Thirteen candles.... a Paris and DLP Birthday extravaganza! TR updated 12/31!!

[MEK]

Count me in! What an ambitious undertaking. Happy to see you back on the boards and can't wait to read all about it.

 

[sunny_stace]

I'm here P!!! I'm definitely in for all of the Parisian adventures!

 

[ILuvCrush]

I'm here too! Can't wait to read all about it!

Welcome Kelly!! So Glad you made it!!

Count me in! What an ambitious undertaking. Happy to see you back on the boards and can't wait to read all about it.

Hi Mary Ellen!! So glad to see you!! I've been on the boards... bhut have been spending my time in 'lurkdom' lol!

I'm here P!!! I'm definitely in for all of the Parisian adventures!

Hi Stace!! So happy you are here!!! The polar bears haven't moved into your backyard yet for the winter have they??

 

[ILuvCrush]

Well I thought I'd start this off with a little 'pre-trip' of sorts. I don't write PTRs, because I think they are bad luck.... I always seem to have stuff happen that I end up cancelling the trips

So... Here's the nitty gritty.... lol!

I looked at lots of different websites for hotels that were recommended in the various tour guides I had. I forget which one I found Hotel du Lion D'Or. But that was the Hotel I decided on. It had the best of everything we were looking for (or at least so it seemed!) It was in a great central location just a couple blocks from the Louvre and Tulleries Garden. It was actually an efficiency... which meant there was 2 beds (one lofted), a private bath, and a small kitchenette. So we could eat snacks/breakfast in the room AND we would both have our own bed! Thirdly... and very importantly... the price was right! Only 185 euro/night, I could book online... with no penalty if I had to cancel

So now that I chose a hotel... and booked it.... it was time to find flights! The price on those was quite a bit higher than I was hoping for... but I kept combing Travelocity, Expedia, and Kayak... as well as the direct sites at Delta, Air Canada, and Air France!! Eventually I came across a rate not too far above what I had budgeted for flights at Air France! I was fine with them being a little higher and went for it... because they were the dates I wanted, from my 1st choice airport... and the flight home was direct!

So... Paris hotel... check!
flights... check!

Now... to book our Disney portion! I waited til after we had our flights becuse I was booking it thru DVC... so it was pretty much a done deal once I did it. I couldn't find any info from anyone that had booked DLP thru DVC... so I felt like I was going in a bit blind with this part!! But the cast members at Member Services were amazing... and were very knowledgable! I was able to book all the nights we wanted at the Sequoia Lodge with no problem! There was a $95(usd) booking fee... and I had to purchase length of stay tickets. But I was happy to discover that breakfast was included each morning! So for less than $600(usd) I added 5 nights with 6 day parkhoppers at DLP!

OK... so is there anything else???
Well besides the usual trip stuff... packing, shopping, repacking... all of which I'm not going to go into... except to say that I DID buy a new camera for this trip! So be warned those of you that are used to my usual photo-quality... these are not as good. Not bad, but not as nice as they would have been with my DSLR! I really wanted to experience this trip...and not look at everything thru my camera lens!! So regardless of the less than stellar quality, I was pleased with my new camera!

OH!!! I almost forgot!! Taking this trip took Ellie out of school for 10 days! I was nervous about that initially, but once school started... I became outright scared! You see... they built a new middle school that the kids moved into this fall. It is attatched to the High School... so the class periods/times have changed. Now with the new structure... they have block periods! So instead of having English and Algebra daily... they had it 2 times a day... so Ellie would miss twice the material as we originally expected I made it a point to meet with all her teachers beforehand... and I also requested an educational leave of absence from the school district. In the end it all worked out fine! Some of her teachers gave her all the assignments she would miss almost a week before we even left! Others, excused her from all class work (like History and Tech Ed),and had her write a report about her experiences as her grade for what she missed!


Alrighty!! PTR complete!

Now... onto travel day and arrival in Paris!
We flew on Delta from Pittsburgh PA to JFK in New York on Tuesday evening the 13th. The flight was on a smaller regional jet. It was smooth and uneventful! We were able to see the skyline of New York City as we landed. We both thought that was really cool, since we haven't actually been there before (I know.... Paris before NYC??... ). They were working on the teminal and we could not pull up to a gate. So we had to exit the plane outside on the stairs. Ellie was so excited... she kept saying.. I feel like the President!!! I don't know about the President... but I personally didn't feel too welcome as we were led into a dingy barely lit basement and stairwell But we came out unscathed! JFK is a really UGLY and UNfriendly airport! It took us a while to find someone that could help us figure out where to go for our connecting flight. We actually had to walk outside to another terminal... and it was not pedestrian friendly

We managed though, and were thru security, grabbing a snack, and recharging our phones with about 2 hours to wait!

