Travel Horizons: Paris

Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts

5.10.2023

Fine Hotels & Resorts | worth $695 a year?

if you want more than a FHR continental breakfast...

There may be good reasons to spend $695 a year for an American Express Platinum Card. In fact, I have one myself. It gets me into Centurion and Delta airport lounges, provides a monthly Uber credit (that I use for Uber Eats), and pays my Sirius XM and CLEAR membership fees.

But what about booking hotels through FHR? You definitely have better choices than American Express when you want to book a luxury hotel. Here's why...

Looking for hotel advice? Don't look to the American Express call center for expertise. They're not set up to know you personally, understand your preferences, or steer you to the perfect hotel for you. Say you're going to Paris. Do you want to stay on the Left Bank, the Right Bank, or don't know the difference? Do you want a traditional Parisian palace hotel or an elegant contemporary hotel? Do you prefer a large hotel with dining choices? Or a cute boutique hotel? I've been to Paris dozens of times. I've visited the hotels, seen their locations, experienced their lobbies and viewed their rooms. I've shared that knowledge with my Team. We can listen to your Parisian dreams and make recommendations for your perfect stay in Paris. The random AMEX agent isn't set up to do any of that!

Want to get upgraded? American Express can offer upgrades upon arrival subject to availability. Because of Virtuoso and our exclusive relationships with luxury hotel partners, we can get you upgraded at booking at eight different Parisian hotels! Because we are Four Seasons Preferred Partner, your booking is at the top of the upgrade list at the George V (or any Four Seasons in the world), ahead of FHR and Virtuoso bookings.

Want more than a continental breakfast? American Express has a standard continental breakfast amenity ... but what if you want more than a croissant and a coffee? Would you like to order anything on the menu or enjoy the indulgent luxury of in-room dining? Many Virtuoso hotels offer daily complimentary Full Breakfasts. In fact, one of our hotel partners invites you to order anything you want on the menu (except alcohol and caviar), enjoy your breakfast in any venue (restaurant or in-room dining), and they even cover the tax and gratuity.

Want to be welcomed like a VIP? Once an American Express agent makes your booking, her job is done. But we've only begun to work our magic. We have invested many years getting to know hotel reps all around the world, and we personally reach out to our representatives every time we make a booking for you. We let them know you're coming, who's traveling with you, your special preferences, and your arrival time (if you've shared that information with us), and we personally ask for an upgrade.

Need a 4 p.m. late check-out? While this is FHR's contracted amenity with each of their hotels, if you really need that late check-out, we will reach out to our representative and ask if they would extend it to a Virtuoso or Preferred Partner booking. If they can not, we can still make your FHR booking for you through Amex ... and follow through to personally VIP your stay.

2.23.2021

travel advisors | saving time, money, and energy

It wasn't the primary purpose of our meeting. I was in my banker's office taking care of business with our checking account. As soon as our business was concluded, my banker wanted to talk about travel. He spoke of the Viking river cruises he had enjoyed with his wife and how much he loved traveling to Europe. He shared his plans to travel with his parents this summer to London. His parents being first-time visitors to Europe, he feels they will feel more comfortable visiting where English is spoken.

But it would be a shame, he thought, to go all the way to London without setting foot in Paris. He talked about his plans for their final day, a day trip to Paris. They'd take the Eurostar to Paris in the morning, spend several hours seeing some of the major sights in the City of Light, then take the train back to London in the evening.

My mind immediately saw the problem with this scheme. It's doable to take the Eurostar round-trip in single day, but it's not ideal. You'll be spending four-and-one-half total hours on trains. It will take added time to get transfers to train stations ... and even more time to get processed through French passport control going ... and UK passport control on the return. This day trip will require probably 7 total hours of traveling time. It will turn out to be quite an exhausting day.

So I shared Plan B. Don't buy round-trip flights to London. Book an open-jaw itinerary (fly outbound to London, return from Paris). The cost is virtually the same. Spend your entire last day in Paris.

Begin the day taking an early morning train to Paris. Arriving at perhaps 10 a.m., you have time to spend an entire day in Paris. Invest in a great local guide who can work with you in advance to plan an itinerary that will let you experience Paris the way you want. Then celebrate your trip with a final dinner, perhaps in a typical French bistro such as Chez Janou. Spend the evening in a cute Left Bank hotel such as Relais Christine, then leave for the Paris airport the next morning.

