

-MyronRead more
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Trip end
June 9, 2012