Tod & husband heading for Paris at last..

[tod2]

After deliberating whether we would travel with my son to Dubai and go onto Paris from there, it has been decided to fly directly to Paris and go to Dubai next year.
I am quite relieved in a way as I am not a 'Dash here and there' traveller. Our stay would have just been to look at the apartment he and his partner are buying and its still under construction so no point.
Of course now I am glued to my computer trying to find cheap(er) but decent accommodation which isn't easy with our putrid exchange rate.
We are 4 years? older and more decrepit since last in Paris , so in order not to totally exhaust our bodies we have to settle on a Metro very near to where we stay. I can remember my poor red feet after a day walking around and hobbling home! Dont want to repeat that if at all possible.
I looked at an Apart'Hotel right on Metro Ourq but on further investigation I think it wont cut the mustard. After hours of clicking I think I'm giving up the idea of having a small fridge and cook top and looking at more comfort.
I peer at my Paris Lisible & Pratique booklet and then switch to my book Paris L'Indispensable showing bus routes in detail. I think this has helped me realize we are not rushing from A to B so it matters not how long it takes to transverse the city.

So on we go looking....

I

[htmb]

Tod, you might take a look at the Citadines Bastille. Nothing fancy, slightly dated, but it’s clean, the staff are friendly and efficient, and each room comes with a frig, 2 electric burners, microwave and dishwasher. Outside you will find metro line 5 and a stop for the 69 bus. The Bastille Market is just down the street on Thursdays and Sundays, plus there is a full sized Casino grocery just across the boulevard.

[bjd]

Htmb's suggestion is a good one, Tod. It's well located (a neighbourhood I know well) and if you are not too tired in the evening, you can walk down to the port beside Bastille metro station, sit/picnic in the park and look at the boats. It was one of our favourite evening walks when we spent a lot of time in Paris.

[whatagain]

👍👍

[tod2]

Thank you Htmb for your suggestion. I never considered Citadines before as I thought it to far from a metro stop, but I see this is not the case with Citadines Bastille.
The added bonus is that the 69 bus just across the road goes right past the area we got to know quite well which is the stretch around Metro St.Paul. Always good to re-connect with some familiar places.
I submitted our dates but they cannot give us accommodation for the whole 11 days before we head for UK but that's not a problem. I will have had enough of preparing a few meals so we are thinking of moving to somewhere really far afield for 5 nights, getting out of the hustle and bustle of central Paris.
I fell across The Hotel Kopster Versailles. It has a very good rate - 812Euros incl. breakfast for the 5 night stay. Another plus is that we need to take some form of transport to Gare de Nord to catch the Eurostar. I noticed we can get on a tram opposite the hotel and link up with the RER B at Cite Universitaire. We love the trams (even though that was where they pick-pocketed my camera) and giving ourselves plenty time should be fine.

Just as an interest these are our dates: Wednesday 18th September Arrive CDG 7am on Air France.
Sunday 29th Sept. Eurostar to London
Friday 4th October - Paris
Wednesday 9th October fly Air France home.
We are going to check out another hotel/hostel for a room at The People Paris Marais. Its just off Metro stop Sully Morland. No kitchenette but that's fine. No chance to overload a fridge just before we go. It looked an interesting place. Not on a convenient metro line but I intend to stroll the river more and dine out with our last few euros....

Thank you for helping my choice of accommodation. It will be a good move.

[htmb]

Your trip seems to be shaping up, Tod! I’m looking forward to hearing more as it unfolds, including your time in London. I’m glad Citadines was able to accommodate you for part of your trip. Have you also worked out your London lodgings?

[tod2]

Htmb, we are only passing through London. We have to walk up from St.Pancras to Euston Station which we have done many times before so know the ropes there.
Then get the Underground to Waterloo Station for our train to Portsmouth and then ferry to The Isle of Wight. It will be our third visit but my husband spent some months there when he was 21.
Only a short stay of 5 days before heading in reverse back to Paris.

I have not yet booked and paid for Citadines as I will need the assistance of my son and his credit card. Has to be done by this weekend or we will loose more days.
Did you pay upfront when booking ?

[tod2]

Can I ask you if there is a Laundromat near Citadines Bjd?

[bjd]

I just googled "laverie automatique Paris 11" and got this map:

laverieinfo.com/ville/paris-11e-arrondissement_75011/

You could do the same for the 4th. The Citadines is right on the border between the 11th and the 4th. The 11th is probably better equipped and cheaper.

[htmb]

Jul 18, 2024 14:59:01 GMT tod2 said:

Htmb, we are only passing through London. We have to walk up from St.Pancras to Euston Station which we have done many times before so know the ropes there.
Then get the Underground to Waterloo Station for our train to Portsmouth and then ferry to The Isle of Wight. It will be our third visit but my husband spent some months there when he was 21.
Only a short stay of 5 days before heading in reverse back to Paris.

I have not yet booked and paid for Citadines as I will need the assistance of my son and his credit card. Has to be done by this weekend or we will loose more days.
Did you pay upfront when booking ?

Tod, Citadines has washers/dryers for guest use at a small extra charge. They are located on the ground floor, down a hall past reception. In the past, the machines contained washing detergent, so no need for an extra purchase.

I have stayed at the Citadines different amounts of time, so my payment always depended on the length. Sometimes I paid in advance, other times I paid by the week.

[tod2]

Thank you so much for your reply and information regarding Citadines Bastille. I am only able to book middle next week as there are strings attached to the Credit Card.
I know there is a Booking that allows payment much later but we are so suspicious of hotels wacking ones card as you give the details. Getting refunds can sometimes be tricky so I want to present the card when I'm confident all ducks are in a row. I can see if I start with Citadines and accept their available dates, I can adjust other bookings like Eurostar and other hotels around these dates.

