Wednesday 4 August 2010

Girly Guide To Paris: Example Itinerary

Day 1:
9am-arrive at Eiffel Tower (prebook tickets for 3rd floor)
Go to the 2nd floor and go straight to the 3rd floor elevator queues-wait and take in the view from the top.
10.30am-Cross the road at the north pillar and book tickets for a Seine cruise.I used Vedettes de Paris which was great and takes around an hour but several depart and I think they are all pretty good.
12.00pm- Make your way to the Louvre (prebook tickets if possible) now you can spend an hour or several hours in here but we just went for the highlights-Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa etc.
2.00pm-Lunch on Rue de Rivoli-I like the omlettes from Chez Alexandre just off Rue de Rivoli on Rue du Louvre but there is everything from cafes to McDonalds to A la Carte restraunts nearby to suit your taste and budget.
3.00pm-Do some shopping along Rue de Rivoli and make your way along towards the 4th arrondissment.
4.00pm-Visit Notre Dame-whether you climb it or not is up to yourself - the views are pretty great(although the stairs are pretty soul destroying).
4.30pm-Make your way back along the Seine,visiting the little market stores that line it-selling books and art.Turn into the latin Quarter whenever suits you.Continue shopping.
7.00pm-Take a train to the 9th arrondissment and get off around the Grand Boulevards Metro stop or nearby if possible. Visit the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner.
9.00pm-Visit one on the little local bars and feel sorry for yourself because your feet hurt. Home whenever suits you for bed.

Day 2:
9.00am- Take the RER line A to Marne La Vallee Chessy and visit Disneyland
10.00am-Arrive and go straight to Walt Disney Studios. Go on as many rides and visit as much as you can/want.
Food and drink is expensive here so I'd say have something like one of the little cakes/crisps to stay fulling during the day and have a big breakfast before you go.
2.30pm-Planet Hollywood for lunch.Visit Disney Village afterwards.
3.45pm-Visit Disneyland Park.Stay as long as you need and do as much as you can. Check opening hours for both parks and change your times in each park around this, but i think Disneyland Park is open as late as 11pm in the summer.Have dinner on the way home somewhere near your hotel if you r home early enough and feel like eating (we actually only managed a little cake after our Planet Hollywood burgers).

Day 3:
Have your first Parisian lie-in!Either spend the full day shopping or...
11am-Make your way to the Pigalle area (safe enough during the day) and try to keep a straight face as you pass the countless sex shops (it's the red light district).Visit the Moulin Rouge for photos and walk up towards Sacre Couer-whether you get close to the stairs is up to yourself.Bear in my mind my earlier advice.Views are second to none from the top of the basillica and the building is beautiful.
1pm-Lunch wherever suits you in the 9th arrondisment.
2pm-Make your way to the Arc di Triomphe, take lots of photos and go to the top if you want. Then shop on Champs-Elysees.
5pm-Back to hotel.Change for dinner.
7pm-Head out for dinner wherever you chose and spend your last night either in a trendy Parisian bar in the Latin Quarter or if your budget allows it go to a cabaret such as Lido, Crazy Horse Paris or Moulin Rouge (should be booked before you go via the cabarets website or Viator).

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Girly Guide To Travel:Spotlight on.....


I Heart..... book series


The I heart ….. books are addictive and essential read for travelling. I’ve mentioned them several times in previous posts and thought I might as well do a post about them as these were part of what made me come to put this blog together :) I’m avoiding spoilers and giving away too much information here as best as I can.

The first book,I Heart New York follows the story of Angela Clark who moves from London to New York on discovering her boyfriends infidelity at her best friend’s wedding. From there she begins to blog, date, learn how to apply make-up and spend a lot of money on clothes by designers she never even knew existed until she arrived in New York. The book follows her ups and downs in New York and her blogged about dating life, while she chooses between 2 New Yorkers who offer her very different but very nice things.

The second book, I Heart Hollywood follows her time spent in Hollywood on a work assignment to interview a huge Hollywood actor. In Hollywood things take a turn for the worse and Angela falls victim to the city’s penchant for creating hot gossip from nothing. Angela’s career, love life and friendships are soon jeopardized by it all and I wont tell you how it ends…..read it.

The third book. I Heart Paris is set in……you guess…..oh you guessed right (I hope). On another writing project, poor Angela’s work and love life is again appearing strained due to some dubious workmates and a very bitchy ex-girlfriend. The funniest of all the books by far.

