France & England

Continuing on...

PARIS

• We loved our location within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower! Would have enjoyed more time just to sit and stare at it during both day and night. 

• As in Venice, we definitely could have used more time in Paris. :) 
• If you have time, go to the Architecture Museum! It was practically empty but so very impressive and had a fabulous view of the Eiffel Tower. 
• We entered through the south pillar/leg at the Eiffel Tower, as we were told it had the shortest lines. We found that to be true. There are ticket offices at the pillar bases. The one at the south entrance is for those wishing/willing to climb the steps rather than take the elevator. (Note: If you want to get to the very top, you can only do so by elevator and those tickets sell out online in advance fast. Once you know your itinerary, if possible, book your tickets online asap. If you don’t get them in advance, you might be able to buy them in person but the lines will be long. The lines for the stairs are shorter…but you can only climb to the second level. Normally, from there, you can get a ticket to the elevator to the summit. The day we happened to go, though, the elevators to the summit were closed just then due to possible incoming weather. Regardless, the view from the second level was pretty dang good…arguably better than from the summit since the city and attractions are more recognizable.)

• When we went to Versailles, we spent the morning in the gardens (and rented row boats in the Grand Canal (which was very affordable and fun!)). Right next to the Grand Canal was a easy place to grab lunch before we headed to the line to go inside the Chateau. 

• We took an Uber to and from Versailles. With five of us, the cost was about the same as the train and we were able to enjoy guaranteed seats and air conditioning and quiet, things potentially not found on the train. 
• The recommended restaurants around the Arc de Triomphe were VERY busy for dinner. We actually found it tricky to find places to eat throughout Paris and ended up within a couple blocks of our AirBNB most nights. 

• When you go to Notre Dame, don’t miss Point Zero (a small marked spot on the ground just out front of Notre Dame…apparently, Point Zero is the center of France, originally (2300 years ago) the center of Paris…it’s the point from which all distances there are measured) or the Archeological Crypt (literally under the square in front of Notre Dame and fascinating). If, while in that area, you go looking for a public toilet, try to avoid the one on the street just off to the left of Notre Dame (if looking at Notre Dame from the front). It’s not a pay toilet but it takes forever. (It insisted on single use and “disinfecting” itself between each user…all at its own—very slow—time table.) 
• Loved the Musee d’Orsay and could easily have spent a full day there. We all preferred that to the Louvre.
• We appreciated that tap water was both served and replenished at dinners in Paris. (In Italy, you had to order/buy bottles of still water with meals.) 

LONDON

• We had to laugh a bit when we boarded the Eurostar to take the Chunnel from Paris to London. The crew kept making announcements indicating that we could/would not depart until all of the baggage was properly stored and out of any aisles. On the water bus to the airport in Venice (and pretty much all public transport in Italy), the baggage was literally piled on top and into every spot available, without any regard for keeping aisles clear. ;)
• One of our Big Bus Tour guides told us that they release hawks in Trafalgar Square (and before Wimbledon) to chase off the pigeons. After the number of pigeons we saw throughout Italy and Paris, we found this fascinating. 

• We thoroughly enjoyed the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studios tour and recommend leaving PLENTY of time for such an excursion. (And, get your tickets online well in advance to ensure you can get tickets early enough in the day for this to happen.) We were only able to get 5:30pm admission tickets and stayed until about 9:30pm…and could easily have spent more time. (They closed at 10 that night.)

• Apparently, pubs aren’t allowed to serve children after 9pm so will stop admitting families earlier than that (to make sure the kids are done and out in time). Good to know.
• The boats for rent on Regent’s Park boating lake weren’t as nice as the ones in Versailles but chasing the seagulls made up for that. 

• Heading out to Greenwich from central London was a great choice for us. Not only did the attractions there capture our interest, but we very much appreciated the quieter pace. We loved the Cutty Sark, the Greenwich Market, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory (and Prime Meridian) there. 

• Get the Fast Pass ticket for the London Eye. We got ours as part of our Big Bus Tour ticket. With it, we didn’t have to make any sorts of reservations…just showed up and traded in our bus ticket/receipt for the London Eye tickets…and got in the incredibly short Fast Pass line to board the Eye.
• We definitely would like to spend more time at the Borough Market…trying the many food stalls there. It looked delicious. 
• In retrospect, we wish we’d visited the National Gallery instead of the Tate Modern. Boys had been so over-museum’d at that point, especially over-Renaissance’d, that they’d requested the Tate Modern for a change of pace…but soon realized that modern art isn’t their cup of tea. ;) 
• When the guy at the door of the Churchill War Rooms warns you that you won’t have enough time before closing, he’s not exaggerating. The War Rooms have two parts…an audio tour of the actual war rooms and an extensive museum area. Just following the audio tour should take about 2 hours (maybe more). Considering that we popped in with only a little over an hour before closing, we had to skip some of the audio tour stops and weren’t able to spend much time in the fascinating museum.

Whew. Yeah. Lots of observations and thoughts. :) I've got one more post with general travel thoughts and then I'll be done posting about our Europe trip...