France 2015 Day 4 – Reims to Rouen

Woke up early as usual and got prepared quicker than the day before. It was a quick 5mins walk to the Notre Dame cathedral. I thought it was yet another cathedral but this had the same same but different effect. This one was not as awesome as the one in Strasbourg but still huge. The stained glasses were numerous and worth the quick look.

Notre Dame de Reims.
Notre Dame de Reims.
Entrance of the Cathedral.
Entrance of the Cathedral.
High ceiling within the Cathedral.
High ceiling within the Cathedral.
Beautiful stained glass within the cathedral.
Beautiful stained glass within the cathedral.

I had placed Tau palace as part of the itinerary but it was closed on Mondays, and frankly, we didn’t have enough time. Walked towards Eglise Saint Jacques but it was closed as well. Went to the pastry shop La Mie Caline and had breakfast. It wasn’t as fantastic as the one in Strasbourg again, but it did fill the stomach.

Tau Palace.
Tau Palace.
Eglise Saint Jacques.
Eglise Saint Jacques.
La Mie Caline bakery.
La Mie Caline bakery.
Pastry.
Pastry.
Fountain at Reims.
Fountain at Reims.
Reims street.
Reims street.

Went back to the hotel and by 11am we were all checked out, having paid 65 euros more, 12.50 for the carpark and the rest dinner.

Due to the irreparable damage to my shoes, we were inclined to visit one of the outlets outside France, in Usines Center Paris Nord 2. About 1.5hrs of driving, we arrived and parked at the free parking. As we walked about, we were actually quite disappointed with the variety the shops had to offer. Big brands couldn’t be seen but rather various shops selling mixture of brands, kinda reminded me of Queensway shopping center, only difference was this was not only selling sports apparel. There was a huge Petit Bateau shop which was good as we bought quite a bit for Baby K and the Orchestra brand was quite affordable. Didn’t really see nice track shoes and in the end, purchased Geox shoes which was about 85 euros, not that cheap. There wasn’t tourist Vat refund either nor many variety of food, which really summed up the disappointing trip.

Usines Center Paris Nord 2
Usines Center Paris Nord 2
Huge Petit Bateau outlet.
Huge Petit Bateau outlet.
My old shoes replaced by new.
My old shoes replaced by new.

We decided to have lunch elsewhere and therefore drove towards Rouen. Before leaving, carried out baby care works as previous days and replacement of my shoes to the new ones. Then it was a 2hrs drive towards Rouen with a stop by at a service station. There we bought sandwiches for lunch before continuing the journey.

Panini.
Panini.
Chicken burger.
Chicken burger.
Service center.
One of such service station.

Baby K got extremely cranky, wonder if the tiredness of the travel had gotten to him. It didn’t really help with a frustrated wife who was also tired. The journey to Rouen was least enjoyable.

Arriving at the Interhotel Rouen Cathedral, it was confirmed that there weren’t any hotel carparks and that I had to park in public. Luckily there was one space available and close to the hotel. Paid for 30mins of parking since it was going to be free at 7pm onwards till 9am in the morning.

The other bad thing the hotel was that there weren’t any lifts. This meant I need to carry 2 heavy luggage up the steps to the 3rd floor. The only good that came out of this stay was the close proximity and the view from the balcony. The room was simple, even less furnished than the previous one and didn’t even come with an airconditioner. Luckily it was only for a night’s stay.

Bedroom.
Bedroom.
Bathroom
Bathroom

Baby K was extremely cranky, most likely he hadn’t gotten over the jet lag and was living on Singapore’s time and it was his bedtime. Another difficult hour before we wrapped him up and he went to sleep. Yet again, we will be taking away food and have them in the room.

