Tours

Thinking About a Self-Guided Trip to Europe?

Picture of Parliament at night in Budapest
Thinking About a
Self-Guided Trip To Europe?

If you are planning a trip to Europe where you will be traveling via airplanes, trains and the metro and you have never done it here at home, you may be in for a rude awakening.

Most of our trips had been by car or by car to the airport followed with a rental car or a shuttle to the hotel or resort.

Each one of us almost always had one 24″-26″ roller bag that was checked plus a 22″ carry on plus a personal bag like a purse or computer case or book bag style backpack for personal stuff that you wanted to have handy at all times.

We were not ready for the challenge of hauling all of our suitcases up and down 2-3 flights of stairs to get from one metro train to another, nor were we really familiar with how to navigate the metro system with all of those bags.

If you are planning such a trip, I suggest that you do what I heard Rick Steves say in one of his videos(that you will find on this page). He said to pack your bags, take a short trip via train, bus and subway or metro and spend the night and return home one or two days later. You will be ready to trade in your big suitcase and learn to pack light so that you are not lugging 80 – 100 pounds of stuff with you on your European trip. You will enjoy that trim much more if you can learn to travel light.

ebags Backpack

On this trip we will start in Sacramento and spend a couple of nights in San Francisco. First, we will have a friend drop us at the Amtrack train station in Sacramento. From there we will travel to Richmond, take the BART(our version of the Metro) to San Francisco, then walk to our hotel. We will do the Hop on-Hop off bus tour of the city, just like we were tourists, to get the lay of the land. On Saturday we will visit the great farmer’s market at the Ferry Building, then return home on Sunday.

You can try the same thing wherever you live. Do it or you will hate your self and be miserable on your European Vacation.

 

How do I Decide Where to Stay?

Map of Paris Metro Lines at Citadines Hotel

When I am planning a vacation to a new city, how do I decide where to stay?

I have sort of a checklist that I go through based upon what I like to see and do.

  • Why am I even thinking about staying there?
  • What do I want to see there, important points of interest or museums?
  • What is available in the way of sightseeing tours on the Viator Website?
  • Is it a big city with a Metro System?
  • Is there a Big Bus Hop-on/Hop-off Tour Available?
  • Is there a Farmer’s Market in the neighborhood?
  • How close can I find a Brasserie or Cafè?

One of the first things I do after going over the check list, is to look at the city on maps.google.com. Why?

  1. So that I can see major points of interest.
  2. So that I can see the map of the metro system.
  3. I want to find where 2 or more metro lines cross so that is easier to travel around the city and get back to my hotel/apartment.
  4. So that I can use the little yellow google man to walk up and down the streets.

(As an example, the photo below was captured from Google Maps and has a live link back to the original Google Map. Click on the photo so that you can look at the Google Map. Click on one of the encircled M’s to see the metro lines. You will also be able to see many points of interest on the map.)

ThreeIntersectingMetroLines

Notice 3 intersecting Metro Lines at La Motte- Picquet-Grinelle near the bottom of this photo. Map data ©2015 Google

(To make it easier for you to navigate around, the photo below, was been captured from Google Maps Street View from the same location of the above map view, and has a live link back to the original Google Map. Click on the photo so that you can look around to get your bearings.)

LaMottePicquetGrinelleMetroStop

Map data ©2015 Google

You can turn around and even move forward and back to get a look at the neighborhood. If you turn all the way around to the right and go up a block on Avenue de la Motte-Picquet you will see a Starbucks on the left. )

Why am I showing you this location? It meets several of the above items on the checklist. At this location, you see the Citadines Apart-hotel in front of you. We are standing under the above ground metro tracks. FYI, there are two other metro tracks below us, underground. To the right, under the tracks, you will find a Farmer’s Market one day a week, and just a few blocks away, on Avenue de Saxe to the right of the Ségue Metro stop, there is another Farmer’s Market on a different day of the week.  Google Maps and Google Street View are great tools to explore a new city.

