Travel to Spain via Paris
Tour "Ola Spain" TO "Accord"
travel time July 03 to July 17.2010
Information from the information sheet: Departure from Lviv 10-30, accompanying guide Olesya Mikhalchyshyn,
Bus "Neoplan" for 42 seats. Drivers Mikhail and Zinovy. The group consisted of 38 tourists. Since the first 4 places were not occupied by tourists, the bus was 100% full.
The first day.
We left Lviv on time at 10-30, exactly on schedule, as indicated in the information sheet. The bus was serviceable, video and air conditioning worked fine, which was very useful in the heat that came to Europe. Tea and coffee were not promised in the information sheet, so none of the tourists asked.
We crossed the border in a record 2 hours, in the evening we were already in Demeter's cellar for a tasting of Tokay wines. Since I had been there before, they recognized me. As always, the wines and goulash were very good. Bought a couple of bottles of wine there. At Demeter you can pay in euros.
Then transfer to Budapest. At about 11 p. m. , we settled in Budapest at the Arena 4* hotel. I have already stayed in this hotel in October, and I knew that it was comfortable. My husband and I still managed to run to the Tesco supermarket, which is a 15-minute walk from the hotel, and bought a large bottle of Unicum there so as not to waste time looking for the next day. Everywhere in Hungary I paid with a bank card with Eurocurrency, I did not exchange currency for forints.
Second day.
Breakfast in the "Arena" is excellent as always, departure for the tour at 8-30. It was right, because at 10 o'clock it was already hot. I had already been to Budapest before, but for the sake of my husband I went on the tour again. Guide to Budapest Elena, enthusiastically and interestingly led the tour. At the survey, I bought a book about Budapest, which I didn’t have yet. At about 12 o'clock we started free time, and we go to the Szé chenyi baths. Tickets on Sunday are more expensive than on a working day: 3250 forints each. Paid again by card. The baths were very nice. I have already visited the baths in Egerszalok, and here in Section it was even more interesting.
We have time until 16-00, but we still have time to have lunch, so at about 14 o'clock we leave the baths and start looking for the Paprika cafe. We ask passers-by, the police, they show us in completely different directions. We went just at random, and then we met our guide to Budapest, Elena, who was waiting for the next group, and she took us right to the cafe, and even asked the waiters to serve us quickly, since we had less than an hour left. We order two soups and some meat and chips, one serving for two, as the portions are huge. Everything is served to us quickly, everything is fresh and tasty, plus a glass of beer. As a result, we paid 15 euros for two, and full and satisfied with a quick step, we go to the Heroes' Square to the bus. For those who will also be looking for this cafe: go along the street where the hourglass and the bus stop are located, from the Heroes' Square for about a kilometer, and on the right side of the street there will be this cafe.
At 16-00 the group goes to Gyor for the night. Accommodation in the hotel "Raba 3 *", and then a walking tour of the town. The room is average, with a hair dryer, but no air conditioning. The room is hot. The tour dragged on a little, the local guide Tatyana really wanted to show the beauties of her town. Although there is nothing special to see there, except perhaps from the bridge the confluence of 3 rivers: the Danube, Raba and Rabka. In my opinion, it would be better if we walked around Budapest for another three hours. On the main square we buy local ice cream, very tasty. I liked the way the townspeople spend their day off: all families with children sit on the main square in cafes, here are fountains and children run along these fountains. Everywhere is calm and clean. I envied you well.
Breakfast at the Rab was quite normal, almost like at the Arena, this is one Danubius hotel chain. Departure is very early at 7-30, and already at 2 pm we arrived in Salzburg. Our guide Eugene was already waiting for us, and I must say that he conducted the tour brilliantly. It can be seen that the person is not indifferent, and not just serving the queue. The tour started from the Mirabell Park and ended near the monastery under the hill with the fortress. Along the way, he showed where you can have lunch in a cafe with a Russian menu, where is a supermarket, and where it is better to buy souvenirs. Although we only had time until 17-15, we were in time everywhere, had lunch in a cafe: for 2 Viennese schnitzels and two beers we paid 34 euros; bought a book about Salzburg, went to the supermarket "Billa" for cuts and sweets "Mozart", took pictures of Mirabell Park. The experience of Salzburg is unforgettable. I want to go there again.
