Paris July 27 to 29

We spent Friday evening exploring the neighborhood around Republique Square. That is what I like to do in any city I visit.  I like to walk around and explore whatever neighborhood I have landed in.  Paris is generally safe but we are advised to be careful and not flaunt our money. Pickpockets are always around like in all major cities of the world.  It is very convenient to have in-room safes in hotels where you can safely store your passports, and excess cash and credit cards while keeping a limited amount of cash and one credit card in your pocket. No matter where you land in Paris you will see lots of cafes with people sitting outside sipping coffee.  That is the number one thing I love about Paris. Second thing that we fell in love with are doors.  Yes doors! Every apartment building in Paris has a different door design, most of them are some sort of metal grills. The doors are so different that Kalpana was inspired to some day write a pictographic book on Doors of Paris, available on Amazon in 2104!

While we had our meals in various cafes, the most memorable one  was Cafe Pinson, a vegan restaurant near our hotel. Being vegetarians we asked our Monograms hostess for directions to a vegan restaurant, Pousse-Pousse, our son had recommended.  Our hostess recommended that we instead try Cafe Pinson, a vegan restaurant a short walking distance from our hotel.  Although the restaurant was quite close by, it was tricky to locate it.  Streets in Paris are not laid out in a grid pattern like the streets in most U.S. cities. But we enjoy exploring the neighborhoods so it was a lot of fun finding the restaurant.  Food at Cafe Pinson was excellent and I highly recommend it. Just a note for all first time travelers to France, restaurants food is twice as expensive as equivalent restaurants in the U.S.

Paris has many Indian restaurants also.  Although we didn't dine at any of them, I am sure this is comforting to know for some of my blog followers, especially vegetarians of Indian origin, who have difficulty with finding suitable food while traveling.

Some people complain that French people are rude.  My experiences with French people during both my visits have been extremely pleasant.  After getting details of what actually transpired during the so called rude experiences that some people have had, I have concluded that it is we, the tourists, who are rude and not our French hosts.  Think about this hypothetical scenario.  A Russian person comes to the U.S. and goes to a store. As he doesn't speak any English he asks the store clerk in Russian if he/she speaks Russian. The clerk gets totally confused and doesn't know how to act.  To the Russian visitor, the clerk appears to be rude.  Think about it.  That is exactly what many Americans do when we visit France. We talk to them in English. I have always attempted to start communicating using a few words and sentences in French that I have practiced, like, "bonjour", "merci", and "parlez-vous Anglais", and the results have been phenomenal.  In fact, on several occasions the French persons who were totally unknown to us went out of their way to help us out.

I have been asked by one of the followers of my blog to provide more information about Monograms, so here it is.  Monograms is a division of Globus family of brands, which consists of Globus, Cosmos, Monograms, and Avalon Waterways. Globus provides escorted land tours in most parts of the world.  In the Globus scenario you would be a part of a group of 20 to 40 people traveling together in a luxury coach to various destinations.  The group stays at 4-star hotels, where breakfast and many of the other meals as well as activities are included in the price.

Some of the specific advantages of going with Globus that I love are: 
(1) all the coaches have free wi-fi (Europe and North America).  So while you are traveling you can take care of your e-mails and send pictures of your recent travels to friends and family! 
(2) Your tickets for the visits to all the sites are pre-purchased and have VIP access.  In other words, like other tourists, you don't have to wait in long lines, which could be several hours long. 
(3) Your tour guide, who is locally experienced, travels with you.
(4) You make one reservation with Globus, pay one price and the rest is taken care of for you.  If your itinerary includes travel by luxury coach, train, plane, and ferry, you don't have to purchase those tickets, Globus does.  You don't have to worry about purchasing entrance tickets to various sites, they do.  You don't have to book various hotels, they do.

Cosmos is very similar to Globus but is meant for a budget minded traveler. The basic difference is that the guests stay at 3-star hotels.  Additionally, Cosmos also has a very attractive option for single travelers in which Cosmos pairs you up with other single travelers of the same sex.

