Paris-Athens-Santorini Island
A Luxury Trip, This One
Moon and Me at Chateau De Chombord, Loire Valley
Trip Taken September 2nd - 16th, 2010
Every now and then, it is time for a lavish vacation; one that takes you to a wonderland and days in amazement of ornate beauty and extravagant culture. Nothing fits that bill better than Paris. So it came about, a trip that combined Paris for a week and Greece for a week. As I looked through the internet in search for hotel information, I realized that would be quite hard to figure the good and bad areas in a city that big with no one to assist who was local or at least knew enough. And things were not looking cheap either. Even a hostel, which I was way past the age of anyway, was going to cost $50 a person. A decent 3-star hotel looked like they cost $100 for two people. As I looked through that information and was calculating an average cost of my trip, a friend of mine from Paris sent an email and then called saying my stay was taken care of: I was going to stay with him and we could figure out the rest. This was truly the first vacation in my life I have packed a bag and taken off alone; I am the kind who feels more at ease in a forest than amongst people, so his words were music to my ears and made me feel a lot better that I had someone who would be around just in case… I don’t know in case of what, just in case!
The French obviously have a well-known accent, which translates to a difficult one to follow whether English or French; the written word of French will sound different when spoken by them as opposed to me because the pronunciation rules are so different. I say this because the best way to travel in Paris is by metro (pronounced meh-throw), and one has to compare the map to the automated voice really carefully to realize it is the right stop if you are not counting the number of stops as you go by! So I was glad to have my friend around with me the whole first day to help me get my bearings and figure out some survival basics. The price of the metro is 12euros for 10 tickets. One ticket can be used only once, one way for one ride, from anywhere to anywhere, including transfers. It is well worth the price.
Fresh market at park area in my friend's neighborhood.
As it is, Paris was rainy and overcast, but the clouds seem to move in and out of the city quickly. The first morning I looked out of my window, I saw a farmer’s market or a fresh market being set up in the open block right in front. My joy knew no bounds. There is no better way to figure out what the local food is than to go to a neighborhood fresh market and check out the produce. Quickly, I got ready and headed down while my friend got dressed. This market held more varieties of fruit, bread, flowers, fish and meat than I had seen anywhere else. It was fresh and colorful and made me hungry, but I tried to speak to a vendor and he kind of insinuated there would be no communication in English. Ok, so I would ask my friend for food this morning!
So we headed towards the main center of Paris. From the moment I walked out of the train, it seemed Paris welcomed you to a great kingdom, still present and kept up well. To start a perfect tour, my perfect host took me to the Au Printemps Department store. Go to the terrace and one can see a 360degree view of the city. On a clear day, I got an actually map in my head of what was in which direction, and an amazing view of how things look from atop a big building. Then we walked to the Galleries Lafayette. It is an amazing store, ornately done inside, with everything one can want. But even if you’re not ready to shop, the interiors give one an idea of the detail to beauty that the French give and enjoy.
Eiffel Tower from the night cruise boat
The rest of the day we spent walking… walking from one beautiful monument to another, through one massive building with a large courtyard to another. There is no such thing as a useless street. Given the main attractions of the Opera house, The Luvre, the gardens and the library, there are many neighborhoods we walked through that the map didn’t point to but were just as breathe taking. By the evening, it was time to sit down and enjoy the ambience of Chatelet. This is a neighborhood of eateries, outside bars and sweet shops. Cars are not allowed in the smaller roads which makes it all the more beautiful and cozy. Both locals and tourists flock this area by night and Paris takes on a completely different look.
The thing about Paris is that there is so much to see and absorb, it can be quite over whelming. A friend told me everything looks different by night. So, the trooper that I am, I walked back to the Lovre because it was supposed to be magnificent by night. This night was special anyway. There was a transportation strike in full force and only two train lines were operational. Most people stayed at home and most tourists stayed away from the hot spots. This left just a few people at the Luvre and gave me an opportunity for some wonderful pictures that night. I will never be as happy about a strike in a city as I was that day! My eyes were, tired, my hands too from carrying a big bag with raincoats and all other stuff and a huge camera bag, my legs were tired from carrying me around for hours on end, my body was exhausted from the hyper activity all around. We reached home at half past midnight and I had to force myself to sleep and leave the excitement behind, and be prepared for the next day alone.
