Tag Archives: France

Wandering Through Disneyland Paris!

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A few weeks ago, I went to Disneyland Paris for a day trip. Yes, you heard me, a day trip! We were picked up at our allocated time at the destination closest to us and drove through the night getting on a 90 minute ferry ride to Calais and then carrying on driving through the night onto Paris. Due to late arrival of pick up and traffic we didn’t get breakfast in the outskirts of Paris, however, if you are on time you will get breakfast at 8:30am and then carry on traveling up to Disneyland to arrive at 10am!

Having the entire day till 11pm to explore both the park and Walt Disney Studios, with five fast track tickets you will have plenty of time to get everything in. Before you go back to the coach you will get to watch the light show on the castle where depending on the time of you a wonderful array of Characters such as Anna and Olaf from Frozen will be projected onto the castle, with light beams and water fountains, it is a day in paradise for young children, without the expense for the parents! The fast track tickets are great, however they are different to what we know, you book the time slot in advance, so when you get there start using them straight away as fast track closes around 7pm so you won’t be able to book slots after that.

You and your children, or if you are a couple, can watch the parades and get cuddles with your favorite Disney characters. With loads of different lands, it is perfect for all ages to enjoy. You will become the child that is in your heart from the moment you step into this magical place.

The way I managed to keep this fairly cheap is through Wowcher, and they are doing the deal again at the moment and it comes up reguarly. Through a company called Coach Innovations, you will book this up for £99 per person (usually £149 per person). Its a fantastic deal considering Disneyland tickets are 88 euros on the gate! You will get a resort hopper ticket with this meaning you have access to the studios as well which contains lots of new rides as well as Tower of Terror, Crash’s Coaster and Toy Story Land!

http://www.wowcher.co.uk/deals/essex/deal-279167-detail/99-disneyland-trip-disney-day-pass-coach-10/deal.html?searchresult=true

If you are going to travel with kids, I warn you in advance the merchandise here is expensive and especially if you have several children it can be more expensive than its worth. I have a tip about how to do it a cheaper way while your children still experience all the souvenirs. The morning before you go, you can wake them up with a pile of presents that Mickey has left for them instead and you can get it cheaper outside the park. Such us on Wowcher again, there is lots of Disney products. Such as this wonderful onesie which they could travel and sleep in on the coach nice and warm!

£5.99 http://www.wowcher.co.uk/nationwide/national-deal/deal-264694-detail/5-99-instead-13-99-fancy-suits-baby-onesie-7-99/deal.html?searchresult=true

Or these various Frozen accessories:

£4.99 http://www.wowcher.co.uk/nationwide/national-deal/deal-277842-detail/4-99-kids-disney-frozen-clip-purse-linen-ideas-5/deal.html?searchresult=true

I hope this gives you a good idea to have a special day with your children or friends. It is a great day and worth the money completely, bring blankets and pillows for the coach journey to snuggle up and sleep well and you can leave these on the coach. If you do go, let me know how you enjoyed it and what you thought?

Thank you for wandering with me!

Wandering Through Paris

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I have arrived home from..(Drum roll please!) PARIS! This stunning place really shocked me. I have always thought of it as a place of cliches whereby it would be full of roses and romance but its an ordinary place that’s dominated by the Eiffel Tower which is so intricately beautiful, it has got to be one of the most incredible pieces of architecture that I have ever seen, and I’m not a arty person! You can’t get sick of looking at it, each time you gaze at this feature of the city, it simply gets more jaw dropping and breath taking! I thought it would be similar to Rome whereby there would be people flogging things at the bottom or all around the city, however there was a few but nothing compared to what I have experienced in previous countries. The queues were minimal, so small in fact, I manage to get up the Eiffel Tower three times. Once on the first day, where we walked up (Could. Not. Breath!). Twice on the second day. Once to go up via the lift to go for a meal in the Tour 58 Eiffel restaurant for a picnic chic lunch and the second time to go up a night! The food was mouth watering, with a Chicken Cesar Salad starter, Ox meat (Don’t judge me, I felt guilty enough, but everything else had nuts in and I’m allergic!) and then an Orange Marmalade Rice Pudding. Each course was wonderful and brought up in a basket, with a glass of wine and an espresso at the end. If you would like to do it, don’t go to the restaurant straight off as you will have to reserve and pay extortionate prices! I recommend this deal:

http://www.365tickets.co.uk/58-tour-eiffel/58-tour-eiffel-lunch-picnic-chic

This lunch is £31.48 and with 3% cash back. The meal was wonderful, with great service and delicious food, couldn’t have asked for a better time (Tip: Try to get out the lift first, you might get a window seat like we did!).

The glass floor at the first floor of the Eiffel Tower is mind boggling and freaked me out so much, but you have to do it to feel this stomach dropping feeling!

The Louvre is wonderful and full of incredible art (Clueless over here) but we managed to see the Mona Lisa which was awesome to be able to view finally. The building itself is great and you can also get in free if you are 18-25 so make sure you carry your identification or passport although always beware of pickpockets. The Arc De Triomph is a sight to behold with a petrifying round about around it, there is a subway system to get across to it, don’t try to walk across the traffic like we almost did (Not smart cookies!) Once again this is free for 18-25 year old’s which is great.

