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Tips for Traveling Paris

August 27, 2008

Paris is an amazing city. I fell in love with it the first moment I was there. American ex-pat, Tanya from Parisian Spring, gave us some tips for beating the summer crowds in Paris. They are wonderful tips as Paris is really crowded during the summer, especially during August. Parisians evacuate the city for the summer and head to the countryside or the beach. The vacuum caused by their departure is filled with tourists who crowd all the sights, streets, and cafes.

Should you find yourself in Paris during the summer months, here are some tips for traveling the city that might make your stay more enjoyable:

Crowds swarm the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, creating queues that wrap around each structure. Should you go mid-day, you’ll be waiting a few hours to climb each. Head there early in the morning to avoid the rush. Queues start to form about an hour after opening.

The maps the tourist office give don’t include all the streets. Should you get lost, you’ll eventually hit a main street and you can coordinate your position there. Moreover, the map is not really drawn to scale. The tourist information map is a good reference but for more detail stick to a guide book map. This is especially true in the Latin Quarter. (I found this out the hard way.

Moreover, Paris has few street maps for tourists. Unlike Amsterdam or London, there are few signs telling you where you are. Don’t expect easy navigation. If you do find a sign, it will be in French and not English. (Signs describing historical monuments are also only in French).

The Latin Quarter is one of the best parts of the city and also devoid of tourists. Head deep into the heart for tiny windy streets and cheap cafes that overlook little plazas. The cafes get crowded during lunch time.

If you want a good view of the city but don’t want to wait to get to the top of the Eiffel tower, head to Montmartre. This little district, where artists like Picasso and Pissaro used to live, provides sweeping views of the city without the wait or the cost.

Internet cafes are expensive- about 6 Euros an hour. Z-net in the Latin quarter has it for 4 Euro an hour and offers wi-fi.

The Louvre is discounted after 6pm on Fridays and free on Sundays. During the low season, it is also closed on Tuesdays. It’s located in the center of the city and has two metro stops- both marked “Louvre.” Get off at either one.

The Jardin du Luxemburg is a great place to eat out and enjoy a nice day. It’s filled with people relaxing in chairs and on the grass. It’s a great day to enjoy the sun of Paris.

South of Notre Dame, Rue Dauphine has some great eateries. The place gets crowded with folks relaxing for drinks after dinner. Pull up a chair, grab a glass of wine, and enjoy a Parisian pastime- staring at what walks by on two legs.

Buy a metro card. Paris has over 300 subway stations so it is easy to get around the city. A day pass is only 6 Euros.

It took me two days in Paris to learn all that. Imagine what a longer stay would yield. These tips, as well as the tips Tanya gave us, can help make your travel experience more enjoyable.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Travel Tips | 2 Comments

The Lake District

August 5, 2008

The Lake District is located in Cumbria on the northwest coast of England about an hour from the Scottish border. The Lake District is to Northern England what Cornwall is to the south and I can’t figure out which one I enjoyed more. They’re both so beautiful, I don’t think I could ever pick one. The Lakes are a result of the last Ice Age. Glaciers receded from here and cut the U shaped valleys that are now filled with water. The Lake District is one of the most visited national parks in England. We drove up on a Sunday and the highways were packed with people going down south after a nice relaxing weekend at the lakes. Judging from the traffic it is easy to believe that this place fills up with people and going there clearly shows you why.
The Lake District
My friends and I drove up from Lancaster and spent the driving from lake to lake and enjoying the tremendous scenery. Starting up north at Ullswater we made our way south to Windermere. The further south we went, the busier it got. I enjoyed the northern lakes more because of this. Ullswater is located in a rugged area and surrounded by mountains, hiking trails, and sheep farms. It was very reminiscent of New Zealand and looked a lot like Milford Sound but without all the ice. Ullswater may be the second largest lake in the district but it’s one of the quietest. Pooley Bridge village is located at the northern end of the lake and is famous for the little stone bridge that crosses a river that flows out of the lake. The bridge was nothing special but the river is shallow enough to walk across and, despite its cold temperature, had many kids playing in it. Driving south, we passed mountain after mountain and farm after farm. There’s a lot of sheep in this area and yet another reason why the place makes me think of New Zealand.

