Hi Friends,
Well, I don%26#39;t know how much I%26#39;ll get done here, but we%26#39;ll see. This is long, so you may want to print it out and read bits at a time. I know that most of you do separate posts for each day, but I%26#39;m just not organized enough on vacation to do that. I%26#39;m actually organized at home (too much maybe) so I just don%26#39;t want to be too very organized on trips to the point of going where and exactly when and all of that.
We started our trip in London (my daughter and I) and I know this isn%26#39;t the right forum, but there is one thing I have to share so you%26#39;ll get more out of my Paris follow up.
We arrived in London on Thursday, and on Friday, my daughter and I were on our way to put some things in a safety deposit box in the hotel. We had a security guard with us (I guess he%26#39;s in charge of the safety deposit boxes) and I tripped close to the top of the steps...and then I couldn%26#39;t stop going. My poor pregnant daughter was trying to catch me, the security guard was trying to catch me, but I was running like I was going for a touchdown! As fast as I was going, I would have scored! I was finally stopped by a door. Had a huge bump above my eyebrow and by the next day the worst black eye I%26#39;ve literally ever seen! Actually, it only hurt for a minute or two (my hand was a bit sore too because I put out a fist to stop myself but my head was faster than my hand!) The injury actually got us some upgrades on shows (at the shows they didn%26#39;t want me walking up a lot of steps) and on flights. So I guess it was worth it! I%26#39;m really not a clumsy person...never a black eye, broken bone or stitches!
So on to Paris....the first night I woke up at 5am with a horrible bladder infection. Okay...maybe not the thing to go into here on the forum, but this was in addition to the black eye!!!! Luckily we have a friend who is a pharmacist who was able to help. So the advice to you is that if you do have a medical condition in Paris, go to the pharmacie and see if they have something that they can give you, or they can at least point you to a doctor. There%26#39;s a medical clinic in CDG and you can see the doctor for 20 Euro if you need that info. Luckily I didn%26#39;t.
We found (even after my several trips to Paris) that it%26#39;s almost impossible to hail a taxi. So don%26#39;t expect to. You could get lucky, but it%26#39;s difficult. I%26#39;m not sure why. Maybe because when you call for one the meter starts at the time you call but when you hail one from thje street, the meter starts at that point. You do the math. We even had two taxi drivers who wouldn%26#39;t take us to our destination because it was too close. Of course we weren%26#39;t sure where we were and wandered around for awhile before finally getting our bearings.
The next thing you need to know is that most of the metro stations have done away with ticket windows. They are for info only. The machines take credit cards, coins and bills up to (I think) 10 euro. It may be twenty. Here are a few things to know: on the machine there is a roller-type apparatus. If you are buying single tickets or carnets (sets of 10) roll the roller to the top selection. After that, roll it all the way to the bottom and it will give you the option to pick your language. Then use the roller and decide if you want single tickets or the carnet of 10. Or whatever else. (You can buy two carnets). Once you%26#39;ve chosen what to buy, you%26#39;ll insert your credit card (I don%26#39;t think you can use an ATM but I could be wrong) and if you%26#39;re lucky....your tickets will fall into a little window. Those of you who know more about this please educate us!
Speaking of the metro...have a plan if someone gets left on or doesn%26#39;t make it on with everyone else. My daughter and I had discussed this before leaving, and darned if the first time we rode the metro I got on and she didn%26#39;t. She didn%26#39;t realize that you have to move quickly! Here%26#39;s what we do: If one gets on and one doesn%26#39;t, the one who gets on gets off at the next stop, turns left and walks as far down as possible (this provides you with a meeting place). The one that got left gets on the next metro, then off at the next stop and goes all the way to the left where your companion is waiting.
If one gets off and another stays on, the person who stayed on gets off at the next stop...walks all the way to the left, and the one who got off, gets on the the next metro, off at the next stop and walks all the way to the left meeting your companion.
On Tuesday evening, we had dinner with our good friends Anne and Alain Sfez...always one of the highlights of our trips! You will know her on TA as AnneParis.
I am not a museum person really (I know...you%26#39;re shocked!) but we did go to the Rodin Museum and I can honestly say that even if you aren%26#39;t into museums, this one is incredible. Don%26#39;t buy the ticket for just the courtyard to see %26quot;The Thinker%26quot;, do the entire museum. It%26#39;s small; just enough for you to be totally impressed!
