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Old 18 Mar 18, 10:11 AM  
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Gill H
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Mmm, Paris! (March 2018) - Day 1: Over, Under, Up and Down

<<Pre-trippie


Bonjour mes amis, and welcome to our Paris adventure. I’d better warn you from the start, that this features food. Lots of food. If you’re hungry, go and grab yourself something nice, because by the time you finish this you’ll be starving.

So, let me take you back to Monday, 5th March.

Unlike most of our trips, this one doesn’t need to start with us getting up at half past stupid. Part of the reason the Eurostar tickets were on special offer was because they weren’t necessarily the obvious times. So today’s train will leave St Pancras at 13.31 which means we can have a relatively leisurely morning. We’ve done most of the cleaning, tidying and packing, so this morning’s tasks will consist of changing the bed (our friend Jo is coming to look after our cat Spikey while we’re gone) plus changing Spikey’s litter tray, feeding her and making a big fuss of her before we go.

However, any plans for a lie-in are scuppered by two things. Firstly, Peter’s clock radio goes off at 5am because he’s forgotten to turn off the alarm. Not necessarily a problem – it’s rather nice to lie in bed and listen to the radio in a half-awake state. However, we have another alarm clock, and this one is small, grey and furry. Yes – Spikey knows it’s time to get up, and she doesn’t understand holidays, so persistently meows in my ear until eventually I give in and get her some breakfast.




I figure now I’m up I might as well do this morning’s jobs, so I get things ready until Peter decides to get up at 7am.

Over a cuppa we discuss our plans and consider a possibility that’s been lurking in the shadows ever since we planned this trip. Do we have a day at DLP or not?

Now, we’re seasoned DLP visitors, and our last trip was only last September. We had promised ourselves we’d give DLP a rest for a while to sharpen our appetite for a future visit, and that this trip would be ‘proper Paris’. However, this doesn’t stop us looking up offers on day tickets, and even ringing DLP to see how much the gate price would be with Shareholder discount. If we did go, it would have to be tomorrow, as on Wednesday we have a food tour booked and on Thursday our train home is 4pm. However, we’ve got a pre-booked ticket to go up the Montparnasse Tower tomorrow night, and a reservation at a restaurant nearby. So Peter wonders whether it would be possible to use our Montparnasse ticket tonight instead of tomorrow? We could eat at the restaurant afterwards, and cancel tomorrow’s reservation when we’re there. By the time we’re ready to get going, we’ve pretty much talked ourselves into doing Montparnasse Tower tonight anyway, not least so we have something special to do once we’ve arrived in Paris. We decide that if we can’t use our vouchers, we’ll just pay to go up for a night-time view tonight, leaving us the option of a daytime view tomorrow.

And so at 10.30 we give Spikey a final cuddle and leave to catch the bus to the tube station. There are two buses we could get, but the one that comes first isn’t our normal one, and the stop is in a slightly different place from usual, so we have a small diversion past our previous flat!

At this time of day the tube is fairly quiet, and soon we’re at St Pancras looking for somewhere to have breakfast. We settle on The Betjeman Arms, a rather nice traditional pub.





It’s named, of course, for Sir John Betjeman, the much loved Poet Laureate, who helped save St Pancras Station from demolition back in the 1960s. I don’t know what he would make of some of the more modern menu items here – the rather clumsily named ‘Sir Betjeman Burger’ would probably not be to his taste, I’m thinking – but they do have some traditional British dishes too. Including, of course, a full English breakfast. Featuring something called ‘Netherend butter’ which is slightly worrying, but turns out (of course) to be butter from Netherend Farm.



The coffee cups are from Acme, which makes me wonder whether Wile E Coyote does the ordering and whether they are going to explode!



Our breakfasts are excellent and not too pricey considering the area and the quality of the food.



The service is friendly, and the pub’s décor is rather lovely, particularly the elaborate gold ceiling. In one corner of the pub there’s even an elderly gentleman in a coat and hat, who could almost be Sir John himself, lining up a pint before penning an ode to Miss Joan Hunter-Dunn.