The series is funny, witty and very girly. It is like Sex and The City on the road. I highly recommend picking them up and giving them a go. You will fall in love with Angela, author Lindsey Kelk has managed to create a very convincing, lovely, oh-she’s-so-like-me character and you genuinely want her to do well ,will laugh with her, root her on and get upset when things go a bit pear shaped for her. I would also like be amazed to hear of anyone who didn’t actually wish they didn’t have her friend Jenny as their best friend too.




Girly Guide to Travel: Paris on a Budget

Booking Up

If flying from the UK, Ryanair offers cheap flights from several airports and I paid £26 for return flights in July from Glasgow Prestwick to Beauvais Airport including online check-in. Easyjet also offer cheap flights to Paris. So look around before you book and avoid travel agents if possible. Flying to Beauvais tends to be cheaper and it takes about 1hr on the bus to transfer to Porte Maillot in Paris city centre, costing around 15eur one way.\From there take the Metro or a taxi to your hotel. (An example of cost of taxi from Porte Maillot- taxi to the 9th arrondissment is under 10eur).

Hotels

I can recommend 2 budget hotels, both of which I’ve used.

Tonic Hotel Du Louvre offers an amazing location in the 1st arrondissment, just off Rue de Rivoli. It is within walking distance to the Louvre, Les Halles Shopping area and Notre Dame Cathedral. Rooms are tiny but that is the norm in Paris. Rooms have bath/shower, TV (with pay movies in English), safe, hairdryer, complimentary toiletries, mini bar and decent ward robe space if you are only there for a few days. The TV only offers 2 English speaking channels which are both news channels so unless your French is great or you have an amazing tolerance for BBC world news being run on a loop then bring a mini DVD player/laptop or books/magazines if you intend to be in the room for any great length of time. That said, it is Paris and it would be absolutely criminal for you to use our room for anything other than briefly sleeping, showering and dressing. Breakfast is expensive in the hotel so if you’re not getting it for free I would go elsewhere. Look at the hotel website but discounted rates are often available through hotels.com.

http://www.tonichotel.com/

Hotel Peletier Haussman Opera- I found this hotel to be a hidden gem. It’s in the 9th arrondissment and is near the Hard Rock Café, several shops and Sacre Coeur. There are several Metro stops nearby so getting to the main sights is easy. Rooms include shower, TV (only 1 English channel so follow the advice from the above hotel), complimentary toiletries, a mini bar, safe and hairdryer. Rooms are a fraction smaller than the Tonic Hotel Du Louvre but it cost me half of what I pay for the Tonic. Breakfast is 6eur for croissants, bread, jam, butter,tea,coffee and fresh orange juice. We booked through hotels.com and were around £140 for 2 nights for a twin room.

http://www.peletieropera.com/index-gb.htm


Both hotels are basic but ideal if you want a clean, safe base to sightsee from at a decent price.

Budget Tips

Eating/Drinking- Street vendors sell beautiful crepes, paninis, croquet monsieur’s, hot dogs etc for a few euros so take advantage of these for lunch. Alternatively, visit a Monoprix or Franprix and buy picnic essentials for lunch at the Eiffel Tower or on a Seine Cruise. Several little cafés are reasonably priced, particularly around the Latin Quarter. Look out for happy hour menu’s at night for dinner.

Getting around- Buy a carnet of metro tickets for 12 eur and remember transfers are free and walk as much as you can. There are also travel passes from 1day + although I have only ever used a Mobilis pass for visiting Disneyland. Take a Seine Cruise (prices vary, I paid about 11eur for a 1hr cruise) to see loads of sights and take some amazing pictures. Transfers from the airport can be pricey but several buses and Metro’s operate so check the airport website to be sure of details.

Sightseeing- Book tickets in advance where possible so that sightseeing doesn’t take up your spending money. Take photographic ID and you can receive discounts on sights such as the Eiffel Tower if you are under 26. Use Viator if you intend to do a bus tour or a cabaret such as the Moulin Rouge as it tends to be much cheaper than buying tickets once your there.

