Day 1
Having never been abroad before the offer from Rachael and Ian to spend a few days in Disneyland Paris was too good an offer to resist so with my, as so far unused, passport in hand, E111 card (or whatever they call it nowadays!), luggage, camera, 3DS, insurance, and suncream (I don’t think!) in hand it was across to York station on Sunday 29th January to head on down to London for an afternoon of sightseeing there before staying the night in the capital and my rendez-vous with Rachael and Ian to head over to the continent!
Arriving in swift time just before 1pm into London I dropped my bags off at Premier Inn, happily just a two minute walk from Kings Cross as I was too early to check in, and wandering over to the nearest tube station to start my whistle-stop tour of the main tourist sites. This, of course, meant a fifteen minute walk to Euston station where I caught the tube to Trafalgar Square, enjoying the witty commentary of the driver during my short journey who either advised people to wait three minutes for the next train or say hello to someone they liked the look of and sit on their knee!
When I arrived at Trafalgar Square there was a big event going on for Chinese New Year which saw the place decked out in red balloons, red drapes and other similar styled decorations. Children had snap dragons which regularly went off and there was live music and dancing.
Leaving Trafalgar Square I headed in the direction of the river to take some snaps of the London Eye – which hadn’t been erected when I’d last properly been to London – and St. Stephen’s Tower, before walking past the Iraq protest camp and the Houses of Parliament, stopping briefly to watch a roller-blading procession scoot past to the sound of music. Random.
Continuing my journey through the capital I passed Black Rod’s Garden Entrance (Ooh, err!) and onto the Cenotaph and Downing Street, possibly the most boring point on a tourist’s destination as all you can see is a metal fence and some guards with guns.
With some good timing there was the chance to see the changing of the guard’s at Horseguard’s Parade and a quick trundle around the site of the trooping of the colour, before passing along the Mall and seeing Buckingham Palace, complete with lots of tourist.
As the light began to fade it was onto Hyde Park, full of cyclists and footballers, and of course speakers corner where a variety of people, with varying sizes of audiences, were talking about what was important to them.
There was just time to take in Marble Arch, some weird artworks including a horse’s head standing upright on its nose, a lot of pigeons and Oxford Street, before jumping back onto two tube journey’s to Kings Cross where I could finally check into my hotel room which, proving the adverts’ correct, was actually quite premier with a comfy and large double bed, Freeview TV, an en-suite toilet, shower and bath and a generally nice atmosphere. Shame that the view from the window was only of the central courtyard, but it was quiet at night and a great place to sleep.
Day 2
Onto the second day and it was breakfast time at Premier Inn, which was plentiful but clearly designed by Wallace with more machines than you could shake a spanner at delivering your food, from cereal and milk dispensers, to one of those snazzy toaster conveyor belts. Plus, it was all you can eat so the full English with a bowl of cereal, toast and a yoghurt was a great way to set oneself up for the day.
After a quick read of the Independent (ooh, get me!) it was back to my room to pack up and head to St. Pancras station, standing under an impressive Olympics ring artwork whilst waiting for Ian and Rachael. Upon their arrival it was into the station for a vain attempt and finding any form of post box and then heading to check in. It was then off with my mobile phone for four days – you know what, I actually didn’t miss being able to receive calls or texts or even check Facebook so it is a habit that can be broken so might try it more often! – and into check in, which involved passing your bags and belongings through a machine and getting your passport glanced at by security. For someone who has never been through border control before I was expecting something much more formal and exciting such as your passport being scanned through a machine but sadly it wasn’t to be. At least we got through OK though, even if we sadly were too old for the free Disneyland packs they were giving out to kids.
The wait was painless and allowed myself and Rachael to boost our standing on our 3DS thanks to those waiting in the station to grab their Miis and their pictures, and having them help us defeat baddies in the RPG, something we continued to do throughout the holiday to see how many we could get. Fact: According to Nintendo, Australia doesn’t exist as we found out when we both got an Australian user and it says ‘No map’. Hmm.