Eventually we move on to have a look at the statue outside. This is not the Betjeman statue – that’s elsewhere in the station. This one is officially called ‘The Meeting Place’ but is often known as ‘The Lovers’ and it’s well worth spending some time having a closer look. The main focus of the statue is the couple reuniting after a journey. Apparently they are modelled on the sculptor, who is British, and his wife, who is French – symbolizing the connection of the Eurostar and the romance of travel. The statue was unveiled in 2007 when the station was reopened after its transformation.



Beneath the figures there is a frieze of small scenes from the history of the train and tube - soldiers, commuters, underground workers and so on. This frieze was added in 2008, and despite our many trips on the Eurostar I think this is the first time we’ve really had a good look at it. I know some prominent art critics have poured scorn on the statue but hey, who cares what they think? I rather like it. So there.











We stop at a small branch of WH Smith upstairs so Peter can get some earphones, as he’s left his at home. He also grabs a couple of packets of mints for the journey. Meanwhile, I take some pictures of the haunting silhouettes of First World War soldiers near the train. This is a touring art installation called “There But Not There” which remembers the soldiers who never came home.

__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 10:54 AM.
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Old 18 Mar 18, 10:24 AM  
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Gill H
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We head down to the Eurostar terminal entrance, feeling properly techie because we have our tickets on our phones in the ‘Wallet’ app instead of printed out! Peter puts his phone to the scanner, it reads the code and he goes through with no problem. However, I try 3 times but it won’t let me in. A member of staff directs me over to the nearby desk, where the lady takes my phone and tells me that I’ve selected the Paris-London ticket instead of the London-Paris one. Oops… not so techie as I thought I was! Fortunately she selects the right one and I go through to security, where Peter is valiantly trying not to laugh.

Security is busy. Very busy, and everyone seems to take ages to get their tray and put their stuff in. Eventually, however, we are through without incident, and heading to passport control. There are a few tricky moments where people think they can push in ahead of us for no reason (and before you reach for any cultural stereotypes, these were Brits) and then we are directed to the biometric passport queue. Which in theory is easier and quicker than having it read by a person. In theory…

In reality, the queue for the biometric machines is huge and moves at a snail’s pace, whereas the one for having your passport checked by an actual person is tiny and moving along briskly. However, we’re stuck with this now. Peter gets through the UK machine with no problem, whereas I have to have 3 attempts before the machine will read my passport properly. Then when I’m inside the gate standing on the yellow circle, I drop my passport and have to bend down to pick it up, so the machine takes longer to scan my face. Eventually I’m through, and fortunately both of us get through the French passport control machines with no further problems. It really isn’t my day for technology today!

Once through passport control our usual routine is to sit for a while in the nice quiet spacious terminal while we wait for our platform to be called. But not today! Every seat is taken and the whole terminal is crowded and bustling. I’ve never seen it so busy. Admittedly, we usually tend to get early morning trains when it’s quieter. Also, having just come out of a few days of Eurostar cancellations due to snow, I wonder if some of these people have had to rearrange their journey to today unexpectedly.

Just as we are musing on this, the platform for the Brussels train is announced, and immediately half the crowd surges upstairs. Evidently Brussels is going to be a popular destination today. Now there’s somewhere to sit, I look after the suitcase while Peter goes to buy us a couple of drinks. We’ve been told that WH Smith and Nero have now closed inside the terminal and were only expecting to find the bar for drinks, but Peter spots the new Pret A Manger which has obviously opened earlier than announced, so he grabs us some drinks. Unfortunately in his excitement (?) he doesn’t notice that my drink is not peach iced tea (which I like) but peach green tea (which … ehhh, not my favourite). But I’m not going to make him go all the way back, so I drink some to show willing.

