Sadly and reluctantly we are packing up to go home. We got ready and got packed up and decided to have a nice breakfast before heading to the airport.
The famed Les Deux Magots was right around the corner from us, so that's where we headed. We had met friends there for drinks late one evening but hadn't had a meal there. It was what the doctor ordered.
It's storied past includes the fact that Ernest Hemingway was a regular customer for years. It's on THE major corner in St Germain des Pres, and Brasserie Lipp and Cafe de Flore are nearby. Yes, it's on EVERYONE'S list, so it gets very busy, has a reputation for having snotty waiters, and it wasn't a "must see" for me, but the food was good, and the server was good.
THOUGHTS ON THE TRIP:
*MOVE! We ate and ate and ate during our 9 days abroad, BUT we did fine because we walked and walked and walked (and even ran 2 days). We clocked around 7-10 miles per day! So good shoes were a must, but even then, buy the time 3:00PM rolled around we were spent. It takes it's toll. So we'd relax a bit and then be ready to go again.
*BE FLEXIBLE! I had an itinerary, but we went into the trip knowing that it could be changed at any time. So there were things we scrapped (like going to a museum in the afternoons after we had been going strong for hours - not the best way to go into one!) and other things we added (such as an impromptu picnic along the Seine one afternoon), just because we felt like it.
*WHERE TO STAY? I HIGHLY recommend renting a flat vs staying in a hotel if you're with 4+ people. We had so much fun together in both flats either before we left or at night. You can't do that if you're staying in 2 hotel rooms. We also could have waters, and wine and cheeses and breakfast in the flat instead of eating in the hotel restaurant every single time you are hungry. I went through airbnb.com, and it was a very good experience, but others have been happy with vrbo.
*JET LAG - we arrived after getting some sleep on the way to London, around 8:30AM and hit the ground running. We were ready to go to bed for sure that night, and all slept well and were ready to hit the city again the next morning. No one had any jet lag issues. And returning from Europe, you're probably going to arrive in the late afternoon/evening to the US. My recommendation is to try and stay awake on the flight home (other than perhaps a cat nap). That way, when it's bedtime, you are spent and sleep well. All did, and the next morning were good to go.
*APPS! - There were several apps on my iPhone that proved to be invaluable:
1. Ispeak French - this app was a translator that was really nice - much better than leafing through a Rick Steves' phrase book in a rushed situation with a server or salesperson.
2. London Pass - provided loads of information with our purchased London Passes on the London tube as well as blurbs about all of the landmarks in London.
3. Paris Metro - this app not only shows you where the Metro lines go in Paris, they will give you walking directions on how to get to the Metro. It was extremely helpful! Going from Montmartre to the Latin Quarter one day (for example) we changed trains twice in the 30 minute trek. It was not a problem at all since we were just following the app.
4. Currency Conversion - self-explanatory but it was still very helpful particularly paying a restaurant bill. It takes about 2 seconds, but you then know to the penny what your actual cost is in dollars versus doing an estimate in your head.
We changed things up a bit as the trip progressed, some due to time constraints, and some changes were do to fatigue. Here's what we ended up doing over our 9 day escapade:
FINAL ITINERARY
Day 1 - arrive in London*Check into our Notting Hill flat
*Walk to Portobello Market and explore Notting Hill
*Lunch in Notting Hill
*Pick up necessities at a local market
*Unpack and unwind a bit
*Dinner and Drinks in Notting Hill
Day 2 -
*Pickup coffee and croissants at nearby Paul Rhodes bakery
*Walk to Kensington Gardens and rent bikes
*Bike through the gardens to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard
*Walk to Trafalgar Square
*Snacks and Ale at a pub, then hit a rooftop restaurant for a glass of wine and charcuterie
*Walk to Westminster - see 10 Downing St., Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey
*Arrive at Churchill War Rooms and tour
*Take tube back to flat to get ready for dinner
*Meet family and friends at Rex and Mariano
*Drinks after at Mildred's
Day 3
*Walked through Kensington Gardens to Harrod's
*Shopped at Harrod's and snacked
*Back to the flat to change for The Savoy
*3:00 - Afternoon Tea at The Savoy with family
*Dinner at the flat - fish and chips
Day 4
*Ran in Kensington Gardens
*Brunch at Duck and Waffle (and spectacular views of London)
*Walked to Leadenhall Market
*Walked (seeing the London Bridge) to the Tower of London - toured the Crown Jewels
*Back to the flat to change
*Dinner at Terroirs Wine Bar then "American Buffalo" in the West End
*Enjoy a pint at a local pub
Day 5
*Eurostar to Paris
*Check into our St Germain des Pres flat
*Lunch at a cafe - La Bonaparte
*Walk to the Eiffel Tower - meet at Skip the Line Tour
*Tour the Eiffel
*Uber back to the flat
*Walk to dinner - CLOVER
Day 6
*Ran in Tuilleries Gardens
*Walked to the Latin Quarter
*Met Wendy Lyn and went on a food tour
*Lunch at L'avant Comptoir wine bar
*Cigars, wine and a bit of shopping in the neighborhood
*Dinner at Frenchie
*Drinks with friends at Les Deux Magots
Day 7
*Walked across Pont des Arts
*Toured Saint Chappell chapel
*Lunch at a cafe across from the chapel
*Visited Notre Dame
*Shopped a bit near the Louvre
*Took the Metro back to the flat
*Picked up baguette from Eric Kayser and some great wine and went for a picnic along the Seine (with brie and fresh olives we'd bought with Wendy)
*Shopped Rue St Honore
*Dinner in the 11th - Le Clown Bar
Day 8
*Breakfast - Eric Kayser chocolate croissant (the best on the planet)
*Metro to Les Puces (world's largest flea market)
*Metro to Sacre Coeur
*Walked to Montmartre, had lunch at a cafe, then walked to Moulin Rouge
*Metro to Latin Quarter to buy more from the markets we had toured with Wendy
*Walked to Luxembourg Gardens seeing La Sorbonne along the way
*Dinner - what we had picked up that day in the market - we enjoyed it with wine again along the Seine at sunset
Day 9
*Breakfast at Les Deux Magots
*Driver picked us up at 10:30AM to head to the airport
Au Revoir Paris!