Girly Guide To Paris:La Destination Mode Européenne

Paris is widely considered the fashion capital of Europe and it's easy to see why-even the less immaculately preened, non-designer, bedhead hispster girls seem effortlessly styled and the Metro is like a Vogue fashion shoot. So, while in New York anything goes Paris requires a bit more planning in packing your case.Good staples for a Paris trip are:

Ballet flats (you will walk a lot)
Nice heels for dinner/cabaret show at night
The skinniest skinny jeans you own
An over-body bag (trendy but less likely to be pickpocketed/stolen)
A pretty brolly or PacaMac as I have been in all seasons and rain is about as Parisian as the Eiffel Tower
Make up -see on the plane
Tea/day dresses are good in all seasons and perfect for anywhere.Wear with flats and bare legs in the summer and with tights and a cardi in the winter
Stripy top's are totally do-able but dont wear with a beret and a string of onions- wear an oversized/dress version with leggings or bare legs.Shorter tshirts are good with skinny jeans and flats.Knitted stripy tops/cardis are good with block colour dresses/skirts.


Shopping:
Champs Elysees-A shopping mecca with a choice of designer and Parisian High St stores. Get off the Metro at Charles de Gaulle Etoile, see the Arc Di Triomphe and work your way along the hundreds of stores and restraunts.Stores include Louis Vuitton, Sephora, Morgan de Toi etc.

Latin Quarter-Traditionally the student quarter but the Latin Quarter has been expanded and has a range of stores. Gift/souvenir shops are a lot cheaper here than around the Louvre/Rue de Rivoli.As well as clothing/souvenir stores there are several book stores, market stands along the Seine selling paintings and books, a great glove store and several restraunts. Metro stations are plentiful in the area- St Michel, Maubert and Cluny are to name but a few.

Rue de Rivoli- Offers several souvenir shops,art shops, Quicksilver, Etam, H & M and a Pronuptia wedding shop for brides to be. Again, several restraunts are nearby and the underground Les Halles shopping mall.Metro stations-Louvre Rivoli, Chatelet Les Halles, Les Halles.

Also visit, Fabourg St Honore, Galeries Lafayette,Printemps, the Marais.

Tip:Monoprix is a huge store selling food,make up, toiletries etc and there are several around the city.Look out for them as they often sell great clothing/accessories and the sale items are fantastic.

Look out for sales (soldes) when visiting. I managed to get a 40eur bag for 7.50 eur in Monoprix and it's rather lovely :) Other sale items we tracked down include a beautiful floral skirt in Morgan de Toi (45eur to 9eur) and several tops down to as little as 6eur in Morgan de Toi. Sale seasons are (winter) beginning of January and (summer)the end of June and they usually last around 6 weeks.

Must buy's

Compact Mirrors-Buy in the Latin Quarter for about 5eur.There is a huge range of designs and they are all very pretty.
Scarves-Various designs,shapes and textures on offer and prices start from around 7eur.
Food/drink-Wine is wonderfully cheap so stock up and bring home, also you can buy absinthe pretty cheap.Maxim chocolate is gorgeous, beautifully packed and starts froma round 4 eur.
Souvenirs-Get something to mark your visit-an I heart Paris hoody from (25 eur), bookmark(from 1 eur),pen(from 2 eur), eiffel tower keyring(from 6 for 1eur), pictures (from 2 eur)etc.
Also, make up from duty free!

Girly Guide to Disneyland Paris







Disneyland Paris

Despite being minute compared to it's Floridian counterpart, Disneyland is a good way to spend a day if you want away from sightseeing and the city centre. Disneyland Paris is in Marne La Vallee, about 50 minutes on the RER Line A to Marne La Vallee-Chessy.A few larger metro stations have links to the RER line A and we travelled from Auber. If you decide to travel by Metro and RER, and are staying in the city centre,get a one day 5 zone Mobilis pass from the ticket booth on the day you travel. This costs around £13.85.You may need to have a pass with more or less zones included depending on where you travel from, so ask at the information desk before buying if you are unsure.You can book Disneyeland Tickets online via the Dinseyland website and Viator offer deals with transport from the city centre.I have a link to Viator under the Helpful Webpages section of my blog. Pre-booking saves time and is usually cheaper.Bring ID if you pre-book your tickets.

Disneyland Paris has 2 parks- Walt Disney Studios Park and Disneyland Park.WDS Park is a lot smaller with less rides,however, it's worth going if you can upgrade to a 2 park ticket for £10-15 more. Be prepared to queue for major rides/attractions particularly in the busier seasons, use your fast pass (free) to avoid standing in long lines.


