I just returned from an amazing vacation to Paris and Ibiza. Tim and I flew to Paris out of Dulles on Air France. It was my first time flying on AF and the overall experience was delightful. This year I achieved gold medallion status on Delta, so we were able to hang out in the AF lounge at Dulles before we left. If you are ever in that lounge be sure to have the champagne. We were thrilled to try a few of the French wines available in the lounge, but the champagne was absolutely fantastic. They do not carry the same brand on board, so take advantage of the delightful treat in the lounge.
Once on board we were happy to be able to fly out in business class. The service was top notch and my lobster appetizer was so lovely I had to take a picture of it. The aircraft had personal entertainment systems with a wide variety of movie, music and games choices.
Our return flight was on their new A380, the massive new double decker plane that holds approx 450+ people. We flew back in economy on the top level of the plane and I have to say the service level was the same as on the way out. They were very friendly and attentive and continued to offer us plenty of drinks to hydrate or just enjoy some additional French beverages. The design of the plane offers side stowage drawers on the right and left hand sides of the plane. We were in the bulkhead, so the side storage unit was great for holding all our little items including books, bottles of water, etc. If you get a chance to fly on the A380, try to book a top floor window seat to experience this new design.
Once we arrived in Paris we took the 30 minute train ride into the city (by far the fastest way into Paris from CDG). Our hotel was in the happening Latin Quarter in the St Germain area. The hotel was lovely and the perfect spot for anyone who wants to be near the sites but also in the heart of the restaurant/nightlife area. I always recommend seeing the sites via the hop-on hop-off bus system. They cover all possible tourist locations in the most efficient way. We were walking distance from Notre Dame, so we started there and took the tour inside this 850 year old church. From there we got on the bus and listened to the tour guide while determining our next stops. We waited in the crazy line to go up the Eiffel Tower and it was worth it. It was a breath-taking view and kinda cool just to walk around hanging out and drinking coffee. At night we hit a pub/kareoke/nightclub establishment. It was all things to all people and we had a blast. Overall it was a great couple of days and I recommend if you visit Paris that you be sure to fit in a crepe for breakfast, cafe au lait everyday, yummy croissants and of course French onion soup.
Next stop Ibiza! Actually, we were in Ibiza for a week. So I’ll send a blog about that part of the trip separately.
I will tell you that on our return from Ibiza we spent one last night in Paris. We stayed in a lovely hotel over by the eiffel tower and were able to go on a night boat tour around the river. We really enjoyed that boat tour and absolutely loved our final meal in Paris at Le Bosquet. The best French onion soup ever! Paris did not disappoint and except for the rain that you really can’t avoid in France, it was an unforgettable experience.
Our long weekend trip from Washington DC to Alaska started on June 30th. I was happy that my friend Beth was on board with a 4 day trip to “The Last Frontier.” We arrived in Anchorage around 11PM on the 30th, not that you could tell with the sun shining bright. I forgot how beautiful the summer’s are in Alaska courtesy of the midnight sun. The 11 hour journey left us un-entertained by our extremely chatty taxi cab driver upon arrival. We checked into the Sheraton downtown and got some much needed sleep. The next morning we filled up on the fantastic breakfast buffet at the hotel, picked up our rental car and hit the road.