I wasn't trying to sell travel services to my banker, but with my mention of open-jaw tickets, he saw possibilities he hadn't considered. We live in a plan-it-yourself, google-can-be-my-travel-agent world, but think about the value of working with an experienced travel advisor, someone who will sweat the logistics, create an itinerary you can sit back and enjoy, and help you make the most of your precious time, money, and energy.

Click here to sign up for the Ourisman Travel Newsletter.

9.16.2020

a new boutique luxury hotel in Paris

One of our favorite Parisian tour guides anticipates that visitors will seek out smaller, boutique hotels. She recommends Cour des Vosges, an intimate luxury hotel in the Marais located at 19 place des Vosges (the beautiful square you see through the window of a room overlooking the square.

A residence built in the 17th century, Cour des Vosges has only twelve rooms. Definitely book one of the Superior or Deluxe Suites on the first or second floors of the hotel; these Suites boast wonderful fifteen foot-high ceilings. We recommend avoiding the 3rd and 4th floors (with guestrooms and one Junior Suite); these accommodations are quite cozy with "regular" 8 foot ceilings.

Affiliated with Travel Leaders Select, your travel advisor can offer you a rate 10% less than BAR at Cour des Vosges, and you'll all receive exclusive added-value amenities — daily breakfast for two, a $100 hotel credit towards incidentals, and upgrade if available.

But the best part of the hotel ... waking up to this incredible view of the Place des Vosges!

Click here to sign up for the Ourisman Travel Newsletter.

copyright (c) 2020 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

9.02.2020

travel souvenirs — part 12

If you've flown KLM business class, you'll recognize this souvenir. Passengers on long haul flights to or from Amsterdam are presented with a choice of blue Delft china houses designed to resemble actual historic buildings in the Netherlands. I've even to the Royal Delft factory and seen the process by which the pottery is painted with the iconic Delft blue and then glazed. Of course, that was 51 years ago in the summer of 1969 — so I'm dating myself.

I've acquired these four Delft houses over the years...

73 — De Posthoorn

83 — Museum Van Loon
33 — De Dubbelde Palmboom
7 — Bols House

KLM has a comfortable business class with lie-flat seats that offer a good night's sleep on your way over the pond. Amsterdam offers convenient connections to destinations all over Europe, avoiding the madness of transfers in Paris or London. Get in touch for specially discounted business class fares when packaged with hotel stays or car rentals... or click here to discover the value-added Virtuoso amenities you can score at Amsterdam's most elegant luxury hotels.

Click here to sign up for the Ourisman Travel Newsletter.

6.22.2020

whatever happened to overtourism?

Overtourism was travel's biggest problem in 2019. I took the photograph above when I visited Rome in 2019 while on a walking tour of the city. The first time I came to the Piazza di Trevi in 1978, there might have been a half dozen tourists viewing the fountain. When I returned in 2019, the crowds were so thick that tossing three coins in the fountain would have been nearly impossible.

Scenes like this were rampant throughout the world as recently as last year. Do you remember the crowds at...

Venice's Piazza San Marco — passengers from massive cruise ships occupying every square inch of the square, queued in endless lines just to enter the Basilica and the Doge's Palace.

London's Crown Jewels in the Tower of London — after standing in line for a chance to see these royal treasures, being rewarded with just a very few seconds in front of the jewels as the moving conveyer took you relentlessly by.

Paris's Mona Lisa, star attraction of the Louvre — after enduring snaking admission and security lines and following signs to the "Jaconde," finding yourself in a gallery filled with hundreds of tourists jammed around a rather small painting on the wall.

We've experienced all of this. We've seen the lines to get into St. Catherine's Palace (pictured above) and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. We've been jammed into crowded galleries at Vatican Museum in Rome and Versailles outside Paris. We've witnessed thousands of tourists in front of the Main Gate to Buckingham Palace to view the Changing of the Guard.

We can help our clients skip lines, enjoy exclusive access to experiences most tourists don't know about, or even score private visits before or after public visiting hours — when travel comes back...