After a 20-minute or so wait it was onto the Eurostar which was a nice enough train but nothing more than you get from a regular one and it was a pleasant enough journey of reading, listening to music and playing video games, so much so we missed the moment of going into the tunnel.
With watches reset, the journey across France took longer than I thought but we soon arrived at the station amongst lots of excited children. As the Eurostar arrived the speakers were on and a montage of Disney songs began playing out, which looped quite quickly and we imagine must annoy the staff no end. Our passports were once more checked and our bags taken from us for delivery directly to the hotel, which allowed us to get on with immediately exploring the park.
The one thing we noticed when we got there, which was present for the entire four days, was how cold it was. Granted, Europe had started experiencing a cold wave as we arrived, but compared to London just a day before it was incredibly cold, so much so that the fountains and water ways regularly froze up and even the tea in the travel mugs would ice-up on the outside. Brrr.
Disneyland Paris is split into three areas: the shopping and food area; the main park; and, where we started, Disneyland studios, which is based around a film lot from the style of buildings to the attractions within them. The ‘Studio 1’ building housed shops and food places and lead through to lots of attractions including Toy Land, with its plastic soldier drop ride, and Animagique, where we enjoying a half-hour performance involving a variety of Disney songs performed by famous Disney characters on stage, including lots of UV tricks and people in dark suits to hide themselves. It was very impressive but highlighted the confusing problem of Disneyland Paris in that they have to consider multiple languages from French to English, German to Italian, and various others. With the shows not split into different language versions, we ended up seeing a show that had half the songs in French, half in English, with Mickey talking in the former and Donald in the latter. It wasn’t a problem as even with limited French you could get the gist but it was an amusing way to do things, a pattern continued throughout the week with both recorded and live announcements cycling through different languages saying the same thing.
During this first day we also enjoyed a tutorial on how to draw Donald Duck, which we all did pretty well at, and a chance to try out a Zoetrope and other animation techniques, which was particularly fun for me with my animation background.
There were lots of other things to try out. There was the Armageddon ride with a set that looked like the inside of a Russian satellite complete with live flame pyrotechnics (which provided some good warmth) to various stalls selling hot drinks, crepes and other delights, at which we could try out our first stabs at French which worked OK but in many ways the staff seemed to prefer you just speaking quicker in English than slower in French and were bilingual, which did take some of the stress, but also fun, out of it.
After a great few hours in this park it was time to grab one of the regular yellow shuttle buses over to our hotel, a five minute journey away, which was the Sante Fe, decked out to look like a Mexican town complete with a Cars theme. At reception we checked in and picked up our bags, before heading to block 46 for our room, housed in a red-styled building. After a big of faff with the keycard entry, which was a little on the temperamental style, we got into our room which was brilliant, especially considering it was one of the cheaper hotels. With two double beds, an en-suite toilet, bath and shower and a TV, there was everything we needed.
After warming up in the room we headed off for a browse around the shops in the entertainment area before choosing somewhere to eat, going for the Rainforest Cafe, who were a little more open for our French, which was a beautiful restaurant decked out like, well, a rainforest, complete with rock walls, tanks of fish and lights and sounds that would simulate storms. The food was a little expensive, but fitting with the general prices of the theme park, but very tasty. Myself and Ian enjoyed some steak, which was rare as requested, and the wine was good. We also enjoyed some nice desserts whilst soaking up the atmosphere and chatting about the day, before heading back to the hotel for a sleep ready for the next day.
Day 3
The third day was a time to explore the biggest park on the site. Setting off from the hotel we made an early bee-line to the park and, after navigating the turnstiles and bag check we jumped onto a horse-drawn carriage to be taken through the first area, a mock-up of an old fashioned American street, to the Disney castle, which we explored and took some photos in, with Rachael first pointing out how cold it was with the frozen water in the castle that initially looked like plastic.
