Finally in Paris!

At last, we’ve arrived in Paris!  It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to come here, so we scheduled nine nights in Paris, which worked out well because it gave us time to chill and do some more trip planning (for our next segment, the UK) when we arrived yesterday, without having to worry about not having enough time to explore Paris.  We’ve decided it’s a good idea to have an extra day in as many cities as possible so we can take a break from sightseeing without having to skip stuff, and our upcoming schedule has been modified accordingly (we’ve also noticed that from Barcelona till now, when we move from one city to another, the travel day is pretty a write-off because we’re too tired to do anything).  I don’t know how some people can hop from city to city without any breaks in between – we get tired after three days of running around sightseeing! (more…)

Le Mont-Saint-Michel

After touring the D-Day beaches yesterday, we spent the night in Mont-Saint-Michel, a rocky tidal island just south of the beaches.  We had timed out our driving schedule to overnight in Mont-Saint-Michel because I had read that it’s really pretty at night (and I must say, it did not disappoint!), but we had to stay at a rather crummy hotel about 2km off the island, on the mainland, because it’s a very touristy destination and rates on the island are through the roof.  (more…)

Driving & The D-Day Beaches

Today we picked up a rental car to go see the D-Day beaches, which aren’t reachable by train or bus unless you join a tour group, but it’s really expensive (like 80 euros per person). This was our first time driving in France and there’s only one way we can describe it  – it’s all about the roundabout!  I don’t think you can drive more than 10km without going through a roundabout.  I know they”re supposed to improve the flow of traffic and reduce the number of crashes, but is it really better to have this many roundabouts?  We’re not convinced… (more…)

Hotel Le Grillon – Ugh!

Strasbourg is the capital of the European Union and home to several important institutions, such as the European Parliament.  When we made our schedule, I had no idea there would be a big parliament session here this week, which made finding accommodations kind of difficult.  After lots of searching (and we did this back in January!) we booked at Hotel Le Grillon, which looked decent and had ok rates.  Now that I’ve arrived, I see why they were one of the few places with vacancy – this is almost as bad as Barbieri Hostel in Madrid! (more…)

Train Travel In Europe

After travelling by train in Portugal, Spain, France and Switzerland, I thought it might be informative to put up some information about stuff like ticket checks, etc.

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First Night In Lyon

Like most of our “travel” days so far, today was pretty much a write off once we trained from Nice to Lyon.  The train ride wasn’t too long (about 3½ hours) but we both couldn’t really sleep last night (which seems to be becoming a trend the night before we move to a different city).  When we added in the fact that it’s a weekday so Paul had to work in the late afternoon, we decided to just hang out at the hotel and nap. (more…)

Redefining Rich…

Today we day-tripped to Villefranche-sur-Mer and Monaco (Monte Carlo), and all we can say is “we feel so poor!”  Never before have I seen such a concentration of hundred million dollar yachts, Ferraris, and expensive boutiques.  It’s like Vancouver’s coal harbor on crack! (more…)

Nice Is Not So Nice When It’s Raining!

Today we have moved onto the Cote d’Azur, also known as the French Riviera, a usually sunny resort area along the Mediterranean coastline but currently, it’s pouring rain!  (more…)

Nimes France- It Should’ve Just Been a Daytrip!

We arrived in Nîmes yesterday, but, after getting lost and walking an extra kilometer in the rain to find the hotel (which turned out to be pretty out of the way and far from city center), neither of us felt like going back out to explore; so we ate lunch at the hotel, hand-washed some laundry in the tub since we couldn’t find a laundromat, and watched some French TV – including what we think is their version of Deal or no Deal, but uses boxes instead of suitcases so we’re calling it Box or no Box  (more…)

Last Day In Barcelona

Although I’m looking forward to heading to France tomorrow, I am also sad that we are leaving Barcelona.  There is so much to see and do that we could probably spend another few days here!  Fortunately, we managed to zoom around today and see most of the remaining sights we haven’t done yet. (more…)