We went on the Batobus river tour which is opposite the Eiffel Tower by the river and is 16 euros for a whole day of hop on and hop off. However there are lots of river tours to choose from.

The hotel we stayed in was the Mercure Hotel. A two minute walk from the Eiffel Tower and some rooms have a small view of the top of the Eiffel Tower. The staff are wonderful and helpful after we had a hiccup with our room. The rooms are small but modern and chic and well kept. Breakfast is 15 euros, however while this might seem expensive, we had breakfast out one morning thinking we could do it cheaper and it was only a euro or so cheaper, so its better value for money, when we did do the breakfast there the next morning, the food was lovely, with a full breakfast, pastries, fruit and lots more to take your pick from.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/mercure-paris-suffren-tour-eiffel.en-gb.html?sid=5fe95d6baaebf1d1792b612d67909f16;dcid=1;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0&#map_closed

Over all, this was a perfect trip, the metro system is easy to use and its easy to get from the airport to the center just research it before you go. The restaurants are expensive but its Paris, you have to splurge to some extent! And please become a proper Parisian and have coffee or hot chocolate in the lovely little cafes, its a wonderful experience and a great break from all the walking you will do. There is so much to do in this beautiful city, i recommend it to all!

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Thank you for wandering with me!

Wandering Through Strasbourg

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Wandering Through Strasbourg

Map of Strasbourg

Map of Strasbourg

My first trip away, without family or the school was to the beautiful little city of Strasbourg in Eastern France on the border of Germany. Which some might say you can walk to and yes you can, when its not a heat wave and 35 degrees. The hair suffered and don’t even talk about the red face! I stayed their for two nights which was plenty if you are on a flying visit but I always suggest more if you can afford the time and money, simply to take your time exploring. Strasbourg International Airport is their main airport and has a train station within that takes you straight to city center, making it nice and easier to transport to and from your hotel.

Hotel:

Adagio Access Strasbourg Petite France

27 rue de Wasselonne , 67000 Strasbourg, France

The price wasn’t astronomical when we went, and looking it up now for a date in June at random it is £118 for two nights for two people.

The rooms are lovely and contemporary with wonderful air conditioning (We needed it!). With small kitchens if you want to save money and make your own sandwiches for your exploring. There is free wifi access in the hotel, which we all know for our generation is one of the most important aspects. (We tend to shrivel and get all moody without it!). With a 24 hour reception they are a wonderful hotel. If you go via a smaller company or independent guesthouses you might not get this therefore always check out the check in and check out times for they may be limited and not work with your travel times.

Although we didn’t use a car, their is private parking on sight however I am unaware as to whether you have to pay for it. Their is also a buffet continental breakfast in the morning for a certain fee which is often worth it as it sets you up for the day without having to waste time trying to find a place to eat.

Overall the hotel is lovely and welcoming and I would recommend it to those on a budget who still want a nice private hotel, not a hostel.

Places to Visit:

Strasbourg is simply stunning to walk around without even seeing the sights. So first I would simply say…walk. Get to the heart of the city and simply walk, take random turns, go down streets that look interesting, walk along the canal. You will come across beautiful sights they no one suggests on tourists sites. They are beautiful because you have come across them. However make sure you have map with you just in case you take the wrong turn to far trying to get back to the hotel. (It happens a lot!)

Places to see and things to do:

  1. Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg. This simply stunning cathedral cannot be put into words. Its presence in the city silences you once you see it. The architecture of it is incredible and a photographers eye will capture it so well sadly my pictures were not up to standard so I beg you to go look at it online and if you do one day get their, you’ll realize that pictures do not do it justice!
  2. Canal tours. The information you’ll learn is incredible. These tours are not expensive and run regularly throughout the day so you can fit it in with you instead of the other way around. You’ll get to see all the government building which seats the European Parliament and these are a fair way out and a bit harder to walk to and many other buildings and places of interest to captivate you.
  3. Parc de l’Orangerie. This park is in the North of Strasbourg, beautiful and serene with plenty to do and see their. Taking a stroll around it, taking in the scenery will relax you, or you can go to the free small zoo there. They enclosures are smaller than average but well kept and the animals seem to be well looked after. The flamingos love showing off they are a stunning sight to see. The park also includes a children’s car track, bowling and many other fountains and kiosks to browse through.
  4. Kehl. The German border to Strasbourg (The one we walked to…”only a little walk away” more like 7.6km!) You can get the tram part of the way and its wonderful to say you went across a border on your trip.

Restaurants:

Due to the heat we didn’t eat much while we were away, and at night we didn’t venture far due to exhaustion but we did find one little restaurant on the canal and if you book early in the day you may just get a seat on the veranda which is perfect.

Marco Polo – http://www.restaurant-marcopolo.fr/galerie.php?lang=fr&PHPSESSID=njfo8kvdpi8p2u8gbpf4p14co2

5 Pont Couverts
67000 Strasbourg
France
Pictures:
Stunning Strasbourg

Stunning Strasbourg

Petite France

Petite France

Canal

The Beautiful Canals

Cathedral

Cathedral

I hope these ideas have helped you decide that maybe Strasbourg is for you. If you have ever wandered through Strasbourg, let us know your thoughts on it? If you have anymore places you would visit?
Thank you for wandering with me!