I always try to walk the streets, with the little yellow Google man, before I actually visit a new city.  Click on the map view in the photo above and it will take you to the actual Google Map view; go to the lower right side of the map and put your cursor over the yellow Goggle man, Click on him and drag him to the Trocadéro on the other side of La Seine from the Eiffel Tower, drop him on the small square box in the reflecting pool and have a look around.  Try it on your home city or a big city close to you that you have visited and look for points of interest, metro lines, etc…

On a final note, if I do decide to buy a Big Bus hop-on/hop-off tour package, I will buy it on the Viator Website so that I am only dealing with one online vendor for all of my tours and sightseeing packages. If a Big Bus tour package is not available for the city I am visiting, I am sure to find another company that provides that service on  the Viator Website.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Zurich Revisited, A day trip to Zurich

View of Zurich from Falsenegg cable car ride

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On our recent trip to South Africa, we arranged for our flight to have a full day stop-over in Zurich, Switzerland.

We did not want to do the long flight from Washington, DC to Johannesburg, South Africa without a reasonable break, so we booked an overnight flight from the U.S. on United to Zurich, followed by a Swiss flight to Johannesburg later that night. If you can get a little sleep on the plane, this is doable. If you cannot sleep on the plane, you will probably be wasted when you arrive in Zurich. If that is the case for you, then you may want to skip this side trip and make use of the transit hotel and day room at the airport. Great for a short nap and a shower before catching your next flight.

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Beautiful Downtown Zurich

While in Zurich, we left our suitcases at the “Left Luggage” counter in Terminal 2 at the airport so that we were unencumbered on our day trip into Zurich. After dropping our luggage, we bought round-trip tickets to town to take the 10 minute train ride from the Zurich airport to downtown Zurich (Zurich Flughafen to Zurich Bahnhofplatz/HB). It is very inexpensive, 6.60 Swiss Francs per person.  The only difference is that we would be going from Zurich Flughafen (Zurich Airport) to Zurich HB (The main train station in Zurich).  Here is what the actual train trip looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdAh7wYGuk

From the train station, it is a short walk to the Sihlquai Bus Terminal. We made our way out the side exit on the north side of the train station to Museumstrasse and turned left for a short block, turning right on Sihlquai, then left on Limmitstrasse.

(To make it easier for you to navigate around Zurich, the photo below, has been captured from Google Maps Street View and has a live link back to the original Google Map. Click on the photo so that you can look around to get your bearings.  For example, click on the photo below, turn around, and follow the tracks back toward the main train station in Zurich, then turn around and navigate back so that you are comfortable when you arrive. This is a great tool. I always try to walk the streets before I actually visit a new city.)

SihlaqaiBusTerminalZurich

Map data ©2015 Google

I had pre-purchased the 4 hour Zurich City Highlights with Felsenegg Cable Car Ride tour online through Viator. Once we arrived at the bus terminal, I turned in my voucher at the white ticket building for our actual tickets on the bus. We had a few minutes to wait so we just walked across the street and enjoyed hot chocolate and coffee at the little sidewalk tables at the Starbucks on Limmatstrasse.

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Sidewalk Cafe at Starbucks across the street from the Sihlqai Bus Terminal

Our tour took us around Zurich with several stops where we got off the bus to walk through various historic areas with our tour guide.DSC00530

It was a wonderful tour. We drove beside Lake Zurich, enjoying the wonderful sights. Even stopped for some photos.

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After the bus ride beside the lake, we headed to a ferry terminal in the town of  Meilen and took the ferry across Lake Zurich.  Most of us got out of the bus and enjoyed the boat ride across the lake to the town of Horgen.

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After that it was a short ride up into the hills overlooking Zurich to the little town of Adliswil where we stopped at the Talstation LAF for the cable car ride to the top of the mountain.DSC00568

From there, it was a short walk to the Restaurant Felsenegg Horst. Check out the link to the Google map photo spot near the restaurant. What a great view.  DSC00561

A little more hot chocolate and a pit stop was in order before riding the cable car back to Adliswil where our comfortable coach was waiting.  A short drive later, along the lake, and we were back in downtown Zurich. On our way back into town, we saw some wonderful sidewalk cafes and knew where we were going to have dinner.DSC00536

We were dropped off at the Sihlquai Bus Terminal and we walked back to the train station and checked the schedule for the train back to the airport.

As planned, we had a couple of hours so we walked up to the Movie Restaurant for dinner. They had great sidewalk seating, good food, and great local beer.

By about 6:40 PM, or so, we were back in the train station for our ride back to the airport. Zurich Bahnhofplatz/HB to Zurich Flughafen. We picked up our suitcases from the Left Luggage counter, paid the small fee for their secure storage, and checked in for our overnight flight to Johannesburg. It was almost time to take a nap and enjoy the flight.

