Kim Lodato

I don't think this posted the first time, if it appears twice, I
apologize:

Hi all,
I'll be in London in July and plan to fly into Paris for a few days.
Is
anyone familiar with the Hotel de la Bourdonnais that can provide some
feedback?

I'm also a bit confused about the RER/Metro...is anyone familiar with
the routes? It looks to me like I get on the RER at the airport, and
connect with the Metro. But, it said someplace that the hotel is by
the
RER and Metro. So I thought I could just stay on the RER.

ANYWAY if anyone has suggestions for Paris novice, it'd be
appreciated.

Kim

Harvey Van Sickle

On Thu, 05 Jun 2003 20:48:29 GMT, Kim Lodato wrote

    > I don't think this posted the first time, if it appears twice, I
    > apologize:

The first post certainly came through on my server, Kim. My response -
- reposted here in case there's been some foul-up at your end --
related solely to the RER question.


----------------------------
The RER is a regional, "Greater Paris" system: think of it as an
express route, with fewer stations than would be the case with local
trains.

The Metro, on the other hand, is a normal urban underground system,
with many more local stops on the lines. (The trains are different --
they physically can't run RER trains on Metro lines -- but as I
understand it there's a long, and very Parisian, story behind that.)

The two systems cross at major interchange stations; if your hotel
says it is by the RER and Metro, it probably lies near one of these
interchanges which services both systems. (If that is the case, you
can indeed travel from the airport to the near-the-hotel station
without switching between the RER and the Metro.)
------------------------------

I realised after I posted it, though, that depending on which RER line
your hotel is, it might be simpler to to do RER/Metro than an RER/RER
change of lines.

--
Cheers,
Harvey

For e-mail, change harvey to whhvs.

Ryan B

"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On Thu, 05 Jun 2003 20:48:29 GMT, Kim Lodato wrote
    > > I don't think this posted the first time, if it appears twice, I
    > > apologize:
    > The first post certainly came through on my server, Kim. My response -
    > - reposted here in case there's been some foul-up at your end --
    > related solely to the RER question.
    > ----------------------------
    > The RER is a regional, "Greater Paris" system: think of it as an
    > express route, with fewer stations than would be the case with local
    > trains.
    > The Metro, on the other hand, is a normal urban underground system,
    > with many more local stops on the lines. (The trains are different --
    > they physically can't run RER trains on Metro lines -- but as I
    > understand it there's a long, and very Parisian, story behind that.)
    > The two systems cross at major interchange stations; if your hotel
    > says it is by the RER and Metro, it probably lies near one of these
    > interchanges which services both systems. (If that is the case, you
    > can indeed travel from the airport to the near-the-hotel station
    > without switching between the RER and the Metro.)
    > ------------------------------
    > I realised after I posted it, though, that depending on which RER line
    > your hotel is, it might be simpler to to do RER/Metro than an RER/RER
    > change of lines.
    > --
    > Cheers,
    > Harvey
    > For e-mail, change harvey to whhvs.


He will have to change from the RER at either Gare Nord or Chatelet as the
train from CDG is RER line B and the RER somewhat near the hotel (in 7th
Arr.) is on line C. Take the RER line B from CDG to Chatelet then Metro
line 1 to Concorde and then line 8 to Ecole Militaire. Walk one block
towards the Ecole Militaire and turn right onto Avenue de la Bourdonnais to
the hotel.

Ryan

Derek

I haven't stayed at Hotel La Bourdonnais, but I was in that area last
week (which is excellent, right by Rue Cler) and there is no RER
station nearby. From CDG Terminal 2 (take the free shuttle bus if you
arrive in T1) go to the RER station right in the airport and buy a
ticket to Gare du Nord. Should be 7.70 euros. At Gare du Nord you
transfer to the metro. As others have said, your RER ticket is good on
the metro. Gare du Nord is big and I have on occasion accidentally
exited before I meant to. If this happens, you need to buy a metro
ticket (1.30 euros) to get back in and on to your destination. For
Hotel La Bourdonnais the closest metro station is Ecole Militaire,
which is not on a direct line from Gare du Nord. Take the red #4 line
towards Porte d'Orleans to Strasboug St. Denis, then transfer to the
purple #8 line towards Balard. Get off at Ecole Militaire and you
should be within about 3 blocks of your hotel.

That, at least, is how I did it last week.

