Posts Tagged With: Historical Site

Our Time in Les Andelys and Le Pecq

Posted on March 28, 2023 by 2btravel

Return to International Travel – Introduction
Review: SWISS A340-300 ORD-ZRH and Marhaba Lounge ZRH
Lodging Review: Sina Villa Medici, Florence, Italy
Our Time In Florence, Part 1
Our Time In Florence, Part 2
Lodging Review: Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris, France
Our Time In Paris, Part 1 (Louvre, Sainte-Chappelle, Arc, Eiffel Tower)
Our Time In Paris, Part 2 (Versailles)
Our Time In Paris, Part 3 (Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay)
Viking Kari and an Afternoon in Montmartre
Our Time in La Roche-Guyon and Vernon/Giverny
Our Time on the Normandy Beaches
Our Time in Les Andelys and Le Pecq
Lodging Review: Renaissance Republique, Paris, France
Review: Air France A350 CDG-ORD

Les Andelys

Our next port of call was the town of Les Andelys. This quaint town was founded in the 6th century and its church has parts that date to the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. I recall touring it but apparently did not take photographs. I would have enjoyed touring the town more but with my knee situation I slowly walked with the group to the chateau.

Château Gaillard was the primary attraction for this stop. It was a medieval castle and its ruins now overlook the town.

Chateau from the town

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Categories: Attraction Review, Cruises, Europe, France, Historical Site, Tours, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time In Paris, Part 3 (Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay)

Posted on March 25, 2023 by 2btravel

Return to International Travel – Introduction
Review: SWISS A340-300 ORD-ZRH and Marhaba Lounge ZRH
Lodging Review: Sina Villa Medici, Florence, Italy
Our Time In Florence, Part 1
Our Time In Florence, Part 2
Lodging Review: Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris, France
Our Time In Paris, Part 1 (Louvre, Sainte-Chappelle, Arc, Eiffel Tower)
Our Time In Paris, Part 2 (Versailles)
Our Time In Paris, Part 3 (Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay)
Viking Kari and an Afternoon in Montmartre
Our Time in La Roche-Guyon and Vernon/Giverny
Our Time on the Normandy Beaches
Our Time in Les Andelys and Le Pecq
Lodging Review: Renaissance Republique, Paris, France
Review: Air France A350 CDG-ORD

On the day we were to board our Viking river cruise we spent the morning doing laundry and then caught a taxi over to where the boat was docked. Fortunately our cabin was ready so we dropped our bags there and set out for the Paris Catacombs.

Paris Catacombs

The Catacombs is in an area that was once a quarry outside the city. During the health crises in the late 18th century bones were shipped to the quarry for storage in the ossuary. Before being opened to the public in 1809 the bones, which had been carefully piled around, were organized to form walls in a number of different formats as you can see in the photos.

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It it a truly fascinating site and you are not supposed to touch any of the bones. Sometimes this is difficult as they’re on both sides of your path and you can’t seem but help to brush against them. Continue reading →

Categories: Attraction Review, Europe, France, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time In Paris, Part 2 (Versailles)

Posted on March 24, 2023 by 2btravel

Return to International Travel – Introduction
Review: SWISS A340-300 ORD-ZRH and Marhaba Lounge ZRH
Lodging Review: Sina Villa Medici, Florence, Italy
Our Time In Florence, Part 1
Our Time In Florence, Part 2
Lodging Review: Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris, France
Our Time In Paris, Part 1 (Louvre, Sainte-Chappelle, Arc, Eiffel Tower)
Our Time In Paris, Part 2 (Versailles)
Our Time In Paris, Part 3 (Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay)
Viking Kari and an Afternoon in Montmartre
Our Time in La Roche-Guyon and Vernon/Giverny
Our Time on the Normandy Beaches
Our Time in Les Andelys and Le Pecq
Lodging Review: Renaissance Republique, Paris, France
Review: Air France A350 CDG-ORD

Versailles

While our Viking cruise offered a paid half-day excursion to Versailles, we decided to do it on our own before the cruise even began. It was cheaper and we could explore at our leisure…and there is a LOT to explore! We bought tickets online ahead of time a few days in advance. Since the tickets are timed, this allowed us to get a morning time to tour the palace and then we had the rest of the day to explore the grounds and the Trianons. Had we waited to buy tickets on-site we would have toured the palace later in the day. Based on our experience I would advise touring the palace either first thing or last thing. The grounds are massive and you will spend a lot of time walking. There are several different ticket options and the one we bought included the palace, the grounds, the Trianons as well as an official guide book. I don’t know if there are other places to get this guide book but we went into the bookstore to get ours. The staff was not familiar with this book but after asking around we were given a book that costs €20 so we thought that was rather a good deal.

Chateau de Versailles

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Categories: Attraction Review, Europe, France, Historical Site, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time In Paris, Part 1 (Louvre, Sainte-Chappelle, Arc, Eiffel Tower)

Posted on March 23, 2023 by 2btravel

Return to International Travel – Introduction
Review: SWISS A340-300 ORD-ZRH and Marhaba Lounge ZRH
Lodging Review: Sina Villa Medici, Florence, Italy
Our Time In Florence, Part 1
Our Time In Florence, Part 2
Lodging Review: Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris, France
Our Time In Paris, Part 1 (Louvre, Sainte-Chappelle, Arc, Eiffel Tower)
Our Time In Paris, Part 2 (Versailles)
Our Time In Paris, Part 3 (Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay)
Viking Kari and an Afternoon in Montmartre
Our Time in La Roche-Guyon and Vernon/Giverny
Our Time on the Normandy Beaches
Our Time in Les Andelys and Le Pecq
Lodging Review: Renaissance Republique, Paris, France
Review: Air France A350 CDG-ORD

I’d never been to Paris so all the usual tourist stuff was on my list. I’d also heard the reputation of Parisians to be unwelcoming of those who don’t even try to speak French so I worked my way through all of my French I and a couple of disks of my French II CDs before departing. I realize we were in the touristy areas but I found folks very welcoming and friendly and was glad to see that this particular generalization was not true.

