Family Trip Report - London, Paris & Amsterdam July 2016 PARIS DAY 1

Posted by Tina (Western NY) on 09/26/16 11:16 AM

Paris Day 1 7/8

As soon as Eurostar tickets were available on their site, I purchased them. As everyone says, prices are much lower the earlier you buy. We were booked on the 7:55 am train. Before arriving in London, I wasn't sure if we would take a taxi or the Tube to St. Pancras Station. After taking the Tube for the past week & seeing plenty of people with luggage, I decided we'd take the Tube. I was aiming to be at St. Pancras by 7:00 am, so we headed out from the apartment to St. Kensington Station at 6:00 am. My daughter had packed heavier than the rest of us - she brought a large rolling duffle bag & backpack. We'd had issues on the last trip & have some really funny pictures of her trying to pull an enormous rolling suitcase over the bridges & thru the streets of Venice! We'd warned her that she would be responsible again for handling her suitcase. After taking the Tube during the past week, I realized that she would never manage that suitcase in the Tube station or St. Pancras. I told my husband to trade with her in the Stations, but let her handle the suitcase everywhere else. I didn't want to inconvenience other passengers, but still wanted her to learn to pack light or manage her own bags.

We had a quick Tube ride to St. Pancras - the Tube not too busy at that time of day. We headed toward the Eurostar check-in, stopping to buy some food for the journey along the way. Security went really quickly & before long we were sitting down waiting for our train. We didn't have long to wait before our platform number was shown on the board & we quickly headed to the train. Our 1st train trip! I had purchased 4 seats together, with a small table in between. My husband found a place for daughter's luggage at the end of our car, the rest of our bags went above our seats. The train left right on time. It was a peaceful journey - I think we ate our breakfast & slept most of the way.

We arrived at Gare du Nord right on time (11:27 am). On our way to the taxi stand, daughter decided she needed the restroom. We found a place to wait for her & she left her bags with us. She was quickly back saying she needed money as you had to purchase a token to use the restroom. I headed back down with her. There was a long line to purchase the restroom token! My tip for you - use the restroom on the Eurostar! You'll save yourself lots of time.

By now there was quite a line in the taxi stand but it seemed to move quickly. I thought we might need to wait for a mini van cab, but when we reached the front, a small car pulled up. I didn't think we'd fit, but the cab driver (a woman) just started loading us up. It was a tight squeeze in the car, but she fit all our luggage in the trunk & us in the car.

Posted by Tina OP

Western NY

09/27/16 11:16 AM

85 posts

Paris Day 1 7/8 continued:

I gave our driver the hotel address which I had written down on an index card & we were off. We marveled at the beautiful buildings we passed on the way & we could see Notre Dame in the distance. We stayed at the Hotel Moderne St. Germain. Originally my daughter's boyfriend was supposed to come on this trip with us, so in looking for a hotel, I needed a triple room for the kids. They broke up (luckily before any plane tickets, etc. were booked!), so since I had based our travel plans for each day on this location, I just changed the triple room to a double room. The décor is very modern, just like the name implies. The front desk staff were great, very helpful with directions & recommendations. We were given 2 rooms on the top floor (6th floor). The tiny elevator only goes to the 5th floor, so it took 2 trips to get to the 5th floor with our luggage, then climbed with our luggage to the 6th floor. On our last day & the day we left, the elevator was not working at all, so we had to climb all 6 flights up & down. We were never offered any assistance with our luggage either on arrival day or departure day (when we had to carry it down 6 flights). We were capable of handling our own luggage, but hopefully if someone needed help, they could get it.

The rooms were fairly large, I thought, with a double bed in our room & 2 twin beds in the kid's room. Our rooms had tiny balconies, we could step out to see the great views up & down the street. The only reason I would not stay here again was the complete lack of privacy while showering. There was a small room with the toilet (& a door!), but the shower was open to the room, no door or curtain. While lying in bed, you could completely see the person in the shower. My husband & I have been married for 27 years, but by the time we left I was longing for privacy! This set up did not work for a brother/sister room combo at all! When 1 would be showering, the other would come down to our room to wait. That also meant that we couldn't be showering in our room at that time, unless the visiting kid sat at the opposite end of the room directly under the TV. It was very awkward & hard to get ready in the morning.