Posted by admin on July 22, 2008 under One stop travel guide to Paris | 
World Heritage Sites normally conjure of images of jaw-dropping natural beauty - or architectural feats like the Taj Mahal and the Egyptian pyramids wrought by thousands of anonymous hands, yet, now and then, personal excellence gets recognition.
Certainly Sebastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban, King Louis XIV’s Marshal of France, brilliant tactician and royal military engineer is a name recognized by many who’ve visited the French northern coastline. His fortifications are easy to recognize once you’ve caught onto his star pattern formations. (You can even see the similar star pattern in Quebec City’s citadel - whose layout was approved by Vauban).
One of the reasons Vauban was considered the best man to rebuild the fortifications of almost 300 cities throughout France was his equally remarkable ability to break through a city’s defenses. He had numerous occasions (56 sieges) to prove his worth in battles where his attack strategies had good results.
Just as he sought out the weakest points in a city’s fortifications when he attacked, likewise, he optimized every building device in his defense constructions to create a vantage point that ‘had no blind spots’. Often he would use the natural coastline’s topography as part of his fortification plans.
One of my favorite places to admire Vauban’s engineering skill is along the coastline of the Normandy fishing port St. Vaast-la-Hougue. Thanks to friends, France and Toby Fleming, who introduced us to St. Vaast, we’ve returned many times. This town is famous, not only for tasty oysters, but also for huge naval battle, The Battle of Barfleur and La Hougue, 1692, and the remaining Vauban fortifications which nowadays make for a great seaside ramble. It’s also one of the 12 locations chosen to be recognized by Unesco as part of the World Heritage site honoring Vauban.
Considered by many to be Vauban’s masterpiece, The Citadel at Lille is a great example of his star-shape formation particularly when viewed from an aerial photo. Although we have yet to visit the Citadel, any Vauban fans will want to include a stop in Lille as part of their tour. How handy that you can get to Lille with Eurostar!
Another fun seaside town which is just a train ride from Paris, Rochefort, is also home to the reconstruction of the ‘Hermione’ the ship which Lafayette outfitted for his participation in the US War for Independence or the American Revolution. Rochefort was a military hospital town and you can quickly grasp the stark geometric lines of classic military construction.
Rochefort-sur-Mer
Vauban was much more than a military engineer and an officer. He had plenty of ideas (like Thomas Jefferson) about a myriad of subjects. One of his more unusual concepts was suggesting to the king that he should actually give up some territory to consolidate France’s fortifications. Although this advice was unorthodox for its time, Vauban’s real downfall was suggesting that Louis XIV should establish a ‘flat tax’.
Vauban had the audacity to suggest that even aristocrats might pay a tax. This brilliant idea ended up getting him banished from Versailles and died within in a year’s time.
UNESCO ’s choice of Vauban to classify as a World Heritage Site is an overdue and well-deserved honor. Although Vauban’s remains were scattered during the French revolution, his heart was recovered (and is currently interred in the church of Les Invalides.
Even if you don’t have time to do a weekend trip up to St. Vaast-la-Hougue (approximately a three-hour drive west from Paris), you can find some of Vauban’s original fortification plans and models at the Relief Map Museum located at Les Invalides (next to the Military Museum and Napoleon’s tomb).
The current show, Siege Warfare includes relief maps from Louis XIV’s era.
Musee des Plans Reliefs
Invalides - metro: Invalides or Varenne
‘La Guerre de Siege’
Musee des Plans Reliefs
St Vaast Photos by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
Posted by admin on July 21, 2008 under One stop travel guide to Paris |
Can I really afford to be shopping for souvenirs? Of course you can’t. But, on the other hand, how can you go back home, stare your friends in the face, and say, “Yeah, I was in Paris, I had a really great time - and, by the way did you get the postcard I mailed you from CDG? No, that won’t do. But even if your budget for souvenirs is severely limited, a little creative research will find some amazingly cool items available for under 20 Euros.
Coloring Books - Not Just kid stuff
Okay you dragged the kids through the Louvre. The only fair thing to do now is buy a coloring book so they can draw a mustache on Mona. But here’s the scoop. Coloring books are no longer just for kids. In fact, you may decide to stash your souvenir coloring book away in a drawer - because they look far too good to be scribbled upon. Buy one for your kids and one for you.
L’Art a Colorier by Anne Weiss
Price: 5.95 Euros
Starck Crazy
Who says you have to be rich to have a Philippe Starck designed living room? All you need for inspiration is a fly inhabiting your minimalist furniture free apartment. That’s what must have put a bee in Starck’s bonnet when he came up with this super design for a very affordable and USEFUL Paris souvenir:
A fly swatter.