9 plus and I went out in search of food leaving sleeping baby and wife in the room. Took some photos of the cathedral as it was just sunset. Turned around and noticed the Gros Horloge just nearby. Took some photos with it and from there I could see the sunset in the distance. Couldn’t stay longer to enjoy the scenery as it was getting late and we haven’t had dinner. Went back to one of the restaurants near the Rouen Cathedrale that was still open and had an English menu, Al’1. Ordered a bread toasted bread with ham and beacon with fries and another 2 Strasbourg sausages with fries and a mineral water. Preparations was quick but there were limited options on takeaways and obviously limited English.

Rouen street.
Rouen street.
Rouen Cathedral
Rouen Cathedral
Sunset over the cathedral.
Sunset over the cathedral.
Gros Horloge.
Gros Horloge.
Al 1 restaurant.
Al 1 restaurant.
Inside of Al 1 restaurant.
Inside of Al 1 restaurant.
Chicken and sausage dinner.
Chicken and sausage dinner.

Back at the room, it was more preparations and cleaning while both wife and baby dozed. There was a light show supposedly at 11pm but I couldn’t make it. Had dinner somewhere in between and went to bed just before midnight. Long journey the next day and might want to visit the church for Joan of Arc, in Rouen, but we will see.

France 2015 Day 3 – Strasbourg, Nancy and Reims

Woke up early with the jet lag effect still strong. Packed most of the stuff before heading out to walk the street. Our first stop was to look for one of the recommended restaurant called Doo but unfortunately, like most other shop, it was still not opened.

Made our way to La Petite France. The buildings and the river made a picturesque scenery. Taking some photos, we left and walked in the direction of the Unesco listed Strasbourg cathedral. En route there was a bread shop that was opened and we popped in to get some pastries. It was a pleasant surprise as the shop Woerle Boulangerie was in fact quite popular and it served some delicious pastries. We ate within the shop itself.

Strasbourg old town.
Strasbourg old town.
La Petit France.
La Petit France.
Inside Woerle bakery.
Inside Woerle bakery.
Pastry.
Pastry.
Chocolate pasty.
Chocolate pasty.
Sugar coated pastry.
Sugar coated pastry.
Woerle Bakery.
Woerle Bakery.

Walked another 5 mins and we arrived at the gigantic Strasbourg cathedral covered with incredible gothic sculptures. I was in awe at the size of the building and the details of it all. I was sure this was the best of the Notre Dame, and if you only got one to see, see this one.

We walked around the cathedral, once in a while snapping different perspective of it. It was a good choice to go really early before the tour groups poured in from all over.

Towering above the buildings was the huge cathedral.
Towering above the buildings was the huge cathedral.
Amazing door arch.
Amazing door arch.
Intricate gothic architecture.
Intricate gothic architecture.
Strasbourg Cathedral.
Strasbourg Cathedral.
Palais Rohan entrance.
Palais Rohan entrance. One of the other places of interest that we didn’t visit.

Walked back to the hotel and checked out a while later. Our first long drive started and already I was having trouble getting onto the highway. Finally did so after driving around in circles.

It was a 2 hrs drive to Nancy, smooth sailing most of time, punctuated with tolls and the occasional crying complaints from baby K who either was hungry or sleepy.

We arrived in Nancy and still I struggled with getting to one of the carparks that I had input into the GPS. Eventually we decided to park at the parking lot some 500 meters away and walked to Place Stanislas. It was almost a 15 mins walk, straightforward but a little tiring as it was hot.

The Unesco listed Place Stanislas square was, which some said to be one of the most beautiful square in France. It was nice, with the golden gates and exquisite lampposts and hanging lamps. The sculptures at diagonals and of course the grandeur of the hotel summed up the beauty of it all. Didn’t had much time to sit around but we did have lunch at Jean Lamour, a pastries/desert shop selling really pretty pastries. Our quiche, cheesecake, tart and eclair washed down with a latte did the trick for the lunch.

Gates of Place Stanislas.
Gates of Place Stanislas.
Golden lighting.
Golden lighting.
Nice golden gate.
Nice golden gate.
Place Stanislas square.
Place Stanislas square.
Place Stanislas square.
Place Stanislas square.
One of the gates to the square.
One of the gates to the square.
Lunch of Quiche, tart and cheesecake.
Lunch of Quiche, tart and cheesecake.
Eclair.
Eclair.
Parking coupon.
Parking coupon.