We drove through the Kirkstone Pass which provides stunning views of the whole area and a few of the lakes. Little streams trickle down hill and there are a number of swimming holes here. However, once you pass through, you reach the southern part of the district and the more heavily touristed area. Coming out of the pass, houses started to spring up all around, more cars were on the road, and people seemed everywhere. When we pulled into Windermere, we hit traffic and crowds and I longed for the serenity of the northern lakes. We didn’t even stop in Windermere because after driving around for twenty minutes, we realized we just couldn’t find parking. I wasn’t too bothered- I like avoiding crowds. Interesting fact about Windemere though: the home of Beatrix Potter, who wrote the Peter Rabbit books, is located here.

Not only is the Lake District amazing, but all of surrounding area is too. My friends lived in Lancaster, which was equally beautiful. It’s a populated version of the Lake District but still with all the charm. I woke up to this each morning:

Ancient stone walls sectioned off vast numbers of sheep, green hills rolled on forever in all directions, and tiny English stone cottages dotted the landscape. This whole area had an “English country” feel that I’ve yet to see elsewhere and coming here definitely took me back a few centuries. The whole area is so well preserved and so perfect, you often wonder if the locals got together and decided to rebuild everything like it was in the 1700s for the tourists. Luckily, that is not the case. People here have just maintained these ancient houses out of their own free will. The house I stayed in was over 500 years old.

Out of all the time I’ve spent here in England, my weekend in Lancaster and the Lake District felt the most English. The cottages, the sheep, the hills, and the Sunday venison roast caught by a man who wore this:
English Countryman
You can’t get more English than that!

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Europe | 14 Comments

Cheap Ways to Travel Across Europe

August 4, 2008

Eurotrain Europe is not always the cheapest place to travel around. Transportation costs can cause havoc on any budget, especially if you are going long distances. It’s most ridiculous in England where the pricing method is similar to the airlines (book early). If you need to hop on a train, it can be as (or more) expensive as hoping on a flight. (I’m not joking. It cost me more for a 2 hr train ride than it did to fly to Amsterdam from London.) However, there are still a few cheap ways to travel around Europe:

Megabus- A cheap way to travel get across the United Kingdom, fares can cost as little as one pound. Even if you don’t scoop up these amazingly cheap deals, you can still travel for a fraction of the cost you can on the National Rail system. Fares rarely top fifteen pounds. Most Megatrains and buses leave from London but you can also get intercity links from many of the country’s main destinations. (As well as major destinations in Wales and Scotland.) It’s simply the best deal around. Travel in the UK is ridiculously expensive and even if you change your plans, you are only losing a pound. This should be your first option for UK travel.

Busabout- A hop on/hop off again service similar to the OZ or Kiwi Experience. You can get on and off whenever you like and, once you buy the ticket, you don’t have to worry about transportation the whole way. There is an onboard guide that can help you with accommodation. They’ll help plan events and tours for you too. Busabout is not the cheapest option on the list but for those looking for something different, it is a good way to get around hassle free while knowing you’ll be around other backpackers. What you are really paying for is a scaled down tour and for the first time traveler, this can be a good option if they don’t feel comfortable traveling on their own.

Low Cost Carriers- By far the cheapest option for traveling Europe, these airlines are so prolific that it helps keeps fares cheap. You can often find tickets where the fare is just the taxes. Companies like SkyEurope, Transavia, EasyJet, and RyanAir offer flights throughout the continent for dirt cheap. It cost me 20 pounds to fly from London to Amsterdam, 25 euros to fly from Paris to Germany, and 60 euros to go from Stockholm to Amsterdam. Book early and you can get tickets for mere pennies.

EuroRail Pass- Getting a rail pass is a good option if you are going to be traveling across vast distances. The European rail system is very good and very cheap over short distances. However, when you start boarding night trains across multiple countries, the rail system becomes a bit more expensive. Rail Passes are a great way to save quite a few euros and are a must for anyone looking to take the trains over long distances.

Use these options and you are bound to save money while you travel around Europe! Europe is expensive but there are still cheap ways to get around!

