"Paris Chords in 2010"
On August 15-26, I went on the Parisian Chords tour. This was my second trip with Accord after Prague Romance.
Day 1. A representative of the travel agency meets us on the platform and accompanies us to the bus stop. Our bus arrived only at 8:50, so we left later than everyone else - at 9:20. The leader of the group was Nazar Kosanyak, the drivers were Misha and Slavik. Before departure, the group leader gave us envelopes with our passports and the necessary information about the visited objects. We stood at the border for about two hours - this is not much, considering that our bus was not the first in line. There were no incidents at the border, we quickly drove through Poland and entered the territory of the Czech Republic. Around 21:00 our bus was stopped by the police. Two policemen entered the salon and checked our passports. At about 23:00 we stopped for the night at the Hotel Flora*** (Olomouc).
Day 2. In the morning we get on the bus. Since Accord does not collect passports now, Nazar checked the passports of tourists before each check-out from the hotel. After driving for three hours, at about 11:00 we stopped at the Melikana self-service restaurant, 70 kilometers from Prague. We were given one hour for lunch, which I don't think is practical given that the hotel had a breakfast (buffet) at 7:00. Last year we also stayed at Melikana, but that was in the afternoon, after the tour of Olomouc, when lunch was quite appropriate. On the way, Nazar introduced us to the Czech language. The phrase “Pozor! Policie voruje! " - "Attention! Police alert! " We arrived in Prague around noon. Immediately went on a tour "Introduction to Prague. " This year, the sightseeing tour was shorter, there was no visit to the Wallenstein Palace, but we were shown the narrowest street in the city, where even two people cannot pass each other. After the tour, check-in at the Ariston**** hotel, located near Wenceslas Square. Further - an optional excursion "Shadows of the Old City" - acquaintance with the legends of old Prague. We return to the hotel around 23:00.
Day 3. In the morning - an optional excursion to the castle of Sychrov, in which the French princes de Rogan lived for some time. The cost is 40 euros. We teamed up with a group that followed the route "Italy - the taste of temptation" and went with their leader - Natalia Lozova. The program that Nazar handed out on the first day indicated an organ concert during a visit to the castle, in fact there was none. Thus, the tourists were misinformed. On the Accord website, there is no talk of a concert either. I would like to. To make the content of the program correspond to reality.
Further - optional excursions on a boat along the Vltava and the Beer Roads of Prague. The first tour is interesting for those who are in the city for the first time, and the second one is for alcohol lovers. I did not go to them, but climbed the bell tower of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, from where a panorama of Prague opens.
There are a lot of exchange offices in Prague, but almost all of them work dishonestly. Large numbers write one course, and exchange it differently. Therefore, it is necessary to exchange only where the guide says. One of these honest exchangers is located behind the New Yorker store on Wenceslas Square, the other is in the Passage store - Arabs work there.
Day 4. Check-out from the hotel was delayed for 30 minutes, as some tourists overslept the pick-up time. Nazar warned that there were 47 tourists in the group, and such antics were unacceptable. Arriving in Nuremberg, we immediately went on a walking tour. We were shown the Kaiserburg fortress, Dü rer's house and the Hauptmarkt square, which still houses a small market. Free time was not enough - about one hour. Despite the fact that it took 7 minutes to get to the bus from the main square, where the tour ended, without turning, some managed to be late, delaying our bus for another half an hour. Nazar promised that next time he would not wait, but would give the address where the bus was going, and those who were late would take a taxi. There were no more delays. After Nuremberg - another move to Trier, where we settled in the wonderful hotel NH Trier ***.
Day 5. Transfer to the city of Luxembourg - the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The guide was Dimitri, a Russian-speaking resident of Germany who comes to Luxembourg to work. The tour took an hour - the city of Luxembourg is very small. We were shown the parliament, near which there is no security, and the government building, in the courtyard of which you can safely enter. Luxembourg is a constitutional monarchy headed by Grand Duke Henri, whose palace is located next to the Parliament. Free time in Luxembourg, as in Nuremberg, was very small - one hour. Prices in the country are very high, and salaries are among the highest in the world - an average of 4.000 euros. After Luxembourg we will move to Paris. The bus tour "First date with Paris" starts at the Hotel de Ville square. After that, the program gives a choice - a walk along the Seine or the Eiffel Tower. Both excursions are optional, the leader does not accompany the group. I must say that the author of the program was mistaken again - in the two hours it takes to walk along the Seine, it is impossible to see the Eiffel Tower, because the line at the ticket office is huge, and the check-in at the hotel is scheduled immediately after the river walk. It is better to allocate a free day to the tower. That same evening we are going to the Median Châ tillon*** hotel. The hotel is rather modest, but the rooms are spacious and all amenities are available (on the forums they write that hotels in Paris are terrible). The hotel is located behind the Peripheric (circular road), in the normal area of Châ tillon, near the bus stop.
Day 6. Excursion "Magic of Paris" - visiting the island of Cité and Notre Dame Cathedral, as well as a short walk through the old streets of Paris. After that - an optional excursion "Bows and Diamonds" - Versailles, the residence of the Bourbon dynasty. The Versailles Garden was not very impressive, the fountains do not work, and in appearance Versailles is inferior to the Russian Peterhof. In the Palace of Versailles, among other things, we were shown the Mirror Gallery, where in 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed. After Versailles, we get on the bus and go to the Louvre. The tour is also very interesting, we were given headphones that allow us to hear the guide at a distance of 100 m. The last, fourth tour of the day is “Legendary Montmartre”. Montmartre is the highest hill in Paris, where the Secre Coeur Cathedral stands. Of all the places in Paris, Montmartre was my least favorite. This is a cross between Troyeshchina and Borshchagovka. Dirty streets with heaps of rubbish, questionable establishments, cheap pubs, suspicious-looking subjects roaming the streets in search of adventure. . . Artists, writers, artists have long lived and worked in Montmartre - and now it is one of the centers of the creative life of Paris. But in the evening it is better not to walk around this area alone. And in general, I would not like to be there again. We returned to the hotel late.
