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Travel Diary – 21st June 16 – Paris Day Five

July 5, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Day Five was the last of our holiday and really just a short day as it literally consisted of heading home. We were awake early, as the shuttle bus from our hotel was 7.15am and we didn’t want to miss it. We had already backed the night before, so really it was a case of tugging on some clothes and tumbling out of the hotel. Though we made it on time for the shuttle bus, it was very full and so another bus was send to take a second load. We were in this one and it wasn’t a problem as we didn’t need to be at the airport until 8am.

After arriving at the airport, we made our way to check-in. We were nice and early which was good as we didn’t have to rush. It was also Nat’s first time flying and she was a bit nervous, so rushing would definitely have made that worse for her. Once we had checked in and gone through security, we took a walk around the shops. Nat had some Euros left to spend and so she bought some gifts for her boys and then we both raided another vending machine for some water and chocolate to take on the plane. Eventually we just headed for our gate and sat there waiting until we were called. We were some of the first to check-in at the gate, but actually this just meant waiting on another shuttle bus to be taken to the plane. However after about a fifteen minute wait, we were on our way to the plane and then we got off and boarded the plane from the tarmac.

The plane was one of the smallest I have ever traveled on and also it was only about a third full. This made for a very quiet plane ride though so I can’t say I was complaining. Nat and I settled into our seats, with really no one that near to us. It was actually really nice, again especially as she was a bit nervous. Once we were up in the air, items from the cafe and duty free were offered and Nat and I got very excited at the prospect of a cup of tea. Having only been able to find Earl Grey or Mint tea, we had gone almost five days without a cuppa and this was really becoming a struggle. Despite tea being £2.50 a cup on the plane, we still paid it and enjoyed it. The tea wasn’t even that great – but it was so needed.

The plane took just over an hour and then we were back in Doncaster. This was much nicer than if we’d traveled into London as it felt like we were almost home. My mum was there to meet us at the airport and she drove us back to Retford where I had left my car. Nat and I then drove home to Gainsborough, were we drank tea and pretty much collapsed. This was basically the end of our trip. We had a really great time for the most part, though being/getting ill and then getting soaked were really some lows of the holiday. I think we’d both agree there were more highs than lows but I was definitely glad to be home and seeing the girls and Chris was definitely a great moment.

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Travel Diary – 20th June 16 – Paris Day Four

July 4, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

By Day Four of our trip, our holiday was almost over! We had traveled on Day One, then attended the Fairytales Convention both Day Two and Day Three (as well as sight-see) and so by Day Four we were on our last whole day and this was to be spent in Disneyland Paris. Although I’ve been lucky enough to visit Disneyland Paris four times before, this was Nat’s first time. We had decided to Disneybound for the day and I had even made us Disney Ears to match. Sadly, even from the start of the day, we knew it was going to be a wet one and so taking an outfit picture was going to be unlikely.

When we got up in the morning, we both got dressed and ready. Nat was being Captain America and I was being Ariel. The hotel was too dim and there wasn’t really much room to photograph our outfits and so instead we decided we would try to take something in the park. However even on the way to CDG airport to catch the train, the rain started and we wondered if once again my curse to not have sunshine at Disney was about to strike!

The picture above, is pretty much the best picture that we managed to take all day. You can’t see our outfits at all but I was wearing a purple t-shirt, with green jeans and mint coloured shoes and a handbag. Nat was wearing royal blue jeans, red converse and a Captain America t-shirt. As I mentioned, we had ears to match!

When we first arrived at Disney, we headed into the Studios. I wanted Nat to ride Ratatouille while we were there, so snagging a fast pass was important – and she wanted to ride Hollywood Tower of Terror, so that was also top of the list. After getting our fast passes for Ratatouille, we did ride Hollywood Tower next. We then got a fast pass for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and then went on Armageddon Special Effects. We then did the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster, followed by the Studio Tram Tour – all of which we managed, without getting too wet. However during the Tram Tour, the rain really started to come down. After getting off, we decided to head for food so we got Quick Service at the Front Lot. Despite the fact we ended up sitting on the floor, food was actually pretty nice. However after that it was time for Ratatouille and the rain was still coming down hard. Due to the fact we were Disneybounding, unfortunately we didn’t have coats – this was a bad move as we got completely soaked too and from Ratatouille, eventually ducking into the toilets to try and dry ourselves off.

Finally we headed over to the other park. There actually wasn’t a huge amount we wanted to do here, as a lot of the bigger rides are closed. Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain are both closed for maintenance right now and other than the parade and fireworks, we were really just going to see what didn’t have too much of a queue. Sadly on the trip between parks, we got drowned again. You can probably see from the picture below, just how wet it was.