While we’re waiting for our platform to be announced, we look at details of the new ‘Odyssey’ game which Eurostar have brought out. This is available free on the Eurostar app and is a game where you can see and ‘collect’ examples of all the different marine life which surrounds you when you’re in the tunnel. I have no experience of Pokemon Go but I imagine the principle is similar. You can either buy a cardboard viewer which you put your phone in, or just use your phone itself. There’s a machine selling the viewers for £5, which we decide is too pricey for something we might not even use (I get icky easily with this sort of thing – I was queasy for hours after doing the Aladdin game in Disney Quest!) However, we decide we’ll try it with our phones once on board.

There are also frequent adverts on the screens around us for something called Livingpackets. From the rather bizarre adverts exhorting us to ‘profit off your travels’ {?) this seems to be a service where Eurostar travellers can volunteer to bring parcels with them. So if your child leaves their teddy behind in Paris, you can contact the company (presumably for a fee) who will arrange for a passenger to collect it and leave it somewhere at St Pancras for collection. Very enterprising, though it’s not hard to imagine all sorts of hair-raising scenarios which I’m sure the company has already thought of.

Before long our platform is announced and we head up on the travelator (resisting the urge to make my signature joke which has apparently become a Dibbcast legend!) and soon find our carriage, which is number 5. The new trains have luggage areas at each end of the carriages – much safer than having to leave your luggage outside in the vestibule area as you did on the old trains. The new trains are smart and comfortable, and have great features such as French and English power sockets under your seats, but they do feel a little dull to me. They remind me of any other train you can take in Britain. The seats are sleeker, and can now recline and extend, but I miss the old comfy headrests.

One big difference is the natty little screens throughout the carriage – but how many times can you watch the same 10-minute reel showing you how to get on and off trains? Or an Amelie-inspired advert encouraging you to hook up with complete strangers in foreign countries and ‘bring back more than just a tan’ (ewww…)

Anyway, once we’re speeding through the still-snowy countryside we explore the Eurostar app. There are free films and TV programmes available to watch and games to play, but nothing that really takes our fancy. So we have a look at the Odyssey game instead. And almost immediately we can see why they’re charging a fiver for those cardboard viewers. The game is incredibly tricky to do with just a phone. First of all you have to figure out where you’re sitting – which should be easy, but the game has a difference of opinion from us on this question, and it doesn’t work properly if you choose the wrong seat! Then, unless you hold your phone at exactly the right angle the whole time, you can’t capture the different fish which you see swimming past you. And finally, the two narrators of the game get really annoying, particularly when you have to listen to their opening spiel multiple times while you try to get the game playing in the right direction!

The game is probably worth it if you have children who are used to this sort of thing, but after about 15 minutes I give up as it’s starting to make me feel a bit icky. So I listen to some podcasts and have a doze instead.

Once we’re in the tunnel, I head up to the buffet car and almost miss it! There’s a decorated panel at the end of the previous carriage, which looks as if it’s the end of the train. It has no indication that you can go through to the buffet car, and several people in front of me are turning back, convinced they have gone the wrong way. However, I persevere and find myself in the buffet car, where I get a latte for Peter (ridiculously small for the price), an Orangina for me (getting into the French vibe already) and a pack of little pepperoni bites for us to share.

On my way back to the seat I have a chat with a dad who is walking up and down with his little girl, desperately trying to distract her from constantly screaming. She’s too young to understand the Odyssey game but I do tell him about the cartoons available on the Eurostar app, and perhaps they helped, because she soon falls asleep on his lap.

Eventually we pull in to Gare du Nord, and I think this is the furthest back we’ve ever been along the platform – it seems to take ages for us to get to the front of the station! Which, by the way, is a bit of a mess at the moment. It’s never really been a thing of beauty, but right now much of it is under scaffolding for a huge refurb. I’m sure it will be worth it eventually. So far the early signs of life are mostly coffee shops (including – quelle horreur! – a Starbucks) and a few places to eat, among them a very expensive-looking restaurant.

