Adventures by Disney London & Paris

Disney
is now offering a variety of unique vacation experiences with a little
sprinkle of pixie dust, Adventures by Disney. Chris and Beci Mahnken,
owners of MouseFanTravel.com are currently experiencing the Adventure
of a lifetime… An Adventure By Disney to London & Paris!
For more information about upcoming Adventure By Disney itineraries, visit:
MouseFanTravel.com.

Day
1, October 6, London
Day 2, October 7, London
Day 3, October 8, London
Day 4, October 9, London to Paris
Day 5, October 10, Paris
Day 6, October 11, Paris
Day 7, October 12, Paris

**********

Day 5 Drawn to Bohemia

Easily our
busiest single day so far & the writing for this trip report one never
seemed to end.

We
woke to a misty morning in Paris, and rather than go out to find breakfast
we decide to have it brought up to our Westin room. The food was on a
par with every other bit of room service I've ever had with one exception.
We've traveled all the way to Paris for the best orange juice either of
us has ever tasted, and not just a little bit better, this is like a different
league. This is like fresh squeezed vs. Tang. This is orange juice that
gets its own paragraph. I wouldn't fly to Paris just for this, but still,
quite good.

Our juice swallowed, we're down to our Paris coach and off to our first
stop, the Pompidou Center. Or rather the parking lot of the Centre Pompidou.
It seems that motor coaches aren't allowed near our real destination:
Ile de la Cité, the home of Our Lady of Paris, known to us as the
Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. On the way we got our first look at
a standard morning's traffic in Paris. It would seem that there are no
specific traffic laws here, only some rather vague suggestions. The chaos
is amazing, but then you begin to see that they seem to have some set
of inner rules that governs what car goes where next. I never did quite
understand the rules, but everybody seems to get where they're going with
a minimum of sheet-metal damage.

The walk
down to the cathedral was actually quite short. It was an extremely foggy
morning, so the pictures are a bit gray, but even in the fog Paris is
still a lovely city, with its cobbled streets and terrace lined buildings.
We crossed Pont Neuf to Ile de la Cité. Literally "New Bridge",
Pont Neuf is actually the oldest bridge across the Seine. Its name refers
to the fact that it was the first stone bridge in Paris, and was named
New Bridge by the people when it was first built. No matter what its name,
the views up and down the river from the bridge are enchanting. In this
instance we're looking up the river toward Ile Saint-Louis.

When we reached
the cathedral we discovered that right out front is the official center
of Paris. A small brass plaque of the Sun King (Louis XIV) marks the center
of Paris, so when you're on the road from Le Mans to Paris, and you see
a sign that says Paris – 187 km, you know exactly where that 187 km ends:
About 30 meters in front of Notre Dame de Paris. We spent a bit of time
taking pictures and learning the history Notre Dame.

A few minutes
later our guides conducted a poll of the group to see who would be interested
in climbing the tower. Sorry – no elevator this time. Most of the group
eagerly volunteered for the task and again we had the opportunity to experience
the Disney difference. We were taken around to the side of the cathedral
and handed the tickets that would allow us to skip the wait, skip the
lines, and head right to the torture… errr… I mean stair climb.

We
were ushered through a tiny door and into a very steep stone circular
stairway. 387 very warn steps later we had made it to the top of the Galerie
des Chimières, which is the level that connects the two bell towers.
Unlike most US cities, Paris is a city of Classical height. There are
few buildings higher than 5 stories and even fewer higher than 9 or 10.
The cathedral is one of those, rising about 16 stories above the river.
Once you reach the second to the top level the view is spectacular. You
also get the opportunity to be up close and personal with a gargoyle or
two and to view the infamous bell. If you can handle the climb (don't
forget you also have to work your way back down too!) I highly suggest
it.

The inside
of the Cathedral is spectacular also, but not in the same way as Westminster
in London. Notre Dame is fantastically beautiful, but lacks the insane
number of historical references that Westminster can claim. For hundreds
of years, the Kings of France were crowned in Reims, to the North East
of Paris. It wasn't until Napoleon was crowned Emperor of France that
Notre Dame was used for a coronation.

From Notre
Dame we crossed back over Pont Neuf, this time with the sky turning blue
as the morning fog burned away. Just down the river, still on the Ille
de la Cité is the Le Conciergerie, the last home and prison of
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Once we got back to our bus we headed north toward Montmartre, home of
two fantastic churches, a winery, an artist's colony, and one of the coolest
neighborhoods in Europe. We parked at the bottom of the hill as there
is just no way to get a bus up the narrow roads of Montmartre. So after
a short walk up a little market street we were provided tickets up the
funicular railway to the top of the hill. Once there we found ourselves
in very cool little square that would be our base for the afternoon. We
started off by wandering over thru the neighboring square full of artists.
Some of the people in our tour got their portraits painted, others joined
Beci and I in a search for food.

