We got extremely lucky with the hotel the first couple of days: we had booked online again from London with Expedia (which really should be paying me for all the times I mentioned them!). The hotel turned out to be a three stars renovated building in a quiet street, and we had the biggest bathroom I had never seen. When we asked to stay longer, we were told it wouldn’t be a problem because they had rooms available. However, we had to pay the regular rate, which was over €155, more than double what we paid through Expedia. And of course, the rooms were not available online anymore…

We browse Expedia again but nothing good came out. The couple of affordable places we saw had terrible reviews and I’m not booking an hotel which has 99% terrible reviews. Eventually, we found another hotel in the same neighborhood to avoid crossing the city with our backpacks again (the subway is not backpack friendly). The room was on the 7th floor and the bathroom was a toilet plus a hose above it for shower. Ugh. The door couldn’t be locked so it flooded everywhere — I mean, could have flooded everywhere if we had had enough water. But at the 7th floor, we only had a trickle… I guess it’s part of the Paris experience.

You can follow our French trip here on Flickr: France (2010).

Mime at the Eiffel Tower

Doors at the Tuileries
Pompidou Center
The Eiffel Tower

Pompidou Fountain

Pompidou Center

Pompidou Center

Pompidou Center

Pompidou Center

Four French Men

Chairs at the Tuileries

Sculpture at the Tuileries
The Eiffel Tower and Tower Montparnasse
The Tuileries

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8 Comments

  1. Poem July 16, 2010 at 2:55 pm

    I was disappointed with the so-called 3 stars hotel we had in Paris. Good thing we didn’t stay too long inside.

    Reply
  2. London Caller July 16, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    I love Pompidou Centre.
    Did you see The Lloyd’s Building in London, built by the same architect, Richard Rogers?

    Oh, we had Bastille Day celebration in London last weekend. Did you attend it? It was really good.
    I had some really good French wine!! 🙂

    I saw so many people dressed in black and white horizontal stripe pattern T-shirts, dress, etc there!
    Is that to symbolise the storming of the Bastille?

    Reply
  3. Tulsa Gentleman July 16, 2010 at 11:31 pm

    The hotel I had in Paris was spartan but comfortable, It was on a noisey corner and the view out the window was of a Sex Shoppe. Part of the Paris experience I suppose.

    Your photos are wonderful as always.

    Reply
  4. Yogi July 18, 2010 at 8:34 am

    Great photographs, different perspectives of the sights than what is normal. I’m really intrigued by the Pompidou Center.

    Reply
  5. Linguist-in-Waiting July 18, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    Ah, the building that has weird colors and tubes. And yes, sometimes advance planning can pay off, as it gives you more flexibility and better rates. Although someone’s been trying to convince me that going spontaneous is a fun thing as well.

    Reply
  6. Zhu July 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm

    @Poem – From my experience, stars don’t mean much in French hotels.

    @London Caller – I believe the horizontal stripes was made to match the flag, no? We were in France for Bastille Day, more on that later…;-)

    @Tulsa Gentleman – Ah yes, a true Parisian experience!

    @Yogi – The Pompidou Center is quite funky indeed, it showcases modern art.

    @Linguist-in-Waiting – We try not to plan too much but in France, it does pay off to plan ahead, especially in July and August.

    Reply
  7. London Paris Train July 22, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    You are just amazing Zhu. I am just a fan of yours. I also keep traveling to europe and UK and shoot many of such photos but you are a much better photographer. I would like to use your photos on my website. please approve and send me approval on info@londonparistrain.com. Thanks, Ruan

    Reply
  8. expatraveler August 1, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    That’s such a sad story about the hotels. Ours was a great price at the time back in 2003, but now I think I will definitely pass up Paris for other areas, such as where I used to live in the Alsace region!

    It is interesting to see how much we travel and see while on vacation though!!! My dream is to have a month to relax and travel and photograph at odd hours of night and morning.. 😉

    Reply

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