After Salzburg transfer to Germany in Hockenheim to the transit hotel Ramada 3*. Check-in at the hotel at 23-30. I must say that the hotel in Hockenheim with their 3 stars is much better than in Gyor. There was everything: hair dryer, air conditioner and refrigerator. We were so happy that there is a refrigerator, we put all our supplies of cold cuts and cheeses that we bought in Salzburg into it, and this played a cruel joke on us.
Departure is scheduled for 9:00. The breakfast is excellent, after breakfast we still went out, walked around the town, and the most interesting thing is that the locals were the first to greet us in English. We relaxed a lot during the walk, came to the hotel, took our bags, got on the bus and left. And they left all their supplies in the refrigerator in the room. The road to Paris was long and hungry, there were no stops for a snack, only short ones for a toilet. And here we only remembered our cuts and cheeses. You should have seen my husband's face when I announced to him that everything was left in the hotel. But what's done is done, and we courageously gnawed the biscuits left over from Ukraine, and washed down with mineral water, which we overstocked in duty free at the border, and went to conquer Paris. We went to Paris for the first time.
At 16-30 we arrive in Paris, and immediately go to the bus tour "The first date with Paris. " We circle Paris for about an hour, look out the window, and everything really stuns us. We make photo stops near the Invalides Cathedral and on the observation deck, from which the Eiffel Tower is best seen. After the bus, we go to the boat, swim for an hour on the Seine, and again the culture shock from what we saw. After the boat, we go to the Montparnasse tower, Views of Paris from above, as the completion of the shock, and we are no longer able to perceive reality today. It's good that after that we were taken to a hotel. Hotel «Comfort Median 3*». Located in the 17th district, but not far from the metro station. The hotel itself is modest, the room is of medium size, but there was a hair dryer, air conditioning and a telephone, I dropped the phone number in our room via SMS, and the children called us via Skype from Ukraine directly to the room. After settling in, part of the group went to the Moulin Rouge, but my husband set the condition that we were going to look for a grocery store, and no cabaret. This is how I was punished for my forgetfulness.
We crossed over to the other side of the road, and ended up on the Boulevard Clichy, which led directly to Montmartre. As it turned out later, to the famous hill and the Sacré -Coeur Cathedral, half an hour walk at a leisurely pace. But then we had another task: to find a grocery store. It was already about 23:00, everything was already closed, the area is not particularly safe. But we entered the alleys as soon as we saw a luminous shop window, and our search was crowned with success. We found a small grocery store where we bought everything that could be edible: bread, vacuum-packed salami slices, tomatoes, apples and beer. The seller was an Arab, which is probably why the store was open. On the way back to the hotel, we met young people from our bus who were on their way to Montmartre and were also looking for a grocery store. We showed them the way to the store, for which they were very grateful to us, since everyone was also hungry. And so they skimped there, and went for a walk on the hill. We arrived at the hotel around 24:00, and since we were carrying a small electric kettle with us, we quickly made boiling water and had a normal dinner. But I will remember this day for a long time.
There was also a very interesting moment in this hotel. A Parisian homeless person lives in the courtyard of this hotel, although you can’t immediately determine that he is a homeless person by appearance, he is dressed quite decently and not dark-skinned. The husband went out to smoke on the porch of the hotel, and a man approached him and gestured for a cigarette. Well, my husband, of course, did not refuse, And my husband smokes strong Ukrainian Troika cigarettes. He lit a cigarette, then raised his thumb up, i. e. liked it, and went to the courtyard of the hotel. Early in the morning, when before breakfast the husband again went out to smoke, the same man again approached him and again asked him to smoke. But by this time, the husband was already running out of cigarettes, and he showed an empty pack. After that, the man went to the dustbin and began to rummage there, found a cigarette butt and happily showed it, and only then did the husband realize that he was in front of a Parisian bum. In the evening of the same day, the same bum was again at the hotel, and, seeing her husband, greeted him as his friend. It was very funny and touching at the same time. Those. even the homeless there are not embittered and friendly.
Breakfast is almost normal, the only thing is that you had to wait for the cut to be served. It was the busiest day of excursions. We planned to leave at 8:30. But when the whole group was near the bus, it turned out that our leader Olesya was not there. The night before, she drove part of the group to the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and overslept corny. The driver woke her up. It's good that we knew what room she was in, because in the evening we had a problem with the lock in the room, and she left us her card from the room, but then we were given a card from another room, and we did not use her number, but left her card for her at the reception. We left half an hour later at 9 o'clock.