Our Air France Plane was huge! And gorgeous!! Easily the nicest plane I've ever been on! The flight left at 11pm. You could tell the culture was already different since we were served a French dinner at midnite! We weren't very hungary, but the food was pretty good! We then slept a few hours and woke up to a lovely breakfast of muffins, fruit, and juice. Our flight arrived right on time at 12:30pm at Charles De Gaulle airport. The airport was really big, but easy to navigate. Getting through customs and the border police was very smooth and easy. Our luggage was right there on the conveyer when we reached it as well!!

I had read here on the DLP Trip Boards about TIO Shuttle service. I had booked with them before leaving home. The driver met us right outside baggage claim and we were on our way to our hotel! I can't say enough about TIO... they were always on time, polite, and efficient! It was so nice not having to worry about getting a taxi, or wrangling our baggage onto to RER!

Was the hotel all I was hoping for?? Or were the bad reviews the right ones?? Where would we find something to eat?? What did we do our first evening??? Stay tuned to find out!

 

[markpsych]

Staying tuned

 

[zinderella]

Great report so far! Looking forward to all the details. I love reading what Amercians think of our Disneyland and finding out what is good for a teen to do in Paris will give me some ideas for when my DD gets to 13!!!

 

[MEK]

Wait? Did you read bad reviews AFTER you booked the hotel? Where did you check - trip advisor? I love that site but some of the reviews are so scathing. It's like people have nothing better to do.

So glad your flights went off without a hitch. I remember flying Air New Zealand years ago and feeling the same way about the flight. So much nicer than our usual domestic flights.

Really can't wait to start seeing your pics despite the quality. I am sure they are still gorgeous!

Oh - I almost forgot - so glad everything worked out with school and using your DVC points to book the stay. Curious - how many points per night?

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm here! A little late but I'm here.

I really can't wait to read more, I loved seeing your pictures on Facebook.

 

[tinkerbells mum]

really looking forward to reading the rest of your TR. i'm taking my DD to DLP next year when she will be 11 (just the 2 of us) and then to WDW the year after that when she will be 12 (again just the two of us) so really looking forward to your experience of traveling with a teenager "all that way" on your own!!!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Staying tuned

Welcome mark!

Great report so far! Looking forward to all the details. I love reading what Amercians think of our Disneyland and finding out what is good for a teen to do in Paris will give me some ideas for when my DD gets to 13!!!

Hi Zinderella!! Glad you like it so far I hope that I will be able to help!

Wait? Did you read bad reviews AFTER you booked the hotel? Where did you check - trip advisor? I love that site but some of the reviews are so scathing. It's like people have nothing better to do.

So glad your flights went off without a hitch. I remember flying Air New Zealand years ago and feeling the same way about the flight. So much nicer than our usual domestic flights.

Really can't wait to start seeing your pics despite the quality. I am sure they are still gorgeous!

Oh - I almost forgot - so glad everything worked out with school and using your DVC points to book the stay. Curious - how many points per night?

I had read some mixed reviews (on trip-adviser) before booking. But the vast majority of complaints was lack of elevators and air conditioning. There was also complaints of construction noise and the rooms being clean but worn out. I decided that I could live without the elevators and air... and if there was construction noise, then that was temporary. I didn't expect a castle... it was rated 2 stars. Definitely a step down for my usual 4 star preference... but I didn't expect to spend too much time in the room anyway!

It was about 145 points for the 5 nights. And that also included the breakfast... so I didn't think that was too bad! I would have loved to stay at the Disneyland Hotel... but at 50+ points PER NIGHT... wasn't gonna happen lol!!

I'm here! A little late but I'm here.

I really can't wait to read more, I loved seeing your pictures on Facebook.

Hi LL! So glad you enjoyed them I'll have a bunch of different ones in the report. The ones on FB was mostly for Ellie to show off to her friends! How's the 'baby baking' going... you feeling good???

really looking forward to reading the rest of your TR. i'm taking my DD to DLP next year when she will be 11 (just the 2 of us) and then to WDW the year after that when she will be 12 (again just the two of us) so really looking forward to your experience of traveling with a teenager "all that way" on your own!!!

Hi tinker! Welcome aboard! I really LOVED traveling with just Ellie! It was so refreshing and fun! What really amazed me more than anything is how much she grew up during this trip! Even in her photos she looks older!

 

[discrazy2]

Hi Paula! I'm a NJ mom planning to take my family (DH, DD-15 yrs old, and DS-13 yrs old) to Paris and DLP next summer to celebrate my big b-day. Looking forward to reading about your adventure and getting ideas for our trip.

 

[sunny_stace]

Hi Stace!! So happy you are here!!! The polar bears haven't moved into your backyard yet for the winter have they??

We haven't even really had snow yet P...wet flurries overnight a few weeks ago but they didn't stick around - that's been it! If I'm not careful my igloo will melt and I'll have to sell my pet moose!

