France Thread 2 (Paris and all other cities) *Check Pg. 1 for reference links*

[minnie99]

18-19 (arriving from Strasbourg in the morning of 18th and traveling back on the 19th).

The organizer has allowed me to extend up to the 27th and I have yet to respond. The train tickets are also on the 27th so I thought, from Strasbourg, if I do extend, I could do a daytrip to Germany or see other places in Alsace? Hehe. Nakakahiya ata to request the train tickets to be booked for the 25th. Lol.

[mama squeak!]

^Sayang! I'll be in Paris on the first week of the month.

I don't think nakakahiya mag-request ng earlier date. I'm sure your organizers are sanay na with those kind of requests. Alam nila take advantage sa pag-pasyal mga attendees. Better request ka as early as possible kasi train fares increase nearing the departure dates. Happy planning!

[minnie99]

^Sayang! Hehe. Maybe next time (sana makabalik!)

You have a point, sis, ano? Sige, I'll try on Monday. Hope they didn't book it yet at sana hindi makulitan.

Thankfully, found another host in Paris, so I can bump it to the end of the trip, and I was thinking a daytrip to Lucerne on the 18th na lang from Strasbourg (to save on accommodation, so I don't have to bring anything too). Apparently it's possible, and it sounds like the best day trip I can do from Strasbourg... Hope my research was correct.

Thanks mama squeak! for the help and encouragement! Haha.

[mathet]

mama squeak...

 pasuyo naman pa pm ng link ng blog mo.... cant view it coz im browsing through my mobile fone....

thanks in advance

[hypergalactix13]

Lyon is very nice! I recommend it to travelers who love to just walk around.

[minnie99]

Unfortunately, di nila ako ma-book ng train on the 25th, should be on the 27th din kung ipapamove ang flight. Sayang. Now I'm considering just a day trip to Paris tuloy. Mag-isa lang kasi ako so I can do things fast naman, but the thing is, I am not sure if I can see most of the sights in about 8 hours? Would you advise against it?

Shopping--i don't think I'll do much of this, baka souvenirs lang like keychains, pero other than that, hindi na siguro.

Inputs? hehe.

Thanks!

[mama squeak!]

^Oh too bad! So basically you only have two weekends to go around? I suggest on your first weekend go with your original plan of going to Paris. If you go via TGV it's only a 2 hour ride so you can leave after your training and arrive in Paris around 8 or 9PM. You'll still have a bit of a daylight since sunset will be around 10PM. You'll then have the whole of Saturday and Sunday (if you take the late afternoon train back) to go around.

Your second weekend, I'll concentrate on nearby places lang. I found this website to give you an idea on nearby places to visit . We've DIYed the Alsace wine route since we had a car to get from one place to the other. Though in your case choose na lang the places you can get into via public transpo.

[naturallyposh]

is it worth to to enroll in a macaron making class?

[minnie99]

^^mama squeak!, will just visit Lucerne na lang over the weekend. (Unfortunately, looks like it won't be sunny there this weekend... Hay)

Back on-topic, I am not prepared for this weather. Todo check ako before I left at dahil ang init nga, I decided to bring light jacket and light coat lang, and also left the leather jacket and boots. Pagdating ko dito, ang lamig at maulan. Buti may Uniqlo malapit dito so I bought their down jacket and had to buy two polos because I don't think I can wear my dresses. Buti wala pa akong nakikitang boots...otherwise napabili na naman ako. 20% of my allowance was already spent on shopping. 

But experienced the worst rain today, buti ongoing pa yung training, pero grabe, parang bagyo sa Pilipinas. Paglabas namin, sunny na. So bipolar. Haha.

I love Strasbourg, sobrang picturesque everywhere. The cathedral awed me, as in napatigil lang ako habang nakatingala. We walk to the University everyday, 30 mins lang leisure walk.

Natuwa din ako sa train from CDG to Strasbourg, kahit paulit-ulit, nakakatuwa yung occasional small villages at kitang kita mo yung church.

[mama squeak!]

^ang weird na nga talaga ng weather ngayon. Sa three weeks namin in France we experienced temperatures ranging from 11C to 31C! Super sunny and hot to cold and wet weather.

Anyway, ang ganda lang naman ng Provence! We got a rental and just drove around the Provençal countryside. We were lucky kasi we were able to see lavender fields in bloom na. The flowers go in full bloom in July then harvest season in early August. Swerte rin that during our drives it was sunny and cool. We fell in love with Provence just like Peter Mayle did haha! We also visited Ménérbes where he first bought his house. He lives in Lourmarin now. Can't wait to write about our trip in my blog.

[princess lorraine]

Hi! Hubby and I are planning  to visit Paris in 2018 for oir 10th wedding anniv. Maximum of 8 days lang kami kasama na travel time kasi hundi rin puwede mawala si hubby sa office ng matagal. As early as now, we're trying to save money na as budget on our trip. I have some questions lang.
1. Is 200k enough for 2 pax for promo airfare, 3 star or 4 star hotel accomodation, transpo, food and entrance fees? We wanna go to famous landmark like eiffel tower.
2. Madali lang ba transpo system sa paris?
3. Which one is the best area to stay for sightseeing and shopping (bags!!!) ?
4. Is there any other place which we can visit for a day tour that is only a train ride from paris? Possible ba to go to italy or other places?
Thank you. 

