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This shot features one of the Eiffel Tower’s massive legs. It’s a color photo, but the contrast of the tower silhouetted against the overcast sky makes it look almost black and white.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
July 1, 2014: The phone in my London flat roused me at 4 a.m.—my wakeup call. What am I, nuts? Who gets up this early on vacation? Someone who wants to spend a day in Paris, that’s who. So I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for my walk to St. Pancras train station, where I would be meeting my tour group for a 6:00 check-in. With only 1.5 hours of sleep under my belt, it was going to be a LONG day, but I knew that it would be worth it. After all, how many times in your life do you get a chance to see Paris?
I met with my group and then went through a security check-in process that was very similar to what you experience in an airport. I hadn’t been expecting that—during my 2011 trip I rode trains all over Europe without going through any type of pre-boarding security. I guess security needs to be tighter when you’re taking a train that goes through a tunnel beneath the English Channel.
Soon I was on the train and we were headed to France. I tried to catch some sleep while we were in the tunnel, but was unsuccessful. Eventually we arrived in Paris and we met up with our guide, who was waiting for us at the end of the train platform. This was the first of several tours I had booked through Premium Tours. There were several tour options for the Paris day trip, both guided and unguided. I chose the most expensive one as it was the only option that included access to the Eiffel Tower. This package also included a two-course lunch with champagne at a restaurant on the Tower itself.
But first we hopped on a bus for a driving tour of the city. Here are some photos from the bus. I did my best to minimize window glare (you can click on any photo in this post to open up a gallery).
After our tour, the bus dropped us near the Eiffel Tower. Our guide warned us not to engage with anyone who might approach with a clipboard asking us to take a survey because it is a scam—while the survey taker distracts you, his or her partner picks your pocket. Sure enough, we had barely departed the bus when a girl approached with a clipboard. One of the men in the group forcefully told her “no” and she didn’t bother any of the rest of us.
The line to get into the Tower was huge. Thankfully, as a tour group, we didn’t have to wait as long as the general public, but it was still a good wait. We eventually made it to the front, through security (they check your backpack), and up the elevator to the restaurant. The restaurant is on a lower level of the Tower, giving you a good view of the city, though our table was not near a window. The food was good, though not overly memorable.
It was at this point that I realized our tickets did not include elevator access to the observation deck of the tower. If we wanted to reach the observation deck we would either have climb the stairs or go back down and purchase a lift ticket. I would have been fine with climbing, but we only had about 30 minutes between lunch and the time we were supposed to meet at the dock for our boat cruise, so there wasn’t enough time to climb up and get back down again, nor was there enough time go down and to wait in line for a lift ticket. Had I known this, I would have skipped lunch and just spent the time climbing to the observation deck. I initially thought that I might still have a shot to get up there, so I skipped dessert and headed out, but soon realized after climbing a few flights that I would never make it. As a result, I was only able to take a few photos from the stairs through a chain-link fence, which did not allow for any wide shots since I had to zoom in enough to get past the links.
With the time I had left, I headed back down to the ground and took a walk around the nearby area so that I could get some shots of the Tower from below.
Before long it was time to head down to the dock and meet back up with the group for our cruise along the majestic Seine. I hadn’t realized that the London rain had been following me to Paris—it had just taken a while to catch up. By the time we boarded the boat my old friend had arrived, but luckily the rain wasn’t heavy enough to prevent me from taking photos. With gorgeous architecture on both banks, a Seine cruise is highly recommended.
There was a group of school children on the boat with us and the girls screamed at the tops of their lungs every time the boat went under a bridge, creating an ear-piercing echo-chamber effect. Under different circumstances I might have been annoyed, but this was Paris and it actually added to the atmosphere. Many of the bridges we passed beneath had locks on them, so it turns out there’s more than one Love Lock Bridge, though it was easy to tell which bridge was the original because it was completely covered in a blanket of locks.
At the end of the boat trip we hopped back on our tour bus and headed to The Louvre. Upon arrival the guide released us for free time. We had the option of touring the museum but I decided to meander outside among the impressive grounds (especially since the sun had finally made an appearance) rather than spend all of my remaining time jockeying with crowds for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. I wouldn’t mind seeing it someday when I have more time to spend in Paris.
After snapping some photos in the main plaza I made my way to the Louvre gardens.