But for now in 2020, the problem is no longer overtourism. The issue is Covid-19 and the need to practice social distancing. What will world travel look like once we have developed an effective vaccine? Do we need to reimagine travel? This article from The Guardian makes one argument. What do you think?

5.24.2020

a fun way to share your travels on Zoom

the Zoom background I used for my church's Zoom coffee hour this morning

I take photographs every time I travel. Though no one is traveling right now, we can still enjoy and share our travel photos as backgrounds when we meet with others in a Zoom meeting.

After my church's online service this morning (click here if you're interested), I joined our online Zoom coffee hour. This photograph of the beautiful stained glass in St. Chapelle in Paris served as my background. Here's how you can do the same thing.

Locate a JPEG file you'd like to use.
Boot Zoom and open the Preferences dialog box.
Select the Virtual Background tab in the left sidebar.
Click the small "+" sign at the right side of the screen and click "Add Image."
On a Mac, this will open a Finder search box. Navigate to the JPEG file you want to use.
Select that file and click "Open."

You can store a library of travel photos in Zoom. Every time you join a meeting, simply click the photo you want to use as your background. It's a fun way to share memories of past trips and anticipate the ones to come ... whenever we're able to travel again. Hope that time comes soon!

5.06.2020

do's and don'ts of French dining

One silver lining of sheltering in place has been the opportunity to participate in Zoom meetings organized by many of my travel partners. Intended to familiarize travel advisors with their offerings, I have especially enjoyed the weekly "tours" given by one of my favorite guides, Antoinette Azzurro. She is the owner of the Parisian tour company Paris Personalized. With her small team of highly knowledgeable guides, you'll see places you never knew existed, enjoy access to experiences unknown to the general public, and glean insights that will transform your time in Paris into something truly formidable!

Today's tour centered on French cuisine. While we in the US depend on the FDA to regulate food standards, the French maintain hundreds of unique food associations. Each association has the mission of maintaining the high standards and traditions of one particular food product. For instance, each variety of cheese and each type of bread has its own association. When you shop for meat at the boucherie, the farm where it was raised and the date (and animal's age) when butchered will be posted.

In the course of Antoinette's gourmet tours, you'll see and taste why the quality of French food is so high ... and learn some of the intricacies of dining etiquette. She shared some of the do's and don'ts of French dining etiquette which I reproduce here to pique your interest...

Don’t start eating before the person who has cooked the meal sits down.

Don’t start drinking before everyone has a full glass in front of them (and before someone has had the chance to make a toast).

Don’t keep your hands under the table.

Don’t serve yourself, if you are a man, before offering the food to the woman sitting next to you.

Don’t pour your own wine if you are a woman and there are men at the table. When only two women are dining, the younger pours for the older woman (or the waiter does it).

Don’t spread pâté or cheese on a big piece of bread as if making a sandwich. Instead, spread the pâté or cheese on a small bit of bread torn from the larger piece.

Don’t touch the food, in particular cheese, with your fingers. The only foods eaten with fingers are asparagus and orelet birds (pictured above).

Don’t put your elbows on the table and rest your face in your hands.

Don’t ask ou sont les toilettes? (where is the restroom) while at the table.

Do rest your knife and fork on the plate between bites. Don't rest them on both the plate and table.

Do know how to peel a peach, orange, or a shrimp with your fork and knife.

Bon appétit. Hopefully we can all get back to Paris sooner rather than later. I can't wait!

4.04.2020

when things go wrong ...

question emailed to me by Quora.com

I receive questions several times a day from Quora.com. Perhaps it's because I have answered such questions in the past, and readers have "upvoted" the answers I provided. I pass on most questions — ones for which there either is no answer or ones when a simple google search would suffice. I appreciate this opportunity, because it gives me insight into what the general public is thinking on the subject of travel.

I did answer the question quoted above. It addresses one of life's basic realities: sometimes things go wrong! Your flight is cancelled, and you're stuck somewhere thousands of miles from where you want to be. Your hotel can't find your reservation. There's a disagreement about the rate you booked. The room you get is tiny, nothing like the photo on the website. The toilet doesn't work. The bathtub is dirty. The front desk agent speaks rudely to you. And on, and on...