I'm so pleased to hear Citadines have a washing facility. That is super useful. Another question Htmb - how did you leave your cash , passport (in my case) in the room during the day? Is there a safe?

[htmb]

There are small safes in each room.

[mich64]

So happy to read that you are almost all set for a wonderful holiday Tod! Hope to read all about your adventures!

[whatagain]

Glad you can come.
Bring no cash. Use credit cards or debit cards.
Amex is not used widely albeit more recently.
I find it very easy as there is no ceiling so I can use preferably as caution (for cars).
Visa is the card French use most and master card is also widely accepted.
I then use debit cards - we call those Mister cards- they work everywhere and for me no fee when I withdraw cash at an ATM.

I never have more than 50 euros cash on me in Paris.

I really love bastille - not the square but lots of nice small streets behind, full of restaurants not that touristy.

[patricklondon]

I also like that side of Paris better than the more monumental west

You're well placed for the Marché Aligre, the Promenade Plantée (Coulée Verte) and the Canal Saint Martin.

My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings
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[fumobici]

Yes, Bastille is a nice and interesting neighborhood, although it sounds as if the Richard-Lenoir market might be closer than Aligre. Both are wonderful. The Italian shop inside at Aligre is really pretty well stocked if you'd like some finer foods.

[bixaorellana]

No bias there!

[tod2]

Thank you all so much! No accommodation booked yet but I have the pleasure of scrutinizing my air ticket! All booked and paid for. My son has managed to get us Duo seats in Economy Class. So we can lean on each other for sleeping and have nobody either side of us - only front and back. I'm going to try and find the aircraft layout to see exactly where we will be ensconced. It's Air France Flight AFO995 Seat 56A & 56B.

[lugg]

Oh Tod , so excited for you...cant help but to whet your appetite here are a couple of distant pics of the IOW I took a few days ago from across the water in Dorset

the first - IOW on the horizon and the second of the needles end of the island

live.staticflickr.com/65535/53875798877_5fe43b9247_c.jpg


live.staticflickr.com/65535/53877045569_7ce6041138_c.jpg

[tod2]

Hi Lugg, Thanks so much for your enthusiastic comment! I might have mentioned it will not be our first trip but must be 8 or so years since last there. We hired a car but this time I'm only counting on the wonderful bus service on the island.
We have spoilt ourselves by staying at the grand old lady of Ryde hotels, The Royal Esplanade Hotel. A million years since we last enjoyed the old fashioned charm of a hotel that was not a modern.
One of my intentions is taking the boat around the base of The Needles and getting a different view of them.

[kerouac2]

That sounds like a wonderful part of the holiday.

[tod2]

We have picked out a Paris hotel and booked it. We were so keen on Citadines Bastille but it is too expensive. In the end we have decided on No Cooking, so found the Hotel 26 Faubourg (ex Hotel de Reims) has a bar fridge in the rooms. This will help when we take home anything we may have intended to eat but never got that far.
We intend looking around the Quiz-Vingts neighborhood and booking accommodation for when return from IOW. I never feel stranded when there is a great big Ibis Hotel nearby even if we can't get a lower rate at least we will have a roof over our heads.

Now for the next challenge of booking seats online for the Eurostar. We need to get to London quite early so we can get a train to Portsmouth and then a ferry to IOW. This should take us into late afternoon /early evening for our crossing. Then all in reverse 6 days later.

[patricklondon]

For years I did home exchange with a friend who lived not far from there, and I think it's an excellent area to stay in!

My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings
"too literate to be spam"

[bjd]

I agree about the neighbourhood. It's actually called Quinze-Vingts, after the section being called that during the French Revolution. There is an ophthamological hospital with that name in the 12th.

For 17 years we had a small apartment on Faubourg St Antoine, so it's an area I know well, even though it visibly gentrified even while we were there: small shops and artisans disappearing and fancy food shops and bars opening. Even so, the market on rue d'Aligre is still great.

[whatagain]

👍

[tod2]

I feel relaxed about the Paris holiday now that we have booked a hotel. There is no rush to book our Eurostar and train tickets just yet but should be done sooner than later.
I emailed the hotel and received a reply concerning a purchase I want to make. They are happy to accept a small parcel for me at their reception ahead of my arrival. Hopefully these will be some new shoes from Flyflot in Italy. Its my one chance to stock up for another year or two. The factory does not send to UK and definitely not South Africa. My last lot of shoes were delivered to our hotel near Pte de Champerret. I then sent them on to our home address with DHL so might do that again as I want at least 4 pairs.

[kerouac2]

Sounds like you're all set. Definitely do not miss the cheaper fares for the Eurostar. When you're lucky, they start at 39 euros from Paris.

[tod2]

Kerouac, I presume that is One Way only? If its return then it will be fantastic!
I have been researching the different means of transport we will be using as we get from A to B and I found an old post you made in 2003 suggesting getting on the RER D at Gare de Nord instead of taking the 65 bus to Gare de Lyon. That's exactly what I should imagine we will do. To and from the stations.

Another good tip was that one can buy the bus/RER tickets in the cafe` bar onboard Eurostar. That is handy for folks coming from London to Paris and need to take more transport to wherever. Mr.Tod found 8 bus tickets in his wallet he put there last visit - 5 years too long to be valid?

[kerouac2]

Paris transportation tickets never expire. And if for some reason they don't work (demagnetised), they can be exchanged at a service counter in the metro.

Yes, that is the one way fare for the Eurostar. I received a new promotion for 45 euros the other day but did not check the dates since I don't have any travel plans at the moment.

The 65 bus no longer exists in any case.

[tod2]

Oh NOoooo! The 65!! So many of my plans are based on this bus. Has it just got another number? Maybe another slightly different route?