It was a quiet afternoon today. I had to work from 1 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., and only had one of my toddlers most of the afternoon. He slept from 1 until 2:30 so I spent the time re-reading my DK London guidebook from the library and marking places where I want to take notes about info that Rick Steves book doesn't have.
Did errands before I came home (had to get the traditional creamed herring and oysters for oyster stew for NY Eve...) and it had started to snow by the time I was almost home. Eric is out at a friend's house, driving the old Transport w/o all wheel drive as he is carless right now. (He went through standing water that was deeper than he thought...ruined the engine enough that it will have to be rebuilt. He's carless because he was a bit careless. A story for another day.)
Saw this interesting tidbit on a travel site - 5 Golden Rules for traveling
1. Always eat lunch before it gets too late.
Many restaurants are not open between lunch and dinner.
2. Speak up.
If you are unhappy about something, want to do something else, don’t want to go somewhere, it’s your fault if you don’t communicate. The rest of us aren’t mind readers.
3. Don’t be a martyr.
No one will respect you for it and you will be miserable. This goes hand in hand with rule #2.
4. Be brave when it comes to food. Taste everything.
5. Roll with it.
Plans can go awry. Strikes happen. Museums close randomly. Have a back up plan.
All good advice, eh?
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Another hostel...and Paris plans
Following my mom's recommendation to check out alternatives for hostel/hotel in the Rick Steves guidebook, I found a hostel that I think I'll like better than the Young and Happy. There are actually three MIJE hostels, all near each other in the Marais. For 49 euros I can get a single room with a shower and sink. Obviously more than I would pay at the Y&H but I think I'll be happier there. Seems to be a more quiet area than Rue Mouffetard, and the TripAdvisor reviews are much better than the Y&H's, too.
I can't make a reservation until 45 days in advance, so come mid-February I think I'm going to lock it in. 99% sure.
Aunt Martha (mom's twin) sent me an e-mail tonight with some suggestions on being more comfortable with my choice of a hostel - I'm glad for the advice. She's traveled even more than my mom and much has been in hostel type accommodations. The first time is the hardest, I guess.
I do feel a lot better about the whole hostel thing with the new choice.
Now to figure out a Paris itinerary....have to take into account the limited budgets and limited time - basically two days of sightseeing for Debbie & Judy. Our hotel together is in the 8th, near the Arc de Triomphe. It'll be late afternoon by the time we get to the hotel after taking the Eurostar from London. We have to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up passes but I'm thinking that may be better the next morning. Not sure. Will probably walk to the Arc de Triomphe, and on the Champs-Elysees that evening. Next morning to the Hard Rock then most likely to Montmartre - Sacre Coeur and Place du Tertre; then take the hop on, hop off tour of the city, see the Tour d'Eiffel; take the Batobus tour on the Seine that's included in our passes. Also want to see Notre Dame and the Louvre, though I think we'd be best off going on Friday evening when it's open late for a cheaper price. We have to hit a few geocaches in Paris so Debbie can add to her list (I got her interested when we were all in Florida last February) though I plan to do many more once I'm on my own. Would also like to go to the Jardin du Luxembourg with D&J. The only two places with costs on this list are the Eiffel Tower (cheaper if we walk up the steps) and the Louvre (cheaper in the evening.) Notre Dame is free if you don't want to go up the tower, I can always go up the tower later myself. Sacre Coeur is free, the tours are already paid for, and to see the outside of the Arc de Triomphe is also free. Really trying to keep costs down for Deb & Judy, also for myself of course.
I want to get a 6 day Paris Museum Pass for myself, will probably use it Saturday through Thursday instead of Thursday through Tuesday. It's 60 euros but well worth it when you consider Versailles admission alone would be almost half that cost. Plus you get to skip to the head of the line. This is a life list trip, after all, so I'm going for it. Don't know if or when I'll ever be able to return so will try to experience as much as I can this time around.
Our time in London needs some plans as well...I seem to have Paris on the brain right now though. Could be because I have more to plan.
I can't make a reservation until 45 days in advance, so come mid-February I think I'm going to lock it in. 99% sure.
Aunt Martha (mom's twin) sent me an e-mail tonight with some suggestions on being more comfortable with my choice of a hostel - I'm glad for the advice. She's traveled even more than my mom and much has been in hostel type accommodations. The first time is the hardest, I guess.