We’ve no time to explore, though, so we head down the escalator to get our RER tickets. It’s all changed down here since we last came, and the ticket office and machines have moved slightly. As we know what we need (two t+ tickets for a single journey) and we have cash, I queue up at a machine rather than join the massive queue for the ticket office. But wouldn’t you know it, my queue moves agonizingly slowly as it is mostly comprised of Brits who don’t know how to use the machine or what tickets they need. I have a chat with a British lady nearby who is in the ticket office queue while her husband is in the queue for my machine – hedging their bets. She gets to the front first, and to her credit she asks for her tickets in hesitant French, although she almost asks for ‘douze’ (12) instead of ‘deux’ (2) but realises in time! I love it when Brits defy the ‘speak loudly in English and point’ stereotype and make the effort to at least learn a few words. Even a ‘bonjour’ and a ‘merci’ are often enough to get you a warm reception.

Once I’ve got our tickets we head over to the RER platform. We know we want Line B (blue) direction Robinson or Remy les Chevreuses, but I think we end up going to a slightly different entrance from last time. We somehow find ourselves on the middle floor and can only find trains going the other direction. We find a friendly station employee who, once he’s established that we don’t want the airport but the other direction, tells us we need to go down to the next level. And eventually we find our platform and grab the train that’s just pulled in.

This is where we realise that arriving at Gare du Nord just before 5pm means we’re now ‘those people’ taking cases on the Metro during the rush hour. As experienced London commuters we deal with the packed train pretty well, and it is only a few stops to Port-Royal station, which is nearest to our hotel. Fortunately there’s a lift – an advantage of RER stations rather than Metro ones is that they tend to have escalators and lifts, which is handy with luggage. And so we step out onto the Boulevard du Montparnasse and take the five minute walk to our hotel.

Our first impressions of the area are quite pleasing. The station is at the junction of two ‘grands boulevards’ and the characteristic Parisian buildings are everywhere.



Of course there are restaurants and bakeries, and it looks as if this will be a good place to base ourselves.

__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 10:28 AM.
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Old 18 Mar 18, 10:28 AM  
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Gill H
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The Hotel Novanox sits between a tiny Asian café called Ducky’s, and a pharmacy. Its décor, outside and inside, won’t win any prizes, but for a budget option in a fairly central area, we aren’t too bothered.



We are greeted with a friendly smile by the owner, Rosy, and given the key to room 24 on the second floor. This is where we have our first experience of the lift. Now, we’ve read online that the lift is very small. That’s an understatement. There is literally room for one of us and the suitcase, and even then it’s a very tight squeeze. It’s an old-fashioned lift with a door you have to push open. Something tells me we will be taking the stairs most of the time! For now though, we take it in turns to use it.

Getting out of the lift, we are met by a small hallway decorated in a style I shall call ‘1980s brothel’ (not from any personal experience, I hasten to add…) The walls are deep red, the doors are black, and there’s a plastic circle showing the illuminated room number at the top of each door.

The keys are the RFID ‘tap’ type, which seems oddly modern in such a setting. But if the hallway takes us back to the 80s, the room itself is a portal to the 1970s. Seriously, brown hessian wallpaper? Um, OK then. At least the bed looks comfy, and there’s a small wardrobe, a flat screen TV on the wall, a sizeable bathroom, and joy of joys, a kettle! A rarity in France, so that’s a definite plus. The room is quite small but has all we need.

On closer inspection, the bathroom is definitely in need of a refurb. The surface of the bath and the sink are chipped, and the tiles have lots of cracks in them which look as if they’ve been there a long time.

However, it has evidently been kept as clean as possible, as has the bedroom. There’s no dust anywhere, and while the bubbles in the hessian wallpaper betray signs of a damp problem, it’s evident that the owners keep on top of things as much as possible, and make the best of what they’ve got. For the next couple of nights, it will do for us.