Crêpes are one of the classic street foods of Paris, and they're
simply brilliant. I can't recommend them enough. And so I got a fromage
et jambon crêpe (ham and cheese) and
Beci got a sandwich (it was good, but she admitted later that my crêpe
was better). We then shared a chocolate crêpe with four of our fellow
travelers, Jenni, Mickey, David, and Amber. We also learned to order Diet
Coke. From this point forward calls of "coke-a-lite" could be
heard at every meal, sometimes to the consternation of our French hosts
who drink wine with meals, and Coke as little as possible.

After our
improvised lunch Beci and I decided to go see the two churches. We started
with the smaller and older of the two, Saint Pierre de Montmartre build
in 1147. (Seriously? I still have a hard time wrapping my braina round
that fact.) From a visual standpoint it was probably my favorite, with
a slightly older heavier look to its construction, it looks like a place
where important things occurred in the history of the Catholic church,
and indeed they did. Saint Pierre is where the order of the Jesuits was
founded.

The
Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur is literally right behind Saint
Pierre. It is one of the most recently completed cathedrals in Europe
(Barcelona has one still under construction) having been finished less
than 100 years ago in 1914. Cameras and noise are prohibited in the Cathedral,
so I have no pictures of the interior, but I assure you it's worth the
visit. The outside is quite distinctive, and reminds me of a cross between
a Russian Orthodox church and a mosque.

We met our
entire party back at the square. Several were just finishing up the tiring
task of sitting for a portrait. Once the 16 of us were back together Alex
and Roni lead us down the side of the hill to meet a member of la Comanderie
du Clos MontMartre, the wine makers of Montmartre.

A short walk
from their hall we discovered a hidden gem of Paris. A vineyard hidden
on the back of the hill at Montmartre. The 1500 bottles of wine that are
produced each year at this exclusive winery, not open to the public, are
sold at auction, and the proceeds given to charity. I don't drink wine
at all, so I can't tell you how the tasting went, but Beci, the white,
late harvest and white wine lover in the family, seemed to think it was
"ok … for a red…" None the less, thanks to Disney,
we were given an opportunity to experience something that the usual tourist
not only overlooks, but doesn't have access to.

After we
finished our wine tasting we headed back to the hotel. Montmartre was
easily my favorite bit of Paris to this point, and whether you're in Paris
with Disney or on your own, I suggest spending a day up on Montmartre.
The bohemian ambiance is something you can't find anywhere else.

After a short
nap we were back up and dressed in our Paris best for a night out at the
best known tourist attraction in France. Our coach made quick work (OK,
not so quick, but impressive still in a giant coach) of the traffic. After
a quick stop to take some romantic pictures with the Eiffel Tower in the
background we proceeded to the Tower for dinner.

After a few
minutes wait we were ushered thru the standard Disney back door line passing
about an hours worth of people who now wish they had traveled with Disney,
but didn't. At the top of our short elevator ride we made it to the first
terrace level of the tower, at the 95 meter mark. Here we would have dinner
at Altitude 95.

A
note about dining. During the crossing of the Chunnel to get here, we
were asked to make our menu selections in advance. The guides provided
menus for each included meal and we just let them know our choices. When
we arrived at the restaurant, the menus with our choices were given to
us and our servers were easily able to identify who ordered what. When
you are feeding a large group, it's a very efficient way to stay organized.
The draw back is you need to have an idea of what you might be hungry
for, but when in Paris, there really wasn't a bad choice.

After dinner
Beci (just slightly terrified of heights) agreed to go up to the very
top. This is not a short building, and Beci on a small metal platform
nearly 300 meters above the ground was something of a miracle. Indeed,
until the Chrysler building and it's radio tower was finished in the 30s
the Eiffel tower was the tallest building in the world. Its still the
second tallest building in all of France, and easily the tallest in Paris.

Once we made
it to the top (even for me the ride up the elevator was a bit alarming)
we stepped out onto the walkway outside. With some coaxing Beci even made
it to the edge for a picture or two, and then it was back down to terra
firma.
We boarded the bus bound for the hotel to get some rest and prepare for
tomorrows adventure!