January 2019 — FORBABYNMOMMY

Last day in Paris

After amazing day 1 & 2 in Paris, we were getting use to the things here like travel, food, walking etc. Day 3 starts with visit to Notre Dame roof. We missed our timeslot due to the huge line to enter the cathedral and confusion, assuming the entry to roof will be from inside. But … Continue reading “Last day in Paris”

After amazing day 1 & 2 in Paris, we were getting use to the things here like travel, food, walking etc.

Day 3 starts with visit to Notre Dame roof. We missed our timeslot due to the huge line to enter the cathedral and confusion, assuming the entry to roof will be from inside. But it was from outside.

After we missed our first slot (check detail here) we booked it for the next day and made sure this time we are on time else our €10 ticket will be waste. We checked with the Paris tourism office from where we got the ticket that if we can exchange it with some other place, but they refused.

Notre Dame, Paris — One of the tower of Notre Dame view from the top

After seeing the city from Eiffel tower, you won’t be able to justify the view from here, it’s beautiful but can’t be compared to Eiffel. So, our conclusion is you can exclude this from your list, and you can invest the money purchasing ticket of someplace else or eating something good or enjoying French wine ?.

There are lot of stairs to climb and the space is very little. The stairs are in spiral shape and quite steep. After climbing all the stairs, we were feeling so hot that we had to remove our jackets. It windy on top.

There are multiple levels here like Eiffel but in this case it’s only 2, Eiffel has 3. One can spend limited time on the roof as there are fixed number of people per slot and there are continues slots. So, they even ask you to hurry up and start your decent.

You will climb through the left tower (if you are facing the cathedral) and come down through right one.

View from Notre Dame, Paris — Beautiful sky & Eiffel at the back

After this we went to see one of the most beautiful Opera house in the world – Palais Garnier.

If you want to walk, then it’s around 3 Km from Notre Dame else you can take a metro station name is Opera.

Opera Garnier, Paris — Front Side of Opera, there are lot of sculptures made on this side

We were very exited to visit this place as we have heard a lot from our friends and family who have visited it. But our bad luck it was already closed for the day.

As it’s a working Opera so continues shows keep happening here. Before planning your visit here do check the schedule on their web site.

So, we just took some pics from the outside and left for lunch. We went to some falafel place which was suggested by one my husbands’ friend. And trust me it was simply amazing.

The falafel was so amazing and tasty and fulfilling. It’s a take away place and there is line in front to place order.

There staff will be on the street to help you decide with your order. It’s located on a small street with very less traffic.

Then we just relaxed a bit strolling on the banks of Seine river. It was amazing, cold breeze, calm.

After some relaxation we wen to place which is one of the most famous and important thing to do in Paris. This place is even featured in some movies i.e. Louvre Museum.

Louvre Museum, Paris — One of the part of Louvre after closing

This museum is one of the biggest and will take a lot of time and walking to explore. It’s located in Louvre Palace and the famous glass pyramid is right in the centre of the palace ground. This place contains antiques from all over the world and one of the most famous possession of this place is – Mona Lisa.

Ticket price starts from €15 and then we have skip the line, guided tours, audio guide tour. So, decide carefully which one you want.

It has all sorts of things in the display like art, paintings, sculptures, prints & drawings. If one has interest in museums & history then this place is like temple for them. So much of history and beauty to admire.

As this place took a lot of time, rest of the evening we spent just strolling on the banks of Seine, it’s nice just to walk on the banks, it’s in the middle of the city but still quiet.

This ends out 3^rd day in Paris. Paris has a lot to see and one would at least need a weeks’ time to visit Paris alone. It should not be like this is on your bucket list, so you planned and spent just 1-2 nights and visit 2-3 places in a hurry.

We stayed here for 4 days and still it was not enough.On our final day we really want to see Opera, this was one of the top priorities. We have already checked the visiting hours on their web site.

As usual there are different kinds of tickets available starting from €12 which is an independent visit ticket. You can check the prices here, this is from where we bought ours.

Stroller can be taken inside, but you need to leave it just before you enter the main area as there are a lot of stairs. So, better take Baby carrier also with you if you have small kids.

This place is mesmerizing. It’s beautiful, you will be lost in its beauty. It is beautiful inside out. There are many sculptures on the out side on the Principle Facade.

One of the ramp through which King use to come

There are 2 pavillon one is on west side which has 2 ramps and it was the entrance for the king, now a day this is used to enter visitors. Second one is on the east side that was designed for rest of the public.