Things sometimes go very wrong. That's life, life happens, and nothing can prevent the occasional mishap. So the real question becomes ... when things go wrong, whom do you want on your side? If you have a grievance, to whom can you go to solve that problem. And thus my answer to Manojit Saha's question ... how can I complain? My answer...

You just did complain, and in doing so, you have illustrated the downside of using an OTA (online travel agency) to book hotels. Such companies use an automated process to process bookings and have minimal staff for customer service.

What could you have done instead? Had you booked on the hotel’s own website, you could have phoned the hotel and spoken directly to the manager on duty to address your issue. Or you could have used a flesh-and-blood travel advisor to make the reservation in which case she or he would have been your advocate.

You get what you pay for and, in this instance, you made the choice to use an OTA not set up for customer care.

Here's another thing about OTA's. They seldom offer the best value.

Here's a comparative analysis of two identical bookings for a Deluxe room at Le Meurice in Paris for 9JUN-12JUN.

Goibibo is advertising a total charge of 4050€ = 1350€ nightly. For this amount, you get a hotel room. Period.

If you want a much better value, book Le Meurice through a Dorchester Collection Diamond Club agency. You'll save hundreds of euros on your hotel stay...

Guaranteed upgrade at booking from a Superior room (1200€) per night into that Deluxe Room, saving you 150€ per night
Daily complimentary full breakfast for two.
100€ in bonus cash toward incidental expenses (or take it off your bill)
Full, premium internet (not the low bandwidth you get for free)

And should anything go wrong? You won't have to contact a customer service center in India to solve your problem. I personally know the General Manager of Le Meurice, and if there is an issue, a simple phone call will get the matter investigated and a resolution made.

2.04.2020

"doing" travel?

It's almost a cliché...

We want to do Paris. We want to climb the Eiffel Tower, shop the Champs-Elysées, see the Arc du Triomphe, swing by the Mona Lisa, then take the kids to Euro Disney so they don't get bored.

I read comments like this all the time, and they could make me scream. Some tourists seem to approach travel by googling "top ten attractions" in a given city, then checking as many of those "top ten" off their list before they're off to their next destination. People talk about "doing" Paris, London, or Rome.

No client has ever said... The quotation at the top of this article is from Kristi Marcelle, a gifted Virtuoso colleague of mine. Her statement is so on target. I think of travel as the greatest human adventure, an opportunity to expand our horizons by immersing ourselves in different cultures, experiencing countless different ways of being in this world.

The most lasting memories of a trip are invariably those unscripted moments when we depart the beaten path, when we move deliberately away from where the crowds are gathered (e.g., the Eiffel Tower). Simply explore! Dare to wander off in whatever direction your curiosity leads you. Explore neighborhoods where non-tourists live, work, eat, and shop. Sure, you might get lost ... but what you discover while getting lost will provide the lasting memory from your trip. Then, when you've walked as far as you want, just book an Uber to take you back to your hotel.

You might discover a hidden residential street and find charming houses like the one above at 40 Square Montsouris in Paris. Did you even know that streets like this exist in Paris?

1.22.2020

Hotel Castille | wonderful 4* Parisian property

by guest columnist Jessica G. Ourisman

When my boyfriend and I moved to Paris, we were initially stranded — stranded at The Ritz, mind you, but stranded nonetheless. Although we had leased an apartment in advance of our arrival, both our rental agent and property manager were MIA. This meant that the two of us, our two miniature schnauzers, and more checked luggage than you should ever travel with, were left with nowhere to go.

France has a reputation for being generally dog-friendly, but this is not entirely accurate. The boutique hotels in the 7th arrondissement were unwilling to accept our pets. Luckily, my dad and stepmom were staying in a suite at The Ritz and they graciously loaned us the use of their room for the afternoon. However, while The Ritz is a spectacular place — a vision that Ernest Hemingway equated with heaven — to stay there indefinitely was beyond our means (and that's putting it nicely).

It ended up being an entire day and night before we could gain access to our apartment. In the meantime, my dad booked us a room at the Hotel Castille on rue Cambon. Situated directly behind The Ritz, which you enter off the Place Vendome, Castille's location proved ideal for the transfer of our luggage. Moreover, its location in the central 1st arrondissement is ideal for sightseeing, shopping, and dining. Walking distance from Coco Chanel's O.G. atelier, amble just a bit further to find The Joelle Ciocco Spa where you can get a world-class facial from Paris' cult-favorite, celebrity esthetician.