The rain was still coming down hard and it showed no sign of letting up. There isn’t a huge amount of cover and although we headed for the castle, we didn’t want to just sit in there and shelter from the rain indefinitely. Instead we headed towards the Indiana Jones roller coaster, which I hadn’t ridden before. We didn’t realise it was outdoor either but by the time we got there, we were soaked anyway and with only a 10 minute queue, we figured “what the hell”. Sadly though, when we got off, we were pretty much done. It was only about 4pm and the thought of even making it till 5.30pm for the parade was unlikely, let alone the fireworks at 10-11pm.

As we’d walked through the two parks, I’d been half looking for a hoodie or jacket to buy, so I could take off my wet top and get warm again. In the end I bought a white DLP one as I liked it the most of all I’d seen and we headed into the toilets to dry off. We were lucky enough to find a toilets that was pretty much deserted AND with four hand dryers. I quickly slipped off my top and on with my jacket and then dried off my top. Nat dried her cardigan and once that was dry, switched like I had and dried her t-shirt. All in all, I think we were in that bathroom for almost an hour but honestly it was so worth it. I had been tempted to just wear my jacket and actually ditch my t-shirt, however I managed to dry it pretty well and put it back on.

Rocking the drowned rat look

By mutual decision, we headed out of the park and back to the train. We bought a ticket on the fast train again, but there was an hour to wait so we found ourselves a seat and refused to move so as not to lose it. At about 10 minutes before our train, we raided the venting machines for a drink, crisps, sweets etc. all to take back to the hotel. This is because we didn’t want to risk another plate of cold meats, fish and whatnot that we couldn’t eat! Eventually we were back at the hotel, freezing cold and incredibly tired. We both got changed into our pjs and climbed into bed, hoping to make it till about 10pm and then go to sleep. The evening dragged a little and neither of us could really warm up. While we’d had a good day, it felt a bit ruined by the rain and even more so now we were cold and feeling rough. However eventually we headed to bed, knowing we were getting up early and heading home in the morning!

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Travel Diary – 19th June 16 – Paris Day Three

July 1, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

So I’ve recapped on Day One and Two of our holiday so far and this is Three! Though I didn’t mention before, the week before we went away, I was really ill. By the Friday we left, I was feeling a bit better but I was fairly dosed up on paracetamol. However by Saturday I wasn’t feeling much better and I’d managed to infect Nat, so Sunday morning we were both feeling a bit rough, especially after our late night. We got up in time to go to the convention but in the end both of us agreed that other than some autographs in the afternoon, there wasn’t much happening at the convention that day that we wanted to do. In the end we decided to do some more sightseeing, checking our bags into the convention first as we were moving hotel that day. We headed to McDonalds and grabbed a quick breakfast, which luckily left us both feeling a bit better.

We caught the train from Versailles, back towards the centre of Paris and here we walked to the Louvre. This was a place I had hopped to see on my last trip and had been unable to, so it was top of my list when it came to places to visit still. The weather was nice and so walking was fine. We made sure we kept a bottle of water with us and plenty of pain killers, just taking our time and sitting every now and again. We also thought about visiting Yellowstone & Tetons Family Adventure after we finished this trip, just gathering some friends and having fun touring!

After seeing the Louvre (only from the outside) we decided to walk up towards the Arc De Triomphe, along the Champs-Élysées. It took us about an hour in total, though we did stop off at the Disney Store on the way.

Finally, after a sit down and catch our breath, we caught a train back to the main line we needed to be on. The stop was the same as the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to get out and see the tower in the day time too. At the station there was a shop selling fresh baguettes and so we both bought lunch. After seeing the Eiffel Tower (and the football it was hosting, in honour of the Euros) we sat and ate our lunch before finally heading back to Versailles.

Back at the convention, we got our last few autographs and then checked out with our bags. We now had the long journey from Versailles to CDG airport, where we would catch a shuttle bus to our hotel for the next two nights. Unfortunately the shuttle bus wasn’t the easiest thing to figure out and at first we ended up on the wrong one. However eventually we arrived at our hotel and checked in. The restaurant was closed by that time but they made us up a starter plate and dessert plate to take back to our room. Sadly the food wasn’t really anything we liked and by trying to manage some of it, we put ourselves off even eating the desserts! In the end we just headed to bed, feeling ill, cold and tired but knowing Disney was the next day and trying to look forward to it.

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