I could see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance but did not have time to walk all the way there, so I settled for admiring it from afar. At this point I thought it prudent to eat some dinner since I knew I would not have the opportunity by the time we got back to London later that night. Time dwindled as I searched for a place to eat, and I didn’t want to run the risk of missing the bus, so I settled for a tea house in the Louvre itself. After a bit of trouble communicating with the waiter (I usually try to pick up some of the language of the country I am visiting, but since I was only spending one day in Paris and three days in Amsterdam/Bruges, I concentrated instead on learning some Dutch for this trip), I ordered afternoon tea, which came with finger sandwiches and desserts. That’s right, my first ever afternoon tea was in France, not England. 🙂
I gobbled down the food, drank my tea, and rejoined my group in the nick of time. Before long I was back on the train and bound for London. Once again I was unable to sleep on the way home, so by the time I returned to my apartment around 9 p.m., I was ready to collapse. I had another long day ahead of me in the morning: a trip to Bath and Stonehenge, but thankfully I didn’t have to wake up for that trip until around 7:30, so I had some extra time to catch up on sleep.
Overall, I would say the tour is worth it, though there is bound to be some disappointment given the time constraints of a day trip (like, for example, not being able to see the city at night). For me, the biggest disappointment was not having the opportunity to go to the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower. If I had a suggestion to make to Premium Tours, it would be to provide a version of the tour that skips lunch on the tower and instead provides you with tickets all the way to the top. Other than that, it was a nice tour with an excellent guide, and a perfect way to get a taste of Paris. Clearly, a day trip can only scratch the surface of this amazing city, and if I ever make it back, it will be for much longer, but considering that I was coming all the way from London, I was able to see much more in one day than I would have on my own. So if you have only one day to spend in Paris and are traveling from London, this tour is definitely a good option.
View more of my photos from Paris.
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Here’s a panorama I took of the Louvre during my day in Paris a couple of months ago. The plaza was not very crowded for the summer, probably because it had rained for most of the day, but this was one moment when the sun finally peeked out.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
It began with a passing thought:
Monty Python is doing a reunion show in London this July. How cool would it be to go see it live? And while I’m over there I could tour some of the UK. I’ve always wanted to visit England anyway.
That was way back in the early fall. I wasn’t very serious about it at the time because I had just returned from Mexico and was a bit worn out from all of the traveling I had done since 2011: in a two year span I had visited Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, Peru, and Mexico. I figured I could use a year off from international travel, so I pushed the idea to the back of my mind, where it sat for a few months, never quite going away.
Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to see if there were any Python tickets still available. I got a great deal on a mid-level seat from a ticket brokering service for practically face value, and from there my trip was born. The original plan was to stay in London for about a week, take some trips around the English countryside, and visit Scotland. However, when I realized how easy it is to travel to so many places in Europe from London, my plans began to expand: A day trip to Paris? Sure! A three-day journey to Amsterdam and Bruges? Hell, yeah!
I knew I wouldn’t have time to do all of this in a week, so I extended my stay to just over two weeks. The downside is that the cost of the trip has skyrocketed. I didn’t realize how much everything was adding up until after I had already planned everything (I was in sticker shock after my relatively inexpensive visits to Peru and Mexico). I thought about scaling back to save some money, maybe skipping the Amsterdam tour and shortening my stay, but I don’t know when (or if) I’ll ever be in this position again, so I decided to go for it.
I had considered just heading over to London and winging it, and there’s something to be said for the laid-back nature of such a trip, but I prefer to plan ahead (I guess it’s my OCD nature), so I’ve already booked all of my tours for the two weeks, leaving myself a few days of free time to explore London. I’m the type of person who functions better with some structure anyway, and these tours will force me to do much more than I otherwise would–if left to my own devices, I would probably sleep half of my days away. 🙂
I did a lot of research into lodging in London; it’s not a cheap place to stay. In an effort to keep expenses down, I eschewed traditional hotels in favor of a no-frills studio apartment near Kings Cross. I could have gone even cheaper with a B&B or hostel, but this seemed just right for my sensibilities–a decent sized room with air-conditioning and a private bathroom. Having to check out each weekend when I leave for my trips will be a pain, but it didn’t make sense to rent the apartment for the entire 15 nights when I would be away on weekends (during which the price of the room would drastically increase).
So here’s my rough itinerary:
Days 1-2: Fly in and free time in London.
After checking in to my room, I may do one of those hop-on, hop-off bus tours to get acquainted with the city. I also just realized that my first week in London will coincide with the second week of Wimbledon, so it might be neat to head over there and see if I can get into a match.