Le Publicis Drugstore
Price: 9 Euros
(Design Lovers July 18-Aubust 28, 2008)
Is Your Cup Half Full or Half Empty?
The Laurence Brabant coffee mug answers the question with a ‘fuller than you think’ cup of coffee or wine.
Price: 14 Euros (petit) 16 Euros (grand)
Le Publicis Drugstore
133 Champs Elysees
Metro: Charles De Gaulle Etoile
(Design Lovers July 18 to August 29, 2008)
Really Cool Guys offer to Help Dry the Dishes
Beauville Dish Towels
Although you may not still be able to find the Eiffel Tower design in the linen dish towel format, Paris Magic is available . Beauville dish towels hail from the Alsace region of France. I’ve been collecting (and framing these dish towels for a while). My favorite is the Beauville cat collection. You’ll find Beauville dish towels at BHV (Bazaar Hotel de Ville) department store, Metro: Hotel de Ville.
Paris Magic Dish Towel
Price: 20 Euros
Hello Kitty! 
Oh so cute for your pint-sized friends. Although the 2008 couture for KIDS (and their Moms) might be a shy bit over 20 Euros, the friendly website offers some remaining goodies at 20 Euros and thereabouts. I know ‘Hello kitty’ is hot with Parisian kids because I’ve seen the familiar design popping up on numerous occasions when I’m walking around town.
Price: 20 Euros for the sleeveless body for wee ones
27.50 for the t-shirt (these are summer sales prices - if you don’t catch the summer sales, wait till January!)
Splitting the Eiffel Tower
In truth, Nadie Delepine’s Eiffel Tower’s pierced earrings are NOT under 20 Euros. More like 40 euros and change, but I had to include them in this post - because when a French friend (Murielle) who knows a thing or two about style, she REALLY like them.
Sometimes you just have to throw your cares to the wind and say - okay so, what if I have to sleep under Pont Neuf for the last night in Paris, my best friend really deserves a pair of Eiffel Tower earrings. OR, if you happen to have TWO girlfriends, who only need one earring to add to their six diamond posts (it could happen), you have STILL only spent 20 Euros and change per souvenir. By the way, if you are seriously contemplating this suggestion, it is high time to decide which girlfriend to keep rather than how to afford buying gifts for both of them.
Easy to pack Soledad
A ‘trousse’ in French is a handy catch-all for makeup, pens, pencils, spare change, Metro tickets, etc. Just the thing to throw in your carry-on at the last minute. And maybe the one souvenir you’ll end up keeping - just for you.
Soledad
Price 12 Euros
Pubicis Drugstore
Design Lovers (July 18-August 29, 2008)
Souvenir Shopping Addresses
Publicis Drugstore
133 Champs Elysees
Metro: Charles de Gaulle Etoile
Hello Kitty by Victoria Couture
36 Rue Etienne Marcel
Metro: Etienne Marcel
Nadine Delepine
14 Rue Princesse
Metro: Mabillon
BHV (Bazaar de Hotel de Ville)
Table linens and kitchenware department (Beauville dish towels)
Rue de Rivoli (opposite Hotel de Ville)
Metro: Hotel de Ville
Boutique Les Enfants du Louvre
Hall Napoleon
Musee du Louvre
>>More Shopping
Posted by admin on July 18, 2008 under Europe Accommodation |
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Very popular with local tourists, but yet to make it onto the wider tourist radar, Bojnice Castle in western Slovakia is the kind of place where you just have to take dozens of photographs.
Some people have told me that Bojnice Castle inspired the Cinderella Castle in Disneyland - I’ve got no idea if it’s true, and there are certainly some similarities, but Bojnice is even better because it’s real. It also has a fascinating history, starting out as a Bendectine monastery in the 12th century, and then belonging to the Palffy family for several hundred years - Count Palffy’s life was the inspiration for a few of the many ghost stories that get told about the castle.
To get inside you have to go on a tour but it’s reasonably priced at 160 Koruna, and you can usually get on an English tour (they said you should book ahead, but you can also turn up and be lucky!). If the inside furnishings of a castle don’t thrill you, then just head out to Bojnice to admire the outside and make sure you walk right the way round to get all the great views. You can reach Bojnice in less than two hours from Bratislava.
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Very popular with local tourists, but yet to make it onto the wider tourist radar, Bojnice Castle in western Slovakia is the kind of place where you just have to take dozens of photographs.
