Our Europe Trip Report, Day 12!
Posted by
Mop🧹 (aka rburriel)
Sep 24 '24, 15:48
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One more breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Blackfriars then we grab our bags and head across the street to the Blackfriars train station. It's a quick jaunt to Kings Cross/St. Pancreas. So far, I haven't been a fan of how Google Maps keeps suggesting mixes of trains and subway to get places, but it's clear here that the train is going to be the fastest. Frankly, the most challenging bit is in what direction we're supposed to take the train. The signage isn't particular obvious. But once we make it to the right platform, it's a simple matter of doing the "tap to pay" and we're in. Unfortunately, an attendant sees that I tapped in all four of us and interrogates me about how old my youngest is. She's 15 so technically she costs less than the others. The attendant is VERY worked up about this for some reason and demands that I tap her out. I'm holding 4 different credit cards and while I can tap any one of them, I then need to remember which one I tapped out so I don't tap it again when we exit. And during all this, the train arrives. I'm dragging all my luggage with me and I don't really want to deal with this over a few bucks, but whatever.
We're at St. Pancreas in just a couple of stops and make our way to the international terminal. It's a bit like the airport. I've heard there's often long lines going out into the concourse. No lines today. After we scan our ticket, we do a security screening and arrive at French customs where I tell the guy we're on vacation and traveling through Europe. When we arrived in Scotland, we just had to scan our passports at a machine so that "letter of authorization" wasn't even a factor, and I was hoping it wouldn't be a factor here, either (although I got that letter from my ex-wife the same day I told her about the border guy in Iceland bugging me about it). Indeed, it never comes up. French border guard gives me a wink and waves us through.
The waiting area in St. Pancreas is too small. There's barely enough space here for two trains (the one boarding, and the one after). I suppose we could have made it onto the earlier train, which is boarding as we arrive, but I was cautioned to arrive at least 60 minutes early. After that train boards, we can sit, but the waiting area starts filling up quickly, almost immediately.
There's a snack shop and a gift shop. Middle kid wants to grab some snacks. I pull out some change I've had since the last time I was in London and send them off. But as they arrive at the counter, I'm concerned, and I step up just in time to hear the attendant tell them that the money is no good. I figured as much. The UK retires their currency regularly for some reason, and these perfectly good coins are worthless. I immediately pull out my credit card to pay and I guess my kid has some coins as souvenirs.
Soon they announce boarding and this is where the crowds really start to be a factor as people are trying to line up to get up to the platform. Eventually, everyone makes it up there, but it's pretty chaotic.
Wifi on the train is bad. That's all I've got. I wish I could tell you something else about the Eurostar through the Chunnel. I'm pretty sure my kids didn't even realize it when we were in the tunnel. I think the longest part of the trip is from when we exit the tunnel until we arrive in Paris.
Before we boarded the train, they announced that the UK Paralympic team would be on the train, and there's a raucous round of applause. It's announced again when we're on the train.
When we arrive in Paris, we see the Paralympic team, and the Team UK staffers amassed at the gate awaiting them. There's also an OBSCENE amount of security everywhere. They'll be everywhere throughout our time in Paris.
We order an Uber that takes us to our hotel, the Hotel du Louvre that's *LITERALLY* next to the Louvre.
Check-in is relatively harmless. I'm glad that my reservations check out. That's a concern for me through all the preparation and even as we arrive at each hotel. That, at least, turns out to never be a problem. All my reservations check out. But I knew that in Paris we may have trouble with getting two double beds in each room. This reservation is nebulous as to whether we'll have two beds in each room, or only one. They confirm that each room should have two double beds. This reservation - as in London - doesn't have breakfast included, but after being burned in London, I decline the breakfast option here.
The two youngest kids share one room, and I share the other room with the oldest. Most hotels in Europe have two double beds. Sometimes they're pushed together into a queen bed, but you can separate them. This one's on a single big queen sized frame. One large queen bed.
The room, FWIW, is nice, with a great view, which is great 'cause as expensive as this hotel is, I paid extra for a view. From our room, we can see straight down Avenue de l'Opera to the opera house, Palais Garnier. It's majestic. But we need two beds, not one.
We have to head out, so I stop at reception and I mention the bed situation and they say they'll take care of it. How? Chainsaws, maybe? I don't know. But we have tickets to the Louvre this afternoon. I would have picked any other day, but Louvre tickets are difficult to book and even though I checked every day, by the time our dates opened up, the only thing remaining was for the afternoon we arrived.
