Wednesday, April 21, 2010

In Paris At Last


Eight hours of train travel yesterday starting at 9 AM in Edinburgh got me to Paris about 6:30 PM. Thanks to Google maps I found the way from the close-by Odeon subway station to the Grand Hotel de Balcons with no problems. It's name is misleading; it's not really grand. It's in a great location on the Left Bank so I should have no problems walking to many places I want to see.

I think my room had a previous life as a broom closet. It will do for 2 nights, definitely. It has all the modern conveniences and is clean. My room's only 1 flight of stairs up from the lobby so all is grand at the Grand Hotel. First time I've had to pay for wifi internet (10€ per 24 hours). Continental breakfast at the hotel is optional for 12€. First thing I saw when I came out of the Underground was a Starbucks. I'll see if they have a pastry or muffin there to go with a cup of decaf.

I took no pictures yesterday; will make up for lost time in that department starting this morning. The weather forecast is good for the next couple of days; I noticed last night that the temp was definitely milder than Scotland and England. Still, it's 41 F as I write this at 6:30 AM, Paris time (6 hours ahead of ET--UK was only 5).

A blog post isn't complete without at least one picture so I'll include a shot of something that the Brits have that is admirable indeed--a kettle to boil water for tea:

Time to get moving--Paris is calling!

1 comment:

  1. I can't wait to hear about your first day in Paris! So glad you made it there and found your hotel even if it is not grand but compact...

    Enjoy the Paris nights of lights and fancy.

    Evie

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