Etap Hotel Paris Porte D'Italie Kremlin Bicetre

Great eco campsite nr to the palace and allowed us a cheeky night in Paris a la hotel..not much to report just heat, gold leaf rooms and amazing paintings in the Palace, mad French drivers and we made sure there was plenty of ice cream for Lauren to keep her sweet!

... attitude I turned in the direction of the finger and found the stairs. I pushed open a heavy door and found myself inside a dark basement with about ten snoring backpackers sprawled out on benches obviously waiting for the same thing I was...2 o'clock. I dropped my packs on the floor next to the only open bench area between someone's grubby socks and another's head and lay down. As if I had been waiting for this opportunity for hours and finally found the silence and "solitude" to do ...

... early because the first sunday of the month is... FREE MUSEUM DAY!!! However, there was a catch. Because it was free museum day, everyone goes to museums. Obviously. And because everyone goes to museums, not only are the museums claustrophobic once you get inside, but you have to wait in long lines to even enter. Yeah. So the 8 museums I had in mind for today didn't work out and I had to limit myself to Monet, Degas ...

... Basilica. Seeing a show at the Moulin Rouge was unfortunately out of the question, as a meal and a ticket cost upwards of 100 euros. As I walked up and out of the metro station, I was surprised to immediately see: The Moulin Rouge itself! I had come up in a little square with the identifiable red windmill and carousel-like lettering right in front of me. Afterward, I devised a plan to get to the Basilique de Sacre-Coeur and took off up the Rue de Lepic. This street ...

... each area is marked with which cemetery and year they were put there and that over 6 million "bodies" are laid to rest there. It was a horrific, fascinating and memorable experience and I can only think that relatives of mine's bodies are probably laid to rest in this place. After leaving the Catacombs, for a change of pace we caught the Metro back to Concord and went to Le Orangere Museum to see Monet's Waterlily's under natural light. We went into two ...

... as the Brits say) and sat down at a cafe to eat a sandwich and rehydrate. I refueled and then took my time visiting my favorites, like Cupid & Psyche by Canova (I have a replica at home) and The Winged Victory (see pics). Waved hi to Mona and then went to check out the remnants of the medieval moat downstairs from back in the day when the Louvre was a fortress for the French king who paved the streets and built the walls of Paris (1190 AD until ...

Thursday 26th July 26th july Today we did a bit of walking around inner paris. We spent most of the day at an art gallery for the work of famous French sculptor A. Rodin. The stuff was all really good, with a few pieces that I would have quite happily sat down in front of all day. But we didn't because when you're in paris there's always things to do and places to go (or so it seems at least). So we went ...

Today is my last day in Paris. I've had a great time and eaten lots of great food. I have definitely spent more than my budget, but after such a long trip, I think I deserve it and while I don't think it's worth the additional cost, especially 0.50 euros to use a bathroom which is dirty, it is different to see what is so special about Paris and France. Yesterday, I dropped by my friend, Christelle's hometown, and had lunch at her ...

... point to walk the Champs de Elyse to the Arch de Triumph. First we strolled through the garden area, then the street turned into quite the business section of town. We got a bite to eat at McDonalds and I also got 2 cappuccinos at the McCafe....what a nice treat on the street. After watching daily relighting of the flame of the unknown soldiers that burns under the Arch de Triumph we continued walking to the Eifel ...

First day in Paris!! Got up fairly early (8am) ready for our first day in Paris. Went downstairs to check out the included breakfast which was pretty good. They had a great buffet with lots of different food including fruit, croissants, bread, cereal and more. Filled up on a nice helping then went to freshen up before getting on the bus. We first got dropped at The Louvre and went in via a special entrance so we didn ...