Monograms is a more customized plan for small groups, typically a couple.  In Monograms you choose the segments you want and Monograms takes care of all the details.  You stay at 4-star hotels and daily breakfast is included.  You are met by a Monograms hostess at every city who guides you.  The package includes a half-day tour of every city on your itinerary and the rest of the days you are free to explore on your own or to take part in optional excursions.  So Monograms is more for an independent minded traveler.

Friday (July 27) morning began with transfer to the railway station to go to Paris, which was made real simple by the Monograms staff.  After checking out of the hotel we didn't have to touch our bags.  Monograms' hostess was there at the hotel to take us to St. Pancras station in London, located between the British Library and King's Cross tube station.  Everything was handled by the hostess, including handing out our train tickets and making sure that our bags were checked in for the trip to Paris.  St. Pancras International terminal is huge and looks more like an airport terminal with lots of shops and restaurants in the middle connected with a bus station, and stations for underground tube trains and out of town trains.  Monograms hostess was with us all the way up to the passport control point to make sure that we didn't lose our way.

St. Pancras station is the boarding point for the super fast Eurostar trains to Paris.  This train service is punctual and it takes only two hours and 15 minutes to reach Paris, a distance of 283 miles, compare that to Amtrak's fast Acela trains that take 2 hours and 45 minutes to cover 225 miles from DC to NY. There are about 20 scheduled Eurostar trains daily.  Two hours and 15 minutes, London to Paris is far superior to five hours it takes by air (downtown to downtown).  Passport control for entering France was handled right at the London terminal.  Security check was limited, nothing like the exhaustive check that we experience at the U.S. airports.  What I found fascinating was that there were non-stop trains going straight to Disneyland very near Paris but those trains do not stop at Paris.  Europe's concept of fast trains in unlike America or India. These super fast trains go straight to their destinations without stopping along the way.  For example Amtrak trains between DC and New York stop at various cities along the way; Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, etc. The European model would have a non-stop fast train  from DC to Baltimore, 15 minutes later another fast train from DC to Philly, and 15 minutes later another non-stop from DC to Newark and another 15 minutes later a non-stop to Manhattan.  What a concept!  I love it.  

Eurostar trains are very comfortable but I would recommend upgrading to first class for the same reasons as one would upgrade an airline seat - legroom. Going through the Chunnel (Channel tunnel), while exciting for the mind of an engineer like me, was nondescript. There was nothing to see and a short time later were viewing the French countryside. 

Arrival in Paris was simple.  We were met by a young Monograms hostess at the arrival platform at Gare du Nord station.  She took care of making sure our luggage was retrieved and loaded on to the van while we relaxed in its air-conditioned comfort.  This is significant because throughout our trip we experienced very hot days, typically 90+ degrees F.  Nothing in Europe is air-conditioned. Unlike their counterparts in the U.S., most shops and restaurants are NOT air-conditioned.  Paris was even hotter than London. Throughout our trip the dilemma was that we could not sit inside the restaurants because it was too hot and we could not sit outside because many customers were smoking cigarettes.  This is exactly why we travel internationally, it makes us appreciate America even more.  A short ride in the van took us from Paris Gare du Nord station to Crowne Plaza hotel at Republique Square.  The rooms in this hotel were larger than the rooms in London's Hyde Park Hilton but the A/C was weak just like London.  Get used to warm temperatures, Atul!  

My advice: Don't travel to Europe in July or August if you like air-conditioning.

  
Our Wednesday morning started with a beautiful breakfast spread before us at the Hyde Park Hotel.  As a feature of the Monograms all the hotels that we stayed at had full breakfast included as a part of our package.  A van came to pick us up for our half-day tour of London.  There were only nine of us for this more intimate guided tour.  My impression of London from my past several visits was that it was a grey, dreary place that I never cared for. I have never understood why Americans go gaga over London.   I don't like old things.  As many of you know I like modern things.  One can say I am a glass and chrome kind'a person.  But as we drove around London I came to realize that London has changed.  It has become more modern.  A lot of glass covered office buildings and many apartment buildings with balconies and lots of windows.  Now this was the London I could get used to.  While London is modernizing, Washington DC area is still copying old British architecture in its new buildings. Ugly townhouses and apartment buildings are still coming up in DC's Maryland suburbs.  Thank God I live in San Diego!