The interior has many corridors, stairwells and huge place for people to socialize. 3 main things to see inside –

Grand Staircase
Grand Foyer
Auditorium

Grand Staircase Opera Garnier, Paris — Grand Staircase

Grand Staircase – as the name say these are grand, white marble staircase which divides into 2 & leads to the Grand Foyer. These staircase is decorated with female sculpture holding torches. Hence sudden royal feeling will come when you climb these staircase ?.

Grand Foyer – this is a long hall with very high ceiling. This is 154 mtr long, 18 mtr high and 13 mtr wide.

Grand Foyer,Opera Garnier, Paris — Beautiful ceiling of Grand Foyer

The ceiling is painted and represent various historic moments in the field of music.

This place was used to socialize and enjoy some drinks.

Both the ends of the Foyer have halls with beautiful painted ceilings.

Auditorium, Opera Garnier, Paris — Main Auditorium

Auditorium – this is traditional horseshoe shape sitting with a capacity of nearly 2000 people.

The stage is largest in Europe. The main ceiling area which surrounds the chandelier is beautifully painted & it depicts scenes from opera of 14 different composers.

The min chandelier was designed by Garnier him self and is very heavy and made from bronze and crystal.

Grand Vestibule, this is from where you will exit, it contains the statues of four composers: Rameau, Lulli, Gluck and Haendel.

Grand Vestibule Opera Garnier, Paris — Grand Vestibule

There is a small museum inside which displays stage sets, photographs, drawings & paintings. Besides that there is a library with huge number of books.

After spending some quality time, we went out had our lunch and then headed to Luxembourg Garden.

This was our final stop in Paris as after this we had to catch train to Italy?

Luxembourg Garden, Paris — Our doll enjoying some time before the rain

Luxembourg Garden is huge spread in more than 20 hectares. It was constructed in 1612. The beautiful gardens are the part of Palace – Luxembourg Palace which is now owned by French Senate. Gardens are known for its lawns, flowerbeds & fountains.

Again, it was our bad luck as soon as we reach and decided to relax for a bit it started to rain. We thought it will stop in some time and waited for it to stop under a shed, but it didn’t and finally we decided to leave as we have a train to catch.

This place has covered sitting area, metal chairs in front of the palace near to the pond. What ever time we spent here it was good and relaxing. You can spend some quality time with friends and family here.

Information about Paris Pass

Paris Pass, it’s a card where you pay one time and it gives you access to certain number of attractions as per the pass. You can buy pass starting from 2 days to 6 days.

This Pass includes travel card with which you can travel unlimited times in central Paris in metro, RER, bus and is valid as per your pass validity.

As per me it is useful and cost effective for those who want to cover maximum in the given period. We didn’t want to rush things get most out of the Pass.

There is a lot more to see like – Palace of Versailles which will take one full day, Disney Land again will take one full day, Montmartre to name which are not to be missed and many more museums if you are a museum fan.

Paris to Milan Bus — Good Bye Paris, beautiful final evening Of Paris

Our Paris trip ends with a twist which is related to our journey to Florence, Italy which I’ll tell in my next blog so stay tuned for it.

Yercaud – TGI Star Holiday Resort

This was our first holiday of 2019 and a much-needed break from the hectic city life. Yercaud is a small hill station situated in the state of Tamil Nadu. We came to know about this place while searching online for a place not that far from Bangalore. Yercaud is around 225 Km from Bangalore. The … Continue reading “Yercaud – TGI Star Holiday Resort”

This was our first holiday of 2019 and a much-needed break from the hectic city life. Yercaud is a small hill station situated in the state of Tamil Nadu.

We came to know about this place while searching online for a place not that far from Bangalore. Yercaud is around 225 Km from Bangalore. The roads are quite good throughout the journey.

Rout we took was via Hosur – Krishnagri – Selum. We started at around 6.20 AM on Saturday. After reaching the silk board junction we came to know that it is very late if one must go on this rout on a weekend.

There are tolls on this rout and total toll we paid was around Rs 600 in total i.e. for return journey. Plus Rs 90 on NICE Road, Bangalore from Electronic City to Clover Leaf.

There was traffic on silk board & a long queue on the toll plaza just after the Electronic city flyover. It took us around 10 min to clear the toll. Then after the toll there was traffic on the highway as it was kind of long weekend, Monday leave gives 4 days as Tuesday was holiday on the occasion of Sankranti.

