Xmas Pressie for Hubby - Tour de France 2010 - HELP!!!

[skirty]

Hi, have googled till my fingers are bleeding but have failed to find what I need so am turning to your sage minds for help.

I want to pay for my husband to go to the Tour de France prologue on 3 July 2010 in Rotterdam. Do they always start at 3pm? if so I can book him on a flight which arrives in Schipol at 9.15 am then its a 45 min train journey to Rotterdam. If its 3pm it surely is enough time to get there?

Then the next day he will have to get back from Amsterdam to Rotterdam (looked at hotels in Rotterdam and for that night they are asking stupid prices) to see the start of stage 1. What time does that normally start, does anyone know.

Is my plan do-able, has anyone any knowledge of start times?

Thanks amillion for any advice x

 

[fatandfast]

He would be able to get somewhere on the route but it's really hard to get near the start/finish if you don't have a ticket for the grandstands or you have to get there really,really early to get a spot to stand. Trying to get a train/car/cab to bring you anyplace near the start finish is not happening the day of the race. Once they set up barriers and clear the course. I think he could make it to see the race just not the start/ finish. Your plan sounds like a good one only one day too late.Take a flight the day before and stay in a cheap hotel it may add 100 or 150 euros more to the gift but it will make it easier for him to see the race from a great spot. Every guy wishes he had a girl so thoughtful.

 

[pmcg76]

I would definitely not book him to go on the day of the prologue for the reasons the previous poster stated. It will be huge in Rotterdam. He would probably need to be on the course at 8/9am to ensure a spot.

Your idea is fantastic but presonally I think sending him to the Alps or Pyrenees for a few days might be better altough potentially more difficult to plan.

 

[Anonymous]

get him there the night before...

having done four final stages, and a prologue i know from experience that getting on the course at 7am is the only real way to guarantee a good spot.. .(generally the tour seem to close off roads completely and traffic free from 8am.. thats when the barriers have been closed off in paris and london.. if he turns up on course at 11am he will struggle for a spot..we where in london at 6am, got a spot by the finish line and by 7am we had a crowd four of five deap behind us... paris, 7am, waited in our usual place for the barrier to go across, and even then we had to battle people to retain our space...

if you cant work out the prologue have you thought about paris, hotels there are very cheap, its easy to get to, and its a pretty spectacular day.. as a pretty experienced paris visitor i can give you plenty of advice there..

mountains etc take far too much organising..

 

[ak-zaaf]

If I'm not mistaking it will be an early prologue because of the quarter finals of the world championship football that day. To broadcast both the prologue is scheduled to be done before 16.00 local time.

I'm sure your husband wants to be there hours before they start so he can see the teams unpack, warm-up etc.

The Schiphol - Rotterdam train will be delayed that day. I will personally pay all your expenses if even one train on that line rides on time that day.

 

[skirty]

Thanks for your replies, and it sounds very sensible. It will be manic I guess - I did wonder if I was pushing it a bit. But not sure I can afford another night away, will have to sit down and work it out. If I cant do it properly and ensure he can see something I guess its best to think of something else. Paris is a no go as thats the day we go on holiday to Spain. He's just mentioned the Tour of Britain wonder when the route is announced - I could pay for hotels for a couple of nights on that I guess. Thanks again guys, appreciate it

 

[Big_Blue_Dave]

Where are you based? Its still early before any deals may be announced for trips via Amsterdam. Just keep your eyes open and check sites such as http://www.kayak.co.uk for flights and hotel prices.

 

[bianchigirl]

Have you tried looking for short stay apartments? 6 of us stayed in an apartment right in the heart of Paris for 150 euros a night (that's for the apartment, not each) so I'm willing to bet you can get similar deals in other European cities. I'd actually recommend the short stay apartment option and do the Champs instead.

Have you looked at any of the tour group options? They usually do deals with guaranteed seats, meals etc. to suit a variety of budgets.

