Paris and Disneyland Suite 490
2006-11-13
Paris and Disneyland Suite 490
I absolutely love Paris. I have always heard that the French hate the Americans, but this is not at all what we found. Everything somehow worked out for us while we were traveling to Paris. Our luck was so good while we were in Paris that we were upgraded to a suite at our Disneyland Resort
(which we booked on hostelworld.com where we always book.) We went to the Eiffel Tower, a ballet at the Paris National Opera House and went to Disneyland Paris. It was magical…until we had to come home.
I went to half of my Thursday class and then met Ashley and Mack outside their apartment on Via Verdi to walk to the train station. We tried to buy tickets on the computers, but all the seats were full. We started to panic and ran to the window for trains that are leaving within the next 15 minutes and somehow talked our way into getting on a Eurostar (hi-speed aka expensive) train to Venice/Mestre (aka hell.) We ended up being able to sit down and not only went to Mestre, but to Treviso where the airport is located. We took a cab to the airport and were the last ones to check in.
Airlines in Europe made a new rule about carrying liquids (I had to throw away my hair gel and shampoo) so security took forever and they had to push back the mob to let us through and onto the plane. They took away the stairs to the plane after we boarded and we sat in the last remaining seats. Sheer luck.
Our airport in Paris was actually not in Paris at all (that is why Ryanair can be so cheap.) It was an hour bus ride west of Paris. We did not get into Paris until very late so we went to the Perfect Hostel (its name) and crashed.
The next morning we had breakfast (we have learned to appreciate free breakfasts when they are included at hostels) and decided to take a hop on and off bus tour of Paris because it is so large. We went to the Notre Dame, visited a three story Louis Vuitton where we had to wait in line to shop along the fashionable Champs Elysees and took pictures of the Arch de Triumph at the end. There is an Egyptian monument where the guillotine that murdered Marie Antoinette and Louis IX during the Revolution once stood. We also visited the Paris national opera house and discovered that there currently a ballet being performed. We decided to check if there were tickets for the matinee the next day thinking they would be sold out, but there were! And the tickets were only 10 euros! It was then that I realized how much I liked Paris.
The tour also went by the Moulin Rouge
The Moulin Rouge is actually very small and the only thing that makes you think of the movie is the windmill. We went to the Louvre after seeing everything along our tour to see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. The Mona Lisa is actually a very small painting randomly placed in the museum. The museum goes on forever! We were completely lost in it, but it was amazing to look at everything.
By the end of the Louvre we were exhausted so we walked through the park to the Champs Elysees to eat at Planet Hollywood. It was probably a very fashionable restaurant back in the day, but there was hardly anyone there and the food was blah when we went. I never thought a restaurant on the most fashionable street in Paris could be so sketch!
At least we had our first crepe...it was amazing.
The next day we got up early and took the metro to Versailles on the outskirts of the city. It was gorgeous. The palace was closed, but it was enough for us to walk around in the gardens where Marie Antoinette once walked.
Paris is divided into five zones and we had passes for only three of the zones so we had to hop over a couple turnstiles when we went to Versailles, but the views in the gardens were worth it.
We had to return to Paris for our 2:30 matinee ballet at the opera. It was amazing. We had box seats to see the ballet. I have danced for many years and my first job was teaching ballet, so I was seriously in heaven the entire time. The dances were extremely modern, but beautiful.
One was about creation, in one a girl was trying to escape into the light (complete with falling sand) and the other really didn’t have a point. They were all beautiful and the opera house was amazing. I was only sad that it had to end.
After the opera we went to our new hostel that was actually a Disneyland Resort. I booked it on Hostelworld and although we knew it was an actual Disney resort we did not expect too much.
We went absolutely crazy when we walked into the room. There was a vanity, parents bedroom, two bathrooms, living room with couch and desk, and children’s room with bunk beds. The walls were covered in either zebra stripes, windows to the countryside or Hollywood memorabilia. It was amazing and we acted like idiots running around.
The next day at Disneyland only made it better.