Outside sitting area
Quite big car parking
Main hotel building

For b/f we stopped at Hotel Shri Krishna Inn, Shoolagiri. Food here is nice and priced reasonably. This was very crowded and that day and there was a waiting as well. There are 2 sitting option – inside and outside.

There’s a HP petrol pump, Mc Donald’s and Cafe Coffee day all located in the same complex.

After Selum the ghat section starts, Yercaud is around 30 Km from Selum. There are 20 Hairpin bends on this rout and the amazing thing is the roads are very well maintained and are quite broad.

There are mirrors installed but only few are in working condition, rest are either damaged or stolen.

TGI Star Holiday Resort, Yercaud — Entering the resort

This time we wanted to stay in a place where we can spend some quality & screen free time with family. So after googling for some time we came across TGI Star Holiday resort located just 1 Km before the main town or Yercaud.

Resort & list of what all things are there to do

Main reason for going with this property is its family friendliness. This is a 3-star property with some amazing features. There are 2 categories of rooms i.e. Deluxe/Superior cottage and Suit Cottage.

Living Room
Sofa in living area
Bed room with King size bed
Beautiful decoration with towels
Tea/Coffee maker
Sitting arrangement in Balcony
Bathroom
Toiletries
Towel arrangement in bathroom

The main difference in both the rooms is space, in Suit there is a living room with a sofa and one sofa cum bed plus the bedroom is also quite specious. Other one is normal size room. Both the categories have a private sitting space/balcony outside the room.

We stayed in Suit cottage as we need some space for our daughter to run around when we relax in the room ?. Other amenities include a welcome drink at reception, some snacks in the room, good quality toiletries in the bathroom.

In suit it was a king size bed and it was quite comfortable. Lenin and towels are also of good quality and soft to touch. This place is located on a hill slope so first to reach you must get down from the main road and after you enter you must climb up & both the time it’s a steep slope.

There is ample of parking, you can either park at the front of the resort or inside at the end. There are small gardens with different varieties of flowers/plats in front of each cottage, which makes the stay more pleasing.

Chess
Carrom & TT
Swimming pool
Bonfire
Bonfire at its peak

If we talk about the facilities of the resort, then there are a lot of things one can do with family. There is a spa, a restaurant which serves good and tasty food. An indoor games room with games like carrom, chess & Table tennis. A badminton court, swings for adults and kids, separate play area for kids and swimming pool.

Walking on rope
Walking on single rope side ways
Walking on planks
Crossing the net
Walking on sideways hanging planks
Activities for kids are also there

If you are a dare devil and like adventure sports, then there is facility for that too. Adventure activities are conducted inside the resort and the instructor is very good.

Adventure activities..it was really fun

Activities have different difficulty levels and finally there is a zip line. So, if you are planning to visit this place and want to do this then do carry sports shoes.

We took the spa after we were done with our first dose of adventure activities. Me and my husband both took the spa and we really felt good after it. All refreshed and recharged. The massage therapist for male and female are very good, and both were experienced.

Price wise it’s very reasonable starting from Rs 1500 for Kerala massage to Rs 2500 for their signature package. They do have facial and other stuff also.

One of the most interesting and unique thing that I like about this place is there open-air theatre. Yes, you read it correct, they show a movie once it is dark in the garden space b/w the games room and badminton court. That too with a Bonfire ?

First day it was an English movie and second day it was Tamil movie with English sub ?. There is light in the badminton court, so you can play even at night just make sure you don’t make too much of noise as there are rooms just adjacent to the court.

Food here was good, they have buffet for all 3 meals or if you want something else then you can order from the small AA-la-carte menu.

Sitting arrangement
Ambiance
Veg Buffet
Salad on First day Lunch
Salad in Dinner
Rice prepration
Starting with salad and starter
Ordered from menu
Noodles soup
Starting with salad and starter
Paneer 65

In buffet there are 3 veg dishes and 2 non veg dishes with 2 rice preparation and rasam. Chapatis are pre cooked and kept in hot case.

One more thing that I really like is in the evening/night time their housekeeping guys come to every room to refill the snacks, tea coffee and ask if you need any other thing. They also ask you to provide feedback about the room cleaning and their service which was something new to us.

There is free Wi-Fi, but the speed is not good, there is no issue with mobile signals at least with Airtel.

Whole staff of the resort is so courteous and friendly, we really like their hospitality.

We really like the time we have spent in this resort.