Day 7. On this day, optional excursions "Castles of the Loire" or the castle of Fontainebleau and "Following the footsteps of the royal musketeers" were planned, but there were few who wanted to, and they were canceled. The whole group had a free day. Breakfast was scheduled for 8:30, but when we arrived at the restaurant on the 1st floor of the hotel, we found the door closed. Only at 9:10 we were opened. The same story repeated the next day. This is the only serious drawback of the Châ tillon hotel. First of all, we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower. From the hotel it was necessary to go 4 minutes by bus to the metro station Châ tillon-Montrouge (this is the final station of line 13). Then at the Montparnasse - Bienvenü e station we transfer to line 6 to the Bir-Hakeim station. It is from this station that the closest to go to the tower. Near each of the four pillars of the tower there is a ticket office, there is a huge queue for each. We stood for 75 minutes because there are fewer tourists in the morning. And sometimes you have to stand for several hours. Moreover, each person stands in line for himself, it is not customary to approach acquaintances standing in line. Ticket price depends on age. Adults pay 13.10 euros, children and youth from 12 to 24 years old - 9 euros. There is also a queue for the elevator, but less, about 15 minutes. At the second level of the tower, you need to change to another elevator to get to the third level. The view from the tower is amazing, of course. On the second and third levels, you can spend an hour, so visiting the tower takes 4-5 hours, i. e. half of the tour. Not far from the tower is the Pont Alexandre III. You can also visit Les Invalides, in whose cathedral Napoleon I Bonaparte is buried.
Day 8. Optional excursion to Disneyland and evening visit to the Moulin Rouge cabaret. I did not visit any of the programs, but our fellow travelers liked it. It was my first time in Paris, so I decided to get to know him better. I took a high-speed elevator to the observation deck of the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper, from where you can see all of Paris.
From the metro station Montparnasse - Bienvenü e you can get to the end station of the 6 line Charles de Gaulle - É toile. From it we exit to Place de l'Etoile - Charles de Gaulle, on which stands the Arc de Triomphe. This area can only be crossed through the underpass, because. the movement is very intense. From it to the Place de la Concorde, you can walk along the Champs Elysees or take the metro along line 1.
To walk around Paris on your own, you need to take a map of the city from the hotel. The metro has 14 lines, each has its own color. At some stations, 3-4 lines intersect, and at Châ telet station - even 5. The interval of trains is about five minutes. Buses run rarely, they must be stopped with a wave of the hand (like minibuses). Disembarkation is also on request. Stops are not announced or written on the scoreboard, so you need to be careful not to pass the desired stop.
Most of the inscriptions and signs are in French. Many Parisians do not know English, so it is better to learn common phrases and numerals in French. It is a pity that we were not given mini-phrasebooks, as last year in the Czech Republic.
Attention! There is a special kind of scam in Paris that I have not seen in any other city. Several young people of European appearance approach the tourist and ask him to sign some piece of paper. After that, they demand money "to help the starving. " In this case, I simply pretended that I did not understand French and that I was in a hurry.
Day 9. Check out from the hotel and drive to Baden-Baden. There is no excursion service, only it is proposed to visit the baths. I didn't visit, I just walked around the city for three hours. Shops close very early, so I recommend buying souvenirs first. After Baden, we get on the bus and go to the transit hotel Radisson BLU **** in Karlsruhe - the best of all in which we lived. Spacious rooms, beautiful design, perfect cleanliness. They even put an edition of the New Testament in English, French and German on the bedside table. The buffet is also wonderful, especially after the meager breakfasts in France.
Day 10. From Karlsruhe we drive to Cesky Krumlov, a small town in South Bohemia. We were accommodated in a private hotel Rajsky ***. The hotel is very bad and does not correspond to three stars. The rooms are decent, but there are a lot of mosquitoes that the management "can't do anything about". There were also spiders in other rooms. Hotel Vltava is much better. And the breakfast is continental, ie. portioned. In addition, there are dirty dishes. At the reception - either no one, or Mr. Raysky himself - the owner of the hotel. They also have a problem with staff. A big request to the Accord Tour company: do not cooperate with the Rajský hotel.
In the evening after settling in, having dinner at the medieval restaurant "Prison", we went on an evening tour of Krumlov. The guide Dasha told us the legends of the city - each building in the city center has its own history. And today, according to her, ghosts sometimes appear there.
Day 11. Long drive from Krumlov to Krakow. A city tour takes about an hour and a half, another hour is free time. At 21:00 we get on the bus and go to check in at the transit hotel Sezam *** in the city of Makhova.
Day 12. Check out from the hotel and drive to the Polish-Ukrainian border. We walk through it for almost two hours. On this day, Nazar gave us questionnaires in which we assessed his work, the quality of excursions, hotels, breakfasts. We arrived in Lviv at about 15:00, and everyone managed to catch their trains without any problems.
While moving, we watched Election Day, Radio Day, What Men Talk About, Matchmakers, and episodes of Evening Quarter. All tourists were happy. Many thanks to the Accord Tour company and personally to the head of the group Nazar Kosanyak for the professional organization of the trip.