Best of WDS Park:


Cinemagique-A 4d show charting cinemas progression through the years.It funny, clever and shows are regular.This was my favourite WDS Park attraction.




Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror- This is actually terrifying.It's set up like an abandoned hotel and you ride the elevator which basically appears either very broken or very haunted. I was ill on this :P


Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster-A rollercoaster which goes from 0-100km/hr in less than 3 seconds.Really fast,really scary and a must do if visiting WDS Park.Look out for band/gig memorbilia on the way to the ride.


Disneyland Park is a lot bigger and will need a lot more time dedicated to getting around everything.We did this in the afternoon after WDS Park as it was open later but check times before you go.

Best of Disneyland Park:
Big Thunder Mountain-A roller coaster which is a lot scarier than it looks, we went on it thinking it was a little old fashioned rickety coaster.And we couldnt have been more wrong.




Space Mountain Mission 2- Another roller coaster, which is the scariest one I went on n Disneyland.A lot of stopping,starting,black holes and very quick turns.




Phantom Manor-A haunted mansion ride which is really well done.It isnt scary but some of the effects (like the dancing ghosts in the ballroom) make it a must-do ride.
Best photo points:
Sleeping Beauty's Castle
Alice's Curious Labyrinth
Most areas in Main St USA
Character Greeting points

In between parks, visit Disney Village and have lunch in Planet Hollywood. Disney Village also has several other restraunts, shops, a cinema and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Monday 2 August 2010

Girly Guide To Paris:For on the Plane



Book:

I Heart Paris by Lindsey Kelk is funny, exciting and a follow-up to I Heart New York which I recommended in my New York Blogs. It follows fictional character Angela Clark's journey around Paris and is like a French Sex in the City.Lovely and I'm half way through it just now :)

Music for your ipod:
U2 - City of Blinding Lights: The lyrics beautifully sum up the city at night and I think of Paris everytime I hear it (they also used it in the Paris arrival scene in the Devil Wears Prada :p).
Edith Piaf- Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien:Lovely, french, dramatic, unspoiled and timeless.Just like Paris.
Ladyhawke- Paris is Burning: Just heard this song and I think it really gives you an insight into the hip,bohemian feel of the Latin Quarter.
Must have's on flight:
In your make up bag:
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat
A mini tub of Nivea Soft (hands face and body one)
Carmex Lip Balm
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara
Barry M Eyeliner (any,they are all great)
Barry M Dazzle Dust (any colour but you only need a tiny amount)
Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse (foundation and blusher)
A small perfume atomizer- fill it with something light and lovely Anna Sui Secret Wish or Dolce and Gabanna Light blue so it's not too overpowering for whoever is around you though :)
Baby wipes-travel pack
Other necessities:
Undies (incase your hold luggage case goes missing)
Map of paris, metro map print out and hotel details so you can plan your arrival and journey from airport
Alcohol gel for hands-if you plan on using the metro and also because I have yet to find a flight toilet with soap that doesnt smell disgusting.
A hairband/bobble and bursh (again incase your cases go missing)
Pen, ipod, scrap paper,phone and camera (as above :p)

Girly Guide To Paris: Using the Metro


The metro is Paris' underground system and it's cheap, fast and easy to use. Walking is the best way to get around Paris purely as it's more scenic,however, if you're only in Paris for a few days and you have a lot to see then you should get a metro map before you go and get used to it. The metro can be used to transfer from the airport and to get to all the main attractions. The metro system covers around 380 stations and there is also the RER which you can use to travel further out, for example to Disneyland Paris, at an increased cost. If you are in Paris for a few days then buy a carnet(pronounced un car-nay) of tickets. This is 10 tickets for about 12eur and top up if you need to.Transfers of lines between the one station is free. Also, if travelling to Disneyland Paris buy a one day mobilis pass, if staying in the city centre you will need a 5 zone pass, this is around 13.85 eur.You have to buy tickets before boarding as you enter the tickets on the machines beside the turnstiles. Tip: if travelling with luggage and the metro can be busy so try to avoid peak travel times. Also, it's considered bad manners to sit of the fold up/down seats when the train is particularly busy so following cue from other travellers. Also, beware of pickpockets when on the metro although we have never experienced this. Avoid Pigalle station particularly at night as this isnt the nicest of areas.If in doubt, take a taxi.I will try and post the nearest metro station to any hotels/attractions etc I post about.