On Wednesday evening, we had dinner at le Taverne du Sergent Recruteur with three other couples from TripAdvisor. This is the third year we%26#39;ve done this (different groups each time) and every single time each person has had a wonderful time. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and spending time with all of you. I still feel terrible about being late!
We went to Sainte Chappelle on a sunny day, and you can imagine my surprise when the ticket person said, %26quot;Do you have a museum pass?%26quot; I told her no, and she said that tickets were free that day. I have no idea why. And it wasn%26#39;t overly crowded. As usual, it was breathtaking.
The next problem we had (after the black eye and bladder infection) really provided the most anxiety. We went to the Louvre on Friday night at 6pm (my daughter was free since she%26#39;s under 26) and all she had to show was her passport. We stopped at the Royal Palais du Louvre metro stop and followed the signs to the Louvre (or Carousel du Louvre), through the shopping mall and there was hardly any line at all! There are very good signs showing you how to go this way. So my daughter showed her passport and then just stuck it in a flimsy tote bag that had no zipper or closure. We stayed in the Louvre for awhile, left and got a taxi and went straight back to our apartment. Her passport was gone! We were scheduled to leave the next day (Saturday) but the American Consulate is closed on the weekend, so you can%26#39;t get a passport until Monday morning when they open at 9am. Luckily, Northwest was very understanding and didn%26#39;t charge us any additional charges, and the apartment complex had an available apartment that we could use for Saturday and Sunday nights.
In some of the metro stations (ours was Hotel de Ville) there are photo machines and one option is passport photos. So that was easy. You can also download the forms you need for a new passport from an internet cafe which further saves time. When we got to the consulate, we had all of of our luggage with us because we had been told that it could take up to 3 hours to get the passport and our flight was at 1:55pm. We had to leave for CDG by 11am, so taking the luggage seemed like a good idea. Except that you can%26#39;t take luggage into the consulate. So my daughter went in and I sat on the sidewalk with all of the luggage (pretty cold!) with my black eye looking probably like a bag lady. I probably should have starting singing since I%26#39;m a vocalist and held out a cup! Moral of the story? Put a copy of your passport in your bag, and your original in your hotel safe or safety deposit box if available. Or hide it somewhere in your hotel room or apartment.
Speaking of apartments, as soon as I can get to it, I%26#39;ll post a review of ours, but in the meantime, it%26#39;s at 10 rue Aubriot in the Marais district, Number 4) and we definitely would not recommend it. I%26#39;ll go into details in the appropriate hotel/apartment review area.
For you ladies, I have found the best foundation makeup (and maybe some of you gentlemen too!) You get it in the pharmacie. The brand is Vichy and the type is dermablend. It makes your face look exceptionally smooth! I found it back on my last trip in May, and this time loaded up on it. It%26#39;s the best foundation makeup I%26#39;ve ever found and it covers everything! But I didn%26#39;t cover the black eye because that would cut down on the sympathy!
I%26#39;m planning on updating my notes (I know some of you have read them), and I%26#39;ll include most of this info, and the website where you can download the forms you%26#39;ll need if you lose your passport.
So...I know this is long! If I think of other things, I%26#39;ll let you all know.
Vicki
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Wow, Vicki.........you really had some bad luck!!! BTW, I didn%26#39;t find your post long at all: I almost held my breath %26#39;till the end because I was afraid I was going to read about some more bad luck. Thank you for sharing.
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Welcome back, vicki. I felt the same way as Shoesy, thinking %26quot;OMG, can this get any worse now ??? Only thing the poor woman needs is a food infection, to spring an ankle and fall into the Seine......%26quot;
Hope you had - in between catastrophies - a nice trip anyway....
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%26quot;The next thing you need to know is that most of the metro stations have done away with ticket windows. They are for info only.%26quot;
Well, Vicki, you and I must have different definitions of %26quot;most%26quot;. There are 350 métro stations in Paris and, as far as know, only a dozen of them, maybe not even that many, are equipped with the new %26quot;info only%26quot; window. Having said that, I agree with you: I don%26#39;t really see the point of this new RATP policy, given that these stations are mostly in tourist areas and that foreign credit cards don%26#39;t always work in the automatic machines.
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Welcome home, Vicki. I%26#39;m sorry about all your bad luck. What an anxiety-ridden last weekend you must have had. Isn%26#39;t that a traveler%26#39;s worst nightmare...losing one%26#39;s passport. I can%26#39;t imagine. At any rate, I hope all the sympathy for the black eye made up for some of it.