Nothing changed the next day. I headed out by 10am again. Today I was paired for half a day with a tourist of sorts by my friend and guide! He was French but not from Paris, and hadn’t seen parts of Paris himself. We decided to do something new to him also, and that took us to Montmartre, and the Bassilica, Sacre Coeur. Montmartre is the name of the area. Known for its artistic side, it is a hill and leads to the Basillica on top. The beautiful white domes can be seen from far, shining against the brightness of the sun. I bought a 5euro ticket to climb up the 300 winding stairs of the basilica and get a different but still wonderful view of the great city. The famous carousal at the bottom is worth the ride on its colorfully painted horses for 2euros. Montmartre is also known for its night life, and is cheaper than Chatelet. It is also less trendy and just a bit mysterious. Souvenirs are cheaper here than any other place I found, so you may want to get the fridge magnets and t-shirts done on your way down the hill.
We walked on to the Moulin Rouge area. This is an interesting side of town. Basically, it is lines with strip joints, sex shops and prostitutes at night, all with the French flair and style. I was there in the afternoon, so I can’t say I saw it in full action, but I touched the tip of the ice burg and that is good enough for me! The show, Moulin Rouge, was booked for a week so there was no reason for me to come back here at night time either. You may want to book early online if that is a top priority for you. I didn’t research this one too well and lost out on it.
A typical corner building and a coffee shop. This near Champs-Elysees
It started to rain quite heavily that day, although it has drizzled the day before and I had kept on going. I sought the shelter of a corner coffee shop and sat out to see the beauty of Paris walk by me and wait for the rain to stop. It occurred to me then that part of what made Paris beautiful was the people. Every woman was dressed elegantly, from classical styles of skirts and dresses to matching heels. They all seemed to flow by me like a dream. They all walked so gracefully, they could’ve been walking on fluffy clouds, not bricked sidewalks. And they were all beautiful. It hit me then that maybe when they said Paris was the place for love, it didn’t so much mean that Paris should be visited only with a lover; on the contrary, that one could come there alone and still fall in love!
I maneuvered down to the famous Champs-Elysees. This is the most famous shopping street, and the Arc De Triomphe is at one end of it. This is the famous gateway through which the American troops marched down after their victory after the Second World War. The streets are lined with malls, and the backstreets turned out to be quite interesting too. This should easily take about three hours. Forgetting that my legs are not used to walking more than a couple of kilometers a day, I looked up to see the Eiffel tower, and thought, heck, this will be the third night I would have slept in Paris and not been to the Eiffel Tower yet! That’s not right. And it seems so close. So I began to walk in the general direction of the tower so close.
An hour of brisk walking later, over the beautiful Pont De L’Alma bridge, I reached the tower, my legs giving me signs of resignation. Looking at it during the day from up close, I didn’t find it as beautiful. Or maybe I was making excuses to not kill myself by standing in line for a couple of hours to go up the tower! Either way, it was raining again and there was tour bus after tour bus, a countless number of them, lined up and down the streets all around it. I weighed my options, walked to the closest coffee shop and sat where I can stare at the tower for a while and ordered my coffee. The sun sets at 8pm in the summers, all the way up until October, and I had a dinner date with a friend, so I headed towards his house for a grand French meal. Part of the greatness of the French is the food. It is a special event by itself! By the time I climbed into bed after organizing myself for the next day (charging camera batteries, charging phone, mapping out a new tomorrow), I climbed into bed at 1am, my legs numb.
Notre Dame on a clear bright day
The next morning, I headed out late. My legs were cramping, and I hadn’t got exactly a good night’s sleep in four nights. That was a mistake. I wanted to set aside half a day for shopping, but forgot that the stores closed by 7pm. I had to still walk around the Notre Dame area, and the Hotel Deville. So I did, and it was 3pm by the time I realized it! I headed out toward St Michel, and saw more wonderful things that caught my attention along the way, stopped for some pictures, and reached the famous Mabillon café by 4pm. Then it struck me that I had three hours to shop, and that Rue De Rennes was a very long street! So I forced some pep into my step and focused. I don’t like shopping per say, but you can’t get better clothes than Paris. I don’t need to tell you that. We have all heard it before, and when you see the women there, you will believe it. My dear friend had dinner plans for me at his friend’s house, and I was due there by 8pm anyway. It was Thursday, and my little friend, who I look at as more like a little sister, was coming in from London to join me for the weekend that night after her hospital work. My bed had a few more hours to wait for me tonight also, and I started to feel a little sick from being so tired and drained of energy.