Some people have told me that Bojnice Castle inspired the Cinderella Castle in Disneyland - I’ve got no idea if it’s true, and there are certainly some similarities, but Bojnice is even better because it’s real. It also has a fascinating history, starting out as a Bendectine monastery in the 12th century, and then belonging to the Palffy family for several hundred years - Count Palffy’s life was the inspiration for a few of the many ghost stories that get told about the castle.
To get inside you have to go on a tour but it’s reasonably priced at 160 Koruna, and you can usually get on an English tour (they said you should book ahead, but you can also turn up and be lucky!). If the inside furnishings of a castle don’t thrill you, then just head out to Bojnice to admire the outside and make sure you walk right the way round to get all the great views. You can reach Bojnice in less than two hours from Bratislava.
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Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
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I’ve eaten lunch many times over the last few years at The Grange Restaurant, 35 High St, North Berwick tel 01820 893344. The three course lunch menu costs ВЈ9.95. The dishes are freshly prepared using local produce. It’s a delicious lunch at a very reasonable price.
There’s always a good choice on the lunch menu with at least four dishes for each course. Last time I was there I had the broccoli and Stilton soup as a starter, monk fish as a main course and chocolate torte to finish. The food is beautifully presented and the staff are charming.
North Berwick with the Bass Rock in the background
North Berwick makes a great day out from Edinburgh. It lies on the coast of East Lothian, around 25 miles east of Edinburgh. There is a frequent rail service from Edinburgh to North Berwick.
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North Berwick with the Bass Rock in the background
North Berwick makes a great day out from Edinburgh. It lies on the coast of East Lothian, around 25 miles east of Edinburgh. There is a frequent rail service from Edinburgh to North Berwick.
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Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
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Could this be a crowd pulling addition to Cologne’s reputation as an art city? The Ford factory in Cologne has metamorphosised into the Love Factory with a colourful paint job to celebrate the launch of the new Fiesta.
The Love Factory, Cologne
Well visitors are always looking for something different to do, so why not an art tour of an industrial estate? The adjacent factories and their employees will be feeling very dowdy and forlorn and demanding that their premises be loved up too.
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The Love Factory, Cologne
Well visitors are always looking for something different to do, so why not an art tour of an industrial estate? The adjacent factories and their employees will be feeling very dowdy and forlorn and demanding that their premises be loved up too.
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Copyright © Europe A La Carte
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
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Has travel insurances gone bananas? Well Quotebanana.co.uk appear to think that a zany name is going to attract buyers of travel insurance with a strapline of “Don’t monkey around, pick the best of the bunch”. I hesitate to call Quotebanana a price comparison site as it predominately features insurance companies which are part of the AA group of companies. However I decided to give it a go for annual travel insurance in Europe for a couple. The cheapest quote of ВЈ59.10 was with Only Insurance.
I did a search with Direct-Travel.co.uk, from whom I purchased our European annual policy and it was priced at ВЈ46. The morale of the story - it’s always worth shopping around on more than one site and checking exactly what is covered by a policy, payout limits and excesses.
photo by Darren Hester
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
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Having just booked some of my autumn holidays and enjoying Karen’s review on holiday.co.uk, I just realised that my preferred airline ticketing website is probably a bit obscure to many of our readers. Having lived in the Netherlands for many years, I have picked up a trick or two from the locals about getting a deal, and the website Cheaptickets.nl was probably one of the best tips I took with me to Edinburgh. Lucky for you, the website is now available in English but with the same great fares as before. Keep in mind, fares are quoted in Euros so be mind full of the ever-fluctuating currency rates, as noted in Karen’s recent post about the drop in the value of sterling against the Euro encouraging more Eurolanders to visit the UK
Rome Awaits - Copyright Andrew Hayes
Good
- Seamless displays of traditional airlines as well as low cost carriers, excellent for those localised services that you might not even be aware of
- Consistently competitive fares (although it wouldn’t be on here otherwise, right?)
Bad
- Not able to select individual flights and recalculate fare
- ‘Deals’ section highlighting destinations with super-low fares that are actually available don’t always apply to your home airport
Rating out of 10: 9
If you are worried about the Euros, you can at at least use the site to get a feeling for the flight schedules and airlines available for your journey. I have found flight options here that did not readily appear on other sites.
I tried a search for an Edinburgh-Rome return ticket for the first week of October. As fares rise and fall on a constant basis, you might have different results, but mine included:
- eBookers.com: from ВЈ219
- Expedia.co.uk: from ВЈ204
- Cheaptickets.nl: from ВЈ197 (1 GBP = 1.25 EUR)
So, not saving a huge amount in this instance, but if you really need to squeeze your pennies, it is always good to have another option. Do you know of other country-specific travel portals with great fares or good travel information that are translated in English?