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Wow, Vicki, what an adventure! If it makes you feel any better, I WASHED my passport and dried it in the drier on this trip! I went to the Embassy also and had a new one within one hour! They were super nice but talk about a giant %26quot;doh!%26quot; moment! I found that it helped a great deal that I carry a certified copy of my birth certificate with me when I travel. The Embassy folks said it made the process faster.
Interesting about the Metro stations- I did not notice this change, it seemed like there were agents in almost all the stations I was in, at least that I noticed.
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Washed and dried your passport, Mascara? OMG! Did you laugh or cry when you realized what you had done?
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Hello dear Shoesy!
I don%26#39;t want to hijack Vicki%26#39;s thread, but for laughs, here%26#39;s what happened:
I had some laundry to do on about the fifth day of my trip. That morning I was getting ready to head to the corner laundrymat when I spilled some coffee on my parka. This parka has a secret pocket inside where I always stash my passport. What happened was I took the bag of laundry to the laundrymat and loaded it all into a washer. Then, I looked at the parka and thought, %26quot;I should throw this in here so I don%26#39;t walk around all day looking like a toddler who%26#39;s dribbled on themselves...%26quot; So I tossed the parka in as an afterthought.
So I merrily go along, wash, dry, fold, etc. Put the parka BACK ON and head to see my friend%26#39;s new apartment near Trocadero. I get there and we greet each other and she hugs and kisses me. When she hugged me I felt this wet blob on my right... chest area! I was like, %26quot;Oh, sh*t!%26quot; The PP was actually in OK condition EXCEPT the front page where the photo was is peeling away from the cover. I called the embassy and they told me to come by the foillowing AM and they%26#39;d look at it.
So I went over there and they took a look- and told me it would be better for them to issue me a duplicate. So they did. For anyone reading this, I can%26#39;t tell you how nice they were there. Really. Also I was done in about an hour, so if you have to do this, get there right when they open at 9:00. (I got there at 9:30). They have photo booths in the waiting area that you can use. Also, having my birth certificate really helped. I was told by the Agent that helped me that at least 2 people a week come in with passports that have been destroyed à la levage....! LOL!
PS: Got home yesterday and saw your message, will reply shortly!
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Mascara - It%26#39;s good to know that getting a new passport wasn%26#39;t such a nightmare.
Vicki - Is that Vichy make-up hypoallergenic?
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Mascara - please do not worry about hijacking this thread! People need to know what can actually happen and how these problems are solved. One thing I didn%26#39;t mention that when I was sitting on the sidewalk at the consulate surrounded by my luggage (and my daughter%26#39;s) was that it started raining!!!! Of course I had an umbrella....packed. I just couldn%26#39;t bring myself to start unpacking the luggage all over the sidewalk.
Bob - I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;re right; most metro stations must have ticket windows. I guess we were just lucky enough to find the ones on this trip that didn%26#39;t and I%26#39;m convinced that those wicked machines were designed by some mad scientist somewhere just to drive us to drink.
Shoesy - yes, the makeup is hypoallergenic according to the tube it%26#39;s in. The cost is around 16 Euro and worth every cent. At 42, I need all the help I can get!
All in all, even with all of the problems, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. It would have to be far worse for me not to enjoy Paris!
One of you mentioned that the consulate has a photo machine. This is true...but if you%26#39;re getting on a plane that day and that machine just happens to be broken or out of paper or ink or whatever...you%26#39;re going to have a big problem. In our case, we were leaving literally a few hours after obtaining the new passport, so we got the photos the day before just in case of any problems. If you%26#39;re not leaving for a few days, then by all means, save yourself some time and get the photos at the consulate. My daughter (who has never done anything like this by herself in her life!) was fine....they treated her wonderfully even though she was terrified to deal with the consulate herself. She%26#39;s not spoiled really...not at all...it%26#39;s just that I tend to do all of those %26#39;paperwork%26#39; kinds of things for her. Well, I guess her husband does them now. I tried my hardest to let her sort of navigate around Paris and London so that she could learn how to %26#39;do Paris%26#39;. I%26#39;m sure those of you with kids know it%26#39;s hard not to just do things for them, (even when they%26#39;re 24 like mine!) but she had to just make a few mistakes and learn from them.
So....feel free to share your horror stories...the rest of us will learn from your mistakes. Mine? Don%26#39;t go running into a solid door with your head at 90 mph.
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Interestingly enough, there was just a story on my local news last night about Vichy makeup. Well, not specifically Vichy. The report was on which makeup is made with the most pure water. And the consumer reporter said that Vichy was in the top three of the most pure. Good to know.
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