BLACKLANE TAXI

I mentioned in a previous post that I arranged a taxi from the airport, as this was our first time arriving in Paris and late at night we weren't sure how the buses, trains etc. ran so I did a bit of internet research and found the Blacklane Tax service, it was the best thing I had ever done.

I received update text messages from the time we left Dublin to say that the driver would be at the airport to pick us up and to let them know we had landed.  We landed early and as they had our flight details they were constantly checking on our flight.  When we came into the arrivals hall, our driver was waiting for us with a Tablet with our name on in Big bold letters.

He helped with the luggage and took us outside to where our Black Mercedes Benz was waiting.  Em and I sat at the back, between us was an arm rest with cup holders which contained a bottle of water and a glass of sweets, much to Em's delight! 

It was about a 25 minute journey from the Airport but so smooth riding in style.  Our driver found the place with no problem at all.  Once he helped us with the luggage he drove off.  All payments were taken directly from the Credit card about 2 days after the event.  I will definitely use them again as they were so professional  The trip from Charles De Gaul Roissy Airport to the Republique Metro cost us only €52.00 including a tip, whereas friends of ours paid over €70 with a normal taxi from the same airport.

So if you are ever in Paris do it in Style and take a Blacklane Taxi!

Moulin Rouge Birthday Treat

So Thursday was also my birthday and I had long wanted to see the show at the Moulin Rouge, we managed to get tickets for the 11PM show which were a lot less than all the other show, it just meant it would be a late night especially for Emily.


We took the Metro to Blanche and were surprised when we came out that the Moulin Rouge was right there.  We then went and had a bite to eat and headed over about 10:30 the queue was already down the road.  When I booked the tickets it said that the dress code was no runners, jeans and men should wear a suit.  I guess maybe that is the dress code for all shows except the 11PM show as most people especially the men were in Jeans and runners.  But needless to say, my man was wearing suit trousers, good shoes and a tie.  (He was not very impressed).

The show was 2 and a half hours long and what a show, it really felt like you were back in the 50's, it was very retro.  I am so glad I saw it as the first time I visited Paris I did not have the money to go to the show, so this was a real treat for me! 
 

Thursday .... still Paris and sore feet

So we left the apartment rather later than normal - I was intending to visit our Paris office after a visit to the Louvre, however after Skyping J-C he said it's better for us to come early.  So off we went to the Metro 9 and out at Rooseveldt Franklin Station where we came out at the Champs Elysees right by the Disney Store and the Citroen shop and our office is literally round the corner.

It was so nice to meet the guys that I work with and Nicolas who I had not seen since we attended a training course together in London in 2013.  After a coffee and a chat we headed over to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa.

I was really disappointed not so much with the fact that the Mona Lisa is not very big, but the fact that the Louvre do not have any organization, they should have a roped off area where everyone can file past, but it was just total Chaos, I thought I was at a Rock Concert with everyone trying to get to the front to see the artist. 

And of course they have put The Mona Lisa behind glass because everyone just ignores the rules regarding flash photography.  There is so much to see in the Louvre, we really only touched on it and saw the Spanish and Italian section and a few statues.  And of course we went upstairs and the rains came down, so we headed over to my favourite lunch place "Pret-a-manger" for a prawn and crayfish sandwich and a cappuccino.  At least you can get away having a really good lunch with soft drinks, coffee and sandwiches, including crisps and apple for €20.00 and everything is really fresh.

Lafayette

After lunch we head over to Lafayette to see the inside of the shop, wow is all I can say, I will post photographs here later.   It looked like a theatre inside, really really awesome and of course every known designer brand and perfumery you can think of, and the prices ..... well we won't go there!  We headed up to the top floor (8th), to see the view but because of the rain we could barely make out the Eiffel tower through the clouds.

We then headed back to the apartment for a rest as it was going to be a late night, but did not have too much of a rest.

Judging from the Queue for personal shopping at "Chanel" in Lafayette, the Chinese have all the disposable income as there was no one else in the queues except them.

Paris Hop on Hop Off bus and free coffee in Paris ...

Wednesday: We went over to the Big Bus company near the Opera to fetch our hop on hop off tickets for the day, which comes free with the Paris Pass - the lady wasn't very friendly first thing in the morning, but we did find out that we could have picked them up the previous day and she could have validated them for any day our Paris Pass was valid for.

Couple of things about those Hop on Hop off buses that I always forget, if you sit upstairs it is going to be cold, especially on a chuking filly day that we had, although it is the best way to see the "most" of Paris remember to take Scarf / hat / Gloves/ thermals etc. or otherwise sit downstairs - but of course you don't get the view down stairs that you get upstairs.

We first did the full route that takes you past all the tourist attractions including:

The Arc De Triomphe
The Eiffel Tower
Along the Champs Elysees
The Louvre
The Opera House
All the Palaces and famous bridges

But you can see the route here

How to get a free coffee in Paris:

Once we had done the full route, we then got off at the Opera and headed down to the Lafayette to "Pret a Manger" for some lunch, we discovered it on Monday when D and I went to Printemps to see the view.   They always have nice sandwiches, pastries and coffee.

After Lunch we had to go to the Lindt store to get Em an ice-cream (of course) and then I saw the "Nespresso" shop, there is a Nespresso machine in the apartment and I have been wanting to get myself one for ages, so after talking to one of the sales men I purchased 10 capsules for €4.50 he then told me to go downstairs and get a coffee, so I called D and we both headed down for a FREE cup of coffee, the reason I go on about it is because a small coffee in a Parisian Café costs between €4.50 and €5.00 a cup, so to get 10 capsules and a free coffee is a real bargain.

And apparently you can do this in any City where there is a Nespresso shop, so long as you are buying something in the shop, you get a free coffee.