We arrived in Paris on a Saturday evening and wouldn’t be boarding our Viking longship until Wednesday so we had 3 full days plus some time on our own on Saturday evening and on Wednesday. While Viking offered a paid excursion to Versailles, we decided we’d rather do it on our own. We also noticed that there was no time allocated to visit the Louvre, which was also high on our list. To ensure we got to visit, we pre-purchased timed tickets to the Louvre for Monday (it’s closed on Tuesdays) and Versailles, which is closed on Mondays. As it turned out, I believe that was a wise choice for the Louvre but not quite as necessary for Versailles, though we went in October when it was not quite as busy as it would be during the summer.

On Sunday, our first full day in the city, we took the hop-on/hop-off bus and got a lay of the land, found some gems we weren’t aware of and basically just explored around parts of the city. Continue reading →

Categories: Attraction Review, Europe, France, Historical Site, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time In Florence, Part 2

Posted on March 21, 2023 by 2btravel

Return to International Travel – Introduction
Review: SWISS A340-300 ORD-ZRH and Marhaba Lounge ZRH
Lodging Review: Sina Villa Medici, Florence, Italy
Our Time In Florence, Part 1
Our Time In Florence, Part 2
Lodging Review: Park Hyatt Vendome, Paris, France
Our Time In Paris, Part 1 (Louvre, Sainte-Chappelle, Arc, Eiffel Tower)
Our Time In Paris, Part 2 (Versailles)
Our Time In Paris, Part 3 (Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay)
Viking Kari and an Afternoon in Montmartre
Our Time in La Roche-Guyon and Vernon/Giverny
Our Time on the Normandy Beaches
Our Time in Les Andelys and Le Pecq
Lodging Review: Renaissance Republique, Paris, France
Review: Air France A350 CDG-ORD

Galleria dell’Accademia

Our timed ticket for the Accademia Gallery had us leaving our hotel without breakfast though we’d had a cup of tea in the room. We didn’t know exactly where we were going but thanks to Google Maps we had a good idea of how to get there and how long it would take. Once again we’d pre-purchased timed-entry tickets and that is definitely the way to go here. I believe they sell out (almost) every day so if you want guaranteed entry, pre-purchase.

Once inside everyone else walked briskly to the back of the museum where I (rightly) assumed the David statue would be. We took a leisurely route to get there, including veering off to a separate wing to look at old musical instruments. We saw some beautiful old instruments including several made by Antonio Stradavari. One thing that fascinated me was this pair of hurdy-gurdys.

A pair of hurdy gurdys dating to 1775

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Categories: Attraction Review, Award Travel, Europe, Historical Site, Italy, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Visiting Dachau

Posted on April 15, 2019 by 2btravel

Trip Report: Amsterdam, Iceland and Munich
Review: Iberia A340-600 Business Class
Review: Kimpton DeWitt Amsterdam
A Brief Tour of Amsterdam
Review: Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Review: Radisson Blu 1919, Reykjavik
Review: Center Hotel Plaza, Reykjavik
A Week in Iceland
Review: aloft Munich
Visiting Dachau
A Brief Tour of Munich
Review: Hilton Munich Airport

I must admit I was originally a little hesitant about visiting Dachau, a former Nazi concentration camp. I was concerned the horror of what had occurred there would be too overwhelming. But I decided it was something important I needed to do and I’m very glad I visited.

Getting There

It’s quite easy to reach the city of Dachau from Munich, especially since we were already at the main train station. We took the S2 train to Dachau, which is about a 25-minute ride. Then we caught the 726 bus to the camp entrance. The site is open from 9 AM to 5 PM each day except Christmas Eve. If you’re using public transport, I would try to arrive either right at 9 AM or wait until midday. We arrived in the city of Dachau mid-morning as did several tour groups. They filled up the first bus that arrived so we had to wait awhile for the next one on the route. But the bus does let you out right at the front entrance to the camp.

Services

In the Visitors Center you’ll find the ticket counter, restrooms, the cafeteria and the bookshop. We had a snack in the cafeteria after we toured the site and found that not only do they have typical snack foods, they also had hot meals available.

If you’re not with a group you can join a 2.5 hour guided tour for just €3.50. Tour times depend on which language the guide will be speaking. Audio guides come in a number of languages and are available for €4. Along with the guide booklet, you can go at your own pace and as you come to an exhibit that interests you, just enter the exhibit’s number into the guide and it will tell you about what you’re seeing.

There is a free film included with your admission. The theater is located in what was once the maintenance building and is now the exhibition space. The film runs about 20-25 minutes and is shown every half hour. Check the times to be able to view it in the language of your choice. Minimum age for the film is 14 (excluding babies) as there are, obviously, disturbing images of the camp victims. Continue reading →

Categories: Europe, Germany, Historical Site | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

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