Flight to Paris & Day 1 tour - July 1 – 2
We drove to Orlando and had lunch before boarding the plane to
Paris with a plane change in Detroit. We departed at 2:20p and arrived in Paris the
next day at 8:30a. Delta had a plane change and instead of Premium Plus seats
we were crammed into economy seats for the sleeping portion of the trip. The refund
in the difference in cost was not automatic you had to request it. Boo, Delta!
In the airport we hit the ATM for Euros and got our 7-day transportation
passes (only needed 5 days but cheaper than buying them day by day and more
convenient) for the metro and busses. We grabbed a taxi to the Pullman Paris
Montparnasse Hotel. We used the extension with Viking and added one night on
our own, so we didn’t have to change hotels. We didn’t use any of their included
excursions as we would have already seen the things on their tours by the time
they did them. We "self-toured" and besides walking, we used the metro and occasionally
used the buses. Prior to the trip we ordered The Museum Pass, which saved a ton
of money on entry fees, and they had the added benefit of skipping the line. (except for
security and others with the pass) We also made reservations at all places
requiring or suggesting having them as soon as they were available.
We shared a taxi with a single guy staying close to our hotel and I got a kick out of the lighted ceiling in the taxi. Due to traffic, it took twice as long to get to the hotel.
We checked into the hotel, and they linked our night with the nights with Viking, so we didn’t have to change rooms. We had early check in, so we dropped our bags and freshened up before grabbing the metro to Les Invalides which is a complex of museums, monuments, and the final resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte. (after grabbing a quick lunch at the food court next door)
A military hospital is still in operation at Les Invalides,
and the headquarters of the military governor of Paris are there. Moreover, the
soldiers' chapel still functions as a Roman Catholic house of worship, now
called the Cathédrale St. -Louis des Invalides.
It houses the Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum), the Musée des
Plans-Reliefs (Museum of Military Models), and the Musée d'Histoire
Contemporaine. It also includes the Dôme des Invalides (Dome of the Invalides),
a domed church where Napoleon's tomb is located. We saw his tomb in St. Helena
when we were there a few years ago. He died there but his remains are in Paris.
In 1840, during the 'Return of the Ashes', a law passed on 10th June ordered
the construction of the Emperor's tomb below the dome of the Invalides.
The bus stopped at the Eiffel Tower which is timed for when
it twinkles on the hour. Unfortunately, a bus stopped blocking the shots but
all in all not bad and of course it’s magical to see it in person. This time of year, it wasn't dark for most of the route.
After the tour we grabbed the Metro back to the hotel. The
hotel really wasn’t in a convenient place and the road in front of it was under
construction and not seemingly in the best neighborhood. There were a few
homeless and just a mess with the construction. It was a bit of a walk to the
Metro or bus but not bad. Viking said at some point that it’s not easy to find
a nice hotel large enough to handle the size of their groups or hotels nearer
to the attractions can sell out at higher rates, so it pushes them a bit out of
the “desired” locations. It was a nice hotel, and the breakfast buffet was very
good.
Tomorrow, we have a full schedule visiting the highlights of
Paris.
Link to photos: Paris Day 1 https://photos.app.goo.gl/gkayD7Z7UZPT6ieB7
Just as an aside, Blogger continues to not allow me to add more than 10 photos at a time (it used to do over 50) so this is a much more laborious task, and I may just do text with the photo link. We'll see how this goes.