Walked back to the carpark and again had to spend some time with baby care, changing nappies and washing and sterilising before hitting the road again. From where we parked, we can see a huge cathedral but we didn’t have time for that. My shoes also decided to give up the bottom soles and I am left when a thin cloth base to cover my feet.

Another cathedral towering in the distance. No time for that.
Another cathedral towering in the distance. No time for that.

Another 2hrs journey to Reims and baby got cranky due to tiredness. It was quite challenging as there wasn’t much we could do and he didn’t like the car seat too much. Wife was on the pumps and we could only let him drink from the bottle till he dozed off. There were more variations of speed limits because of road works, roads becoming single lanes and due to going through towns but it was still easy driving. Did a service stop 30mins from Reims to pump petrol and continued forth to our hotel at the Mercure Reims Cathedrale.

There was basement parking with ample spaces and it was great to have direct access of the lift to and from the rooms since I had to make a few trips to carry the heavy luggage and the miscellaneous stuff. The room was smaller the the Novotel and not as furnished with the washing accessories but I guess what you pay was what you get.

Again the same routine of cleaning up and again baby was cranky for sleep and did fell asleep after a while. We were then forced to order room service for dinner. The food was very nicely decorated and reasonably tasty.

Bedroom.
Bedroom.
Bathroom.
Bathroom.
In room dinner of cod and crab meat salad.
In room dinner of cod and crab meat salad.
...and omelette.
…and omelette.

Outside the sun set at around 10pm but we spent the remaining night to get ready for tomorrow.

Escape plan to Switzerland and France June 2015

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Switzerland and France 2015:

Total duration 15D14N
Singapore is 6hrs ahead of Switzerland and France.
Flight time is 12hrs 40mins on Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Zurich.

Morning flight on 12th June at 1:20am and arrival in Zurich at 8am.
Return flight is on the 26th June at 11:45pm and arrival in Singapore at 5:55am.

Day 0 Preparations for long trip and the flight
Day 1 Zurich City
Day 2 Basel and Strasbourg
Day 3 Nancy stopover and Reims
Day 4 Usines Center Paris Nord and Rouen
Day 5 Normandy Beach and Mont St. Michel
Day 6 Blois and Chateau Chambord
Day 7 Chateau Chenonceau and Lyon
Day 8 Galleries Lafayette and Annecy
Day 9 Annecy and Geneva
Day 10 Lausanne and Montreux
Day 11 Zermatt and Riffelalp
Day 12 Gruyere and Bern
Day 13 Brienz, Lungern viewpoint and Lucerne
Day 14 Mt. Rigi and Zurich
Day 15 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan hijacked the initial plans of progressively extending flight time for our baby. The SG50 promo that gave 50% discount on amount of Krisflyer miles redemption on selected destinations were just too good to be missed. What better time to travel to Europe with such low miles required? Zurich was one of the destination and we had to decide between Central Europe or France/Swiss. We chose the latter as it gave more assurance in terms of higher probabilities of modern facilities should we urgently require for our baby.

Budget nature: Euros were somewhat low but high Swiss Francs made the trip a little expensive.

Even without the tickets, the entire trip came up to be around SGD5k for the whole family. The travel in France was rather bearable with the weakened Euros but the Swiss standard of living was just too expensive, made worse with the decoupling of the Francs against the Euros.

Complexity: Getting around in a car was easy in France, but difficult in Swiss.

Driving in France was fairly easy, but long distances to cover. Reststops along the highways were good for rest and lunch. Driving in Swiss was extremely difficult in cities. Parking were hard to find and roads were crowded with other modes of transport. The long distance travel with crying baby in a uncomfortable car made the journey really unpleasant. Tolls along the French highway collect quite a sum of coins while vignette issue in Swiss was covered since we got the car from Zurich first.