We had an amazing continental breakfast (Ashley and I went crazy) before taking the shuttle to the park. All three of us have grown up on Disney and after sadly leaving our suite we were squealing with delight when we first saw Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. It was the second day that the park had been celebrating Christmas and there was a huge tree in the center of the park. We went on Peter Pan (my favorite,) the haunted mansion and Indiana Jones. All the rides were exactly the same except Space Quest. It is my favorite at Disneyworld in Florida, but this one was better. It was called Mission 2 and it was a combination of Space Quest and the Rockin’ Rollercoaster at Disneyworld. We went on it twice.
We could only ride it twice because we only had a few hours at the park before we had to go across Paris to our airport to come home. Here began the bad part. By the time we got to where the bus for the airport left we found out that we missed the bus. We had to take a taxi to the airport. No big deal, right? Wrong. The taxi costed 120 euro!!! I didn’t have enough cash to pay my part so I went to withdraw money. My account was empty. Great. On top of that the French security threw away my face wash because the bottle was over 100 mL. They tried to take my deodorant too, but I started to throw a fit and the guy backed off. I am NOT going to smell like a European.
We were (once again) the last ones on our plane. When we got to Mestre we discovered that there were no trains to Florence until 3 in the morning the next day. If there is anything concerning Mestre or Venice where I am concerned, I have a curse. This curse spread to poor Ashley and Mckenzie. Luckily we knew exactly where our hotel was when we stayed in Mestre (and not Venice,) so we walked there and got a hotel room for the night. Or at least the girls did. I didn’t have any money. I didn’t have money this morning when we had to buy train tickets back to Florence either. Just like my stay in Venice (aka Mestre) the last time, you just have to laugh.
Thank goodness and good riddance to Mestre and Venice forever. While we were in Paris we had a wonderful time and loved every second of our stay. The people were nice, the SUITE was amazing and the ballet was gorgeous. However, once again it is back to my reality in Italy. Today I told the Italian men to shutup when they catcalled on my way to school. In a few minutes I am going to run to Standa supermarket and grab some pasta, salad and bread to make dinner for a couple of my Baylor friends that are coming in to stay with me. If there is an Italian street-smart, I think I am starting to pick up on it and accept the way of life here. I think that is a good thing, but for now I am really going to miss Paris!
Paris and Disneyland Suite 490
I absolutely love Paris. I have always heard that the French hate the Americans, but this is not at all what we found. Everything somehow worked out for us while we were traveling to Paris. Our luck was so good while we were in Paris that we were upgraded to a suite at our Disneyland Resort
(which we booked on hostelworld.com where we always book.) We went to the Eiffel Tower, a ballet at the Paris National Opera House and went to Disneyland Paris. It was magical…until we had to come home.
I went to half of my Thursday class and then met Ashley and Mack outside their apartment on Via Verdi to walk to the train station. We tried to buy tickets on the computers, but all the seats were full. We started to panic and ran to the window for trains that are leaving within the next 15 minutes and somehow talked our way into getting on a Eurostar (hi-speed aka expensive) train to Venice/Mestre (aka hell.) We ended up being able to sit down and not only went to Mestre, but to Treviso where the airport is located. We took a cab to the airport and were the last ones to check in.
Airlines in Europe made a new rule about carrying liquids (I had to throw away my hair gel and shampoo) so security took forever and they had to push back the mob to let us through and onto the plane. They took away the stairs to the plane after we boarded and we sat in the last remaining seats. Sheer luck.
Our airport in Paris was actually not in Paris at all (that is why Ryanair can be so cheap.) It was an hour bus ride west of Paris. We did not get into Paris until very late so we went to the Perfect Hostel (its name) and crashed.
The next morning we had breakfast (we have learned to appreciate free breakfasts when they are included at hostels) and decided to take a hop on and off bus tour of Paris because it is so large. We went to the Notre Dame, visited a three story Louis Vuitton where we had to wait in line to shop along the fashionable Champs Elysees and took pictures of the Arch de Triumph at the end. There is an Egyptian monument where the guillotine that murdered Marie Antoinette and Louis IX during the Revolution once stood. We also visited the Paris national opera house and discovered that there currently a ballet being performed. We decided to check if there were tickets for the matinee the next day thinking they would be sold out, but there were! And the tickets were only 10 euros! It was then that I realized how much I liked Paris.