It was soon onto the rides from the tame Carousel to the infamous ‘It’s A Small World’, a boat ride on water through the countries of the world, depicted through a set of interesting and funny stereotypes in animatronic form, all set to the backdrop of a catchy multi-language song. It has to be seen to be believed but it lived up to Ian’s description of it, even if it could be construed in parts to be eye-brow raising from the character’s depicted through to the familiar look of the World Trade Centre still present ten years on in the New York section!
Next was our most visited ride, the Buzz Lightyear Space Blaster ride, where you jump into a cart to be driven around a gallery of targets to shoot at, with control over spinning your individual cart. Rachael proved herself to be the initial champion of this ride, with Ian becoming more proficient over multiple goes, whilst I struggled to hit on target!
With Rachael buying a Tigger hat and Phil a Mickey one to stave off the cold, it was onto a few more photo opportunities around the site before the Pirates of the Caribbean ride called and a trip around the pirate cove maze, including a walk over a wooden bridge.
Though all the rides were free upon enter, there was one attraction we had to pay for and that was the shooting gallery, which was definitely fun to play as hitting targets set off models doing things or sound effects. We then, of course, went for thrills on such rides as the tea cups and trying to pull the sword out of the stone. Sadly a few things were closed off, such as the Alice in Wonderland garden maze, but most were open and is to be expected out of season.
As the day came to a close we got to see the Disney parade at 5pm, featuring lots of dancers and floats with accompanying music, which was a great way to bring the day to its end even if those dancers must have been even more cold than we were.
After warming up at the hotel it was off out again for food, this time at Planet Hollywood which was large and bustling but the least good of the three nights of food. Though the meals were tasty – we enjoyed a sharing platter at the start and various mains – it wasn’t as nice as the Rainforest Cafe even if it was a tad cheaper, plus the cheeky “these are just for fun” photographer, tried to flog us photos at the end on keyrings, having actually printed the photos off. We naturally said no.
Picking up some chocolate at the shop for a cheap(er) dessert to round the day off, we didn’t end up eating it as we were tired and fell quickly asleep back at the hotel.
Day 4
Day 4 would be a change as we headed off to visit the capital city of France for the day rather than Disneyland, but there was still time to enjoy some references to it with one English fan on the bus expressing her surprise that the Crush Coaster was a roller-coaster, and that she had seemingly experienced theme parks from across the world from Paris to Blackpool to, er, Egypt.
After trying to work our way around some ticket machines and which would be the best option, we bit the bullet and asked a real person, eventually securing the correct tickets that allowed us to travel the forty-minute journey to Paris. Departing at Charles De Gaulle – etoile, it was just a quick journey up some rickety escalators to see the Arc De Triumphe, an impressive sight even if for the traffic circling around it. We went a little bit round in circles – experiencing some appropriate deju vu – as we tried to find the passage up to the actual Arc, but on finding it would cost 10 Euros to see it up close decided against it.
Instead we headed down the street of Embassies towards the Eiffel Tower, stopping off to explore a French street market full of fruit, veg, fish, cheeses and clothing, before passing over the river to continue our journey, being held up briefly by someone offering us, in broken English, a ring they had found before being pulled away by another man. Whether one or both were scam artists we don’t know, but they would have been disappointed with us as all our belongings were carefully hidden away.
Moving on, we arrived in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and got some photos taken of us in front of them with some ...and be done with it t-shirts, something we planned to do even though it required “stripping off” in the cold. With our coats back on it was to the tower itself, queuing up to go up it.
It was only when we were half-way through the queue that Rachael remembered there was a butter knife in the backpack from when sandwiches had been made the day before so there was a discussion over what to do with the impending metal detector and the possible difficult explanation in broken French over why we had a knife. After buying tickets – Ian and Rachael getting an under 24-discount – we found a box to declare stuff so the knife was dropped in to join the flick knives, other sandwich knives and CS spray that had been left previously.
