Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Hotel Indigo, Musee de l'Armee, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles - January 3-6, 2015


Trip Index

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Today did not start well.  Kaleb came down with food poisoning; he told me that one of the oysters he had last night tasted "kind of funny".  Yikes!  We also had to move hotels; thanks to having Platinum status, we checked out of the Le Grand at 2pm rather than the usual 12pm, but check in at the other property was officially at 3pm.  I hoped our room would be ready when we got there.


The weather was a bit drizzly, but Hotel Indigo Paris Opera was conveniently a few blocks away so we walked quickly with our luggage under a mini umbrella that I packed for the trip.  The hotel wasn't blatantly marked, just a small sign next to a glass door.  The front desk clerk told us that our room wouldn't be ready for another half-hour...eek.  Kaleb endured the wait surfing the internet in the tiny lobby while I went out in the light rain to buy some snacks and drinks at a Monop' convenience store that I spotted when we ate at Madeleine 7 (where the bad oyster came from).  There wasn't a restroom in plain sight of the lobby, but I suspected there may have been one upstairs next to the hotel restaurant but he fortunately didn't have to find it.

Thanks to Platinum status, we were upgraded to an executive room, a bit bigger than the normal one based on pictures online, but in general, the room was enormous by European standards.  The hotel had just opened last fall (remodeled from an existing property) so everything was in good condition.  The style was more contemporary versus the traditional grandeur of our previous hotel.  The front desk clerk personally took us to the room and explained all of the features.  The most interesting detail was that the drinks in the fridge were free, but only for the first night, so he advised us to drink up!  The housekeeper would replenish the fridge again but drinks would be charged accordingly.

view out our window
comfortable bed
personalized welcome screen
daybed on other side of room
large bathroom
robes and spacious rain shower
Sampar French toiletries
hotel safe
complimentary drinks (only on 1st day!)
separate water closet (thankfully...)

There was a knock at the door a few minutes after the clerk left.  One of the hotel staff stopped by with a plate of macarons and a note from the general manager wishing us a nice stay!  The pastries were fresh and delicious.

welcome macarons

We stayed in the rest of the day and half of the next, for obvious reasons. For food, I ventured a few more times to the convenience store.  I had to recall my French:  the clerk told me that I had to buy the full 4-pack of yogurt (instead of the 2 that someone had broken off prior, but I didn't know).  Another time, the clerk asked me a question and I had no idea what he was saying.  He repeated it to me three times, then finally he pulled out a plastic spoon.  Now I know what a "cuillere" is.  I didn't take any pictures of our makeshift meals but they consisted of sandwiches, brioche bread, Nutella, fruit, yogurt, instant cup noodles, tea, and a huge jar of foie gras terrine (for me).  I should have bought a bunch of foie gras to take home.

The afternoon of January 4, Kaleb was feeling good enough to take a walk outside and get fresh air.  We wanted to use our Paris Museum Pass again, so we visited the Musee de l'Armee, where Napoleon is buried.

on Alexander III bridge
approaching the Musee de L'Armee
entering Napoleon's tomb
looking down at his sarcophagus
beautiful dome above
on the bottom level
using Google Translate to read the details

We also visited the army museum; many of the exhibits did not have an English translation, so Kaleb used the Google Translate app on his phone with the camera option to dynamically decipher the words.  It was amazing to see the text in the live camera image instantly transform from French to English.

There was a small cafeteria on site so we grabbed a snack of ham and cheese sandwich and hot chocolate. (chocolat viennois)


The sun was setting, rendering Paris strikingly beautiful.  What could be better than a French sunset and a warm Nutella crepe?

lots of pop-up crepe stands along the river
nom nom

Trying to get more use out of our Paris Museum Pass, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe.  It turned out that it was free admission on the first Sunday of the month during winter time.  To get to the Arc, there are underground tunnels, but the entrance to them are somewhat camouflaged as there aren't signs.  To get to the top, you have to climb a winding metal staircase.

the Arc lit up at night
spiral staircase
the Champs-Elysees

The Eiffel Tower sparkled at the top of every hour, a breathtaking sight that best seen in person but here is a 15-second clip attempting to capture the spectacle: (click here if you do not see the preview below)


While walking back to the hotel, we noticed all the lights and decorations still remaining even after the new year.

night craft market
Madeleine lit up at night
random streets with lights
this is indeed Rue de Caumartin

Unfortunately the next day, Kaleb's food poisoning returned with a vengeance so we stayed in.  On Tuesday, he was feeling much better and willing to try a day trip to Versailles Palace, entrance fee included in the Paris Museum Pass.

We took the Metro to a station that had RER C access to catch the train to Versailles Chateau.  I pretty much followed the very clear directions from Mike's Travel Guide.  When we got to the chateau, the line to get in was so long that we decided to visit the gardens first. I read about a possible "express entry" for people who had the museum pass but I didn't any indication today.

in front of the gates
long line
fountains under maintenance during winter
the grounds go on and on

I would have loved to have taken a bike tour of the gardens, but the option was not available during the winter.  We didn't mind using our feet to explore the expansive grounds, visiting the other properties on site such as Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon (Marie-Antoinette's estate).

acres of forest...imagine it during the spring!
people slept in small beds
manicured gardens
royal bedroom
Temple of Love
oh l'amour...

We saw an Angelina cafe, so we stopped there to grab some lunch.  I tried a giant macaron but I don't recommend it...stick with the regular sized ones.

French pastries always look delectable
ham sandwich and extra large macaron

We headed back towards the palace...the lines disappeared!

one of many gardens
Grand Canal
the palace
the famous Hall of Mirrors

Afterwards, we stopped at a McDonald's near the RER station for a snack. I wanted to try their macarons. The price was 1 euro each for a box of 6. The flavor wasn't as good as ones I've had earlier, but for the price point, it was acceptable.

what a McCafe display!
six macaron box

Walking back to the hotel, we stopped at the best macaron store, Pierre Herme. Now these macarons rock! (at 3 euro each, I'd hope so!)  My favorite flavors were Mogador (milk chocolate and passionfruit) and Imagine (matcha green tea and black sesame).

Pierre Herme and Laduree are popular
scrumptious!

Three more days in Paris to go!  More sightseeing planned, though we weren't expecting to be in close proximity to a terrorist attack...find out more in the next entry.

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