The tour also went by the Moulin Rouge
The Moulin Rouge is actually very small and the only thing that makes you think of the movie is the windmill. We went to the Louvre after seeing everything along our tour to see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. The Mona Lisa is actually a very small painting randomly placed in the museum. The museum goes on forever! We were completely lost in it, but it was amazing to look at everything.
By the end of the Louvre we were exhausted so we walked through the park to the Champs Elysees to eat at Planet Hollywood. It was probably a very fashionable restaurant back in the day, but there was hardly anyone there and the food was blah when we went. I never thought a restaurant on the most fashionable street in Paris could be so sketch!
At least we had our first crepe...it was amazing.
The next day we got up early and took the metro to Versailles on the outskirts of the city. It was gorgeous. The palace was closed, but it was enough for us to walk around in the gardens where Marie Antoinette once walked.
Paris is divided into five zones and we had passes for only three of the zones so we had to hop over a couple turnstiles when we went to Versailles, but the views in the gardens were worth it.
We had to return to Paris for our 2:30 matinee ballet at the opera. It was amazing. We had box seats to see the ballet. I have danced for many years and my first job was teaching ballet, so I was seriously in heaven the entire time. The dances were extremely modern, but beautiful.
One was about creation, in one a girl was trying to escape into the light (complete with falling sand) and the other really didn’t have a point. They were all beautiful and the opera house was amazing. I was only sad that it had to end.
After the opera we went to our new hostel that was actually a Disneyland Resort. I booked it on Hostelworld and although we knew it was an actual Disney resort we did not expect too much.
Then upon checking in the man told us we had been upgraded to a Suite. There were only five suites in the entire Disney resort, and we were in Suite 490!!!
We went absolutely crazy when we walked into the room. There was a vanity, parents bedroom, two bathrooms, living room with couch and desk, and children’s room with bunk beds. The walls were covered in either zebra stripes, windows to the countryside or Hollywood memorabilia. It was amazing and we acted like idiots running around.
The next day at Disneyland only made it better.
We had an amazing continental breakfast (Ashley and I went crazy) before taking the shuttle to the park. All three of us have grown up on Disney and after sadly leaving our suite we were squealing with delight when we first saw Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. It was the second day that the park had been celebrating Christmas and there was a huge tree in the center of the park. We went on Peter Pan (my favorite,) the haunted mansion and Indiana Jones. All the rides were exactly the same except Space Quest. It is my favorite at Disneyworld in Florida, but this one was better. It was called Mission 2 and it was a combination of Space Quest and the Rockin’ Rollercoaster at Disneyworld. We went on it twice.
We could only ride it twice because we only had a few hours at the park before we had to go across Paris to our airport to come home. Here began the bad part. By the time we got to where the bus for the airport left we found out that we missed the bus. We had to take a taxi to the airport. No big deal, right? Wrong. The taxi costed 120 euro!!! I didn’t have enough cash to pay my part so I went to withdraw money. My account was empty. Great. On top of that the French security threw away my face wash because the bottle was over 100 mL. They tried to take my deodorant too, but I started to throw a fit and the guy backed off. I am NOT going to smell like a European.
We were (once again) the last ones on our plane. When we got to Mestre we discovered that there were no trains to Florence until 3 in the morning the next day. If there is anything concerning Mestre or Venice where I am concerned, I have a curse. This curse spread to poor Ashley and Mckenzie. Luckily we knew exactly where our hotel was when we stayed in Mestre (and not Venice,) so we walked there and got a hotel room for the night. Or at least the girls did. I didn’t have any money. I didn’t have money this morning when we had to buy train tickets back to Florence either. Just like my stay in Venice (aka Mestre) the last time, you just have to laugh.
Thank goodness and good riddance to Mestre and Venice forever. While we were in Paris we had a wonderful time and loved every second of our stay. The people were nice, the SUITE was amazing and the ballet was gorgeous. However, once again it is back to my reality in Italy. Today I told the Italian men to shutup when they catcalled on my way to school. In a few minutes I am going to run to Standa supermarket and grab some pasta, salad and bread to make dinner for a couple of my Baylor friends that are coming in to stay with me. If there is an Italian street-smart, I think I am starting to pick up on it and accept the way of life here. I think that is a good thing, but for now I am really going to miss Paris!
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