Hotel Castille was perfect for us. A charming 4-star hotel with a boutique feel, it provides all the necessary amenities. While staying at The Ritz provides an immersive experience into France's lavish cultural legacy, the stylish-but-contemporary decor at Hotel Castille imparts a less extravagant — but more livable — Italian-inspired feel.

We were thrilled. Our top floor room offered a view of the Parisian rooftops, while in-room dining made it possible for us to snack while still sleeping off our jet-lag. Guest services brought up a dog bed and bowls for our furry "children," and we were able to truly relax for what seemed like the first time in months.

The next morning, our apartment was finally ready for move-in. We enjoyed a buffet-style breakfast, including what tasted like drip coffee (versus espresso, which you will find almost everywhere else in Paris). Checkout was a pleasant surprise at a price that — unlike that of the Ritz — was also much more "livable."

Although we didn't sample many of Hotel Castille's amenities — including a fitness room and a restaurant run by a Michelin-starred chef — the four of us (pups included) could not have been happier during our brief stay.

Note from David — We can offer Travel Leaders Select amenities at Hotel Castille.

Complimentary Full American Buffet breakfast for two daily
Early check-in and late check-out subject to availability
Upgrade upon arrival subject to availability
$100 F&B voucher for the restaurant (not including minibar)

12.31.2019

clients choice awards — top five

Travel magazines such as Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure post annual Readers Choice rankings of the best hotels in the world. I don't know the magazines' methodology, but their results are sometimes laughable ... such as the time a "nice enough" luxury hotel just off Times Square won the designation of Best Hotel in the World.

I'll be totally transparent about my methodology. Though I'm semi-retired, I do continue to work with a select group of Ourisman Travel clients. These are their top five choices ranked in order of the volume of sales to these hotels and resorts.

#1 — Four Seasons Hualalai. My personal favorite resort in Hawaii, Hualalai is the top resort in the world of all Ourisman Travel clients. Hualalai is the antithesis of the "big concrete box by the beach" that so many beach resorts tend to be. Luxurious and newly renovated guest rooms are located in detached two-story buildings arrayed along four beachfront crescents and around the green of the 18th hole of the golf course. I love Hualalai for its casual luxury. Guests enjoy great food while dining right by the beach where flip-flops are perfectly fine for that "sand between your toes" experience even at dinner. Click here for my slide show explaining the crescents of Hualalai.

#2 — Dorado Beach, Ritz-Carlton Reserve. My personal favorite resort in the Caribbean, I actually vacationed here as a teenager back in the 1960's when Dorado Beach was a part of Rockresorts. Like Hualalai, Dorado Beach is not a "big concrete box by the beach." Guest rooms are found in detached two story buildings, each with a direct ocean view and some with private plunge pools. West Beach rooms step out right onto the beach while East Beach rooms feature the sound of the waves crashing up against the beach rocks... what a restful sound when going to sleep. The beach is great ... soft, white sand and swimmable ocean water.

#3 — Four Seasons Maui. If you catch the trend, beach resorts are tops on our list ... and Hawaii is our clients' favorite destination. Maui was Four Seasons' first resort — set on a wide, sandy, swimmable beach with snorkeling — and it continues to be a popular draw attracting a trendy, cosmopolitan set of guests. High end shopping is available nearby at The Shops at Wailea. The biggest difference: while guests dine by the beach at Hualalai wearing flip-flops, many guests at Maui arrive for dinner with the ladies fashionably dressed and sporting high heels.

#4 — Le Meurice, Paris. The trend continues — I sell what I love — and Le Meurice is my favorite hotel in my favorite city in world. Paris has the world's greatest collection of "over-the-top" luxury hotels, but Le Meurice is not about being "over the top." The smallest palace hotel in Paris, Le Meurice exudes a warm, personable, and comfortable luxury while offering the best possible location in Paris, especially for first-time visitors. Step out the front door, cross rue de Rivoli, and you're in the Jardin des Tuilleries, the beautiful formal gardens in the very heart of Paris. Walk across the gardens, and you'll be at the Musée d'Orsay in 10 minutes. Or turn to the left, and you're just 10 minutes from the Louvre. Le Meurice, ideal for first-time visitors, its guests keep coming back, y compris moi.