Nothing better than a little day trip to a beautiful city to break up a long flight.

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If you want to book your car, tours or excursions on your own, or decide to take an excursion after you have arrived at your destination, click on the link below and make your own booking. I understand that you may want to decide on what to do based upon the weather or how you feel after that long flight. The link below will open on a page about South Africa, which was the last location I looked at. You can easily change it to the city you prefer to view by typing the city name in the search box at the top of the page.

Click Here to book your own tours and activities!!!

If you book within 7 days of clicking on the link, I will earn a small commission on the booking. The price is the same for you on this link or on a direct connection to Viator. If you go directly to Viator, I won’t get a commission. Thanks for your support. And yes, I use Viator to book my tours and activities.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Scheduling Tours and Excursions

Viator Logo

It is really easy to go overboard when you are scheduling tours and excursions, especially if you see your trip as a once-in-a-lifetime trip. You feel the need to cram in so many things, that you don’t have any downtime to rest and enjoy your vacation.101_0613

 

When I first started to plan our first trip to Europe, I think I had something in mind to schedule everyday. If I would have had the cash on hand when I was planning the trip, I am sure that I would have booked everything that I had planned. Fortunately, as I look back on the trip now, I was not able to book everything that we wanted to do, so we initially booked only one or two special things in each city before we left home; one in Zurich, two in Amsterdam and two in Paris. If you wish to at least look at what is available, keeping in mind that there are dozens of websites and dozens of vendors that provide excursions and tours, here is the one that we use. We have been very satisfied with the quick and easy booking and the tours themselves.

Click below to book tours and excursions!
Shop thousands of destination activities worldwide!


Since part of the reason that we chose the Spring for our trip was to see the tulips at Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam, we booked that excursion. And since my wife had visited Belgum as a child, we booked a day trip to Brussels as well. As for Zurich, we booked a day trip to Lucerne and the Alps. Finally, for Paris, we booked dinner in the Eiffel Tower and a night time cruise on the Seine.

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Of course, on our first day in Zurich, we booked nothing so that we would have some time to deal with the jetlag of the long flight from California to Zurich.  Also, we purposely did not book anything the last full day in Paris so that we could just take our time and walk around hand-in-hand to enjoy the romance of being in Paris.

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Probably one of the best excursions you can do in any new city is to do an on-off double decker bus tour. You get a chance to get the lay of the land and see all of the major sites. You don’t even have to pre-book this tour. Just find one of their bus stops, hop on and pay the fare, plug in your headset  and you in for a full day or two of relaxing while they show you their city. Hop off when you want to take more time at a particular site, shoot some photos, and catch the next bus. It will be there in about 10 or 15 minutes.

This was not like any of our other vacations in so many ways. Most vacations have been to the beach in Baja or Hawaii where the goal was to just relax. Yes, we took in some sights, did some ziplining, or something adventurous, but mostly to relax.  The trip to Europe was to see the sights. Just a suggestion, but make sure that you take some time for romance. Set aside some down time to enjoy the ambiance of the place you are visiting. We did, and that was better than any excursion.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Before and After the Cruise–Do it Yourself or Buy a Packaged Deal

the-bridge-in-lucerne-photo

No matter what kind of cruise you plan to take, it is always a great idea to plan to arrive in port at least a day early to get over any jet lag and to make sure that a flight delay won’t cause you to miss your ship.

Once you accept the need for the early arrival, you now need to consider arriving a couple of days early so that you can take in the sights of the port city. Sort of a mini vacation before you start your cruise.

Do you want to do this on your own, or do you want to be fully pampered? If you do it on your own, you will have to take care of your airline reservations, your transfers (taxi or shuttle) to your hotel, and the subsequent transfers to the ship the following day or even a couple of days later.  You also need to make sure that all of this time is covered by your travel insurance so that any problems won’t come out of your pocket.

The same set of issues come up at the other end of your cruise, but remember that the larger the ship the more time it will take to clear the ship and head to the airport. All of that adds stress that you just went on vacation to relieve. I would suggest that you really make the best of your vacation and add a little time to each end of your cruise so that you can enjoy each port and so that you can leisurely arrive at the ship and so that you can leisurely disembark as well.

The real question is – do you want to plan all of this yourself or do you want to let the cruise line take care of it all? Generally, it may be a little cheaper to do it yourself, but it will be a lot easier to let the cruise line do it all.

