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- Manlobbi
Outskirts of Shrewd'm / Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
No. of Recommendations: 3
I just now discovered this little corner of Shrewd'm, and so I offer the following post.
Our (DW and I) retirement plan of frequent travel stalled out during the pandemic. But we're now fully back in the swing of things--although we still mask up on planes and other crowded public transit, and we still dine mostly outdoors and avoid crowded indoor spaces.
We spent the first 3 months of this year on Oahu, with a brief trip to Oregon to visit our daughter and grandchild. We're in Michigan now, for about 3 weeks, then off to Nice for a week and to Paris for 4 fabulous weeks, staying in a lovely little apartment in the 9th Arr. where we stayed for 2 weeks last May. No specific plans for Paris yet, other than to enjoy every single moment.
We'll probably head back to Hawaii in mid-August for about 2 months, where I spend time swimming in the ocean or paddling an outrigger canoe almost daily. (We bought a condo in Waikiki, near Hilton Hawaiian Village, about 12 years ago.)
To finish the year, we've booked a trip to Bologna and Florence, Italy for two weeks beginning in late November. Day trips to Modena and Ferrara are likely from Bologna, and to Siena from Florence. We'll be returning to the same apartment in Florence where we stayed at that same time of year in 2021 and 2022. The holiday lights will be on full display. Perfect.
We'd really like to spend a few days in NYC sometime in the fall, as well. We haven't been there in at least 5 years and really miss it.
Then back to Hawaii! Yay!
No. of Recommendations: 2
No specific plans for Paris yet, other than to enjoy every single moment.We leave in two days. Getting excited! We bought tickets (online, very simple to do) to the Louvre and to Musee d'Orsay for our first week in Paris. Buying in advance allows you to skip the (long) lines.
We also plan to buy a Navigo Easy pass for each of us, to use on city public transport. These are like the plastic passes in use in many US cities that you load up and swipe for metro and bus rides. There's another version of the pass that includes RER rides from/to the airports, Disney, etc., but the extra cost and hassle (you need to provide a passport-sized photo and wait in line to buy one) don't make it worthwhile for us. It's also somewhat goofy in that it's good for one week but the week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday regardless of the day on which you buy it.
The annual Fete du Pain (bread festival) will be happening in the square in front of Notre Dame the week we arrive, so we will surely be there!
https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/where-to-eat-in-pa...Lastly, we watched a documentary on the history of Bruges (Belgium) the other night, and we'll probably do an overnight trip to there. Looks fascinating. Bruges is about a 2.5 hour train ride from Gare du Nord, changing in Brussels, and Gare du Nord is a 15-minute walk from where we'll be staying in Paris.
No. of Recommendations: 3
We just came back from Asia. Still trying to dig myself out of the accumulated piles of paper (receipts from the trip, bills, doctors, etc...all the stuff that doesn't stop even if you leave). Was gone for 7 weeks. That's our longest trip to date.
We have another one this fall, going to cruise Europe. But only about 4 weeks. Need to start planning activities (we don't usually do ship excursions...cheaper to arrange them ourselves), plus whether we want to show up a week early to explore before the ship leaves.
No. of Recommendations: 1
BTW, I'd be interested in updates as they are convenient for you.
Our cruises are in Northern Europe this fall. ZeeBrugge is one place, Le Havre another, Hamburg...need to have a plan. Then we cross the Atlantic, stopping in Spain and Portugal. Need ideas there, too. Surprisingly, so far Hamburg doesn't look that interesting at first glance. TripAdvisor's top activities didn't really appeal.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Our cruises are in Northern Europe this fall. ZeeBrugge is one place, Le Havre another, Hamburg...need to have a plan. Then we cross the Atlantic, stopping in Spain and Portugal. Need ideas there, too.Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a must-see. We'll be day-tripping there from Paris sometime in the next week or two.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrugesLe Havre: Honfleur is a lovely town to wander around, visit St. Catherine Church, sit in a cafe by the port, simply enjoy. And of course you have the various D-Day landing sites and memorials.
Portugal is at or near the top of many European go-to lists these days. Check out some Rick Steves videos for ideas. Porto is esp. lovely--another World Heritage site. You have a great itinerary!
Hamburg? Well, it's a big city. The Speicherstadt area is yet another World Heritage site. You could get some good ideas here:
https://www.hamburg-travel.com
No. of Recommendations: 0
From Hamburg, maybe go to Lubeck?
Thanks for the suggestions. I also had Honfleur on my radar for Le Havre. We are btb cruising, so we hit Le Havre twice. Hopefully we'll do D-Day on one visit, but maybe Honfleur on the other? Need to work it out with the boss.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Lubeck is a 45-min. train ride from Hamburg--certainly sounds do-able. Yet another UNESCO site!
No. of Recommendations: 5
An essential part our Paris visit is the Navigo Easy Pass. You get one at Metro stations or newsstands bearing a RATP sign. For around $19, the card comes loaded with 10 fares (a "carnet") on the city bus/metro system, which includes free transfers within the Metro. You can buy fewer fares if you wish, but the carnet provides around a 20% savings. You reload the card at machines in the stations or with the IDF Mobilites app. Download and open the app, scan your Navigo Pass with your phone, and you can then top it up in seconds. You can even use your phone in place of the Pass if you prefer.
We've been using the Metro to get to wonderful places on the edges of Paris that relatively few tourists visit, such as Butte aux Cailles, Buttes Chaumont, Parc de Bercy, La Villette, and Bois de Vincennes.