[mama squeak!]

^depending on the season the cheapest air fare so far can set you back at 45K@. So round it up na lang to 100K for both of you which leaves you 100K for your lodging, public transpo, food and attraction fees. Can be doable but super tipid to the max kayo.

Try to rent apartments instead of staying in hotels. A 2 or 3-star hotel in a central location can set you back from EUR70-90/night (wala pa inflation rate nyan ha since two years from now pa kayo plan mag-travel).

Transpo is easy and accessible. Kinda intimidating at first but you'll get the hang of it.

Inner arrondissements (arr. 1-7) is the central part of the city where most of the tourist attractions are located. But of course lodging here will be more expensive. Since comprehensive naman yung transpo network nila get lodgings at the outer arrondissements (8-20). It will take you max 30 minutes with transfers to get to any of the tourist sites.

Day trips: less than an hour by train - Versailles, Fontainebleau, Giverny, Saint-Denis, etc.

Save Italy for another trip.

Try to backread on this thread and the previous ones for additional tips and help in your itinerary. I've shared a lot of them here already.

Good luck planning!

[princess lorraine]

^thank you so much mama squeak! I've backread thread 2 na. Got lots of tips already. Will backread thread 1 naman. Maybe we have to allot 250k-300k for our paris trip plus some extra money for shopping! Thank you. 

[mama squeak!]

^Yup, I think 300K up would be a more reasonable amount. Since it will be a memorable occasion you can splurge a little bit more.

[shygirlme]

Any hotels or airbnb for 4 pax in Paris? budget friendly sana since lagi naman nasa labas. Thanks!

[mama squeak!]

^airbnb marami! Filter mo lang choices mo according to budget, number of people and areas of preference.

[swit16garl]

Girls, if you're looking for an airbnb space in Paris, look for Charming studio at Saint Germain. Owner name is Agathe. The thing is, the one who will answer is a Filipino, his name is Allan. PM me directly if you want his number.

I stayed here during my trip last November and he was very helpful! He will suggest places to eat and museums to enjoy. The room is good for 2-3 pax. When it was my sister's turn to go to Paris, she also got the place and was able to ask for a discount from Allan. Place is central but very quiet.

*Admin, please delete if I have broken any rules.

[mrs. sweet]

Anybody here been to La Vallee Village? Worth the trip ba? Madaming mabili?

[waychraych]

Anybody here been to La Vallee Village? Worth the trip ba? Madaming mabili?

I went to La Vallee when I was in Paris in 2013. I was able to buy some shirts at Lacoste (mura siya lumabas kasi may additional discount pa), purse/bags from Coach, and bags from Longchamp.
Most of the Longchamp bags na pabili I bought it at La Vallee ata.

Check their website to see the brands.

[mathet]

reporting mga sis... almost a month after my travel....

went to france last july 14-august 3 with 3 days side trip sa italy and 1 day side trip to geneva switzerland....

it was summer so it was warm by the day and a little colder at night. I looked for some thick coats pero di ko nagamit. Even the boots... epic fail Jackets will do during summer time and sunblock lotion is a must. Walang gumagamit ng payong!

we spent most of the time in annecy as nandun yung sister ni hubby and it was a great place though kaya siya iside trip ng 1 day but the experience was nice since we get to experience french culture.

if you are into hiking, annecy is the place to be, we went to a mountain about 1700 meters high, according to them, almost all the mountains have a developed trails super linis and most of the french people are very disciplined and health conscious, may mga naghahike na as early as 2 years old and as old as 60 plus years old.

We went to Lyon, food is nice and is very clean.

Paris is great! We went walking at night from arc de tromphe to the city hall (3 hours). But we did enjoyed the whole view. Paris itself is like a big museum!

Went to Louve, paglabas ng metro, left side before ka makarating sa center na may pyramide, may entrance na walang pila security lang mahaba pila. And yes, mapapagod ka sa loob dahil sa laki so be prepared to do a lot of walking. Sa versailles, we went there on tuesday which is expected to have a big queue dahil sarado ang louve, grabe, 3 hours talaga sa line pagpasok. But it was really worth it.

Gelatos everywhere is really nice! You can never go wrong with their pizzas! Siguro dahil sa fresh tomato nila, ang tamis!

Downside, it was very expensive. Be prepared to spend some money and prepare your credit card.
You can pay everything with your card kahit train tickets na 1 euro lang... Maybe you can ask your bank if your card can have pin no.? We had trouble using our card in some of their self service machines especially in trains coz we don't use pincodes here, only signature.


a collapsible backpack would be a great help in carrying shopping items especially groceries. Plastics are with a cost, mga 10 pesos each ata Its very cost effective to buy water whenever you run into a grocery coz water there cost about 1 euro pero kapag sa labas ka na, 3 euros each na (150 pesos) ouch.

We used AirBnB a lot when in Europe. Just book in advance para madami pang choices. In our case, I booked a month in advance lang so few choices are available. Nakakatuwa siya since the hosts can give advices and information sometimes are hard to get in a french speaking countries. 

Be prepared to spend a lot as mahal ng mga food. But groceries are very good place to look for pasalubong na chocolates and lotions

Hope this helps!