I do feel a lot better about the whole hostel thing with the new choice.
Now to figure out a Paris itinerary....have to take into account the limited budgets and limited time - basically two days of sightseeing for Debbie & Judy. Our hotel together is in the 8th, near the Arc de Triomphe. It'll be late afternoon by the time we get to the hotel after taking the Eurostar from London. We have to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up passes but I'm thinking that may be better the next morning. Not sure. Will probably walk to the Arc de Triomphe, and on the Champs-Elysees that evening. Next morning to the Hard Rock then most likely to Montmartre - Sacre Coeur and Place du Tertre; then take the hop on, hop off tour of the city, see the Tour d'Eiffel; take the Batobus tour on the Seine that's included in our passes. Also want to see Notre Dame and the Louvre, though I think we'd be best off going on Friday evening when it's open late for a cheaper price. We have to hit a few geocaches in Paris so Debbie can add to her list (I got her interested when we were all in Florida last February) though I plan to do many more once I'm on my own. Would also like to go to the Jardin du Luxembourg with D&J. The only two places with costs on this list are the Eiffel Tower (cheaper if we walk up the steps) and the Louvre (cheaper in the evening.) Notre Dame is free if you don't want to go up the tower, I can always go up the tower later myself. Sacre Coeur is free, the tours are already paid for, and to see the outside of the Arc de Triomphe is also free. Really trying to keep costs down for Deb & Judy, also for myself of course.
I want to get a 6 day Paris Museum Pass for myself, will probably use it Saturday through Thursday instead of Thursday through Tuesday. It's 60 euros but well worth it when you consider Versailles admission alone would be almost half that cost. Plus you get to skip to the head of the line. This is a life list trip, after all, so I'm going for it. Don't know if or when I'll ever be able to return so will try to experience as much as I can this time around.
Our time in London needs some plans as well...I seem to have Paris on the brain right now though. Could be because I have more to plan.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Memories of Merrill Dining Hall
Planning my upcoming trip to London and Paris takes up a lot of my thinking time these days. Can't imagine why... but taking up a big chunk of space in my gray matter right now is the news that Merrill Dining Hall, at Gerber Boy Scout Camp near Twin Lake, collapsed on Christmas Eve. As a scouter for over 10 years, Merrill holds a lot of memories for me, even though I never camped at Gerber with our Boy Scout Troop. I attended Wood Badge course C-39-02 there and was a troop guide for C-16-07 last year. Many memories of the dining hall with that alone. I've also been on staff for outdoor leader training for probably five years or so, twice a year with the dining hall used quite a bit as well. Add in some Wood Badge dinners and reunions, and other events, and you end up with a lot of time well-spent.
My last visit there was in late October for the fall OLT course. We held our "campfire" in the dining hall as we had a Wood Badge beading ceremony at the beginning of the evening and wanted it to be seen in more than the glow of a burning fire. I'm glad now that we did, it was a great campfire even without burning wood involved.
Three of the four walls of the dining hall collapsed - the kitchen wing is apparently salvageable. I've also heard that the elk head has been retrieved, as have most of the staff pictures, neckerchiefs, and plaques. The moose head is still AWOL. Many of the tables and benches, all custom made by troops, will have to be replaced.
In the coming days and weeks, plans will be made for rebuilding - the desire is to have a new facility in place by the time camp starts in June. I hope that whatever mistakes may have been made in design or building will be changed for this new building - and that it isn't rushed just for the sake of getting it done. I hope that all scouts and scouters will be welcomed into the rebuilding process however and whenever they are able. I want to do what I can, though it may not be much.
My last visit there was in late October for the fall OLT course. We held our "campfire" in the dining hall as we had a Wood Badge beading ceremony at the beginning of the evening and wanted it to be seen in more than the glow of a burning fire. I'm glad now that we did, it was a great campfire even without burning wood involved.
Three of the four walls of the dining hall collapsed - the kitchen wing is apparently salvageable. I've also heard that the elk head has been retrieved, as have most of the staff pictures, neckerchiefs, and plaques. The moose head is still AWOL. Many of the tables and benches, all custom made by troops, will have to be replaced.