Quite often, many cruise lines, especially if you are cruising in Europe, will give you special prices on airfare if purchased with your cruise, and they will arrange that airfare to fit around your before or after cruise stay in the port city. They will also take care of all transfers of luggage from the ship to your port city hotel. Additionally, they will be able to set up shore excursions in your port cities so that you will be able to see the local sites.

If that is not enough, the better companies, such as Viking Cruse Lines, will have someone there to meet you and to lead you through the process and they will also be available at your hotel should you encounter any issues. Although, more for the adventure and the experience of doing it the hard way, I booked all of my before and after cruise activities myself for our most recent European vacation, my neck and back still aches from lugging the suitcases from the ship to trams to trains to hotel rooms.

The next time, I will follow the lead of my friends on our Viking Romantic Rhine River Cruise and let them handle all the work. If you are less adventurous or if you don’t really want to have to lug your suitcases around as you go from air travel to train travel to subways or taxis, etc… I would suggest that you opt for the cruise line’s before and after the cruise offerings.

Friends that we met on the cruise did both and we have exchanged emails since returning home and they had nothing but wonderful compliments to Viking River Cruises for their experiences before and after the cruise.

For example, most our recent cruise, the Romantic Rhine River Cruise from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, was with Viking River Cruises.  They provide a 2-night Lucerne package for $599 per person and a 2-night Amsterdam package for $499 per person. They provide all transfers from airport to hotel to ship and from ship to hotel then to airport on the other end. They also provide something that is very important: a real live meet and greet person wearing a Viking River Cruises red jacket and signs so that it will be easy for you to connect with them. All you need to worry about is your carry-on and going through customs. They will walk you through everything else.  They have also set up excursions at each end of the cruise as well. Visit the world-renowned museums featuring works by the Dutch Masters in Amsterdam and explore the traditional Swiss town along the banks of Lake Lucerne with its dramatic Alpine backdrop.

Best of all, is that with Viking River Cruises they regularly offer 2 for 1 pricing on their cruises; and they also provide discounts for air fare on the all-inclusive trips. You will also find that they include beer and wine with lunch and dinner without any additional cost and they provide excursions in each port, also without any additional costs to you.  If you did not see enough with the provided excursions, they do provide additional excursions at some ports at an reasonable additional cost.

For more information about their cruises, please spend some time on our website at www.TeamEdwardsTravel.com to look at the videos. Then, click the banner and it will take you to the Viking River Cruises website where you will find more information about their cruises. We will be happy to make your reservations for you.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Planning The Trip of a Lifetime, A European River Cruise

Viking-River-Cruises-Logo

Have you ever dreamed of taking a European River Cruise? You see them advertised on TV more and more these days.  We have been on large ocean cruises, but wondered what it would be like to take a river cruise.

I did my homework and finally decided that my wife and I would have a wonderful time celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on a Romantic Rhine River Cruise. I checked out all of the various companies that cruise this waterway looking for the one that I thought would best meet our needs. I also talked with friends who have taken river cruises and was not surprised that they all had their favorite cruise lines. Some recommended Viking, some AMA Waterways and some Avalon.

We got more recommendations for Viking than the others combined. I then went to several seminars at our local travel agency office that were put on by the river cruise companies before finally deciding to book our trip of a lifetime on Viking River Cruises. Of course, making that decision was the easy part.

Now, we had to decide what we really wanted to see,  when was the best time to go to see these sights, how much time we wanted to travel, if we wanted to do a before and or after cruise add-on that we could purchase from the cruise company, which airline, etc…  The other things to plan ahead were train tickets, having Swiss Francs and Euros in our pocket before the trip, and of course, learning about the tram or subway systems in the cities we planned to visit. It was almost getting to be too many things to think about, but as they always said when I was a Boy Scout,  “Be Prepared”; so I always plan ahead.

Our other consideration was that if we were going to spend the dollars to fly that far, we were going to get more out of the trip, so we planned for three days in Zurich before the cruise to deal with jetlag and then three days in Amsterdam so that we could visit Keukenhof Gardens and see the sights. We added 5 days in Paris to really make it a trip of a lifetime. So, back to the first question. What did we really want to see?  I love flowers and gardens, so I wanted to see the Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam.  And, my wife wanted to go back and taste a real Belgium waffle. So, of course I included that in our itinerary!