If you panic while there and need to hear American accented english
and have some oreos or a hamburger, check out "The Real McCoy", a
little shop selling American food. Don't remember the exact location,
but it's very close.

On Thu, 05 Jun 2003 16:48:29 -0400, Kim Lodato
wrote:

    >I don't think this posted the first time, if it appears twice, I
    >apologize:
    >Hi all,
    >I'll be in London in July and plan to fly into Paris for a few days.
    >Is
    >anyone familiar with the Hotel de la Bourdonnais that can provide some
    >feedback?
    >I'm also a bit confused about the RER/Metro...is anyone familiar with
    >the routes? It looks to me like I get on the RER at the airport, and
    >connect with the Metro. But, it said someplace that the hotel is by
    >the
    >RER and Metro. So I thought I could just stay on the RER.
    >ANYWAY if anyone has suggestions for Paris novice, it'd be
    >appreciated.
    >Kim

Mxsmanic

Derek writes:

    > If you panic while there and need to hear American
    > accented english and have some oreos or a hamburger,
    > check out "The Real McCoy", a little shop selling
    > American food.

If you don't mind paying $9.35 for a 1-lb bag of Oreos, that is.

    > Don't remember the exact location, but it's very close.

194, rue de Grenelle, 7e

A store called Thanksgiving in the Marais has American stuff, too. The
Oreos are cheaper, but it's much further away.


--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

J Quick

"Kim Lodato" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I don't think this posted the first time, if it appears twice, I
    > apologize:
    > Hi all,
    > I'll be in London in July and plan to fly into Paris for a few days.
    > Is
    > anyone familiar with the Hotel de la Bourdonnais that can provide some
    > feedback?
    > I'm also a bit confused about the RER/Metro...is anyone familiar with
    > the routes? It looks to me like I get on the RER at the airport, and
    > connect with the Metro. But, it said someplace that the hotel is by
    > the
    > RER and Metro. So I thought I could just stay on the RER.
    > ANYWAY if anyone has suggestions for Paris novice, it'd be
    > appreciated.

The RER and Metro aren't the most convenient systems to learn and use when
you've got luggage, particularly if you have more than one bag.

I recommend that you take the Roissybus from CDG to Opera, and then taxi for
the short distance from there to your hotel. No stairs, escalators, or
crossing of huge metro/RER stations required with this plan, and it wouldn't
cost much more for the convenience of the brief taxi ride. After you get to
your hotel, you can explore the metro and RER stations that you'd be using
for the trip to CDG to see how convenient the route would be for your
departure. From Opera, you could also take Metro line 8 directly to Ecole
Militaire, but I don't know if these metro stations have stairs or
escalators.

Mike Jacoubowsky

    > > If you panic while there and need to hear American
    > > accented english and have some oreos or a hamburger,
    > > check out "The Real McCoy", a little shop selling
    > > American food.
    > If you don't mind paying $9.35 for a 1-lb bag of Oreos, that is.

Once you've discovered Monoprix, life is good. When I think about how many
people visit Paris and spend $3 for a tiny bottle of water or 8oz soda (and
who knows what for anything else) because they don't know about Monoprix
(walking past it because they thought it was a department store like a
Mervyn's in the US)...

And one of the coolest things about Monoprix is that it's one of the few
places in Paris where, if you speak really dreadful French, they don't speak
English in reply. Makes it much more of an adventure!

I can't wait to get back. July 17th-28th, here I come! Just a day or two
in Paris however, as I'm following the Tour de France up from the Pyrenees.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Mxsmanic

Mike Jacoubowsky writes:

    > Once you've discovered Monoprix, life is good.

Monoprix is ubiquitous ... but I've never seen Oreos there. Has
something changed?

    > When I think about how many people visit Paris
    > and spend $3 for a tiny bottle of water or 8oz soda
    > (and who knows what for anything else) because they
    > don't know about Monoprix ...

Or because they don't want to stand in line or be harassed by security
guards. Those are my reasons for not buying bottles of water at
Monoprix. I do buy groceries there a lot, though.

Most supermarkets in France sell bottled water at cost, incidentally.

    > And one of the coolest things about Monoprix is
    > that it's one of the few places in Paris where,
    > if you speak really dreadful French, they don't speak
    > English in reply. Makes it much more of an adventure!

Like most supermarkets, Monoprix caters to the locals. As a result,
most of the staff doesn't speak English. Supermarkets are always a good
place to see locals, and only locals.

    > July 17th-28th, here I come!

Beware the heat.