Small tour of the beautiful Property of TGI Hotels

There are quite a few things to see in Yercaud. Some of them are –

Kiliyur falls
Yercaud lake
Ladies seat
Gents seat
Rose garden
Few temples

We checked about the falls and came to know that there is no water in the falls so it’s not worth visiting it. Also, there are steep steps to reach to the falls, around 250 to 300. Going down is easy but climbing up is a tedious task. So if you are visiting in rains then only plan else you might regret.

Out of these we saw only few like rose garden, lake, ladies’ seat and while coming back from ladies’ seat I noticed a small aquarium just beside the lake.

Yercaud is a small town and the resort is located just 1 km from the lake. There is no proper or designated parking space at the lake, you have to park on the road side. Beware if you go on Sunday morning then there is a flea market on both the side of the road.

There is boating facility at the lake and one can choose from paddle boat, boat with oars or a motor boat. There are few good points to click pic with lake as background. Rose garden is 1.5 km around from lake.

Beautiful yello rose
Some buds ready to turn into beautiful flower

The road is not in good shape and just before the main entry of the garden it is a single lane. So, if some vehicle is coming from other direction then one must go reverse. One can park vehicle inside the gate of rose garden or on the road side, parking is free.

Rose Garden, Yercaud — Inside Rose garden

Ticket to enter garden is of Rs 30 and for us it was not worth as there were only few plants were, we could see some roses. The garden was maintained well. From rose garden you can either walk to ladies’ seat it’s just 100 mtr. Or you take your car and park it there.

Ladies seat is just a valley view point and nothing else. There is small shed from where you can see beautiful valley below. But what we feel is it will be worthier to visit in/after rains as the view will be clearer. This time it was all foggy/cloudy. But still it was beautiful.

Gents seat is located again some 100 mtr from ladies’ seat and it’s a valley view point. So, we skipped it. While coming back from ladies’ seat google maps leads us to a road which was closed at the point where is meets the main road. So, we have to take a U turn.

On the same road there is a small aquarium which has 17 varieties of fishes including ‘Piranha’. The entry ticket to this place is only Rs 10 pp but parking outside is Rs 30. It’s a good experience for kids.

Over all we really enjoyed our 2 days of stay @TGI Star Holiday Resort and in Yercaud.

Note -
All the pictures are from our trip taken by us.

Europe Trip – Paris

Day 3 This is our day two in romantic city of Paris. If you have not read my previous blogs do read – my start of Europe trip here and our first day in Paris here. We were tired on our first day as I have travelled first from India and then Amsterdam to Paris … Continue reading “Europe Trip – Paris”

Day 3

This is our day two in romantic city of Paris. If you have not read my previous blogs do read – my start of Europe trip here and our first day in Paris here.

We were tired on our first day as I have travelled first from India and then Amsterdam to Paris and finally not so good experience with Paris Metro. After our seine river cruise, we straight came to hotel had dinner and slept.

After a good night sleep, heavy b/f we head out to spend our day in the beautiful city. As mentioned in my previous blog we used bus for the rest of the days in Paris, well mostly. Bus stop was some ½ km from our hotel.

After you plan your day do check if stroller is allowed/feasible for those places else take baby carrier. There is no place to keep stroller if it is not allowed at an attraction. So, plan accordingly.

We started with Arc de Triomphe, took bus 22 from place near to hotel took around 35-40 min. It’s an iconic triumphal arch built to celebrate Napoleon’s victories, with an observation deck. It’s a 50 mtr high arch and the observation deck is on the roof.

There are 2 types of tickets for most of the attraction in Paris, one is normal where one must stand in line and wait for your turn. Second is skip the line where you can go directly to the front or say near to entry point.

Normal ticket cost around € 10-12 and skip the line on viator will be € 14. We didn’t go on the roof didn’t find if worth as we have already booked summit ticket of Eiffel. But the view of ‘Champ Elysees’ can be enjoyed from the top.

Arc is on the centre of a busy road, at this juncture 12 roads meets. You can get some beautiful pics here with the beautiful Arc de Triomphe. We clicked some pics and then headed towards our next Destination Notre dame.

You find all the useful information about Arc de Triomphe here.

Notre Dame has historic importance and it’s one of the finest examples of French gothic architecture. This cathedral witnesses the coronation as Emperor of Napoleon Bonaparte. It took quite long to finish the cathedral.

This is a beautiful cathedral from inside as well as outside. It’s active church and very beautiful. The entry to the church is free but there are tickets to enter the tower and treasury. Tower ticket costs € 10 and treasury € 8.

One need to book the time slot on there app if you want to climb the tower and witness the view from there. There is no more waiting in line as there is an app ‘DuckTheLine’ where you need to book your slot in advance and be there on selected time.

