Glen & Leslie
  • Home
    • Upcoming Adventures
    • Preferred Companies >
      • Accommodation
      • Airlines
      • Car Rental
      • Restaurants
      • Tour Companies
    • Maps >
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • Europe 2007 >
        • Austria
        • Belgium
        • Denmark, Sweden & Norway
        • England, Scotland & Ireland
        • France
        • Germany
        • Italy
        • Spain
      • Europe 2014 >
        • Austria
        • Bosnia & Herzegovina
        • Croatia
        • Czech Republic
        • France
        • Germany
        • Hungary
        • Italy
        • Montenegro
        • Romania
        • Serbia
        • Slovakia
        • Slovenia
        • Switzerland
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • North America Tour >
        • Canada
        • United States
  • Travel Albums
    • Asia
    • Arizona Glen Canyon
    • Austria
    • Australia
    • Bosnia
    • Caribbean
    • Croatia
    • Czech Republic
    • Dominican Republic
    • Ecuador
    • England
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Ireland
    • Italy
    • Mexico
    • Montenegro
    • Netherlands
    • New Zealand
    • North American Tour
    • Norway
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Scotland
    • Serbia
    • Slovenia
    • Slovakia
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • Turkey
  • Videos
    • Travel
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
  • Accommodation
  • Pro's & Con's
  • Blog
    • Leslie...the softer side

Chateau Versailles...the biggest cattle call in Europe!

5/31/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
This morning we set out to visit the le château de Versailles or more commonly known in North America as the palace of Versailles.  By 10 am, the line (que) amounted to 1000's standing in line for the 2.5 hour wait.  We spoke to an attendant at the gate and he suggested we by $30E worth of additional tickets to allow us entrance into the Grand Tiranon Palace and Chateau Gardens. This que was only 1.5 hours long and he suggested by the time we viewed Tiranon & the Gardens, return to the line at palace of Versailles at 4:30 pm and there should be virtually no one waiting in line.  Well we didn't bite on that suggestion and chose to visit some other sites in Versailles and return at 4 pm to check the status.  Well he was somewhat right, the line was may 1000 people and the wait approximately 1/2 hour.  Leslie was desperate to see the palace, me...NOT SO MUCH!  We snaked our way to the front entry when the cattle crush began, people pushing and shoving to make their way through the door.  At that very moment, I knew :I had made a mistake and worried how soon it would take before I SNAPPED!  Well it took approximately 3 minutes!  The crush moved to every shitty & somewhat tacky exhibit, pushing and shoving all the way.  Within 5 minutes my blood pressure was boiling by having my feet stepped on and being pushed by over zealous idiots and I told Leslie I wanted to make my escape from this mayham.  As always, Leslie's calming ability was able to settle me down and we hastily made our way through the crowds and out the door.  You have probably read my opinion in previous blogs about how I hate tourist traps and this one definitely ranked among the highest on my list.  The most impressive photo op was the ASS CRACK shot at one of the exhibits.  Notice he even had the gumption, or should I say BUMTION, to break inside the barriers!

The cliche "The Best Things In Life Are Free" is very appropriate in this case.  The chateau grounds were enormous and though they were no where close to the Chateau's or Palaces in the Loire Valley, they were impressive none the less.  Far fewer crowds there and lots of elbow room to enjoy the moment and capture some spectacular photos.  I feel sorry for our good friends who spent over $400.00 to tour the palace and grounds.  In my opinion, that would have been the biggest RIP OFF in history!  I sincerely hope the had a much more positive experience.

I think the attached photos and video clips will speak for themselves.

0 Comments

Paris

5/30/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
The flight with Air Transat to Paris was great!  We arrived at approximately 8:30 am after a 9 hour flight.  The time passed quickly by watching movies.  The airline served us dinner & a continental breakfast that was rather spartan but adequate.  Unfortunately we were seated in the row directly behind first class and their level of service looked pretty amazing.  There appeared to be 18 seats in the first class zone of the flight we were on and I am curious to know what the upgrade to first class would be for the trip home.  Two return tickets from Calgary to Paris in economy were $2200 Cdn flying the "Bologna Plan",.. which was fine.  We managed to get seats at the bulkhead which gave us a lot more room for Leslie's 5 ft frame!!!

Upon arrive, we picked up our luggage and contacted Auto Europe for our brand new Peugeot rental.  They picked us up right outside the arrival door within minutes...GREAT SERVICE!  The little car was loaded and we managed to get all our luggage in the trunk, which was a real surprise.  We then drove to a Trappes, France, a community just outside of Versailles.  We booked into the trusted Ibis Trappes Saint Quentin en Yvelines.  Ibis is a large hotel chain throughout Europe and are very spartan but clean and the room layout is tiny but always consistwnt with free wifi, a comfortable bed and a great choice when your stuck for a room at the last minute.  The rates are very competitive and the hotels are always booked to capacity.


We decided to nap for a few hours before we head out to pickup some groceries and snacks for the next few days.  We travel with a small insulated cooler with enough room for some cheese, juice, yogart, etc.  Some of the better grocery stores in France are LeClerc, Aldi, Lidl,Carrefour, to name a few.  Aldi & Lidl are discount food retailers that are often far cheaper than the others but their selection is quite limited.  After picking up dinner and a few other items, we hit the sack for a busy day of touring Versailles tomorrow.  We may extend our 2 day booking to 3 given we did not get much accomplished our first day.  This type of flexibility is the beauty of not booking in advance however the downside is not being able to find a room during the peak summer months, something we have luckily not experience to date.


Stay tuned...

0 Comments

The Time Has Come!

5/29/2014

2 Comments

 
The much anticipate day has finally arrived and here we are, sitting at Calgary International Airport awaiting our Air Transat light to Paris, the first leg of our 4 month European Adventure.  We made a pit stop at Duty Free and stocked up on our booze supply.  We cannot believe the time has finally arrived and it almost feels a little surreal!  Our friends Chris and Jim had to cut their European Adventure short due to a water leak at their home shortly after they arrived in Europe.  Their photos from the Aisle of Capri looked amazing.  The 9 hour flight will bring us into Paris at 8:30 am where we pickup our rental vehicle from Auto Europe and make the short drive to Versaille for a couple of days.  From there, we are basically winging it until we meet up with our German friends at Lake Konstanz for a few days.
2 Comments
    Picture
    Glen
    I have always been a straight shooter and a go getter.  Many have said Leslie must be a saint to have put up with me for over 40 years.  We have been business partners since the day we got married and each played an intrigal roll in our business success.  There is nothing more important to us than our Family & Friends.  Our love of people and travel has allowed us to develop amazing friendships around the world.

    Tweets by @glenandleslie

    Archives

    November 2017
    October 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    November 2010
    September 2010
    December 2007
    November 2007
    September 2007
    August 2007
    June 2007

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    "The New Gineration"


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Disclaimer: 
    The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by
    www.glenandleslie.com and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.  In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.

    Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of
    www.glenandleslie.com. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

    Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However,
    www.glenandleslie.com takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.