#5 — Peninsula Tokyo. Japan has become the hot travel destination for 2019 and 2020. The 2020 Olympic Games have shined the world's focus on Japan, and I recommend booking a customized land tour or a cruise that circumnavigates this island nation. You'll want to begin or end your trip in Tokyo, and of all the great luxury hotels in Tokyo, my clients have most often booked The Peninsula. Why? Perhaps it's due to the hotel's location next to the Imperial Gardens, or because of its thoughtfully designed guest rooms (with such features as nail polish dryers in the bathroom), or even because my PEN Club clients benefit from totally flexible check-in and check-out times.

I can offer the following amenities at all of the above hotels through Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, STARS, Diamond Club, and PEN Club. While the details differ slightly by property, you'll receive at least the following at each of these top five hotels:

daily breakfast for two
$100 hotel credit towards incidental expenses
room upgrade if available
early check-in and late check-out if available
complimentary internet

In some cases, the credit is more, the room upgrade is confirmed at booking, and the early check-in is guaranteed. Get in touch for the full details!

My next column will take a look at #6-#10 on my list.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

11.05.2019

dance like no one's watching

I share the following from the September/October issue of Afar, my favorite travel magazine.

Q: Why do you think Americans tend to overpack their travel itineraries?

A: Part of it is that we think we're going to miss something. What we forget is that serendipity is what we're really missing — it's the things that aren't on our itinerary that are important.

D'accord — this is so true. I always enjoy wandering a city without any particular plan, just following where my eyes lead me, being spontaneous, taking that detour down a cute, narrow alley where I discover unexpected slices of local life.

an old couple sitting in a café watching the pedestrians walk by
a brick wall illuminated with a beam of golden sunlight
the yeasty aroma of freshly baked bread as you pass a boulangerie
street musicians playing music on a pedestrian bridge in Paris
an exuberant old woman dancing to their music

Moral of the story: don't plan every hour of every day when you travel. Leave some unscheduled time just to explore. Those unplanned serendipities will often become the fondest memories of your entire trip.

8.23.2019

Atelier des Lumières - must see in Paris

The first in a series of postcards from my recent Baltic Cruise and four days in Paris... you simply must get tickets to Atelier des Lumières. Hard to describe with mere words, the performance we visited consisted of three distinct sound-and-light presentations...

Van Gogh, Starry Night
Dreamed Japan, Images of the Floating World
Verse

The audience gathers in a really large warehouse-sized room. The show is projected onto all four walls and the floor. A sound-track is choreographed to the visual images. You can stand wherever want want, move about the room, and watch the presentation from different vantage points. There are some seats up the stairs on a second level and a few benches in the middle of the ground floor. I stood quite contentedly in the middle of the room.

The image above was photographed (obviously) during the Van Gogh presentation. It provides a sense of what to expect while immersed in the midst of these larger-than-life, iconic images. We loved the approximately hour-long exhibition.

Tip: you can download a coupon code for a 10% discount from O'bon Paris. The discount is good off the full rate only, so it's a better value than booking the Senior Rate (as I learned too late). On the other hand, if you are eligible for a reduced rate as a student or youth (ages 5-25), book those rates and forget about the coupon.

8.13.2019

Paris — anytime, anywhere

I woke up early my first morning in Paris and went out for a walk just as dawn was breaking. It was a Sunday morning in August, and there was no traffic. Practically nobody else was awake. I felt that I had Paris to myself as I walked through the Jardin des Tuileries. Crossing the Seine on a small pedestrian bridge, the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, I ambled through some residential streets behind the Musée d'Orsay, eventually making my way back to the Seine.

Snapping pictures as I walked along, I saw the newly dawned sun illuminating the mansard roofs of classic Haussmannian buildings. I crossed the Pont Royal and marveled at the sunlight reflecting brightly off the glass roof of the Grand Palais to the west. Looking to the far bank of the Seine, I saw these four young people — two couples — sitting together by the river. Turning left on the Voie Georges Pompidou, I walked above the spot where they were sitting and was lucky to capture this image through the trees.