But I have to echo what everyone else says - you need to be in situ the day before and get there early. Otherwise maybe look at other options - why not have a weekend in the vines and take in the TT and the Bordeaux finish? Again, the short stay apartment option would work.

 

[kiwirider]

Have you tried looking for short stay apartments? 6 of us stayed in an apartment right in the heart of Paris for 150 euros a night (that's for the apartment, not each) so I'm willing to bet you can get similar deals in other European cities. I'd actually recommend the short stay apartment option and do the Champs instead.

Sorry to hijack the OP's thread, but I'm trying to convince my partner that we need to go and spend some serious time in France, and want to start by introducing her to the charms of Paris - so what you have posted here Bianchigirl has got me seriously interested!

Do you have a website or any contact details that you can pass out for how you found that apartment? And when you say "heart of Paris", where do you mean (ie., general area or arrondissement number)?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Paris is always cheap that week because the french go on holiday... We stay every year and never pay more than about 45e a night (and we stay at a fairly nice hotel)... its also easy to get to, and very well organised..

Rotterdam is getting the tour once, it will be mental...

Seriously, the only advice i can give, having been there and got the tshirt, is do not hope to arrive on the day and get a decent spot... If you are going to send him, something like seeing the tour live for the first time, for a cycling fan is a massive massive experience, seeing those riders live for the first time, watching it live instead of on tv.. you dont want anything to ruin it.. and trust me, anything after about 10am arriving and he will be battling for somewhere decent to watch it..
its worrth the overnight to get a prime spot...

 

[Anonymous]

Do you have a website or any contact details that you can pass out for how you found that apartment? And when you say "heart of Paris", where do you mean (ie., general area or arrondissement number)?

Thanks

Kiwi, paris is so well connected by metro that you dont have to be in the heart so to speak (ie within a stones throw of place de concorde)...

we generally stay in the 10th, close to gare d l'est and gare nord as they are convenient for eurostar arrival, but also because there are some half decent hotels at good prices, and plenty of good inexpensive places to eat etc... for the last three years we have stayed at ibis nord, or ibis gare d l'est and paid around £45 a night... (at the moment its £80 a night on flex+ - ie. rearrangable - but by december/januart the flex- prices start appearing, ie. ones you cannot cancel but a lot cheaper..).. but if you search on paris hotels nord it will list hotels by gare de nord and they are all pretty cheap value up there..

if not the 9th around pigalle and montemartre.. the hotels are not nearly so desirable, but they are cheap... but we generally prefer the 10th...

the 7th is the most convenient, for the tour etc, but is becoming more touristy, and more expensive.. we tend to prefer the convenience of being close to the eurostar station..

as bianchi said you can rent apartments in paris, but you generally need about 5 or 6 people to make it worthwhile, but there are a fair few smaller apartments on offer and most apartments we have seen there are a week rent mimumum... (we are considering moving there at some point so we keep an eye on apartment prices)...
http://www.parisattitude.com/ is a good starting point...
apartments go from about
1 bedroom - 400e
2 bedroom - 650e
we are thinking about an apartment next year, depends on finances, the costs of apartments are fine, its the additional weeks security deposit. we dont always have a spare 500 in the bank.. :/

now dont get me started on paris.. its like our second home.. we only get there once a year for 7-10 days but plans to be there much more often.. and one day, hopefully, permentantly

 

[kiwirider]

... Lots of things ...

Thanks Dim ... Lots of good stuff in there for me to work on.

I fully agree on how easy the Metro makes things. I was in the 7th close to Ecole-Militaire a month or so back and it was such a breeze to get anywhere - including to the TGV ...

Sadly, I don't have to worry about being close to Eurostar as I'll be either coming across from Ottawa again or from NZ - so it's all either shuttle or RER for me anyhow ... but will check out the 10th ... and I'll check out the 7th some more (I loved the market in Rue Cler and the cafes on Place d'Ecole Militaire ...) ... and of the course the 5th has a real charm (from this last trip I can recommend "les fetes galantes" in rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique - great food and a most entertaining decor which you have to ask the owner for the story behind ...) ...