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Travel Tips | 12 Comments

England in Pictures

August 3, 2008

On this fine Sunday, let’s all relax and enjoy the beauty of England.

London
London

Salisbury

Cornwall

Bristol
Bristol

Bath

Plymouth

Stratford-Upon-Avon

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Travel Photos | 8 Comments

Cornwall

July 29, 2008

After I left Salisbury, I headed west to Cornwall, the furthest west you can go in England. The county is filled with farms, small towns (I stayed in Lostwithiel- population 3,000), and tiny fishing villages. Cornwall is usually referred to as the backwater of England and its residents as rubes. Its image in England is like that of Kentucky or Tennessee in America and just like there, is anything but true.

This simple lifestyle is what gives Cornwall its charms and is one of the reasons why it has been the best place I’ve seen in England. i could have easily spent the whole summer here. Life in the east around London is busy- people rarely acknowledge each other, it’s all business, and everyone is rushing somewhere. You keep your head down and go on your own way. In Cornwall, everyone was friendly, life was slower, the kids could stay out at night, and there’s a plethora of outdoor activities. Though this difference could be said about any rural/city comparison in the world, the analogy certainly applies here and is why so many couples and families move here from the Big Smoke.

I was out here visiting my friends Mat and Kat. I had met them while traveling Vietnam. They were cycling around Southeast Asia and I was taking the easier train/bus route. We met up occasionally and even biked the Mekong Delta, though that turned out to be a disaster. When I told them I was coming to England, they were happy to have me and were amazing hosts who tirelessly showed me all Cornwall had to offer.

Cornwall it turns out, is very much like New England. My first night there we went to this riverside restaurant for dinner. I had the fish and chips (the best I’ve had so far) and a few of their friends came down and we spent the night chatting away. The restaurant was located on this river dotted by little sailboats. Looking out over the river, I felt like I was in the Hudson Valley in New York, with only the accents of the locals giving the location away.
Cornwall

That feeling kept with me throughout my time in Cornwall. The following day we woke up early (9 am) and headed to the Camel Trail. The Camel Trail is a 12 mile bike trail form Bodmin to a small coastal town of Padstow. The trail takes you along the Camel River though woods, estuaries, and eventually up the coast. It was a beautiful easy ride, though by the end of the return trip I was a little tired since I’m pretty out of shape. Biking along, we stopped at the Camel Valley Vineyards, one of the few wineries in England to actual make something drinkable. Though I didn’t like their reds, their white wine was tasty. From the hill they are on, you can see the surrounding farmland. Farms dot the rolling hills and cows and sheep could be seen for miles. The hilly area reminded me of Vermont with it’s farms, wineries, and dairy producers.

After awhile, we landed in Padstow and I found had returned home. All around me people were sitting in the marina snacking on friend seafood and french fries as the seagulls circled overhead waiting for their meal. Tourists flooded in and out of the restaurants and kids snacked on ice cream and fudge. Candy stores selling rock candy and taffy lined the streets and adults sat outside with a beer. In the water, people sailed, wakeboarded, or swam while some boats headed out to sea. Yes, I had returned home to Rockport, or Gloucester, or the fishing villages of Maine, where all the locals go in the summer time to escape the city. I can remember many trips as a kid to places like this.

We spent lunch time there and after digesting our meal headed back home but not before stopping off at the winery to pick up a few bottles of their white. That night a a BBQ erupted among the locals in the town center. Families kept showing up and before you knew it, it seemed like half the town’s children were playing the stream while the parents kept a watchful eye. It was a real friendly small town atmosphere and is part of the reason why my friends feel in love with the place. Again, it was like being in New England. All around New England small towns have a similar close and cozy feel. Everybody knows your name.

Maybe I enjoyed my time there because it reminded me of New England. Then again, I’ve always had a soft sport of the outdoors and, though I’m a city guy, I could easily spend a few months enjoying the country, with all those bike trails, rivers, woods, fishing villages, and impromptu barbecues. Yes, Cornwall is a beautiful place and, if you ever want to get a New England feel in Old England, I suggest a trip out there.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Europe | 9 Comments

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