Lutèce

Christian Dior 'Dune' which he created to remind himself of seaside holidays in Normandie when he was a child and also his 'Eau Sauvage'

Tou'll be fine with 12.30 on a weekday, but once you've decided where you want to eat I would suggest making a reservation, either by phone or email just in case there are lots of other visitors that day who arrive on the dot of 12.00!!!

If we don't want to start eating at noon, we always reserve and give a approximate arrival time. It would be a pity to have to settle for your second or third choice, or worse have to go traipsing round to find somewhere to accommodate you.

When you say 'arriving in the afternoon' .....what time would you be arriving in Aix and which day of the week? Just be aware that in France restaurants serve lunch between 12.00 and 14.00 with last orders taken about 13.40. Also Sunday lunch is quite a tradition and often popular restaurants get fully booked by locals.If it's after 14.00 you would have to look for a bistro/snackbar type of place rather than a restaurant and it probably wouldn't be a full 3 course lunch.

The 2 hour lunch break is sacrosanct:)

White is my signature color. I wear it when and where I want to. I don't subscribe to season or geographic location on doing so.

Exactly!!

Just to reiterate - white trousers are fine anywhere, not just in port, if the weather is warm enough. ALL my summer trousers are white and I wear them until it's really too cold. I even wear them with a light sweater if it's beginning to get chilly in the evenings.

I don't wish to appear snarky or rude, but whose opinion would you rate on this topic - people who have only visited Europe or someone who actually lives there? Just saying!:)

There was a thread somewhere else about wearing white in Europe to which I replied (note where I live)

In that I said that my decision to wear white in 'fall' - is that September/October? - would more likely be governed by temperature. If it was blazing hot, and can be over 30 in September, then I would have no hesitation in wearing lightweight white trousers.

Two things (cultural) to note:

1) As Labour Day in Europe is May 1st, the US rule re no white after Labour Day obviously doesn't apply

2) Pants over here are what you wear under your trousers i.e. underwear. I certainly would hope never to see anyone walking about in their 'pants' - whatever colour they were!!:)

....but the pace was very slow and no food for the kids to eat. Entrées were a choice of fish or lamb. We spent 2.5 hours at lunch.

I read your original post and was sympathetic to your treatment by this company. However, when I looked on Trip Advisor, yours appeared to be the only negative review, and in fact they have replied explaining the situation you found yourselves in. I wonder if there may have been cultural or other misunderstandings - as in the quote from your original post above.

• Why would only 2 entrées ( which by the way in France means starter and not main course) of lamb or fish be an issue?
  
• If you asked for a 'kid's menu' you would have been greeted with blank incomprehension. French children eat the same food as adults.
  
• 2 hours is a normal time to spend having lunch in France. Unless you wanted to eat at Macdonalds, there is no such thing as a quick lunch.
  

I do hope this hasn't put you off returning to France, but bear in mind that things are not the same in Europe as they are in the US - 'different strokes for different folks'!! :)

Hi

I replied to your post in the France port of calls forum:)

I have no personal knowledge of this firm, but on Googling for a private car hire came upon this web-site

http://www.maxlechauffeur.com

You could try that. There is the option to change the language to English.

What time of year will you be there and when do you need to be back on board? It's a 20 mile, 30 minute drive along a very busy autoroute unless you go the longer slower way. There can be holdups where the autoroute funnels through the border crossing between France and Spain.

Also are you aware of the timings of Spanish meals? Lunch will not start before 14.00 and dinner not before 21.30. Restaurants will be closed outside these times. Takes some getting used to!:)

Having said that San Sebastian is my second favourite city after Paris and I would happily live there.

We are going to be in St. Malo on 8/12/15. Was wondering when you are going to be there. We are 4 people traveling. I am trying to link up with others on Crystal Serenity for a few small group excursions and was wondering if you are going to be on that cruise? Not many people on roll call for our sailing.

I've just reread your post and realised that you probably meant August 12 and not December 8! But do be aware if you are giving a date when booking something, that in Europe we write August 12 as 12/08/15 :)

Be sure to wrap up well as it can be bitterly cold there at that time of year. Average temperature is 5* Celsius:)

Have you considered combining Bayeux and the tapestry and a visit to the D-Day landing beaches? It's an hour less of a drive than the 2h30minute drive to Mt St Michel.

In my opinion, there is no way you can use 'dressy' and 'shorts' in the same sentence!:)

Shorts may be inappropriate in some churches (for women anyway), but they are fine for daytime touring otherwise. It's what tourists wear in the summer.

I would qualify this by saying that many of the tourists in these places will be Italians, French and other Europeans. It is highly unlikely you will see adult Europeans, particularly women, wearing shorts unless exercising or on the beach.:)

Excuse my ignorance - but what exactly are you talking about? What is a 'slot-pull'?

Check with your airline the time you need to be there for checkin on an international flight - usually 3 hours - ,and allow at least an hour from your hotel. Traffic can be bad and CDG is (much as it pains me to say it!) one of the worst, chaotic and poorly signed airports in Europe.

P.S.

I would imagine that a great deal of what is deemed necessary on this list is only relevant to the cruise line you are on. If you are sailing with one of the more upmarket lines, this is another reason to ignore this type of list - which had me really worried.:)

I read this with interest and some trepidation as this was to be our very first cruise. As we had spent several months in Europe prior to said cruise, much of this did not apply. And you know what - we didn't take one single thing from this list and didn't notice the lack thereof. 99.99% of stuff on this list is superfluous- so newbies (like we were) just ignore it!

hi

I've replied to your original query on the main board. As an addition, Santiago is a fantastic city to wander about in. The Centro Historico is very compact and you really would be better wandering about by yourselves rather than in a group.

If you like seafood you'll love it!

If you Google Renfe, the Spanish National railway network you will see there are frequent trains from Vigo to Santiago. The journey takes about an hour and a half and the website is (mostly) in English..

Renting a car is also an option which would let you see something of the countryside, but parking in the Centro Historico is very difficult. You'd be able to park at the station and then taxi. I'd advise getting a rental with GPS.

HTH:)

There are several reputable companies which allow you to rent an apartment for a minimum of 3 days. It's a great way to feel part of the life in the arrondissement. And great to have somewhere other than just a hotel room to relax in between bouts of serious pavement pounding and sight-seeing.

Overseas friends of ours always do this on arrival in Europe.

They both have locations at Rouen Gare. Hertz is open 24/7. You'd need to scroll through available vehicles to find one with automatic transmission and they will be more expensive. HTH.:)

Both Avis and Hertz have several rental locations in Caen and Rouen. Avis has one at Ouistreham - the port of Caen, if that would be more convenient for you.:)

Two of my favourites - the "Passages couverts" and the "Promenade Plantée"

The first are the fore runner of today's shopping malls only not the same size!

And the second is an elevated green walk on a former railway line. I think that this was where the idea for the High Line in NYC came from. Each of them have many websites in English as well as French, so you should be able to find the information you need.

Bonnes vacances!:)

How old are your grandchildren? They might think it 'cool' to get something French from a store?

Also, how long are you in Paris for and is your hotel a firm booking? The reason I ask is that it is possible to rent an apartment from 3 days and that will give you more of a 'feel' for Paris and whichever arrondissement (neighbourhood) you are in. Overseas friends of ours always do this at the beginning/end of their trip.

If you email me on

mpm535 AT hotmail dot com

I can offer you more advice.

But whatever you do, do NOT go to Place du Tertre with one of those little bags parked on your 'derrière' - you might as well be wearing an illuminated sign saying 'Pickpockets this way'!!:)

HTH