So my little Moon showed up from London at midnight. She was excited and we mapped out the weekend until 2am! Per plan the previous night, we set out for Palace Of Versailles at 10am on Friday morning. The train ride took about 45minutes including the change of trains at one point. The round trip cost us 6euros each. Not bad at all. The entry to the Palace costs 18euros including a visit to the Estate of Marie-Antoinette, nut free for students in Europe and England if they are carrying a student ID. The line to get tickets took over an hour, a pure waste of time. The doors to the palace close at 5pm. Not too smart again here! The ideal thing to do would be to get there by 9am, and leisurely enjoy the Palace, its gardens and Estates around it. Instead, we hurried through it, vast and full of wonders as it was, and barely saw things in time for them to kick us out! By the time we reached Paris again it was 7:30pm. I had heard that there was a night cruise along the River Seine so I decided that was the best way for her to see Paris in such a short time. The night cruise starts at Pont Neuf and costs about 12euros a person. It lasts one hour but you will spend two hours including standing in line for ticket and getting off the crowded boat. The night Eiffel tower with its changing lights was the best part of the cruise and well worth it.
The Royal Chapel inside the Versailles Palace
Her excitement knew no bounds, so I walked her through some more areas that I had previously been through, and we had dinner at Chatelet that night. We caught the last train home at 11:45, exhausted and uncertain what we were going to do, or had the energy to do the next day. It was as if the wonders of Paris would never cease to light a fire under us each day, but when the fire went out, it left us dazed and tired!
My friend we were staying with was gracious enough to help make our plans of seeing some sights south of Paris come true the next day. He had some family affairs to take care of, but worked us into the plan so he could drive us to our destinations which were along the way. So we woke up at 6am, and were in the car by 8am for a different kind of day from those so far. We drove about two hours to the Loire valley. We had no clue where he was taking us, but sometimes you have to leave it to the locals to know what’s best! And he drove us to the most beautiful place I could have ever imagined, a Disney castle of sorts – Chateau De Chombord. We spent all morning walking around this magnificent castle. There are plenty more in this area. It will take a couple of days at least and looks like it was worth it, but we didn’t have the time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_Valley
Then we got dropped at the dreamy little town of Blois. We walked through the town, through the main church which is beautiful, up to the Chateau Royal De Blois. Used as a summer home, this is an opulent castle. It was a nice relaxing way to see a small French town and take in the culture outside the biggest city. By sunset, our guide picked us up and drove us through the fields and back roads towards Paris again. He was gracious enough to show us some off road sights, nature and small villages. We had dinner at one such small town, and finally reached home at 1am. Was that a long enough day?
On the final day, a Sunday, I decided Moon had to see some of Paris during the day, and I never tire of seeing Paris or the same things, so we set out to cover the main show stoppers. It was a beautiful day, actually. The kid brought sun shine with her. It didn’t rain since she came to Paris! We decided we would end our trip with a typical French feast with our friend, our guide. So we left it to him to pick a fancy French restaurant and had a long dinner with lots of authentic French food.
Moulin Rouge
The best thing I can tell you about Paris is that there is no real preparation except to find a simple clean hotel, wear comfortable shoes, be prepared for 14 hour days, look forward to walking at least 10 hours a day, and if you want to hit the Moulin Rouge, book way beforehand online. Travel, food and entry fee cost me about 80euros per day and I spent comfortably on food. You can easily bring the cost down to 50euros a day if you decide to eat simple sandwiches from bakeries.
Six days and seven nights in Paris, I was eagerly looking forward to the mythical land of Greece. This part of the trip was to be in Athens for two days by myself, then my friends would fly in and we would go to Santorini, the honeymoon paradise on the Aegean Sea for four days. So I caught my plane to Athens. The ticket from Paris to Greece wasn’t bad at all: 115 euros, and if I had booked it earlier it would have been less than 100 even! I got to my hotel in Athens at about 7pm, the flight was 3.5 hours. The Boutique Museum Hotel was simple and elegant, and a 10 minute walk from the Parthenon and an area called Plaka, which was the popular center. So I walked out just for dinner, and came home for a good night’s rest finally after nine nights!
Even though it was mid-September, the change of weather was harsh on me from Paris to Greece. Paris was cool and rainy, and by evening cold enough to wear a wind breaker at least. Athens was hot and bright. That day was dedicated to the Parthenon, but I felt ill even when I woke up. I forced myself out of bed early; I had to at least see the Parthenon before my lights went out. I was glad I did that. It took me half a day, but by lunch I was done and the mid-day sun was hot and the afternoon promised to humid and hot too. I ate a quick salad and spent the evening in bed, recovering, taking my friend’s advice that I needed to be well for Santorini.