--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

Jcoulter

"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    >> > If you panic while there and need to hear American
    >> > accented english and have some oreos or a hamburger,
    >> > check out "The Real McCoy", a little shop selling
    >> > American food.
    >> If you don't mind paying $9.35 for a 1-lb bag of Oreos, that is.
    >
    > Once you've discovered Monoprix, life is good.

    > And one of the coolest things about Monoprix is that it's one of the
    > few places in Paris where, if you speak really dreadful French, they
    > don't speak English in reply. Makes it much more of an adventure!
    >

LOL Monoprix was one of our first finds (Aix en Provence July 94) and it
seems there is always something that we have to buy there.

Mike Jacoubowsky

    > > And one of the coolest things about Monoprix is
    > > that it's one of the few places in Paris where,
    > > if you speak really dreadful French, they don't speak
    > > English in reply. Makes it much more of an adventure!
    > Like most supermarkets, Monoprix caters to the locals. As a result,
    > most of the staff doesn't speak English. Supermarkets are always a good
    > place to see locals, and only locals.

Precisely. And why go to France (or anyplace else) if you just want to see
more tourists? You learn a lot about people just from seeing what they buy
in a store, and listening to them interact with each other in a normal
setting.

Plus, you can get into some really embarrassing situations, such as the
supermarket in Bourg en Bresse last year. I thought I had everything under
control... found a place with a great selection, bought a bunch of fruit,
but didn't realize you had to weigh them first. Long line at the checkout,
get to the front, and the woman starts talking very, very quickly, in French
that dramatically exceeded my comprehension (which isn't difficult). Didn't
take too long to figure out I was supposed to weigh the fruit. Still a very
long line behind me as the cashier motions to a young employee to weigh the
fruit for me. Said employee *very* slowly takes the fruit back to the
produce section, *very* slowly weighs it, and *very* slowly returns. You
should have seen the looks I was getting from everyone in line! Did I want
to get really really small and crawl out of the place? Absolutely!

But it's things like that that help to bring home the point that not
everything's the same everywhere, and you've just learned one more thing.
At the time it seems terrible, but it will be one of those memories I will
*never* forget... and how do you put a price on that?

    > > July 17th-28th, here I come!
    > Beware the heat.

Remember last year's heat wave? I climbed Ventoux (by bicycle) when it was
35C. The last week of my trip the high wasn't below 32C, and when I *tried*
to leave Paris, things were so bad they had called some sort of pollution
alert such that max speeds on the highway to the airport were restricted,
which, added to the fact that my shuttle arrived at the hotel late, made me
miss my flight out.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Mike Jacoubowsky writes:
    > > Once you've discovered Monoprix, life is good.
    > Monoprix is ubiquitous ... but I've never seen Oreos there. Has
    > something changed?
    > > When I think about how many people visit Paris
    > > and spend $3 for a tiny bottle of water or 8oz soda
    > > (and who knows what for anything else) because they
    > > don't know about Monoprix ...
    > Or because they don't want to stand in line or be harassed by security
    > guards. Those are my reasons for not buying bottles of water at
    > Monoprix. I do buy groceries there a lot, though.
    > Most supermarkets in France sell bottled water at cost, incidentally.
    > > And one of the coolest things about Monoprix is
    > > that it's one of the few places in Paris where,
    > > if you speak really dreadful French, they don't speak
    > > English in reply. Makes it much more of an adventure!
    > Like most supermarkets, Monoprix caters to the locals. As a result,
    > most of the staff doesn't speak English. Supermarkets are always a good
    > place to see locals, and only locals.
    > > July 17th-28th, here I come!
    > Beware the heat.
    > --
    > Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

David Eerdmans

J Quick wrote in article
...
    > The RER and Metro aren't the most convenient systems to learn and use
when
    > you've got luggage, particularly if you have more than one bag.

I think it depends on how familiar you are with riding mass transit. If you
are used to any other metro system in a large city, there are not much
difficulties in using the metro in Paris.

Loads of baggage can be cumbersome in the metro, indeed.

Regards,
David

Devil

On Fri, 06 Jun 2003 20:59:51 +0000, David Eerdmans wrote:

    > Loads of baggage can be cumbersome in the metro, indeed.

Elsewhere too. About anywhere, actually.

Mxsmanic

Mike Jacoubowsky writes:

    > Remember last year's heat wave?

There have been so many heat waves in recent years that they all just
blur together now.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.