After doing my homework, we decided that we needed to be in Amsterdam there before Mother’s Day if there was a late spring, and a week or two earlier if it was an early spring. The next thing was to decide to utilize the cruise line’s before and/or after cruise offerings. Since we wanted to have a less structured trip, other than the cruise, we chose to put together our own before and after cruise itinerary.

If you are less adventurous or if you don’t really want to have to lug your suitcases around as you go from air travel to train travel to subways or taxis, etc… I would suggest that you opt for the cruiseline’s before and after the cruise offerings. Friends that we met on the cruise did both and we have exchanged emails since returning home and they had nothing but wonderful compliments to Viking Cruises for their experiences before and after the cruise.

We booked the cruise from Basel to Amsterdam, which meant that we would fly in to Zurich, Switzerland and spend a couple days there seeing the sights and getting over jetlag.  We then made our way to Basel on the train to start the cruise.

Also, since I did not want to have to carry 3 weeks worth of clothes, during the planning process I found a laundromat in an area of Amsterdam that we wanted to explore, then booked a hotel in that same neighborhood. We really wanted to stay in local hotels rather than in the big hotels for a better feel of the local area. Upon our arrival in Amsterdam, we disembarked and walked to the hotel. After dropping off most of our luggage at the hotel, we took one suitcase full of dirty clothes to the laundromat.

We were pleasantly surprised when we found that it was also a full service laundry. We left our dirty clothes and enjoyed lunch and a walking tour of Amsterdam, and picked up clean clothes for the rest of the trip later in the afternoon. After three wonderful days in Amsterdam, we caught the high speed train to Paris. What a wonderful way to travel! Since we made sure to visit the Centraal Station before it was time to leave, we knew exactly where to go to catch our train to Paris.

We had reserved seats so it was as easy as flying – other than putting our own luggage on the train. We arrived in Paris and took the B2 line south to the subway that took us to our hotel. We stayed in a cute 1 bedroom apartment near the Grinnel train station. Again, another smaller hotel that also had apartments in a nice neighborhood close to a farmers’ market. We chose this location because there were 3 trains that used that terminal, so we could go almost everywhere from there.

We spent 5 days seeing the sights in Paris before reversing directions, taking the B3 train to the airport to fly home.

While you are in the process of planning your trip of a lifetime, or any expensive trip, make sure to get travel insurance and do at the beginning, the day you pay your deposit for your trip.  Why, because the insurance will cover you for pre-existing conditions if you do it at the initial booking stage. If you wait to do it just before you leave, and a medical issue causes you to cancel, you won’t get your money back if it was a pre-existing condition.  Some of us are getting up in years and you don’t want a health issue to rob you of the trip along with the money you already spent. It would be bad enough to have to cancel the trip, but to lose all that money too, that would really hurt.

One of the great planning tools that you should use is the availability of videos of your travel destinations. I went online on my Blockbuster account to search out travel videos. Hard to find because they are included under a separate category. (Yes, I know that you cannot use Blockbuster anymore) I also searched my Amazon Prime Account. If you look in the index you won’t find Travel videos there either; but if you search “Documentaries” you will find the travel videos hiding there. For Paris, we viewed the following videos: Cities of the World, Paris, France and Modern Times Wonders, Tour D’Eiffel and Burt Wolf’s France. Finally, for France, we viewed these last videos:  The Greatest Journeys on Earth, France, The Journeys of the Sun King, On Tour… BLUE DANUBE CRUISE WACHAU A Journey Through The Middle Ages and Paris France, The City Of Magic: A Dream Vacation Tour.  We also viewed the Burt Wolf; The Rhine and The Danube, and the Burt Wolf; Holland and Belgium. Yes, I do know that the Danube is a different river, but I was thinking ahead to the next river cruise.

In the next several blogs, we will share more about our trip and what we learned along the way. Hopefully, you will be able to learn from our mistakes so that your trips will be trouble-free!

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Paris

957_Paris_Open_Tour__Hop_On_Hop_Off

Our first trip to Paris followed our Viking River Cruise down the Rhine, from Basel to Amsterdam. After a few days in Amsterdam, we took the Thayles high speed train from Amsterdam to Gard du Nord in Paris. Wow! That was a great train ride.

After our arrival in Paris, we picked up a 10 caret of Metro tickets and hopped on to the RER south to the Metro stop at Denfort Rochereau. It was a long walk, plus three flights of stairs up and back down to get to our train, the #6 line, to the La Motte Picque Grenelle stop.