Climbing the tower, Ian and Phil proved themselves to be less than brave with Ian reaching an impressive 100 steps and Phil the first floor, where there was, among other things, a restaurant, cinema and small ice-rink with an ice-model of the tower, but it was Rachael who was clearly, er, the man, going all the way to the top of the tower, paying another five Euros for the privilege, and being disappointed by the lack of buyable merchandise to prove her achievement, but getting some good photos nonetheless.
After that it was onto exploring more of Paris, from its buildings, monuments and, er, interesting driving, to arrive at the Place Du Concord and the run-up to the Louvre, which was accessible for a bargain 10 Euros. There we saw lots of art including the Venus De Milo and, of course, the Mona Lisa, which would appear on the news that evening with pictures taken that day within the Louvre.
Our journey through Paris continued with a bridge covered in locks, with memories scratched into them, before heading across to the Notre Dame Cathedral, a beautiful building both inside and out – plus it being another location like in Disneyland that still had Christmas trees up (there was also a dedicated Christmas shop in the castle) – and, with the building being silent, it was a really nice atmosphere plus a chance to light some candles, appreciate the music and architecture, and generally have a quiet moment of reflection.
After this it was time for a really nice meal at La Boucherie, fulfilling Phi’s desire to eat on a terrace, with an outstanding section well served by a plastic covering and patio heaters, that specialised in good food, wine and, er, cigars. We settled instead for a variety of main courses from Rachael’s prawn and salmon, to Phil’s beef stroganoff, to Ian’s steak, with a range of drinks and desserts enjoyed, including some delicious crepes by Phil and Rachael. It did, though, feel like cheating as we wanted to order in French but the waitress was happy to converse in English, plus a lot of the menu was in our native tongue, so it was difficult to decide what to say, which summed up a lot of the conversations: do you admit you’re English and continue speaking like that, or attempt French, be a bit slower, and look like you’re at least making an effort? It tended to be that the decision was taken out of our hands with many just speaking English at us.
After a little confusion on the Paris underground, we were soon on our way home and after getting lost in a conversation and having to be reminded we’d reached the terminus, we headed back to the hotel to do some necessary warming up and, of course, sleeping.
Day 5
Day 5 started as all the others had with breakfast in the nearby canteen, with a good selection of continental dejeuner foods, from croissants to pain au chocolate, bread rolls to meats, cereals to cream-cheese and stewed-apples, with plenty of juices, teas and coffees on tap, all served in a restaurant decked out like a Mexican canteen. What was different, though, was we could get our photo with Mickey after checking out!
Day 5 was a day we’d fill in the blanks by going on the rides we hadn’t yet as well as enjoying some of our favourites. We headed first back to the Disney Studios park we’d gone to on day two to try the Slinky Dog ride and the RC coaster-thing, as well as some more photo opportunities.
It was then back to the main park to admire the frozen water that showed it was getting colder, before doing a trip around our favourite rides, from regular visits to the Buzz Lightyear shooting game, to a tongue-in-cheek visit to ‘It’s A Small World’, and goes on the Indiana Jones ride and the haunted house, and of course some souvenir shopping where we were able to spend up to all but 3 cents!, before time beat us and we had to head back to the station to pick up our bags and prepare for boarding, getting scanned and checked once more and settling down for the long journey back, enjoying games, chatting and reading.
We passed back into Britain and to St. Pancras, where we enjoyed some food at Yo! Sushi before splitting up to go on our respective trains, bringing what had been an enjoyable five days of holiday to an end.
I personally really enjoyed the five days, from the fun and games of Disneyland Paris, to the exploration of Paris, to actually getting away from work and spending time with some good friends. Though the cold was a constant factor during the holiday, it wasn’t quite enough to put a dampener on it and it was really fun to do it all and it was just a shame it had to end.
No comments:
Post a Comment