Knights & Lights questions

[kristilew]

Sayhello, watch out for the DLRP rides! They are brutal! Definitely don't do the Indiana Jones one if you worry about your back. I thought I would need a neck brace after that one. Terribly wrenching. Also, the Space Mountain ride was painfully rough as well. It made Rockin Roller Coaster seem like a smooth kiddy ride. I didn't mind Big Thunder Mountain as much, and we liked Tower of Terror better than the one at home.

I second the vote for Musee d'Orsay in Paris. It was truly wonderful. If you like medieval art, the Cluny was also wonderful. If you're going to do one of those and the Arc on your own, it might be worth it to get a Paris city pass. It probably won't save you much money for just a couple of attractions, but it does let you cut to the front of lines, which saves a ton of time.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I have already bored my husband to death debating whether to visit Hampton Court or Windsor Castle. We only have one day pre-trip so we won't have time for both.

Laurie

 

[sayhello]

I have already bored my husband to death debating whether to visit Hampton Court or Windsor Castle. We only have one day pre-trip so we won't have time for both.

Laurie

Go to Hampton Court, and we could do it together! Unless you're afraid you'll get sick of me!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Sayhello, watch out for the DLRP rides! They are brutal! Definitely don't do the Indiana Jones one if you worry about your back. I thought I would need a neck brace after that one. Terribly wrenching. Also, the Space Mountain ride was painfully rough as well. It made Rockin Roller Coaster seem like a smooth kiddy ride. I didn't mind Big Thunder Mountain as much, and we liked Tower of Terror better than the one at home.

Darn! I was afraid of that. The Indiana Jones rides here can be iffy depending on how the back is doing. And if Space Mountain is worse than Rockin Roller Coaster, I'm definitely going to *have* to give it a pass. I could barely walk after I got off of RRC! I *was* hoping to be able to do Tower of Terror. I do love that ride!

I second the vote for Musee d'Orsay in Paris. It was truly wonderful. If you like medieval art, the Cluny was also wonderful. If you're going to do one of those and the Arc on your own, it might be worth it to get a Paris city pass. It probably won't save you much money for just a couple of attractions, but it does let you cut to the front of lines, which saves a ton of time.

I'm not positive how much "on your own" time we have in Paris. I'm going to have to figure that one out. And if the pass gets you to the front of the lines, then it's *definitely* worth it!!!!

Thanks!
Sayhello

 

[RSM]

Darn! I was afraid of that. The Indiana Jones rides here can be iffy depending on how the back is doing. And if Space Mountain is worse than Rockin Roller Coaster, I'm definitely going to *have* to give it a pass. I could barely walk after I got off of RRC! I *was* hoping to be able to do Tower of Terror. I do love that ride!

I'm not positive how much "on your own" time we have in Paris. I'm going to have to figure that one out. And if the pass gets you to the front of the lines, then it's *definitely* worth it!!!!

Thanks!
Sayhello

Not to pile on, but I would definitely recommend the museum pass as it can save alot of time. If you have enough "on your own" time in Paris, I would recommend taking an hour or so and going through the Rodin museum. Alot of very cool (and recognizable) sculptures (the Thinker, the Kiss, Gates of Hell, ...). It is very close to Invalides (Napoleon's tomb).

 

[WeLoveABD]

Not to pile on, but I would definitely recommend the museum pass as it can save alot of time. If you have enough "on your own" time in Paris, I would recommend taking an hour or so and going through the Rodin museum. Alot of very cool (and recognizable) sculptures (the Thinker, the Kiss, Gates of Hell, ...). It is very close to Invalides (Napoleon's tomb).

And for Rodin--you can see The Thinker, Gates of Hell and other sculptures in the garden (just buy the garden pass--very cheap, and skip the inside museum)--and a nice deli spot in the garden as well for coffee/sandwiches!

 

[kristilew]

I have already bored my husband to death debating whether to visit Hampton Court or Windsor Castle. We only have one day pre-trip so we won't have time for both.