In the coming days and weeks, plans will be made for rebuilding - the desire is to have a new facility in place by the time camp starts in June. I hope that whatever mistakes may have been made in design or building will be changed for this new building - and that it isn't rushed just for the sake of getting it done. I hope that all scouts and scouters will be welcomed into the rebuilding process however and whenever they are able. I want to do what I can, though it may not be much.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Hostel or Hotel?
This morning, I began thinking again about the hostel vs. hotel issue for Paris. My sisters and I will be in a nice 3-star hotel with a triple room. I've reserved a spot at the Young and Happy Hostel, in the Latin Quarter, for Saturday through Thursday (had already reserved a spot at the Formule One near CDG Airport for Thursday night so I'm already near the airport on Friday when I leave.)
My spot is in a 5-bed female only dorm room. Now I've been around, stayed in a dorm room for the majority of my college years and have done my share of camping and room-sharing over the years. These are total strangers in a large city in a foreign country. Gotta admit that's giving me a bit of a pause.
Thinking out the pros and cons - the pros are the inexpensive cost; the location; and the chance to meet new people. The cons though - maybe more noise than I'd like (though earplugs would solve that one quickly) and whether or not me (and my possessions) will be safe. I think my personal safety will be ok as long as I'm careful and use common sense. With the right locks, etc. to secure my suitcase, I have a reasonable chance of everything being ok there too. I'm not going to be carrying around my most valued possessions anyway (except for my Acer netbook and passport/money.) I do wish there were lockers in the dorm rooms, though, as I've read that many hostels do have. That would make me feel a whole lot better.
Anyway, found a website for cheap Paris Hotels. Spent an hour or two looking up the hotel, reading the reviews on the site, then comparing those reviews to TripAdvisor's reviews. As a general rule, the site's reviews were pretty positive and TripAdvisor's were much less so. You get what you pay for, I suppose.
Seems like for what I'm willing to spend, I'd probably be best off staying right where I've already reserved space. Not to decide is to decide, though. If I'm going to make a change it will need to be soon so I can still find space. If I keep putting off the decision, it must mean I should just stay at the hostel.
If anybody reads this and wants to chime in on their pros and cons, feel free!
My spot is in a 5-bed female only dorm room. Now I've been around, stayed in a dorm room for the majority of my college years and have done my share of camping and room-sharing over the years. These are total strangers in a large city in a foreign country. Gotta admit that's giving me a bit of a pause.
Thinking out the pros and cons - the pros are the inexpensive cost; the location; and the chance to meet new people. The cons though - maybe more noise than I'd like (though earplugs would solve that one quickly) and whether or not me (and my possessions) will be safe. I think my personal safety will be ok as long as I'm careful and use common sense. With the right locks, etc. to secure my suitcase, I have a reasonable chance of everything being ok there too. I'm not going to be carrying around my most valued possessions anyway (except for my Acer netbook and passport/money.) I do wish there were lockers in the dorm rooms, though, as I've read that many hostels do have. That would make me feel a whole lot better.
Anyway, found a website for cheap Paris Hotels. Spent an hour or two looking up the hotel, reading the reviews on the site, then comparing those reviews to TripAdvisor's reviews. As a general rule, the site's reviews were pretty positive and TripAdvisor's were much less so. You get what you pay for, I suppose.
Seems like for what I'm willing to spend, I'd probably be best off staying right where I've already reserved space. Not to decide is to decide, though. If I'm going to make a change it will need to be soon so I can still find space. If I keep putting off the decision, it must mean I should just stay at the hostel.
If anybody reads this and wants to chime in on their pros and cons, feel free!
Starting a blog
Seems like the "in" thing to do these days is to have your own blog. Didn't really think I needed one all that badly - but my mom says it's a much better way for people to follow your travels than e-mailing everyone. She is making one of my "life list" items come true by providing my sisters and I a trip to London and Paris in March 2009. It will be my first time out of the country unless you count a couple of trips to Ontario so I'm pretty excited about it! (She'll be experiencing one of her own life list items as she'll be in Europe for three months with her twin sister Martha celebrating their 70th birthdays. Their birthday was a week ago but their trip will be Feb - May.)
I've been gathering information for our trip for several months now, and much of my "Christmas wish list" centered around travel. Eric gave me Rick Steves guidebooks for London and Paris, it'll be nice to have some that I can keep more than the library-allotted time! He also gave me a travel clothesline; microfiber travel towel; a tote bag; and electrical adaptors. Steve gave me a sleep sack and more electrical adaptors, as well as some SD cards for my camera. I received other gifts, of course, but these were the travel-related ones.