The Parthenon Ruins
I felt better by evening. As I ate at the hotel restaurant, I made friends with the young lady there and she offered to take me out along with her boyfriend for a normal night out. I hadn’t been out at all, and was eager to see some local spots and take in some night culture, so we headed out in Athens. The city is ridden with graffiti and alleys. Each looks pretty in a seedy mysterious and borderline dangerous way. But I had fun taking the bus and going and hanging out at a park where all the young and restless get together. Dumb tourist that I am, I took pictures of some guys who were doing something illegal I guess. They weren’t my focus, just seemed like a nice picture is all. One of them calmly walked up to me and asked me to delete the photo and refrain from taking pictures of them. I politely obliged!
I reached home at 4am but had a great time and got to see things I never would have had it not been for the nice couple I met. I hit the bed hard and woke up tired and still sick. My friend was due to come by 2pm, so I decided to walk around a bit in the morning anyway, on the main road, and get active. I found some ruins and pillars in an area, walked by the Olympic stadium, and headed back to the hotel after a quick lunch. That night, I feasted on a beautiful Greek meal with fish, bread and wine. A meal for the Gods, by the docks at an area called Microlimano. It is lines with sea food restaurants and bars in wonderfully different decors. The fish is fresh and they are eager to please. We actually got to pick the fish we wanted cooked and I saw a variety of fish in their inventory. We walked down to a very nice bar around the corner for a couple of drinks and decided we needed to head back to the hotel. Our flight to Santorini was at 6am the next day.
Oia at sunset
Santorini pops out like a fairy tale about a faraway land. The Greek men are good looking, the sun turns their skin olive, and the culture is colorful and indulgent. There are two main towns on the island of Santorini: Oia and Fira. Although Fira is the economic centre and the largest town of the island, Oia sits at one end of the island on a cliff making it a more romantic place, smaller and much cuter. The houses are amazingly built into the side of the mountains, like caves, mostly painted in a virgin white, and cars can not go through these cobble stoned and staired pathways. One has to just walk all around. Of course, this eliminates all kinds of pollution and sound, which again adds to the island becoming a honeymooner’s paradise.
Santorini’s population is only 13,000 people. But during tourist season, May through September, the population increases three fold, bringing workers from the eastern block and all around Greece. It is not cheap by any means. They seem to be booked solid all over when I; the flights were full going and coming. But that is the price of paradise.
Athens by night
We stayed at the Art Maison’s in Oia, at their villa on a jutted out cliff. The view was breath taking, the price burnt a hole in the pocket, and so my heart! The Aegean sea beneath is a copper sulphate blue, with emerald green edges where the water isn’t too deep. I have never seen water like a children’s crayon drawing, but the color comes from the fact that the bed of this sea is volcanic rock which is black, and also the water is clean as can be.
We took two half day yacht rides on a catamaran: the first was from 10:30am to 3:30 pm, which took around the sea and described the geographic history and formations of islands in the area. They cooked a fantastic lunch on the ship, including pork chops, Greek salad and pasta, served with wine. The second trip the following day was from 3:30pm to 8pm. This one showed us a few different areas including some hot springs (and hot springs always stink and ruin clothes or bathers if you decide to take a dip due to the high sulphur content), dinner again with wine, and led us into the sea for an unbelievable sunset. All of these cruises provide swimming and snorkeling gear and take you to places where you can do some of that too.
To go out at night, Fira has the bars and night life that lasts until the sun comes up. The Greeks are known to party, and though Mykonos is known as the party island, Fira isn’t too bad for a fun night. People from all over the world and all ages are out to have a good time. We did too. Other than that, walking around these towns and talking in their style of living and shopping is the only other thing to do.
My little bear decided to become a little whale in the Aegean waters
Four days flew by so fast, and it was hard to leave behind the prettiest place I had seen so far, a secret land of harmony and beauty tucked away into the sides of a volcanic mountain, where people live on top of the mountain in caves. The fact that the food cost me almost twice as much as Paris didn’t occur to me while I was happily enjoying it, you may want to take some time to find reasonable places by walking up and down the main street before deciding on a place. Other than that, the memories will last a life time on this most extravagant trip of my life.