Rome Awaits - Copyright Andrew Hayes
Good
- Seamless displays of traditional airlines as well as low cost carriers, excellent for those localised services that you might not even be aware of
- Consistently competitive fares (although it wouldn’t be on here otherwise, right?)
Bad
- Not able to select individual flights and recalculate fare
- ‘Deals’ section highlighting destinations with super-low fares that are actually available don’t always apply to your home airport
Rating out of 10: 9
If you are worried about the Euros, you can at at least use the site to get a feeling for the flight schedules and airlines available for your journey. I have found flight options here that did not readily appear on other sites.
I tried a search for an Edinburgh-Rome return ticket for the first week of October. As fares rise and fall on a constant basis, you might have different results, but mine included:
- eBookers.com: from ВЈ219
- Expedia.co.uk: from ВЈ204
- Cheaptickets.nl: from ВЈ197 (1 GBP = 1.25 EUR)
So, not saving a huge amount in this instance, but if you really need to squeeze your pennies, it is always good to have another option. Do you know of other country-specific travel portals with great fares or good travel information that are translated in English?
Roman Vines - Copyright Andrew Hayes
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Posted by admin on July 17, 2008 under Europe Accommodation |
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If you’re taking your own car to mainland Europe this Summer you may be asking yourself if you should purchase European car breakdown cover. It’s hard to decide if you should buy breakdown cover but you have to weigh up the reliability of the your car, against the cost of the cover and what it might cost if you did break down on holiday.
In order to evaluate whether I’d buy European breakdown cover I though that I’d get prices from the two best known breakdown companies, the AA and the RAC.
Firstly I got a quote for cover for a two week period from 16 - 30 July 2008 based on my car a 2004 Skoda Fabia.
AA ВЈ62.73
RAC ВЈ59.30
Then I got a quote for the 12 month cover where you’d be covered for trips of up to 90 days duration, If you plan to take a trip of more than 3 weeks or motor to Europe on more than one occasion during a twelve month period then an annual policy would be a good buy.
AA ВЈ103.90
RAC ВЈ103.50
So there’s not a lot of difference in the price between the two. Both offer an additional 10% discount to existing members.
Would I buy cover? I’m not sure, if I was only going to make one trip for a couple of weeks as my car has been totally reliable over the last four years I would be tempted to risk going without breakdown cover. However if I was going to make a long trip of more than 4 weeks or multiple trips to Europe during the twelve month period then I’d consider it good value.
photo by andrijbulba
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Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
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I did a double take today when I was writing about the current Ryanir ВЈ2 flights to Ireland promotion, I was checking in the price and availability of these flights when I noticed that Ryanair are now charging a ВЈ4 handling charge per flight for both credit and debit cards. I thought that it sounded pretty steep, especially the debit card fee, as I was sure it was usually significantly lower than the debit card charge. I referred back to a post I’d written on June 7 2008 about Ryanair’s free flights and sure enough on that date the debit card fee was ВЈ1.20 and the credit card fee ВЈ3.20. That’s a whopping increase of ВЈ2.80. or more than tripling, per flight if you pay by debit card.
There is a way around this as currently you pay no Ryanair card handling charges if you pay by Visa Electron card. I decided that I should open an bank account which offers a Visa Electron card. I discovered that the Halifax offer an Easy Cash account with a Visa Electron, so I’ve applied. However be aware that this no handling charge for VIsa Electron is supposedly for a limited time only.
photo by glass on the shelf
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Ryanair are offering flights from the UK to Ireland for only ВЈ2 return if you book by midnight on Friday 18 July 2008. However as I highlighted previously Ryanair do charge card handling fees, even on free flights. It’s now ВЈ4 for a credit or debit card for each flight but if you have an Electron card then there is no charge.
by dllisbona
The offer is available for flights from 1 September 2008 to 31 October 2008 with certain blackout dates. You can only fly on Mondays after 12:00, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Thursday before 12:00 and Saturday after 12:00.
I did a quick availability check and found several flights from Edinburgh to Dublin during the first two weeks in September for ВЈ10 return, including the ВЈ8 card handling charges.
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by dllisbona
The offer is available for flights from 1 September 2008 to 31 October 2008 with certain blackout dates. You can only fly on Mondays after 12:00, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Thursday before 12:00 and Saturday after 12:00.
I did a quick availability check and found several flights from Edinburgh to Dublin during the first two weeks in September for ВЈ10 return, including the ВЈ8 card handling charges.
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Copyright © Europe A La Carte