Fair enough. The Louvre is across the street. We walk around, take some pictures. The Olympic torch (the balloon) is at the Jardin des Tuileries, which is right next to the Louvre, so that's cool to see. After a few pictures, we get in line to get into the Louvre (again, quick line... no one in line to buy tickets, because it's already sold out for the day). We're quickly learning that just because you buy tickets for a certain time, no one cares. I'm not sure they even check the date.
The Louvre, of course, is massive. Unpleasantly massive. From the very start, there are signs directing you to the Mona Lisa. I don't even know where to start, so I figure we'll follow the assigned path. It's about 4 PM on an August afternoon in Paris. The crowds are ungodly and France has not yet discovered air conditioning. This isn't going to go well.
We see a lot of great art on our way to the Mona Lisa, but there's no way we're going to appreciate even a small portion of this museum. The Mona Lisa isn't going to be at the front of the museum, of course. If you want to see this, you're gonna have to walk. And so we walk and walk and walk. There's vents on the ground blowing cold air. If you stand right on them, you can feel it. Otherwise, you might as well be standing in a sauna.
We make it to the Mona Lisa but barely take a peek and we're gone. We're just looking for the exit at this point, and wander far away from the crowds, when my oldest mentions that the Venus de Milo is in the Louvre. Should we see it? Sure. But by the time we make this realization, we're clear at the opposite end of the museum. The whole place is kinda horseshoe shaped. Imagine you're at one end of the horseshoe and you want to go to the other end of the horseshoe. Well, we did it. We sneak a peek at the Venus de Milo and now we REALLY want to find the exit.
The Louvre exits into an underground mall. The two younger kids want to check out the gift shop but the older kid is ready to drop. She goes ahead while I escort the younger ones through the gift shop. When we finally catch up to my oldest kid, she's found the food court. Selection is sparse are largely unappealing. But there *is* a McDonald's. I will be leaving a review for this McDonald's, and it will not be a positive one.
McDonald's in France have veggie nuggets. This one doesn't. McDonald's in France let you pay at the touch kiosk. This one doesn't. Since we're "dining in", they bring you your food in those fancy McDonald's re-usable cups and packages. So we pay too much for flat soft drinks and warm water, and some fries. After waiting altogether too long, they bring the order to our table and practically throw it on the table and walk away.
Fortunately, much like in London and Edinburgh, there's a grocery store right by the hotel, and we load up on food and drink before returning to our rooms. Upon returning, I see that nothing's been done about the single bed so head back to the front desk and explain the situation again. I'm much clearer this time, and explain that it's obviously a single bed. The receptionist isn't so sure, but they go back and check, then come back and confirm what I've been telling them. I wonder if maybe the computer has the wrong information. They offer me a cot, or they can upgrade me to another room. Uh... upgrade, please. How is that even an option? I imagine the concern is that we won't be near the other room. I don't care. Two beds is better than a view.
They send someone to escort us to our room on the 5th floor. It's not a particularly "tall" hotel. Our initial room was on the 2nd floor, which was just fine, but from the 5th floor, we have an even better view. We're at the corner of the hotel, with a balcony looking out over the street. Opening the balcony doors lets in a nice breeze, but the street noise is just unreasonable. And cops in Paris just run their sirens all the time just to get around the traffic. The room has AC, as do all our rooms throughout the trip, and I feel sometime like cool air coming out of the vent, but it doesn't do shit. But running the fan at night sucks in cool air from the outside. Short of having the balcony open - which just isn't possible - running the fan is the only way to make the room tolerable.
The new room is a bit larger, but it's the bathroom that's the standout. It's not that the old bathroom was small, but this new room... the bathroom could pass for a room all on its own.
It's a Hyatt, like the hotel in London. So the fixtures are identical. Hot and cold water faucets, toilet, shower fixtures, the toiletry brand... even the mirror has a heated spot in the middle to keep it from fogging up. Both London and Paris also had a towel warmer, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work.
And mercifully, the shower is also a tub. My biggest challenge in most European bathrooms was keeping the shower from flooding the bathroom. Here, finally, I have success.
When I visit the kids in their room on the 2nd floor, I'm startled to find their room isn't the same as our old room on the 2nd floor. Theirs is larger (duh, it's got two beds), and has a sofa! And their bathroom is larger, too. I assumed, given that I booked both rooms together, that they would have been identical.
Later that evening, they slip a card under our room door apologizing for having assigned us a room with only a single bed, and offering us two free drinks at the bar. That's a nice but unnecessary touch.
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