Later:  The Opera House and the Eiffel Tower

We headed into the Opera House, however all the English guided tours were finished for the day, so we just did our own thing.  Looked around took loads of photos and then headed for the shop and exit.  Will post all my photos later.

We then got back on the Hop on Hop off bus and headed out to the Eiffel tower.  Although it was windy and cold on the bus, when the sun came out it was really nice and warm.  We got to the Eiffel tower and once again had to queue and that cold wind from the snow on the alps was cutting right through us.

What a majestic structure, it was well worth the wait in the cold to get on the vernacular and go up to the 2nd level and then from there to head up to the Summit, we saw some awesome views and the one that really struck me was from the 2nd level looking towards the Sacré Cour.  The view from the Summit was just as awesome, but I was glad to get down to the bottom where it was much warmer.
 
 

Paris

So last year I had a big birthday and two of my friends each bought me a gift voucher for Aer Lingus which is our national airline here in Dublin.   I used one of the vouchers on a business trip to London and the other I decided to book us a week in Paris - because of course a week-end is just not long enough to see everything.

We took the late flight out on Saturday night and arrived in Paris at 20:30, as a surprise I had organized an executive taxi service from the airport Blacklane who were just brilliant, they cost less than a normal taxi from Charles De Gaul airport.   I received a text message saying that the driver had arrived before we came out, and there was our driver in his suit with an iPad with our name on it.

The Black Mercedes was parked outside with all kinds of treats in the taxi.  It was so well worth it, we drove in comfort for 40 minutes to our apartment in the heart of Paris.  Our drive was really quiet but very friendly.

Sunday:  On Sunday morning we got the Metro over to Opera from Republique - If you are reading this and intending doing a trip to Paris, we are 2 adults and an eleven year old child.  On Sunday I asked for a family ticket and they told me that children were a special price on a Sunday but the tickets still ended up costing us over €25.00 where on Monday we got 3 Adult day tickets for in and around Paris and it was only €21.00. 

We met Bran and Laurie at Starbucks close to the Opera House and from there we walked, and walked and walked - we walked past the Opera to the Lafayette Shopping centre which was closed, as will as Printemps, but it was lovely looking at the windows and the fashions for Spring.   We then headed over to the Chámps Elysées and walked up the Chámps Elysées to the Arc de triomphe and then over to the Eiffel Tower, it took us all day but then it was a long way.  We also did not rush and stopped in at the Citroen shop so that the "Kids" could go down the slide, look at the link, it's quite a weird thing to have in a Citroen shop.  We also had lunch at an Italian Restaurant - don't know how they get away with charging €5.00 for a cup of coffee or a Coke, it's just ludicrous.

After the Eiffel Tower, Bran came back with us as we made plans to meet him and Laurie at the Chatelet Metro, as they were taking Em to Disneyland for the day.

Monday:  Up at sparrows fart, to get to Chatelet by 8:30 a.m. once D and I dropped off Em we headed back to Opera and over to the Printemps department Store.  It only opened at 9:30, so we went over to the coffee shop across the road to try and get some breakfast.  Breakfast consisted of a cappuccino, Raisin Danish and apple for me, a cappuccino and a banana for Derrick, but still worked out to the cheapest meal we had in Paris yet.  The Printemps departments store has a restaurant on the very top floor which overlooks the whole of Paris and was the only reason I wanted to go there.   There is a nice write up here about it.   D and I took some great photos and then headed down to use the luxury public toilets on the 1st floor for a cost of €1.50 (and really not so luxurious), but at least they were clean, although I have found Paris to be mostly clean.

We then headed back to the Metro to get the Metro out to the Pére Lachaise cemetery as D wanted to see "Jim Morrison's" grave which is in the same cemetery as some other famous people like "Oskar Wilde" and "Frederic Chopin" and many others including "Edith Piaf".   We left there after many hours of walking through rows and rows of dead people.   We stopped for lunch close to the Metro at Café Richard and then took the Metro to the Rex Cinema to go and fetch our Paris Pass and then home.    After doing a bit of shopping, Bran called to say they were on the train headed back from Disneyland, so we hopped on the metro again and of to Chatalét to meet them all.  From Chatalet we took a metro to "Olympiades" to go and check out "Bercy Village" a quaint little village with loads of places to eat, we had dinner at "Chai 33" which was very elegant and the food was very very nice.  

Tuesday:  Today we lazily got up after 9:00 a.m. we then went off to fetch our hop on hop off bus ticket, but abandoned that idea after they told us we would have to use it today, so back we will go tomorrow for 9:30 in order to get an all day use out of it.  So we then headed off to Notre Dame to meet up with Bran and Laurie for the last time, before they headed back to St. Tropez to the day jobs on a luxurious yacht!

I can't believe how many tourists there are in Paris, every where you go is mobbed.  So we went into Notre Dame after queuing up for what seemed hours, it was very beautiful inside, but what gets to me is the lavishness and money spent on the catholic churches.  Surely when poor people see how much money the church has they must wonder about religion.

After Notre Dame we found somewhere for lunch, where I had "French Snails" in Garlic butter, they were very nice!  And they were still in their shells. After lunch we left Bran and Laurie as they headed off to catch their train, we walked over to the "lock" bridge, this is the bridge with all the "love locks" - we heard the next day on the bus tour that this started as a fad in 2006 where lovers would lock a key to the fence on the bridge and then throw the key into the Sein River, after the last episode of "Sex in the City" where Big comes to Paris to fetch Carrie and propose to her, it became even more popular to do this.  There are places all over Europe where these locks of love can be seen, I remember we saw one on the bridge over the Danube in Vienna, and in a park in Budapest.