France - LaurenDecember 2, 2013
Hi Sharon, I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to write to you! Our trip was absolutely AMAZING. Everything went flawlessly and was just superb! I hope this helps you in the future with bookings! We are hoping to take another trip in a year when Phil is finishing med school and I’m in my second year of residency, so hopefully you’ll be around and can help us out again! Paris:Arriving in Paris, our driver was waiting. He couldn’t have been any nicer. He even gave us a little history lesson driving in. The hotel was wonderful. It was definitely a small, boutique style hotel (but how much time do you really spend in the hotel?!?!), but the location was superb. Multiple lines of the metro were EXTREMELY close and everything was within walking distance (the Louvre, the gardens, Latin Quarters, Notre Dame, Orsay, Orangerie, etc) The staff there was absolutely wonderful and very nice. Breakfast was also great. I would definitely recommend the hotel. Museum Pass was great and definitely a must for anyone going! Bypassed all of the huge lines, which was wonderful! Normandy,The bus tour was a great day trip. They took us to all of the sites. Definitely a day well spent and very glad we did that. Avignon,Hotel: UNBELIEVABLE room! The terrace (I attached a picture for you) overlooked the palace of the popes. We went to the market every morning and got fresh bread and cheese and ended up eating lunch on the terrace daily. A wonderful hotel. Breakfast was also great there. The staff was not as nice as the staff in Paris, but they were still pleasant. Tour of Chateauneuf-du-Pape: First, let me say if anyone wants to do a tour, set them up with Marlene Boyer at Experience Provence as you did with us. She was MARVELOUS. What a treat! She loves her town and has lived there her entire life. What a treat it was to spend a half day with her. When we go back, we have every intention of using her again. Definitely recommend her. The tour was great! We did a wine and chocolate pairing as well as visited a few chateaus. A real treat 🙂 Arles, We ended up in Arles rather than Aix b/c there were bull fights going on that weekend. What a day that was!!! Easy to get to by train (17 minutes and they run every 30-45 minutes) and a great little town. Also, if there are Van Gogh lovers, it was fun to see b/c they put up these plaques with his paintings next to what he painted. It was cute. Long story short, we loved Provence 🙂 Beaune:Hotel: A treat! We had a great terrace and the room was huge! Of the places we visited, it wasn’t our favorite, just because there wasn’t a ton to do. We probably would have done better with a car. We decided to book a wine tour on our own with Colette Barbier in Burgundy, and she was marvelous. She’s booked into next year, but she luckily had an opening. She’s a professor of wine and history of gastronomy and a local, so she knows her wine well. She even got us into a few wineries that were closed for the day in Cote de nuit. So, if anyone is going to Burgundy, just someone to keep in mind. So I think that sums everything thing up!!! If I missed anything, or you have a question let me know. Our trip was amazing and I’m still trying to get through all of the pictures!!! I was never able to find you on facebook, but I can always try to find you again so you can see all of the pictures once I get them up! Thanks again for all of your help!!