We stayed at the Citadines Tour Eiffel at that stop. We chose it for a couple of reasons. First of all, they had what they call Apart-hotel rooms. Sort of like small apartments, rather than just a hotel room. Also, it was located at an intersection of three different Metro lines. That way, we could go north, south, east or west to visit all parts of Paris. It was within easy walking distance to the Eiffel Tower. Finally, there is a Farmer’s Market under the tracks as well as another Farmer’s Market a couple of blocks away. We were able to visit both markets while we were there.

What more could you ask for.

We toured the city using the hop-on, hop-off bus. We would get off at a stop, wander around to see the sights, then catch the next bus to the next destination.  This is a great tool to get oriented to a new city. After doing it in Paris, we decided that we should go back to visit some local destinations and were able to enjoy San Francisco and Washington DC via the hop-on hop-off bus. We have been using the Big Bus since it has an app for our phones as well as a great website to better plan our trips.

We took the Metro all over town as well. One important Metro stop that we used often was the one at Tuileries. It is just a short walk from there to the office where we had ordered our tours. We ordered them online through Viator, but picked up our tickets at the Paris City Vision office. Keep in mind that they have two offices, so check your vouchers to make sure that you are at the right office. They are only about a block apart, so if you are at the wrong one, you can quickly get to the other one.

 (To make it easier for you to navigate in Paris, many of these photos have been captured from Google Maps Street View and is a live link back to the original Google Map. Click on the photo so that you can look around to get your bearings. This is a great tool. I always try to walk the streets before I actually visit a new city. Also, if it is available, I will book a Big Red Bus tour in a new city.)

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Map data ©2015 Google

This stop is also very close to the Louvre. There is another stop that is closer, but since we had purchased the small group walking tour of the Louvre, we met our tour guide at the tour office at the Hotel Regina.

The Paris City Vision office (located just in front of the white vans behind the statue) is at Hotel Regina.

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Map data ©2015 Google

Often, we arrived early for our tours, so after exiting at Tuileries, we walked across the street and turned right, heading toward the Hotel Regina about one block away. At the hotel, we turned left and walked up Rue des Pyramides to enjoy a great little sidewalk cafe, La Rotonde des Tuileries.

This is only a block away from where we would catch our bus to the Eiffel Tower for dinner or our walking tour of the Louvre.

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Map data ©2015 Google

After a little snack, we walked down to #2 Rue des Pyramides, on the left, at the Hotel Regina.

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Map data ©2015 Google

We opted to purchase a dinner and river cruise through Viator so that we didn’t have to wait in any long lines at the Eiffel Tower. This tour was handled by Paris City Vision. As you might expect, having dinner in the Eiffel Tower as well as seeing the lights of Paris on the river cruise is a wonderful way to experience Paris.

If you chose to tour the Louvre on your own, rather than to use a group tour, they you will want to take the Metro directly to the Palais Royale de Musee Louvre Metro stop.

Get off at the Palais Royale de Musée Lourve metro stop.

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Map data ©2015 Google

When you exit the station at the large open square shown above, you are just a short walk from the Louvre.

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Map data ©2015 Google

We had a great guide and a wonderful visit at the Lourve, and were able to get great views of everything but the Mona Lisa.

That room was so crowded that unless you wanted to push through a hundred people, you were not going to get very close. As you can see from the photo below, you had to hold your camera above your head and take several shots. None of mine came out without someone or something in the way. I should have had a selfie stick, but I hadn’t ever seen one before our first trip to Paris.

DSC07961

If you have never traveled on the metro in Paris, please check out my other posts on how to use the metro. Don’t leave Paris without experiencing Le Metro!

We are ready to go back to Paris!!!

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Panama Canal Cruise, 31 Days Before Departure

Norwegian Pearl Photo

Today’s email announces, “We have a world of entertainment on board for you.”

Well, only 31 days left before we board the ship in Miami.

In fact, only 30 days before I catch the plane to Florida.  Want to be there the day before we board so that we don’t have to worry about a late flight.

So, we go online and check out the links to all of the onboard entertainment.  Can you imagine it?  We will be enjoying dinner and a show every night while on our cruise.  Wow!!! That’s living.

But, back to the check list and planning.

  • Arranged for transportation to Sacramento International Airport on the 14th, check!
  • Shuttle service booked from Fort Lauderdale to Miami on the 14th, check!
  • Room booked at Miami on the 14th, check!
  • Get out the luggage and start laying out the clothes in the spare bedroom, check!

