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Paris and Italy Dream Trip

Hello All!

We are currently in Paris for 2 more days, then taking the TGV to Munich to catch the ÖBB Nightjet to Italy. So this is an “in progress” report.

Weather — consistently cool, with a bit of warming sun in the afternoon. Quite nice actually, vs hot weather.

Crowds — Places seem fairly busy -at the Eiffel it was jam packed and summit tickets were sold out for the day. Took an hour+ to get from the initial security check to the summit, with no looking at the shops, etc. The line on level 2 to get to the summit was so packed, and slow — lots of attempted line cutting, and people being turned away because they didn’t have summit pics.

Musee d’Orsay was also packed, although when we arrived at 1:45 for our 2pm ticket we were able to go right in with only maybe 10 people in front of us. Inside was busy, especially on the 5th floor. We left at 3:30 the advance purchase line was pretty massive. Basically the entire cordoned line area was completely full, whereas it was entirely empty when we went in.

Sainte Chapelle was also very busy — long line for our 4:30 entry time. We were amused at the short temper of the guy running the line. He wasn’t dealing with ANY chaos. If you didn’t have your ticket already up and showing on your phone, he made you go back to the end of the line. One person tried to just stand to the side while she was pulling it up, and he was adamant, no nonsense “NOT here — go back to the end of line”. I had a printed copy, which he seemed thrilled with, and even scolded someone else for not having a printed one like me. Too funny. The guy at security was less acerbic but also loosing patience with the older lady who was super, super slow to get her stuff in the bin, and the lady that didn’t want to take her blazer off. And then the older lady had NO idea what to do in the scanning “box” (they have the kind like the airport where you put your feet on the painted markers and hold your arms over your head). So heads up to be prepared to quickly have your stuff ready to be screened. The church is under renovation, so lots of exterior fencing and covered scaffolds. Inside it made no difference. You have to show your ticket a second time while entering. Inside was very, very crowded. You view the first room, then head towards the door you entered from, but move to the left to climb the spiral stairs. Do NOT attempt to go up the spiral stair to the right (you will get yelled at — glad it wasn’t me, lol). The main church space is one of the most beautiful man made spaces I have ever seen, even jam packed with people. (We wore our masks except for a few selfies, most were not). You exit via the right side spiral stairs.

Loire — we did a tour with City Wonders to Chambord, Blois and Chenonceau. Other than Blois, the stops were quite crowded. Probably not as bad as the summer season, but more than I hoped for off season. Chambord is also covered with scaffolding so not as picturesque as usual, but good that they are doing needed repairs. Blois was quite enjoyable, but the stores are all close during the lunch hour, so don’t plan on any shopping. Chenonceau is beautiful and we loved the gardens. Unfortunately we didn’t separate from the tour when it started with a wine tasting. It took up too much of our very limited time. So if you do a day tour there, keep that in mind. Wine tasting will take up at least 30 minutes of your roughly 1 and half hours. So our tour of the castle ended up being rushed, and we missed most of the interior. If we are ever able to go back, we will stay 2 nights minimum to visit on our own schedule.

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Meals: We’ve had, as expected, some wonderful food. We grabbed charcuterie and baked goods at the Gourmet Galerie (Part of Galerie Lafayette). The pain au chocolate from the bakery next to Yann Couvreur was heaven. We got a few things from YC that were also amazing.

We had a spontaneous lunch at Le Franklin (1 Rue Benjamin Franklin) which was affordable and delicious. Not in a touristy area, but on our way from a fabric shop I went to to the Trocadero (still pretty much closed off, but some entry on the left side if facing the Eiffel)

Yesterday we had lunch at Les Antiquaries near the Orsay — excellent service, delicious food at a decent price. Dinner at L’Initial was wonderful, and a fun experience. And we had brunch today at L’Officine in our hotel that was fantastic.

We also did a day trip to Brussels on the Thalys (we did first class that includes meal service —it was wonderful, very highly recommend it)

I will add more as we continue on our trip :-)

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So crowded even in April! We all have itchy feet! I feel for service workers who face the same behaviors daily and I would guess most places are understaffed.

Thanks for your succinct report. Looking forward to your ongoing journey!

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I had a printed copy, which he seemed thrilled with

😆

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I was at Chenonceau yesterday (Saturday) — it was busy but I wouldn't say it was overcrowded by any means.

Anyway, it's school holidays in France (and, I’m guessing, probably also in some other European countries)

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In the past, as part of our tech detoxic, we never used our phones when traveling. With COVID restrictions, I'm prepared to use my phone this time but have also printed paper backup. Maybe it's not in vain...

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Be Prepared, I guess its the old Boy Scout in me. I too would have printed copies of all the sites we visited even though I had a digital copy on my phone or the facilities App. I remember someones cell phone began an update on them while they were in line to get on a plane. Interesting watching someone cuss out their phone.

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I did bring printed copies of everything- phone batteries die, update, etc and it’s just not that hard to have a printed version as backup.

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Additional meal review in Paris before we head off to Italy

L' Officine in the Hotel du Louvre. We had two amazing meals here -- service was wonderful, and very friendly team. Presentation is spectacular and everything was delicious. We had the brunch one day, and a light dinner of appetizers last night. Excellent cocktails as well. And the ambiance is incredible. Price point was in range and actually better than I expected.

We enjoyed a very nice meal with excellent service near our hotel at Le Royal (not sure exact address but adjacent to Place Andre Malraux.). In the Latin Quarter we shared a delicious chevre, apple and walnut crepe -- will edit later to add the name of the crepery.

We had Chaux a la creme de Paris at Odette -- touristy but yummy.

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Currently on the TGV headed to Munich and slowly updating our personal travel
Blog for this trip (pics take a while on the train 😝). There is a link in my profile if anyone is interested.

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TGV had terrible wifi which did not help me catch up on my blog. 😒 Otherwise was a nice trip. Thalys was better with their food service and friendly crew. The woman handling refreshment sales on TGV was not particularly pleasant.

OBB Nightjet needs some work. Crew was fairly disorganized and unprofessional. Two guys checking tickets for our coach were arguing with each other and not processing passengers. Cabin attendant was not too informative, told us he would do a wake-up call, etc. And didn't (but we had set our alarms). He brought breakfast moments before our exit station so that was useless. Water and electricity were out in the morning -- so no toilets, teeth brushing with bottled water, etc. But overall we still enjoyed the novelty of the experience. The private sleeper cars sleep 3, but 2 was a challenge even with minimal luggage.

In Bologna we had a delicious meal at "il Calice" on via Clavature. Great service, cute outdoor seating, reasonable price with good food.

So far in Firenze we had dinner at B-Roof, the restaurant at the Baglioni. Across the board excellent experience.

Lunch at Trattoria del Panello -- good food, service and pricing. We enjoyed it very much.

Staying at the Hotel Paris, in one of their suites. It was less than 200 euros per night, huge room with large bathroom and dressing room. Nice breakfast, charming old world ambiance and wonderful staff.

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Today we had lunch at Ristorante Il Paiolo (Roberto recommended it) in Florence and it was wonderful. Charming place, friendly and excellent service -- and of course, delicious food. Price was fairly standard for a nice lunch.

Mostly we just wandered and did some random shopping. It was raining all day, but we had our rain jackets so not a problem. Also seemed to reduce the number of large groups, which have been very prevalent here. Maybe one just notices them more in the narrow streets, but it's all too frequently like a wall of oblivious people (their focus is of course on the guide, rather than anything else )