In the morning we had a walking tour of the center near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the island of the City, then we went to Versailles at 11 o'clock, then returned to Paris, and we had an hour and a half of free time. At 5 pm we had an excursion to the Louvre, and at 8 pm we were taken to Montmartre, where we stayed until dark. Four excursions in one day was cool even for a tour lover like me. The husband began to mutter quietly in Montmartre that this excursion was already superfluous.
When we had free time, we went to the Monopri supermarket and bought two bottles of French wine: Merlot and Bordeaux, as well as the book Art and History, Paris and Versailles. The book is not cheap, 16 euros. But I'd rather save on something else than books. Another interesting moment. We had free time before an excursion to the Louvre, and everyone was seriously stocked with purchases. But they were not allowed into the Louvre with packages, so our Olesya collected all our packages and dragged their tincture onto the bus herself. This made up for my morning tardiness.
Tours of Versailles and the Louvre were conducted by Irina. She, of course, tried, but neither in Versailles nor in the Louvre were they offered us headphones, and since Paris is now being torn to pieces by tourists, there were so many people of Chinese-Asian origin in both museums that neither pass nor look closer with the whole group there was no real possibility. And Irina's voice is weak, she could only be heard by those standing next to her. With a group of 38 people, even those who stood in the second row did not hear anything. I did not push along with the group, and went forward myself. I just visually enjoyed the splendor I saw. And the book I bought will help me restore these pictures in my memory. The husband pushed courageously along with the group.
And guests from heaven with tiny children in carriages, squeaking from heat and hunger, pushed everyone and everywhere, and penetrated into all the cracks. It was strange for me to see this, since we still have a different mentality. We would never drag our young children around museums with huge masses of people, in terms of their health and safety. But apparently not everyone thinks so. There was a family in our bus with a boy of 12-13 years old. So, instead of excursions to museums, they went to Disneyland themselves, and it was the right decision.
Alexandra was our guide in Montmartre. We started our tour near the Moulin Rouge. On a gentler path, we gradually climbed the hill, deliberately passed by Dalida's mansion and her small monument. Alexandra told us that this is already a new bust of Dalida, since the first one was made of a thin sheet of bronze and the fans rubbed one of Dalida's breasts to the holes. The new bust is already made from durable dark metal, and is still intact.
We had a stop near the "Man passing through the wall. " At the top of the hill we went to the Sacré -Coeur, but after a day of excursions, we already did not perceive the beauty of the cathedral. Then we went down the stairs to the shopping street, bought souvenirs and went out to the bus.
After Montmartre, we arrived at the hotel completely exhausted, to raise our tone, we opened a bottle of French wine and dined with everything we bought in the supermarket in the center, and there was a rich choice.
Standard breakfast for Paris, and we check out of the hotel and go to the south of France. On the way we stop for an excursion to Fontainebleau Castle. Everyone who paid for the tour went to the castle, the rest went to wander in the center of the town. Of course we went to the castle. That's where we liked it! Spacious, few people and a good audio guide in Russian. Slowly, we moved from hall to hall, listened to the necessary information, and calmly examined all the exhibits. In terms of luxury, the castle is inferior to Versailles only in the external design of the palace and park. And the interior design is just as rich, there is only a mirror gallery. This tour was a balm for the soul for us.
Approximately 2.5 hours was enough for us to see the castle and the park, and we go further south to a transit hotel. On the way, one beautiful landscape is replaced by another no less beautiful, and we somehow imperceptibly quickly arrived at our Mercury Hotel in Milho, when it was still light. We settled in and went downstairs to the bar to drink beer. The beer was good but expensive. The shops around were already closed. It was a discovery for us that in such towns shops close very early. At 19 o'clock everything was already closed, except for cafes and bars. The Hotel Mercouri was the best hotel in France along the entire route. Beautiful spacious rooms with new furniture and a full range of services, and a view from the window directly to the local beautiful cathedral, with its two turrets, reminiscent of the Parisian Notre Dame in miniature. Great overnight stay in a great hotel.
To be continued…