The picture tells a story, though the viewer has to imagine what that story might be. Two young couples spending an evening together in Paris, sharing kisses as the sun comes up on a brand new day, this is Paris — anytime, anywhere — the most beautiful city in the world, a place for old and new lovers alike.

7.02.2019

our impulse travel purchase

the itinerary of Baltic Delights, our Windstar cruise

This was an impulse purchase. Here's the story of how it came to be...

Act I — an intriguing itinerary

The dream of this trip began last August (11 months ago) when a travel blogger I follow wrote about Tallinn. In his words,

Europe in general has so many charming “old towns,” though Tallinn has the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. Period. The old town is large and adorable.

Tallinn sounded so interesting. Searching Virtuoso.com, I looked for itineraries including Tallinn and found what is shown above — a Baltic cruise on Windstar, a boutique luxury cruise line. A lot of these places are on my bucket list — Copenhagen, Tallinn, and especially St. Petersburg, Russia where the cruise will dock for two full days.

The prices were reasonable for a 10-day luxury cruise, but I was hoping for travel agent rates — I've been spoiled; there were none to be had. So this cruise went on the back burner, and I forgot completely about it, until...

Act II — a compelling cruise fare appeared

Last Monday, just eight days ago, Windstar sent out an email blast with agent familiarization fares. By a stroke of luck, there was an agent's rate for the very sailing we had been looking at. I applied for the rate, but everything depended on finding...

Act III — reasonable air

When it's just one month before departure, the least expensive business class air fares buckets have usually sold out. Note: I'm not going to fly from San Francisco to Europe if I can't lie down flat and get some decent sleep on the way over. Bottom line — there's lie-flat business for about $6500 per passenger round-trip, but at that price, the trip was a no-go.

So I began searching. Could I accomplish some travel agent magic on my own behalf? Yes!!! I eventually discovered a consolidator rate to Copenhagen and back from Paris (not Stockholm) for about $2350 per passenger, round trip. I spent some Amex points for the inexpensive flight from STO to CDG ... and ended up with four bonus nights in Paris!

Act IV — so the cruise is on

Let it be known, I'm not a cruiser — at least not to this point — but Claire and I have grown more and more excited about our Windstar adventure as we've started planning our days. There are many sources for shore excursions — Windstar itself but also independent vendors like Shore Trips and Viator. We've looked into all of them, read the tour descriptions, and have become more and more...

Act V — ... excited to go!

We're actually surprised at the degree of excitement we have for this trip. After all, we travel so much. We even have an epic trip to Australia at the end of September ... but we're giddy with anticipation for this Windstar cruise.

Sometimes making an impulse travel purchase is the very thing to do. By the way, Windstar just published an Independence One Week Sale with prices as low as $1599 ... get in touch if you'd like to make your own impulsive travel purchase!

5.02.2019

Bastia in Corsica | crumbling charm

Aboard the Seabourn Ovation, we left Rome yesterday and woke up this morning approaching the seaside town of Bastia on the north coast of Corsica. I signed up for a shore excursion, a guided three hour walk through the streets of this interesting town. "Crumbling charm," is how I described it to a colleague. Attractive buildings with crumbling mortar, Bastia does not enjoy the wealth of Paris or many other towns and small cities of France ... but it exudes charm and authenticity.

We visited several architecturally interesting churches from across the centuries (styes including Baroque, Neo Classical, and Rococo), We passed large public squares, walked down a shopping street with opportunities to purchase souvenirs, and saw the beautiful marbler fountain pictured below.

A fun morning that ended with a "taste of Corsica" (i.e., a plate of meats and a wonderful wedge of goat cheese), cruises offer the opportunity to visit see the sights of multiple destinations without ever having to unpack.

4.17.2019

Notre Dame | such sad feelings

The sight of Notre Dame in flames was so overwhelmingly sad. I've always been a francophile. Paris has always been my favorite city in the world. Notre Dame represents the heart and soul of Paris, indeed of France. The photographs of the fire were so tragic, this iconic Gothic cathedral at the center of Paris on fire.