Damn ... I'm back in NZ for a three to six month stint and am really struggling with being here ... and I'm not helping myself with this post ...

 

[Anonymous]

and of the course the 5th has a real charm (from this last trip I can recommend "les fetes galantes" in rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique - great food and a most entertaining decor which you have to ask the owner for the story behind ...) ...

will check that out.. its just round the corner from "hotel california".. i so wanna stay there

if you find any decent veggie restaurants let us know.. i have a veggie (and even worse) none egg eating wife to contend with.. its a headache.. although there is amight fine fallaffel bar off one of the sidestreets on rue lagrange in the 5th
"Je ne mange pas de viande ou du poisson ou des oeufs" is one of our most used phrases..

if you are used to staying in the 7th an 5th you may find the 10th a little cost effective though.. we just like the canal life and lack of tourists..

what does the rue cler market do...? we usually get so lost wandering the cemetaries and feeding the cats in the pet cemetary in marie clichy that we forget about markets..

 

[kiwirider]

will check that out.. its just round the corner from "hotel california".. i so wanna stay there

if you find any decent veggie restaurants let us know.. i have a veggie (and even worse) none egg eating wife to contend with.. its a headache.. although there is amight fine fallaffel bar off one of the sidestreets on rue lagrange in the 5th
"Je ne mange pas de viande ou du poisson ou des oeufs" is one of our most used phrases..

if you are used to staying in the 7th an 5th you may find the 10th a little cost effective though.. we just like the canal life and lack of tourists..

what does the rue cler market do...? we usually get so lost wandering the cemetaries and feeding the cats in the pet cemetary in marie clichy that we forget about markets..

Will definitely do what I can on the veggie front - I have a similar situation as Liz is semi-veg (she eats seafood), so we always have to hunt out places with a veggie option. I also have a friend from Ottawa who is allergic to eggs and is making his first trip to Paris over christmas - so if he comes back with any good recommendations on places with veggie options or flexible chefs I'll let you know.

As for rue Cler ... it's just a nice local food market. Has everything that you'd want at a much better standard than the Carrefour around the corner from it ... I mean, if you're in France, you've got to buy at the local market, right? Really easy to find - get to Ecole-Militaire metro (or, if you're walking, find Champs de Mars) ... exit onto/follow ave la Motte Picquet and follow it to the north/north-east (ie., away from Champs de Mars) until you get to rue Cler ... very easy to spot as the market stands out from everything around it ... Oh, and according to the folks at the hotel that I was staying at, the Nicolas wine shop there is much better than the bigger one around the corner ... definitely the guy in it was really friendly and helpful ...

Important question - I have another French lesson tonight ... does our discussion count as me doing my homework for it??

 

[Anonymous]

Will definitely do what I can on the veggie front - I have a similar situation as Liz is semi-veg (she eats seafood), so we always have to hunt out places with a veggie option. I also have a friend from Ottawa who is allergic to eggs and is making his first trip to Paris over christmas - so if he comes back with any good recommendations on places with veggie options or flexible chefs I'll let you know.

cool.. we had a great restaurant we used to go to regularly where the owner was brilliant for jay.. they would do any of the veggie starters as main courses, or he would create salads for her etc, we pretty much lived in there for two years, but this year went back and hes sold it.. got his number somewhere but our French isnt yet good enough for phone conversations, and the new owners where not very keen to tell us where he'd gone.. Paris is a headache for veggies, unless you want to live on omelette's or pesto pasta... I will try to find out exactly where that falafel bar is, your veggie friend would love it.. they have some amazing food..
edit: found it http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place...alafel+bar&hnear=paris&cid=471461505206369807
its a brilliant veggie/vegan lunch spot...