Paris Hotels
|
  | |  |
The French Experience 2.
Entry 14 of 17 | show all | print this entry |
Fortunately, we were now in France long enough to experience a bit of real Paris. The area our hotel was in was called Oberkampf, in central Paris. Paul Eric slept in, whilst I got up and enjoyed the good breakfast downstairs. Initially, we wanted to see some of the famous sites like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Latin quarter, but we realized that with only 6 hours before we had to leave for the airport, it would be rather stressful. We therefore decided to explore the immediate vicinity and take it easy. Warsaw was, after all where we were planning on spending the weekend, and Paris would have to be a future trip. Our impression of the city was that it was definitely somewhere we wanted to spend time later. I have to admit it was also cleaner, smarter and prettier than most of London, but hey, what can beat London for history, cultural diversity and excitement?!
Since Paul Eric hadn't eaten, we stopped at McDonalds again (!) for a light breakfast. We enjoyed looking at the shops and cafés along the pretty road, and called in at a tiny patisserie which was full of people for coffee and cakes. So wonderful! So French! We continued along the road until we came to the Science museum which was free, and we spent a wonderful time here until the clock told us it was time to pick up our luggage at the hotel and continue to the airport. It was easy to get a taxi and return to our hotel, and the taxi-driver then dropped us off at Gare du Nord, where it would be easy to get transport to the airport. Unfortunately, directions to the airport were not very clear, and I struggled with the now heavy bags, walking first one way and then the other. We hopped on a tube and fortunately it was the correct one to the airport. Here we got on the shuttle which took us all the way to Orly. BEWARE: It drives very fast, and with a heavy bag on your back, it's hard to stand upright!
Thankfully, we arrived in time at Orly airport, but the queue to Warsaw with Norwegian was very long. We bought excellent sandwiches and made it to the gate. Thank goodness for more comfortable seats than the ones on Transavia!
Arriving in Warsaw, I changed some money, and we then easily found the cheap bus into the centre of the city. Unfortunatley, the Oki Doki hostel near the old part of town, was not as easy to find as the instructions led us to believe, and after a walk in some subways, full of restuarants and shops, we eventually got a taxi. We were impressed with Oki Doki from the start! Not for nothing it had won a prize! The girl in reception was so welcoming and helpful, and spoke good English. She showed us to our room, which was called the Travellers Room, the walls being covered with maps and interesting geographical topics. The light fixture was a suitcase. Interesting. We had our own bathroom, two comfortable beds, tea and coffee making, chairs and a table, bed lamps and a big window with a good view of the street. Not bad for a youth hostel! I got my lamp out that I had bought in Sfax, and it made the room so cosy with its reflection of pretty colours.
We braved the cold and went out for dinner at a nearby smart restaurant, where we were impressed by the food (international - pasta and pizza) and the price. Not wanting to seem like I expected everyone to speak my language, I asked the waitress if she spoke English, to which she replied, "Of course". Well, that was a good first impression of modern Polish. Later, however, we were to find out that though it might apply to the restaurant branch, the same couldn't be said for the Warsaw police force!
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from France or try a new search. |
| |
| Table of Contents |
| 14. | The French Experience 2. - Paris, France Feb 20, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