We decide the best thing to do is to get out and explore our surroundings, so we head down the staircase (which is only slightly less narrow than the lift, and featuring stairs that are just that bit too small – this place is not the best for those of us whose bods are more Baymax than Baywatch). In the foyer we’re asked to hand back our key. We’ve read reviews that mention this, and I guess it’s a sensible idea as it means there’s no danger of losing our key. It does bring to mind those classic Hollywood films with glamorous receptionists in front of a wall of little pigeonholes.

We head out and walk down the Boulevard Montparnasse, noting that the bakery next door but one opens at 7am, and we’ve read reviews that suggest it’s worth visiting. Further down and across the road, we come across La Coupole brasserie, a 1920s institution where we have a reservation for Peter’s birthday on Wednesday. Further still, we spot another large brasserie called Le Dome, and realise that on a visit to Paris years ago, we ate there before going on to a ballroom dancing class in the area. Looking at the menu, I think it must have changed over the years – the prices are now way above our budget, and the menu is mostly fish and seafood.

In fact this area appears to be seafood central. On the corner there’s a huge stall with mountains of fresh seafood on ice, which you can buy to take away. Many of the restaurants feature seafood prominently, too. But we have other plans for tonight, as you’ll see later.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t take long until we find the Montparnasse Tower. It’s not difficult to find – a huge skyscraper that would look more at home as part of the London skyline than the Paris one.



It’s easy to see why many Parisians hated it when it opened. But it has one thing in its favour – the view from the top. And that’s what we are here for. That’s if we can find the way in! For a frustrating 20 minutes or so, we walk right around the area near the tower, looking for the entrance. It’s only on the third attempt that we actually find the entrance you are supposed to use for the tower visit (as opposed to the entrance for those who work there – it’s still a working office building).





Once inside we go to the welcome desk and talk to the lady behind the counter, explaining that we have a prepaid voucher for tomorrow but wonder if it might be possible to use it tonight. She’s evidently been asked this question before, as with a smile she replies “Of course!” and hands us our tickets and a leaflet.

We’re then ushered through to the queue for the lift. As I said, this is a working office building, and it really doesn’t feel particularly set up for a ‘visitor experience’ downstairs. It just feels like you’re in someone’s office – which of course you are! However, the visitors do have a dedicated lift, and we are soon at the front of the queue and shown through. Despite a bewildering array of buttons, we’re told that the lift is automatic and we don’t need to press anything. An American couple near us remark that “It’s like the Tower of Terror!” and we respond that we hope not!

We quickly reach the 56th floor, where there’s a little café and a small shop, and you can see the views from here if you like. However, our destination is the 59th floor, which you have to walk upstairs for. After the sleek and gleaming hi-tech lift, the stairwell is a bit of a shock – it’s just bare cream walls with no signage or decoration, although they do play smoochy 60s French pop as you walk up!

The walk is worth it though. At the top the views over Paris are superb. They don’t necessarily come out well on camera as they are behind thick perspex windows for the most part, though there are areas where you can look through telescopes which go above the windows.



When you’re not looking at the view, there’s an inline skating rink if that’s your thing, or a small area for curling (whatever one of those is called – pitch, rink?) though without the brooms!

However, we are here to see the view (marketed as 'the most beautiful view in Paris' because guess what - you can't see the Montparnasse Tower!) so we walk round the whole floor, enjoying the bright lights which seem to pulse up and down the wide boulevards in the twilight. Soon we find a spot where we can see the Eiffel Tower, as it’s due to light up in a few minutes.

Sorry about the reflections of the skating rink lights off the perspex, which look rather like UFOs, or in this case, a hidden Apple logo!



The tower lights up at just past 7pm. It’s not a full on light show, it just sparkles for 5 minutes or so, and if you happen to be there when it does, it’s a nice touch. Shame about the thumpy thumpy music from the skating rink though.



The glittering lights made this one hopelessly blurry but I had to include it to give you the effect!