We had already done the usual touristy things in London during our past visits, so we spent the afternoon taking a Thames River cruise and going on the London Eye.  London Eye, built to celebrate the new millennium, is a Ferris wheel type structure that is 44 stories high and takes 45 minutes to go full circle.  From there you get beautiful views of London all around.  This was July and there were crowds of tourists from every country imaginable.

The London Eye

That evening we found a very nice organic grocery store, similar to Whole Foods in the U.S., and had raw vegan meal in their eatery.

We had a good night's sleep that night.  There is always a discussion about which way jet lag affects one, while flying towards East or flying towards West. My experience is that when I am going to a new destination jet lag does not affect me much because I am excited about encountering the new place that I am about to visit.  On the other hand when I am returning back home jet lag always affects me no matter which direction I had flown towards, East or West. 

Thursday morning we assumed that we were invited to visit the newly born Prince George, otherwise why would they put us up at a hotel just near the entrance to their garden.  So we went on a long stroll in the Kensington Gardens.  There were a whole bunch of reporters and TV camera crews stationed about 200 yards from the Kensington Palace.  We couldn't go in because the baby was sleeping at the time!

 Kensington Palace

We spent rest of the day exploring London on our own and with our friends Ashwin and Madhubala Tirodkar, using buses, trains, and taxi.  In the process I learned a few things. (1) Restaurants in London are typically twice as expensive as in the U. S. (2) Real estate in London is super expensive.  My friend lives in a 800 sq. ft. apartment in a nice neighborhood in London. This apartment is on the third floor of an old townhouse that was converted to three apartments.  The apartment has two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchenette in the living room. This piece of real estate is going for, are you ready, $1.2 million.

On to London

As Kalpana pressed a button near the window next to her seat it slowly started darkening until it completely blocked the bright sunlight coming from the afternoon sun in Houston.  Boeing 787, or Dreamliner as it is called, is a new breed of aircraft.  The two most important features that affect us fliers are these larger automatic windows and higher cabin pressure, equal to 6,000 feet above sea level instead of 8,000 feet like other jet planes.  We were on our way to London and I had specifically picked a flight from San Diego that connected in Houston with this 787 non-stop to London.   I wanted to experience the plane in all its glory.  For those who are interested, 787 is constructed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic body which makes it 20% more fuel efficient, the restrooms are also larger than usual, and the higher cabin pressure makes the flight more comfortable, meaning less headaches.  Thus started our European journey for the summer of 2013.
Ten hours later we were at London Heathrow.  Right outside customs we were greeted by a representative of Monograms, who was wearing a red jacket and noticed our red Monograms luggage tags.  Yes, red is the color of Monograms.  Throughout the trip we were able to recognize each other by the color red.  As we were sipping a cup of coffee at the airport coffee shop the rep came back with our driver.  Monograms is a travel company that gives you a more personalized travel experience.  With our suitcases safely in the car, we were whisked away to our destination in central London, The London Hyde Park Hotel, now renamed the Double Tree by Hilton.  At the hotel after a quick check-in we were taken to the Monograms desk where our local Monograms hostess, Giada, gave us an overview of the plan for our next three days in London.  The first day of our arrival was rest and relaxation.  The second day in the morning was scheduled a half day tour of London, and for the afternoon we had opted for a cruise on Thames river and a visit to the London Eye.  We had planned to spend the third day with our friends Ashwin Tirodkar, who now lives in London, and his mom Madhubala, who was visiting from India.
After resting a little we started exploring the neighborhood.  The hotel is located near the Notting Hill Gate of Kensington Park, which is adjoining the famous Hyde Park, off the famous Bayswater Road.  Nearby on Queensway we found restaurants from all over the world.  The whole area was bustling with shoppers.  There were multiple Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Russian, East European, Thai, and organic restaurants.  We had a fabulous lunch at an Indian restaurant called Masala Zone.  I have never had such well prepared Indian meal at a restaurant in the U.S. or may be I was just very hungry!