There is no price for the app or for the booking the slot, you just have to book the slot, purchase there € 10 ticket and be there on time.

This app even reminds you about your time. One thing that you need to make sure is be on time else they won’t allow you to enter as this happened with us, we have purchased the tickets and were late and they didn’t allow us.

Also make sure you book the slot as early as possible as the number of people per slot are limited and it is booked quite fast.

The line to enter the church was too big and it is usually big, we have waited for at least 1 hr to enter the church. There are benches where you can sit while waiting.

You can get all the information about the opening/closing days timing ticket pricing here.

From here we went to ‘Sainte – Chapelle’. It’s a royal Chappelle. It is located with a palace where the king of France stayed till 14^th century. It is also based on gothic style architecture.

The most famous thing about this place is it’s huge mid-13^th century stained glass windows. This part is located on the first floor of the Chapelle. Even the ceiling of both the parts of the Chapelle are beautiful.

The stained windows displayed different historical events and there are placards available in different languages which helps you understand what is displayed on which window.

There is ticket to enter the Chapelle and they have an app through which you can zoom in the windows and know the meaning of the art on it.

Ticket cost is € 10 pp and it’s always better to book the tickets in advance to avoid the queue. When we went there the queue is not that big, but it was there. If you have tickets, then directly go the front show the tickets at the counter and enter.

You can get all the information about the opening/closing days timing ticket pricing here.

For tickets of Notre Dame and Sainte- Chapelle we have used official website of Paris convention and visitor’s bureau. Here the tickets are available in all sort of combinations unlike other websites where they sell guided tours only.

Guided tours are good for some but not always required.

After this it’s time to visit our last destination of the day and most awaited one – Eiffel Tower.

If you really want to enjoy this place and don’t want to wait in long queue, then you should spend additional money and book a priority entry ticket which might include small guide session on the second level.

We have booked out ticket from Musement. We paid € 72 for 2 and it include small guided tour on the second level and summit access. There office is in a lane near to Eiffel tower.

You can also buy the tickets from the official website of Eiffel tower and you have option of second floor ticket which will cost € 16 pp and summit ticket which is € 26 pp.

Summit ticket includes Second level access also. You need to select the date then available time slots will be shown.

Earlier you book better are the chances to get your preferred date and time.

Palais De Chaillot — View of Palais de Chaillot

One more benefit of booking from an agency is they will get you in, in a group so you don’t have to be in a line at the security check gate, then you don’t have to wait in a line at the lifts and you will get little history lesson by the guide at second level.

Paris City — Beautiful sunset view from the top

Eiffel is really an architectural beauty. Such a massive structure, standing for so many years. It’s huge. Lifts from the ground floor will take you to the second level and then if you have summit entry ticket they you can go. There is only 1 lift to go to summit.

It was our lucky day there was no queue to go to summit. We were alone with the lift operator lady. She also said you are lucky otherwise there are huge queue. There are stairs as well to climb up or come down.

Once you reach second level the view of Paris is magnificent. We have booked our ticket for evening. Evening is perfect time as you can enjoy the view, sunset and then enjoy the Paris in artificial lighting.

Believe me it was mesmerizing. When we there it was still cold and there is lot of wind, so if you are visiting in winter do carry good quality warm cloths else be prepared to shiver.

There is a restaurant at level 2 and on summit you can enjoy a glass of Champagne at an additional cost. There are restaurants on level 1 which has separate entry and you can not go to second level from there.

You can just visit restaurant, have food or enjoy a drink with a view and back on ground floor. There is one restaurant at second level as well.

After dark, diamond lights increases the beauty of Eiffel tower. These lights have that sparkling/glittering effect and it’s amazing to watch it.

We have waited 1 hour to see it as while coming down it happened, and it has an interval of 1 hours. It is there for 5 min or so.

Eiffel Tower when Diamond Lights are turned on

There are these road side vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs, most of them live together. There are Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, African. Even African were speaking Hindi (few words ?). We bought few things – wooden alphabet train, electronic toy dog which my daughter lost before it could see India ☹, few fridge magnets relatively cheap compared to a shop.

This ends our day on a beautiful note with lots of memories.

** Do select the tour operator very carefully, as when we went to collect our tickets for Eiffel tower there were people standing who has booked the tickets with different operator and their shop was closed and no one was answering their calls.

Stay tuned for more details about our coming days in Paris.

Note - All the pictures are from our trip taken by us.