Category: Vacations
Personal vacations!
Paris Trip Report – Versailles
Palace Exterior
Ladies’ Chambers
The Gardens
The Queen’s Hamlet
Paris Trip Report – Departure
CDJ-JFK
DL405 (CDG→JFK) and DL404 (JFK→CDG) are both operated by Airbus 330-300s, so we knew what to expect from our seats and in-flight experience from our trip over. Since this was a last-minute upgrade, we couldn’t reserve our meals in advance, but we were not worried at all: Delta has never disappointed us with their meals.It was on this flight that I treated myself to some desert wine: De Bortoli Vat 5 Botrytis Semillon. Though too sweet (for my tastes) for regular drinking, it was the perfect way to end my meal after the ordeals of the day.Upon reaching JFK, we found ourselves back at gate B38 – the same gate we left from!After navigating customs, grabbing our bags, and dropping things off for our next flight — I didn’t want to try asking more from the Air France folks at CDG after the difficulties we experienced simply checking in and have our bags checked directly through to RDU the way the Delta agents were able to do for me. It wasn’t a big difference since the agents in JFK were right next to the bag drop.While waiting for our next flight, I happened to look out the window and noticed not only the infamous Pink Plane, but also a group of F-15s, and KLM’s Orange Plane!On take-off, we were able to see a “State of Kuwait” Boeing 747 (confirmed to be 9K-GAA, which was flying between Andrew’s and JFK), so I’m not sure if it was related to that at all.Final Thoughts
Overall, the trip was an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to go back to France. I would like to spend more than a week there on my next week, and see more than just Paris: Nice, Marseilles, Lyon, and Normandy all come to mind. If you have an opportunity to travel, take it – there is so much to see, and so little time!Paris Trip Report – Notre-Dame de Paris, Catacombs
Notre-Dame de Paris
Making use of our Navigo passes, we hopped on the RER and found ourselves deposited right across from Notre-Dame de Paris. Being a place of worship, admission is always free and the line to enter the cathedral itself is fairly quick moving. There is, however, a fee to climb the towers (and this has a much longer line).I am not a religious individual, but I appreciate the skill and dedication displayed throughout the cathedral. Seeing the morning light come in through the stained glass windows was truly magical.A short walk from Notre-Dame is Sainte-Chapelle – another cathedral with stunning stained glass windows. Unfortunately we weren’t able to duck in on this outing, but we were able to appreciate it from the outside.Catacombs of Paris
Hopping on another train, we made our way to the Catacombs of Paris. Seeing the line here, we were very glad we purchased tickets in advance! The line wrapped around the central island and was starting to make its way toward the metro stop.While the experience was amazing, it is definitely not something that is recommended for people with limited mobility or taller individuals (you will be bending your neck forward if you are more than 68 inches tall, and if you are more than 72 inches, it will be thoroughly uncomfortable). It is also a great deal of walking on uneven ground and the stairs leading both down to the catacombs and back up are spiral – not great for people that get dizzy easily.Paris Trip Report – Arrival and Eiffel Tower
Paris Trip Report – Arrival and Eiffel Tower
Paris Trip Report – Notre-Dame de Paris, Catacombs
Paris Trip Report – Louvre & Musée d’Orsay
Paris Trip Report – Versailles
As I wrote about earlier, I managed to score a couple of inexpensive (relatively speaking, of course) tickets to Paris that I managed to confirm upgrades on from Economy to Delta One by using my Global Upgrade Certificates. Out of curiosity, I looked at what Economy vs. Delta One tickets would go for across another holiday — the 4th of July. Two tickets in Economy cost almost as much as one ticket in Delta One; not a bad savings, eh?
A few days before it was time to depart, my girlfriend and I received an email to pick our meals prior to departure. I opted for the bass while my girlfriend opted for the beef.
JFK SkyClub and SkyDeck
Since we were flying on an international flight, my girlfriend and I were able to visit the JFK SkyClub in Terminal 4 on status alone (my Diamond and her Gold). This offered us a chance to get a quick bite to eat and see the planes come and go from the SkyDeck.
Whenever I route through JFK or ATL and weather permits, I make sure to take a detour to the SkyDeck. As an AvGeek, it is a wonderful experience!
JFK-CDG
Finally, it was time to make our way out of the club and to our gate. Thankfully it wasn’t a long walk (B38, with the club being at B32), and we grabbed another snack before boarding.
The Delta One cabin on the Airbus 330-300 is configured in a reverse herringbone configuration. I prefer this to the Boeing 767-300 configuration – not only are the seats more comfortable, you have much easier access to personal temperature control and a more user-friendly tray table.
Though the LSTN headphones are not active noise-cancelling, keep in mind that you need to use an adapter if you want to use your own headphones with these seats.
Once we were situated, the purser greeted us and distributed menus. Not all passengers pre-selected their meals so she collected orders and double-checked that nobody wanted to change their minds. Thanks to a helpful tailwind, we made the flight in just over 7 hours.
Icing on the cake: the flight was equipped with GoGo’s Ku (not 2Ku) WiFi.
The food was excellent, as I’ve come to expect from Delta, and the flight itself was smooth and we arrived without any issues at CDG. Though there are a variety of mass-transit options available from CDG to the hotel we were staying at, we opted to grab an Uber because of the number of bags we were traveling with. The route took us right by the Concorde, though!
Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile
Hyatt reached out to me a few months ago to inform me that the hotel that I was planning to stay at would be undergoing renovations and wouldn’t be ready for my stay. They were kind enough to rebook us at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile, however, and I was able to modify the booking to a club-level room.
The hotel is attached to the Le Palais des Congrès de Paris, a major exhibition center, and also had easy access to the mall there. It also offered ready access to both the Metro (line 1) and RER (line C). One of the first things we did was pick up a pair of Navigo cards for easy access to all public transport in Paris – since we were staying through Sunday morning, it worked out perfectly.
We knew we would be taking a chance since our flight was arriving at 7 AM and check-in time was 3 PM, but we were very pleasantly surprised that not only was a room available, but it had a view of the Eiffel Tower!
The Regency has two restaurants: Mayo and Windo, as well as a Regency Club. Thanks to the Club access upgrade I purchased, we were able to visit it for snacks in the evening as well as breakfast.
The Room
The room we got was on the 33rd floor of the building, with the Regency Club and Windo located on the 34th floor. Given the height of the building, the Hyatt Regency has an innovative elevator solution. The elevator alcove on each floor has a series of touchscreens where you enter your floor number before you get on an elevator. The screen will then tell you which elevator will take you there. This way, the work is more evenly distributed between the elevators and riders get to their destinations in a more timely manner. I hope more buildings take a page from their book and implement similar systems!
A word to the wise: these rooms are fairly tight fits for two for an extended period (particularly for storing clothes), and the bed might be a little firmer than what travelers are used to at American hotels. Overall quite a nice room, though!
The Regency Club
The Regency Club offers breakfast, snacks, and Aperitifs throughout the day, so once we were functional, we knew a visit was in order. Needless to say, we were thoroughly spoiled by the convenient access to excellent meat and cheese.
The Fitness Center
The fitness center at the hotel was more comprehensive than any I have seen. Not only were there treadmills and bicycles, there were also rowing machines, weight machines, free weights (dumbells as well as kettlebells), and a cable cross machine!
Arc de Triomphe
Though not visible from our room, the Arc de Triomphe is a short one mile walk from the hotel. We passed it on our way to the Eiffel Tower, though we never ascended to the summit.
Eiffel Tower
Before arriving, I noticed that virtually every visitor to Paris recommended buying skip-the-line tickets to attractions. I cannot emphasize the importance of this. Though not as long at the Eiffel Tower, lines at other attractions (like the Louvre and Versailles) can easily eat up hours of your day. Don’t make that mistake – buy tickets in advance and walk right in!
From the summit, we were treated to expansive views of the Paris skyline. They also offered champagne! Warning: they only take cash.
Back at the room, we managed to see the Tower lit up – truly a marvelous sight.
Global Upgrade Certificate Success! Thanks, @Delta!
I’ve gotten some concerned looks in the past about some of the routes and mileage runs I’ve done to maintain my status with Delta, but believe me when I say it pays off.
I posted earlier about some excitement regarding an extremely affordable trip to Paris later this year, and after having received my Global Upgrade Certificates I had one of the smoothest certificate-related calls to date. There was space available on the outbound flight, so I was immediately confirmed for Delta One! I’m still wait-listed for the return upgrades, but all things considered I’m not too worried.
One of the nice things about booking the flights separately is that my upgrade for the JFK-CDG flight is not dependent on any other space. This makes it much more straightforward to monitor with services like ExpertFlyer.
Westin Los Cabos Trip Report – “Explore Los Cabos”
Westin Los Cabos Trip Report – Arrival
Westin Los Cabos Trip Report – Westin Los Cabos Resort
Westin Los Cabos Trip Report – “Explore Los Cabos”
Westin Los Cabos Trip Report – Departure
Since we listened to the timeshare pitch, our concierge gave us a coupon for just over 20% off any activity we wanted to participate in. After some investigation, we decided on the “Explore Los Cabos” package offered by Rancho Tours. Check it out for a full list of activities included.
There was a huge scheduling issue where our names were not present on the initial excursion, but with a great deal of effort on the behalf of our concierge, we were picked up by another group that was just about to start their event.
Sea of Cortez and The Arch
The tour itself began with a ride to the marina in Cabo San Lucas to take a ride on a glass-bottom boat. The fish were ridiculously friendly! I left my 18-55mm lens at the room, thinking the 27mm lens should work nicely for general shooting throughout the day.
Halfway through the boat ride, our captain let us know we were approaching The Arch. This is the southernmost point of the West coast, and where the Sea of Cortez joins with the Pacific Ocean. My girlfriend got a few really nice shots on her S8:
Blown Glass
The next stop in our excursion was a local glass blowing factory. We had the opportunity to watch a family make a fish-shaped vase in just over 15 minutes. The final step is to cool it down in a second oven, which takes roughly a day.
Tequila!
We had the opportunity to learn the basics of tequila distillation, as well as the history behind the alcohol. Be sure to only buy tequila made with 100% agave to minimize hangovers! Just as other alcohols are finished in barrels of various types, tequila is aged in charred (to remove older flavors) barrels to create reposado and añejo from blanco. Definitely picked some up to take home with me!
The Mission
After lunch at “El Herradero”, we about wandered downtown starting with the Mission itself. Though we saw various artistic venues after the Mission, there were signs asking we not take photographs. Gorgeous artwork, though!