Day 3: Paris
I’ll be taking the Eurostar train through the chunnel. The trip includes a guided tour of Paris, a two-course lunch with sparkling wine on the Eiffel Tower, a cruise on the River Seine, and an optional visit to The Louvre, which I think I will skip since I’ll only be there for the day and it’s my first time in Paris. The Louvre would be really cool to see, but I’d rather spend my only afternoon in the city wandering around and soaking in its atmosphere.
Day 4: Stonehenge and Bath
I chose a sunset tour because I thought that would be a cool time to see Stonehenge. I booked special access so that I can walk inside the circle among the stones (most people must view them from behind ropes). Earlier in the day we will be visiting the town of Bath (another place on my must-see list) to tour the Roman Baths and Pump Room. After that we visit a Saxon village called Lacock, where we will have dinner in a 13th Century inn.
Day 5: Monty Python
I’ll probably do some walking around London and also packing for my trip to Scotland during the day before heading to the O2 that evening for the Monty Python reunion show, aka my entire reason (or excuse) for taking this Eurotrip.
Days 6-8: Scotland
This trip includes a tour of the city of Edinburgh, and I will be taking the second-day optional excursion to the Scottish Highlands, including Loch Ness (I’ll keep an eye out for Nessie!). I chose free time for the third day, during which I am planning to meander about the city and possibly tour Edinburgh Castle.
Day 9: Free Time in London
Maybe I’ll swing by the Battersea Power Station to duplicate the iconic Pink Floyd Animals cover (sans flying pig). I could check out Abbey Road and Baker Street as well; turn it into an an unofficial classic rock tour. Or maybe I’ll just relax and ride the ferris wheel all day. 😉
Day 10: The Cotswolds
I’m very much looking forward to this tour of the old English countryside, including visits to the historic riverside villages of Burford and Bibury. The tour originally included a visit to Stratford Upon Avon (Shakespeare’s birthplace), but it sounds like we will now be visiting Stow-on-the-Wold instead.
Day 11: Leeds Castle, Canterbury, Dover & Greenwich
The first stop on this excursion is a private tour of Leeds Castle before it opens to the public. We then head to Dover for lunch and a photo op at the famous white cliffs. The next stop is Canterbury and a tour of the Cathedral followed by free time to explore the city. Then it’s off to Greenwich where, after a short walking tour, we will take a river boat along the Thames back into the heart of London. The cruise apparently includes a reception of tea/sparkling wine and scones. Sounds good to me!
Day 12: More Free Time in London
My last full day in London will probably be a good time to hit all of the touristy places I might have missed earlier. I’ll also be packing for my three-day Amsterdam trip.
Days 13-15: Amsterdam & Bruges
My first day in Amsterdam will include a walking tour, a canal cruise, and an optional evening walking tour of the Red Light District. The second day includes a trip to Zaanse Schanse, a living Dutch Museum, before heading back to Amsterdam in time for lunch, with visits to the Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Heineken Brewery, Anne Frank House, and Dam Square. On the final day we head to Bruges, a beautiful city I’ve been wanting to visit since seeing the movie In Bruges (I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it there). Following Bruges, we arrive back in London late in the evening, giving me enough time to check in, pack, head to bed, and wake up early to fly back home.
Looking back at the itinerary now, I can’t believe how much I crammed into it (I think I went a little nuts), but it’s going to be one helluva trip. And I’ll be doing it solo. If you had told me even a few years ago that I would be flying to Europe for two weeks by myself, I would have said you were crazy. I’ve come a long way in terms of my confidence to travel alone.
Anyway, I’m glad that all of the planning and booking is behind me so I can just relax until the summer (other than trying to learn some French and Dutch). The only things I haven’t planned out ahead of time are places to eat, so I’d be grateful for any dining suggestions, particularly in London. One of the coolest aspects of becoming more involved with the blogging community has been sharing travel stories and tips with my fellow bloggers, so any suggestions you may have about things I should do while in London would be most welcome. 🙂
This will be my first overseas trip during the summer (all of my other trips were in the fall or spring), so it will be nice to not have to worry about packing layers for a change. Hopefully that means I’ll be able to travel lighter, though I don’t think I’ll be able to do the whole thing in a carry-on like I did in Mexico . . . and speaking of Mexico, I think it’s time I got back to writing up the journal of my trip. I need to finish it before June!
Michael Rappa 