Some of the things on my trip-related "to-do" list are to figure out the best plans for London (arrive on Sunday morning; leave for Paris on Eurostar on Wednesday morning) and Paris (arriving Wednesday afternoon; Debbie & Judy leave on Saturday morning. I'm staying until the following Friday morning.) My original plans were to travel to Germany to visit with Scott the second week - he is stationed there in the Air Force. The Air Force changed those plans, however, as they are sending Scott to Iraq the month before. So doggone it, I'll just have to spend more time in Paris! I'd rather be able to see Scott but the alternative just isn't all that bad...
I also need to figure out what to take (I plan to just bring a carry-on.) I know I have some time but it is definitely time to start narrowing down the ideas swimming around in my head and making some concrete plans. Watch for them!
Today was a relaxed day, though. After all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, even with just four of us (including Steve's dad, Cecil) it was nice to just kick back and relax today. I did make it into town - had to exchange the SD cards from Steve as they were high capacity and they don't work in my camera. There's hardly a SD card (at least in 2 gb) to be had on 28th Street today - checked with Meijer, Target, Costco, and Walmart. I'm not in a huge hurry though as long as I get another one or two before the trip. I also did a few other errands - bank, post office, got a prescription refilled, and looked at the Christmas clearance stuff (we were completely out of wrapping paper...)
I also managed to finally get a geocache in. It'd actually been two weeks since my last cache - the weather (and therefore the roads) have been terrible with one storm after another. This was a park & grab lightpole cache in the Target/Costco parking lot, I didn't even bother to turn the engine off while I retrieved the cache and signed the log. It was my 1411th cache in 3 years plus of caching. I'm really looking forward to getting some caching done in London and Paris!
Well, it's getting pretty late so about time to end this first post. I'll try to figure out how to post pictures soon though most of my potential audience already knows what I look like!
I've been gathering information for our trip for several months now, and much of my "Christmas wish list" centered around travel. Eric gave me Rick Steves guidebooks for London and Paris, it'll be nice to have some that I can keep more than the library-allotted time! He also gave me a travel clothesline; microfiber travel towel; a tote bag; and electrical adaptors. Steve gave me a sleep sack and more electrical adaptors, as well as some SD cards for my camera. I received other gifts, of course, but these were the travel-related ones.
Some of the things on my trip-related "to-do" list are to figure out the best plans for London (arrive on Sunday morning; leave for Paris on Eurostar on Wednesday morning) and Paris (arriving Wednesday afternoon; Debbie & Judy leave on Saturday morning. I'm staying until the following Friday morning.) My original plans were to travel to Germany to visit with Scott the second week - he is stationed there in the Air Force. The Air Force changed those plans, however, as they are sending Scott to Iraq the month before. So doggone it, I'll just have to spend more time in Paris! I'd rather be able to see Scott but the alternative just isn't all that bad...
I also need to figure out what to take (I plan to just bring a carry-on.) I know I have some time but it is definitely time to start narrowing down the ideas swimming around in my head and making some concrete plans. Watch for them!
Today was a relaxed day, though. After all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, even with just four of us (including Steve's dad, Cecil) it was nice to just kick back and relax today. I did make it into town - had to exchange the SD cards from Steve as they were high capacity and they don't work in my camera. There's hardly a SD card (at least in 2 gb) to be had on 28th Street today - checked with Meijer, Target, Costco, and Walmart. I'm not in a huge hurry though as long as I get another one or two before the trip. I also did a few other errands - bank, post office, got a prescription refilled, and looked at the Christmas clearance stuff (we were completely out of wrapping paper...)
I also managed to finally get a geocache in. It'd actually been two weeks since my last cache - the weather (and therefore the roads) have been terrible with one storm after another. This was a park & grab lightpole cache in the Target/Costco parking lot, I didn't even bother to turn the engine off while I retrieved the cache and signed the log. It was my 1411th cache in 3 years plus of caching. I'm really looking forward to getting some caching done in London and Paris!
Well, it's getting pretty late so about time to end this first post. I'll try to figure out how to post pictures soon though most of my potential audience already knows what I look like!
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