I first visited Notre Dame in 1969, my first trip to Europe (fifty years ago!). After visiting London and Amsterdam, the student group I was part of continued on to Paris. I captured the image below with my Minolta SRT-101 film camera; I believe I was using Agfachrome ASA 64 slide film. I have visited Paris many times since, more than I can count. My most recent visit was this January when I climbed the tower and captured the close-up image of a gargoyle (see above).

evening shot of Notre Dame in 1969

How to visit any cathedral... (at least how I do it). I always walk to the very back of the sanctuary and stand in the center aisle, behind all of the seats. I stand there for awhile — or even sit in one of the pews — and look forward and upward, taking in the soaring lines of the arches as they lead my eyes to the heavens. This is the very purpose of Gothic architecture. When you visit any church, try to sense what the architect wanted to convey to worshippers. If you can, attend a service or a concert. Enjoy the cathedral the way it was intended — as a place of worship, not as a tourist attraction.

It's impossible to imagine Paris without Notre Dame. I intend to contribute to the reconstruction fund, and I hope one day to visit the fully restored cathedral.

1.24.2019

postcard from London | Picadilly Circus

The photograph above was taken in the summer of 1969. I had just graduated from high school, the summer before beginning college. For a graduation gift, I asked for a trip to Europe, and my parents arranged an experience that included stays in London, Amsterdam, and Paris followed by several weeks at the University of Grenoble (with day trips on the weekends) where I studied French, adding to five years of French in secondary school. It was a memorable trip, one that helped nurture a lifelong passion for travel.

I brought my film camera along, a Minolta SRT 101 with several different lenses. Photography had been my avocation even as a teenager. My 1969 photo shows Picadilly Circus with the billboards as they appeared behind the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain fifty years ago.

Skip forward fifty years, and you can see the changes. There's now a LOT more traffic, and it would be impossible to capture the scene with no vehicles in the foreground. The static billboards have been replaced with ever-changing advertisements shown on LED screens. (Coca Cola is still the most prominent advertiser.) The displays move across the screen, and video snippets including an effervescent glass of Coke, a Turkish Airline plane landing in Istanbul, and advertisements from companies ranging from Samsung to Audemars Piguet, from Hyundai to Alexander McQueen. My suite at Hotel Café Royal (#422) looks right out onto the display, and I asked the housekeepers to keep open the curtains of my living room so that I could enjoy the 24-hour show.

Travel creates the milestones of our lives. Each return visit brings back memories of experiences past and the hope for new memories to come.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit our website.

1.20.2019

postcard from Windsor Castle | the Long Walk

Today's travels took us from Paris to London. After an early morning ride on the Eurostar, a coach transported us to Windsor Castle, the Queen's favourite weekend residence. We first had coffee and tea with the Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor. A very entertaining man, he explained the role of these retired members of the British military. One of the twelve Knights then took us on a quite interesting private tour of St. George's Chapel (where the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place). Our tour ended with a viewing of the stunning Albert Memorial Chapel. Photography is forbidden inside either chapel, frustrating because the afternoon sun streaming through Albert Chapel's stained glass windows was absolutely glorious. How I wish I could have captured that light in a photograph!

So instead, I am posting my photograph of The Long Walk. Considered an iconic image of Windsor Castle, this path runs from the gateway of Windsor Castle to an immense statue of King George III atop a copper horse 2.65 miles to the south. (This is the same King George named in the American Declaration of Independence.) The January day was cold and sunny, but hundreds of visitors were enjoying the walk.

Well worth a day trip from London, a visit to Windsor Castle can be combined with a tour of Hampton Court Palace.

1.19.2019

postcard from Paris | Sainte Chapelle

Imagine a Gothic chapel in the middle of Paris, its walls filled with the light of stained glass windows soaring to its high vaulted ceiling.

Imagine the inspiring glow of those windows on a day when the sun is shining bright. (We weren't quite that lucky yesterday morning — the sun was low in the winter sky on a quite cold and damp winter morning).

Imagine enjoying exclusive access to that chapel, granted the privilege of entering before the general public, offered the opportunity to climb spiral stairs in the altar area to an area to which the public never has access.

Imagine seeing the initials, written with fingers in the dust, of recent exclusive guests who visited that space:

JL + CM

It is Fashion Week, after all, and Paris is filled with celebrities.

Imagine Sainte Chapelle, one of the many highlights of Paris, and imagine the worlds that a luxury travel advisor partnering with Noteworthy Events can open for you.

apparently Jennifer Lawrence loves Cooke Maroney

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