__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 10:37 AM.
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Old 18 Mar 18, 10:38 AM  
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Gill H
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This done, we go back down to the 56th floor, where we debate whether to get a drink here or go straight for dinner. The café is selling bottles of Coke for €3.30 which seems extortionate to me, so I suggest we share one. However, we decide that as our restaurant is apparently very near the tower, we’ll just go straight there instead.

Once back at ground level and out of the tower, it doesn’t take us long to find La Vache Au Comptoir (The Cow On the Counter). As we go in, I trip up the step slightly, and a friendly local gives me a hand up the stairs. This is not the last time I will battle gravity on this trip, as you will see!



It’s a very small restaurant with a bar and just a few tables in the front, and a back room with a few more. It’s quirky and fun, and we’re given a warm welcome straight away.






We order some Cokes and check out the menu.



As breakfast was a long time ago, we’re pretty hungry and decide to order some ‘homemade crispy chicken’ to share, followed by our burgers.

The chicken soon arrives, and it’s a bit of a surprise. We’d expected chicken goujons, but instead this is a breaded chicken escalope (similar to a schnitzel) which has been sliced into pieces. The accompanying honey mustard dip helps it along, but to be honest it’s OK but nothing special. Don’t think I would bother ordering it again.



Then our burgers appear, accompanied by hand-cut chips. I’ve gone for the ‘No Regrets Burger’ – a cheeky little reference to Edith Piaf’s most famous French song. It’s supposedly a healthier option as it’s made with lean steak, roasted peppers and has the sauce on the side – though it still has caramelised onions and ‘Alpine cheese’. However, I haven’t chosen it for health reasons, more that I just fancy it. This turns out to be a mistake (or even a mis-steak… sorry). Perhaps because of the leaner meat, it’s a bit dry. It’s still nice, but doesn’t have as much flavour as I expected. Ironically, I have some regrets about my No Regrets Burger! The chips are very nice though.



Peter goes for the ‘Burger 3 Vallees’ or Three Valleys Burger. This comes with cocktail sauce, pan-fried mushrooms and bacon, caramelised onions and melted St Marcelin cheese.



And oh my word, it’s good. I try a bit of Peter’s and really wish I’d chosen this instead. Oh well, I’ll know for next time – and I’m sure there will be a next time. This tiny place is a good and budget-friendly option for dinner if you’re in the area. Well worth seeking out.

We explain that we have a reservation made for tomorrow but we’d like to cancel. Our server asks if we reserved online, which we did, though ‘La Fourchette’ (The Fork) a website that enables you to reserve tables in lots of different Paris restaurants. She says we need to go online (we have an email with the link) and just cancel it there, no problem. Mind you, at this point I’m seriously considering coming back just to try a different burger! But we want to leave tomorrow completely free, as we still haven’t made a final decision on the DLP/Paris dilemma.

We stroll back to our hotel, which takes all of 15 minutes at a slow walk. At reception we get the key back and also ask for some milk, which doesn’t seem to have been left in the room. The man at reception is a little more reserved than Rosy was, but is happy to help and brings us a jug of milk. Evidently they don’t do those annoying little UHT pots here. Our room has a small minibar so there’s room for a jug of milk there, no problem.

We both take the stairs this time in an attempt to walk off our burgers, and soon we’re back in our little room and heading straight for bed.

So that’s the first M of our trip done – Montparnasse Tower. Join us tomorrow and discover where our next M takes us!

>>>Day 2


INDEX
__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 09:55 AM.
Gill H is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 25 Mar 18, 09:40 PM  
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Gill - HOW did you not call this trippie NETHEREND BUTTER?!

I like the statue, too. One of my favourite things to do at an airport or train station is to watch lovers/families see and then embrace each other. The art critics can go suck it.

...and you are not the only one who made the "ew" face at "bring back more than a tan." As soon as R.C. and I saw that we looked at each other and said in unison: "V.D."



I do rather like the look of that burger. One of my favourite French chains (the horror!) is La Boucherie - and they do a GORGEOUS burger (with cheese) served between two hashbrowns/potato cakes. Love good French beef. YUM.
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