Laurie

I would wait to decide this one the day before you go.

Since Windsor Castle is still a working royal residence, they often close off whole sections of it at short notice. This limits the value of your tour big time if you happen to hit on one of these days. Hampton Court is more reliable, as it is strictly historical.

You can check online the week of your trip to see what will be open at Windsor while you are there.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Sayhello - I'm sure I won't get sick of you!! I'm just kind of a British history nut and don't know if I can be in England without seeing where Henry VIII is buried, so I may have to pick Windsor over Hampton Court!

 

[sayhello]

Sayhello - I'm sure I won't get sick of you!! I'm just kind of a British history nut and don't know if I can be in England without seeing where Henry VIII is buried, so I may have to pick Windsor over Hampton Court!

I totally understand!

Sayhello

 

[BriarRosie]

I'm so glad you're asking questions I'm sure I'd never think to ask! And a cruise on the Seine sounds wonderful!

 

[sayhello]

Not to pile on, but I would definitely recommend the museum pass as it can save alot of time. If you have enough "on your own" time in Paris, I would recommend taking an hour or so and going through the Rodin museum. Alot of very cool (and recognizable) sculptures (the Thinker, the Kiss, Gates of Hell, ...). It is very close to Invalides (Napoleon's tomb).

Ooooo... Rodin. That sounds interesting. I could really get into that. Thanks! And I will *definitely* check out the pass.

And for Rodin--you can see The Thinker, Gates of Hell and other sculptures in the garden (just buy the garden pass--very cheap, and skip the inside museum)--and a nice deli spot in the garden as well for coffee/sandwiches!

That also sounds like a great idea if we don't have a lot of time. Combine seeing the sculptures with a meal on our own. Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm so glad you're asking questions I'm sure I'd never think to ask! And a cruise on the Seine sounds wonderful!

I've done this a few times already!

And if you stick around the ABD forum for a while, you'll learn *ALL SORTS* of stuff! The folks on this forum are amazing, and wonderfully helpful!

Sayhello

 

[glassslipper2004]

Hi Sayhello!

Just another plug for the London Eye. I think part of what I like about it is that it gives you time to really look at the city, in a relatively calm place. You aren't walking and trying to look at things at the same time, or zipping past in a bus. It moves pretty slowly - I think it takes about 1/2 an hour for your "flight" around - and so you can really look out over everything and think about it. I do recommend one of the guides (think you can buy it before you get on board) which shows you, for each view, what buildings you are looking at.

Have you decided what else to do in your pre-days? A friend recently went to Oxford and saw some neat literary sights - let me know if you want a link to their blog.

 

[WeLoveABD]

And IF you have time, and IF you are over at the Rodin museum/garden--you are close to Napoleon's tomb and that is definately worth seeing!

 

[sayhello]

Hi Sayhello!

Just another plug for the London Eye. I think part of what I like about it is that it gives you time to really look at the city, in a relatively calm place. You aren't walking and trying to look at things at the same time, or zipping past in a bus. It moves pretty slowly - I think it takes about 1/2 an hour for your "flight" around - and so you can really look out over everything and think about it. I do recommend one of the guides (think you can buy it before you get on board) which shows you, for each view, what buildings you are looking at.

Have you decided what else to do in your pre-days? A friend recently went to Oxford and saw some neat literary sights - let me know if you want a link to their blog.

Oh! That *does* sound really cool! Thanks!

Oxford is definitely one of the places I plan on going, so I'd *love* the link to their blog. You can PM it to me if you don't want to post it here. Or let me know if you need an email address.

And IF you have time, and IF you are over at the Rodin museum/garden--you are close to Napoleon's tomb and that is definately worth seeing!

I saw plenty of statues of Napoleon on Corsica, so it would be cool to see his tomb, also. Thanks!

Sayhello

 

[k5jm]

Christy wants to go on Wine Tours in the Champaign region and a couple of other places in France. I want to hear an Organ recital at Notre Dame. I would love to also here some authentic British Brass Band Concerts and possibly go to the Boosey and Hawkes or Besson Factories.

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I too would love to hear an organ recital! My parents went to France last fall and stumbled onto a concert (link below) while touring a church in Paris (St. Chapelle) just by blind luck. It was one of the highlights of the trip for them.

http://www.myspace.com/parisclassik/videos

Laurie

 

[marcemch]

Wow - the same thing happened to me when I was in Paris in 1994! I had studied the stained glass and architecture of St. Chapelle in college Art History class, so it was on my "must see" list. While there, we saw there was a concert that night and we returned for a wonderful Baroque concert! Definitely one of those peak life experiences!
DO check out this smaller, but incredibly beautiful church known for it's architecture and stained glass!

 

[sayhello]

I too would love to hear an organ recital! My parents went to France last fall and stumbled onto a concert (link below) while touring a church in Paris (St. Chapelle) just by blind luck. It was one of the highlights of the trip for them.

http://www.myspace.com/parisclassik/videos

Laurie

Wow - the same thing happened to me when I was in Paris in 1994! I had studied the stained glass and architecture of St. Chapelle in college Art History class, so it was on my "must see" list. While there, we saw there was a concert that night and we returned for a wonderful Baroque concert! Definitely one of those peak life experiences!
DO check out this smaller, but incredibly beautiful church known for it's architecture and stained glass!

Wow, thanks you guys! I've never heard of St. Chapelle, but it sounds like the kind of place I'd love to see.

Sayhello

 

[crashbb]

Wow, thanks you guys! I've never heard of St. Chapelle, but it sounds like the kind of place I'd love to see.

Sayhello

A concert at sunset is amazing. The light coming through the stained glass, just really adds something.

One note - there can sometimes be line ups to get in. the church is basically surrounded by the Palace of Justice, so security is tight (metal detectors, etc.), which can take time to get through.

 

[stenogoddess]

Hi SayHello!

On our Knights and Lights trip:

* We did get tickets from our guides to see the Eye when we first checked in with them on arrival

* I also did black slacks and brought a couple of dressy sweaters for the theater night and for the last night's dinner. We LOVED Theater night

* On our free London day we took the train down to Hampton Court and LOVED it! It was awesome. We did the hedge maze and the gardens were so lovely, never mind the house. The kitchens were neat too. It's very worth the trip down.

* We got the Oyster card too. It was a big help.

* Our trip was not adults only, but the whole group did the boat trip down the river in Paris. It was going from one place to another, but I can't remember what to what. If I remember right the ticket was good for all day so we could have gone back that night, and I think a lot of folks did, but we hit the museums hard that day and were just beat by the end of the day.

* If you can ride Big Thunder here you can ride it there. I LOVE BTM and still really enjoyed it there even though I'm a coaster scaredy cat. DH reports that the take off for Space is intense with a blast off type deal, so maybe skip that. Crush was down when we were there so I can't report on that. I can say that the line areas for a lot of things were much darker than we are used to. DH had to lead me in on a couple. I remember going to see the dragon was hard and also getting into Pirates was hard too. This was before I had my iphone to help light the way if I needed it though, so maybe keep it handy for light.

* We went the first trip in June, and being from Savannah, GA, I FROZE to death the whole trip. I had looked at the temps before we left and thought I would be okay, but they had a cold front come in, plus my DH explained some very involved nonsense about our humidity level making cooler temps feel hotter than they do other places and so I was thrown off by 50 not feeling like 50 everywhere you go. Who knew? Oh, wait, he did! Thanks, Honey, would have been good to mention before we left!

* Every French person we met was very nice and helpful and quickly rushed to put me out of my French misery. Or maybe they didn't want to hear me tearing up their language any more than I had to. On a free dinner night the manager of the restaurant came over to make sure we had a good itinerary together. Very nice.

And lastly, a link to my ABD Knights and Lights Scrapbook:http://community.shutterfly.com/gal...postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDBg4aNGrZqzZgsr0X78

I really enjoy your trip reports and can't wait to read this one!