They were working on the teminal and we could not pull up to a gate. So we had to exit the plane outside on the stairs. Ellie was so excited... she kept saying.. I feel like the President!!! I don't know about the President... but I personally didn't feel too welcome as we were led into a dingy barely lit basement and stairwell But we came out unscathed!

I agree with Ellie! The last time I came out of a plane down the stairs and on the runway was when I moved home from Alberta. A bunch of my friends and family were waiting in the terminal - I felt like the Beatles!

I'm glad your flights went well! A good flight always gets things off to a smooth start! And shuttle service that you can rely on is always a good thing!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Hi LL! So glad you enjoyed them I'll have a bunch of different ones in the report. The ones on FB was mostly for Ellie to show off to her friends! How's the 'baby baking' going... you feeling good???

I really did enjoy the pictures. I'm wondering if I can convince Marc that I should take Violet to Paris for her 13th birthday....

I'm feeling really good right now. The morning sickness at the beginning was pretty awful but now I'm good.

 

[jenjolt]

YAY for a smooth arrival!!! I don't know how I would handle that long of a flight but it sounds like it was really nice!!! Can't wait to hear what you thought of your hotel!

 

[ILuvCrush]

I'm going to try very hard to get the next post up here on Sunday evening!!

I wanted to do it tonite... but the girls wanted to decoate.... so, at least I accomplished something today

 

[jessrose18]

signing on.... also doing london/paris/dlp on our own this year!

 

[lilwitch646]

May I have the honor of saying what an awesome mom you are? Truly! I think that's a great idea for a birthday present, and the fact that she saved for three years to go! Amazing!

I'm truly looking forward to reading your trip report. I can't wait to hear how your trip went. I hope you two enjoyed yourselves.

 

[pooh'smate]

Joining in. I just asked my dd (who is 6) where she would want to go if we took a trip together. Her answer was the beach at Disney World.

 

[disneykid123]

I look forward to the rest of your TR!

 

[ILuvCrush]

Thanks for hanging in there everyone!! Sorry it took so long to get this installment up! Life has a way of interfering with my DIS-time

Anyhoo... I left off the travel day post, stating that we used Tio Shuttle to whisk us to our hotel!! The ride there was very comfortable, and we were really excited to get to see some of the landmarks off in the distance as we rode!

It took about 30 minutes before we arrived at our hotel, Hotel Lion d'Or.

From the outside, it was exactly as I was expecting! We went inside, and the reception clerk was very nice, and quickly switched over to English, once she realized who we were and were not fully understanding everything she was saying lol!

We recieved our room keys very quickly.... and were on our way to settle in!

Now, when I reserved this hotel, there were some negative reviews. Almost ALL the poor reviews involved the complaints that there was no elevators and construction/remodelling noise... There were also some poor reviews stating the rooms were 'old' So I made the decision, that we could walk up a few flights of stairs, in exchange for having a large, centrally located room!! Plus... in a city that WAS hundreds and hundreds of years old... I felt that an older room was sort of a given! Besides..we weren't going to Paris to sit in our room anyway!

Our room was on the 2nd floor.... which for us Americans, is actually the 3rd floor, because we start with '1' and not 'ground' floor! It was a struggle lugging our bags (2 large suitcases plus a carryon and purse for each of us!) up all those steps! But it was managable! Finally we reached our room... we were very pleasantly suprised at how nice it was! Sure... there were some divits/dents in the floor... the windows were a bit old... and the soft goods were very simple.. BUT it was CLEAN! Which in my book, trumps the rest! The beds were comfortable... the shower had good pressure and was hot... and we had toms of space! I usually consider myself a 4 star kind of gal... but honestly, this place didn't have the bells and whistles (not even a phone!) but it felt like home!

Here's some photos of the room! The 2nd full sized bed is actually lofted. It didn't have a boxspring or frame... just a matress in the loft... but Ellie saidit was very very comfortable!

We got freshened up, and wen't off to find a snack! We were both needing a little sugar as a pick-me-up!

So we headeed off down the street toward the Tullieries Gardens! They certainally weren't hard to find... because they are enormous! It was only about a 5 minute walk. It was a little cloudy, but it didn't feel like rain. So I did take a few photos, but I'll have nicer ones later in the report!

We found a little cafe in the garden, so we had a seat, and Ellie had a Coke (Coca-Cola, as we had to call it, since the term Coke isn't used lol!) and I had a Hot Chocolate. Both of which tasted SO MUCH BETTER in Paris! Actually, neither of us can stand drinking a Coke since we got home!! And our Swiss Miss.. blech! No comparision!

After our little snack, we went back to our room so Ellie could change and grab a jacket. It was much cooler than we had expected!


Our evening wasn't over yet.... actually, the adventure was really just beginning! Next time... I'll tell you all about us getting lost... our1st dining experience... and an evening cruise on the Seine!