We will be staying at the Holiday Inn at the Port of Miami. Looking forward to having a leisurely evening, strolling around the port, and having a nice dinner overlooking the water.

We are counting down the weeks!

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

Panama Canal Cruise, 38 Days Before Departure

Norwegian Pearl Photo

 Just received another email from Norwegian Cruise Lines(NCL).  38 days before departure with “Roam, ramble or relax. How do you want to explore?”.  The excitement builds as we count down the days. Time to think about booking excursions.

We get out our checklist and mark a few things off.  Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about child care or having someone watch the house, since our 18 year old son will be holding down the fort.

  • Print out packing list for each of us, check!
  • Start laying out clothes, check!
  • Pre-book excursions, check!
  • Pre-pay gratuity (tip), check!

Since we don’t want to miss out on the city tour in Cartegena, we book it online.  Nice to have it booked and paid for in advance.

We also paid the “Tip” online so that we have less to deal with on the last day of the cruise.  Each ship handles tipping a little differently. At NCL, they collect a tip/service charge that is divided up between the various service staff who provide service to everyone. That does not mean that we won’t tip staff who provide excellent service though.  In fact, we will tip our cabin steward on the second day so that he will really want to provide excellent service, every day, for the 14-day cruise.

Boy, do they know how to get you excited about your trip. But, they also know how to get you ready.

Just a little over a month to go.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel

How Do I Choose Shore Excursions? Do I Need Reservations?

Cruise Ships

Almost every cruise line offers shore excursions before, after, and during the cruise at each port.  Why? Because the traveler wants to get the most out of the trip and have the most amount of fun possible while on vacation.

There are several things to consider when choosing your excursions.  Most people consider their budget first.  The problem with that is that they often miss out on some of the most fun available on the trip.  I think you should think about what you want to see and do first, then create a budget to cover everything you want to do.  Next, you start saving your money.  You don’t want to come home from your trip and regret not having done the things you wanted to do because you could not afford them. Think about how much you spent to get there. Make sure you get to do what you went there to see and do.

Also, when thinking about the trip, don’t just think about the dollars.  If you read some blogs and magazines, they will suggest that you will save money by just getting off the ship and picking one of the port side vendors to provide the excursion.  You will, of course, save money. But at what real cost to you? Is that vendor safe and reliable?  How about the vehicle they are providing?  Will it break down and cause you to miss the ship when it leaves port later in the day?  Will that vendor fly you to the next port at their expense? I very much doubt that they will do that!

Sometimes, saving a couple of bucks on an excursion can end up being very costly. Of course, there is a profit margin in the excursion that the cruise line recommends. But, they have also checked out the provider. They are in business and they want you and I to have a great experience.  They want us to come back next year.   They generally have much more experience than we do in dealing with port side vendors. And, if things go awry, the cruise line will make sure to get you to the next port, and they will do it on their dime, not yours; they won’t leave you stranded in some port. If you booked the excursion through the cruise line, they will stand behind their choice of vendor.

Isn’t that what real value is? Getting the most for your dollar?

As for reservations, yes, it is a very good idea.  In fact, some excursions can sell out before you even get on the ship, so plan ahead. The bigger and more important the excursion is to you, the more important it is to get reservations. Also, the more popular the excursion, such as the Vatican in Rome, the more you need reservations.

When you talk with your travel agent, ask about the excursions.  Tell your agent what you really want to see and do while on this trip. They can give you advice based upon their personal experience as well as advice from their customers who have enjoyed other excursions. If you do decide to book an excursion on your own, at least make sure to use a reliable vendor. When we set up our personal tours, those not included or made available by the cruise ship, we always use Viator for our excursions because of some issues with vendors that we have used in the past.

For example, we just came home from a trip to both Kauai and Oahu.  While on Kauai we enjoyed several great excursions.  For example, we went to the Smith Family Luau for great food and entertainment.  We also had a great boat excursion to see the Napali Coast.  Our son Joshua had fun ziplining near Princeville.

We took the Blue Dolphin tour out of Port Alan on the south side of the island. We traveled around the west side of the island, through the Kaulakahi Channel, passing the forbidden island of Niihau.

Check out this video clip of dolphins riding the bow wave on our trip!!!

We also drove to the the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.  Great excursions!

Excursions just like these are available when you visit Kauai on your cruise ship or take a timeshare or hotel vacation there.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel