Trip Reports Archives - Page 15 of 27

Nov 22 2014

Lazy Weekend in Lyon: The Hilton Lyon, Parc Tete d’Or, and Salon du Chocolat

Hilton Lyon

Normally on a short weekend location is the most important factor for a hotel for me, but on this trip I wanted to make sure we had breakfast too. I ended up booking a 100 Euro/night rate at the Hilton Lyon.

We were put on the executive floor and given executive lounge access due to my HHonors Gold status (still 100% on executive lounges outside of the USA). The room was small but comfortable, nothing to write home about pro or con. There was a really nice view of the Parc Tete d’Or from the hotel – supposedly one of the largest parks in Europe.

...which just means regular room on the top floor with lounge access — …which just means regular room on the top floor with lounge access

Breakfast was simple but satisfying, generally just eggs, bacon, sausage, and an assortment of continental breakfast type foods. During happy hour and “sweet time” there were various snacks out, including hot hors d’oeuvres, which I found pretty tasty. And all the chips I could eat, woohoo! We avoided the hotel restaurant due to the fact we were in the food capital of the world.

The Cite Internationale has some fun sculptures

The biggest downside of the hotel is its location – it’s about a 30 minute walk to the city center. Still, it’s in a nice little convention center complete with a movie theater, casino, and restaurants. The architecture of the complex, both the hotel and the entire Cite Internationale, is actually pretty cool. Though I wouldn’t recommend it, you could stay there and never leave.

Parc Tete d’Or

The best part of the hotel’s location is its proximity to the Parc Tete d’Or, a beautiful, expansive park that made me wish it was summer. We wandered around the park in the rain and I was still impressed with its natural beauty (the fall foliage didn’t hurt).

There is a large lake in the middle of the park; you can rent boats during warmer weather. The park is also chock full of playgrounds and there is even a zoo – a FREE zoo. I thought the free zoo would be, um, not that great but it actually was pretty nice (the price obviously factoring into my evaluation). I mean the Stone and Franklin Park Zoos here in Boston are great and all but they cost money!

An interesting thing we noticed in Lyon is that it seems to be a city for runners – it feels like Boston in that way. We saw people jogging at all hours of the day and night and there are tons of beautiful paths that you can jog on – in the park, along the two rivers, or even through the city center itself. I kinda wish I had brought my running shoes to burn off all the calories I ate! Then again, I haven’t run more than a mile in……let’s just move on.

Walk to the City Center

Since the hotel is so far away, it’s worth noting your options for getting to the city center. There is a convenient bus that takes you right in there but to be honest we didn’t even bother inquiring the price. We’re walkers and that’s what we did.

It’s about a thirty minute walk to the city center and there are multiple ways to get there from the Hilton. You can walk along the river, you can walk through the Parc Tete d’Or, or you can walk through more urban areas. They all felt super safe (we asked the hotel and they said it’s fine at all hours and our experience echoed this).

Would love to know the story behind this badboy

Lyon is home to two rivers – the Rhone and the Saone – the Hilton and Cite Internationale are along the Rhone. Walking along the river is beautiful and there is a path that runs along a large part of the river. I wasn’t sure if it was a permanent thing or what (it rained most of the weekend) but a lot of the paths on the Saone looked flooded. Weird.

Anyway like any European city there are a billion bridges you can choose to cross the rivers on including a handful of pedestrian ones. I have an affinity for walking across bridges so I really just loved strolling around the city. I always found it to be a pleasant walk but if walking is not your thing you might want to take the bus or find a different hotel.

Salon du Chocolat

The absolute best part about living in the Cite Internationale was that we were a two minute walk away from the Salon du Chocolat. What is the Salon du Chocolat, you say? Only a traveling chocolate exhibition featuring some of the best chocolatiers in the world! And it just happened to be in Lyon the weekend we were there.

The exhibition was in some kind of exhibition hall – and it was crazy. I mean its like a convention, except instead of weird gadgets or gizmos, everyone is featuring chocolate and candy at their booths. Free samples? Yes, thank you very much. And chocolate for sale of course, including some really unique things like hard candies flavored with flowers (Maison Boissier), a Coca-cola flavored chocolate bar that crackled when I ate it (Newtree), and of course products from Lyon’s very well known, very amazing Bernachon.

Almost finished product - ridiculous. — Almost finished product – ridiculous.

Jess was in heaven and I had a pretty good time too. Besides just gorging yourself on samples and spending way too much money on chocolate bars, there were also demonstrations by famous chocolatiers (with free samples!) and also an ongoing “chocolate art” creation station. Some of the stuff these people made out of chocolates blew my mind.

Gigantic mirror for the cooking demonstration

Not convinced? There is also a fashion show featuring clothes that have chocolate on them! What?! Who thinks of these things? And finally, there are demonstrations/lessons/workshops both for kids and adults. The kids dressed up in aprons and making chocolate are especially cute and make me want to return with Little M when she’s old enough.

So it cost us 10 Euros each to get in but we spent a few hours there and I thought it was well worth it. We had a lot of fun, got a nice little sugar high going, and Jess got to sit on an Eclair. All in all, a great time.

Final Thoughts

The Hilton Lyon is located a bit far away from the city, but that doesn’t mean you’ll lack things to do. The Parc Tete d’Or is lovely and the Cite Internationale has a lot of things to occupy your time. We almost went to the movies just because we never get to do that at home (we missed our show because we slept in, haha). And if you happen to be in town when the Salon du Chocolat is visiting – cha-ching!

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

British Airways First Class and the Ghost Terminal at Heathrow

The Hilton Lyon, Parc Tete d’Or, and Salon du Chocolat

Michelin Starred Meals at La Mere Brazier and La Remanence

Nov 17 2014

Lazy Weekend in Lyon: Introduction

Lyon is all about eating... — Lyon is all about eating…

Last week my wife and I spent a quick long weekend in Lyon, France with a nice little layover in London to boot. It wasn’t the cheapest trip, but it was some much needed R&R away from the little one. I haven’t seen a lot of stuff out there about Lyon, so hopefully this trip report will remedy that. I decided not to do it live because I needed the rest – hopefully it won’t take me too long to finish!

Before we get to the fun stuff, a little bit about how we got there.

Flights: British Airways First Class Boston to Lyon

Back when US Airways switched to Oneworld there was a small window of time when you could book British Airways tickets without fuel surcharges. We took advantage of that opportunity to book two first class tickets from Boston to Lyon for 125,000 US Air miles and $265 each (that includes a $50 phone processing fee for US Airways).

Got to add another set of pajamas to the pile

The majority of our miles were earned via the Barclays US Air card sign up bonus and butt in seat miles. The remaining 40,000 or so came from one of those share miles promotions where you could get miles for 1.1 cents a piece, costing us an extra $440 dollars (a deal I no longer thinks works for me, but I was younger and less wise then). So all told our cash outlay for flights was about $485 each – or the cost of a good cash fare to Europe in coach.

I wouldn’t say this was a great deal by any stretch, but we got to fly in British Airways’ first class cabin for a decent price which dovetailed with my goal to travel as comfortably as possible for less. Our original routing was BOS-PHL-LHR-LYS // LYS-LHR-BOS, but after an equipment change I managed to switch us to BOS-LHR-LYS on the outbound. I wrote about how my obsessiveness pulled that off here.

Taking afternoon tea together at 40,000 feet

Hotel: Hilton Lyon

I really wanted to book a hotel on points, but the Radisson Blu in Lyon is currently under renovation. So instead, we booked the Hilton Lyon for 100 Euros a night – I figured getting free breakfast (with HHonors Gold) would make up for the slightly distant location. And hey, we ended up getting a ton of exercise. There was also a Crowne Plaza nearby the Hilton, but even though I had IHG points I didn’t want to stay there, believe it or not I have faith that Hilton will treat us well and we were not disappointed. Free breakfast is big for Jess and I needed that to be guaranteed.

The Hilton Lyon is located right by the Parc de la Tete d'Or — The Hilton Lyon is located right by the Parc de la Tete d’Or

Layover: In and out of London in six hours

The final thing we had to consider was our layover in London on the way home. We were arriving in London from Lyon at 7:45 AM and departing at 4:25 PM. I love London and wanted to make a quick trip into the city. You can get to the city from Heathrow via the London Underground or the Heathrow Express. The Underground is a lot cheaper (we would have bought £17 daypasses to ride the Tube all day), but it takes almost an hour to get into the city. I found a deal where we could buy two roundtrip tickets on the Heathrow express for £50 pounds total – that got us into the city in fifteen minutes. In this case time was more important to us than money. We ended up spending another £18 total for Underground daypasses, so £68 total for our little jaunt into London. That works out to £34 to save 1.5 hours of travel time which was worth it to me. We got to see the poppies at the Tower of London, eat at Jess’ favorite vegetarian restaurant, and take a walk through some of our favorite spots.

Porcelain poppies at the Tower of London - in memoriam — Porcelain poppies at the Tower of London – in memoriam

Final Thoughts

It was a quick trip, and though it wasn’t cheap, we saved a lot of money thanks to the points and miles we’ve accumulated over the years. Of course, we blew a lot of that on eating…but hey we got to relax and Little M was well taken care of at home with grandma and grandpa – can’t put a price on that!

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

British Airways First Class and the Ghost Terminal at Heathrow

The Hilton Lyon, Parc Tete d’Or, and Salon du Chocolat

Michelin Starred Meals at La Mere Brazier and La Remanence

Aug 30 2014

The Joys of United Domestic First

The only thing I like about LAX is the plane watching

Jess and I are traveling to Los Angeles for a wedding this weekend – sans the little one. Given United’s reputation, you might think that the title of this post is sarcastic, but we really had a great outbound flight.

We flew in first class from Boston to LA thanks to United’s award routing rules. Like Delta, you’re allowed a stopover and an open jaw, so we tacked this leg onto the end of our Europe flights this summer.

Maybe it was a function of not having to deal with a running toddler (okay, that probably had a lot to do with it), but it was a super relaxing and enjoyable journey. Here are some reasons why.

1. Great Service

We had the interesting experience of having the same flight crew on both our flights – first for the short Boston to Newark leg and then for our long leg from Newark to Los Angeles.

Soda tastes the same in all classes of service

I’ve read a lot of trip reports/forum posts about the poor quality of US-based flight attendants, but our flight crew was great. They were attentive to our needs, took care of everything quickly and efficiently, and were super friendly. As far as I could tell this held true for the entire plane though of course I can only speak for the first class attendants.

2. Free DirecTV

First class passengers have access to free DirecTV and movies on United flights where they are offered, including the 737 we flew on. This was great because we never get to watch TV at home uninterrupted.

Best of all, I got to watch the Barclays Premier League all morning, something that is downright impossible to do at home. I watched all three games – the most soccer I’ve watched since Brazil – including a real cracker of a game in Chelsea vs. Everton. At one point 5 goals were scored in 11 minutes and 15 seconds!

The most soccer I've gotten to watch since the World Cup — The most soccer I’ve gotten to watch since the World Cup

As Arlo White said on the broadcast over halfway through the game, “If you have an appointment in thirty minutes – cancel it.” The joys of having nowhere to go and nowhere to be at 35,000 feet.

3. Free Snacks

There was once a day and time when every airline offered free snacks on domestic flights in all cabins. Alas, that’s no longer the case. But you do get free snacks and meals in domestic first!

The aforementioned quality flight attendants came through the cabin multiple times serving drinks and snacks – all the chips I could eat. It’s sad how easily I’m pleased, but that’s the reality.

4. This.

Final Thoughts

I’m generally more about the destination than the journey, but this was a great flight to LA and we’re relaxed and ready for this wedding. For you parents out there, how relaxing is a flight without your kid? It’s truly amazing. Hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend!

Aug 22 2014

Bavarian Summer: A Seat, a Bed, and a Toddler – and The End!

The Lufthansa 747-400 features a full bed in first class

Ahhh…the best part of writing trip reports is the last entry. Originally we were scheduled to take a similar flight to our outbound so I wasn’t going to write about it. However, we ended up taking Lufthansa’s 747-400 first class product – aka a seat AND a bed. I figured anyone who was thinking of taking an infant or toddler in LH F might want to see how that impacted things. So let’s finish this!

A view I don't get very often — A view I don’t get very often

After our time in the First Class Terminal, we were driven in a minivan to our plane. People get driven in all sorts of cool cars from the FCT to their plane – Porsches, Benzes, and GRAND CARAVANS. I found it pretty amusing, hopefully the dude who shared the car with us did too (he was really nice). We were dropped off at the bottom of the plane which was pretty cool – 747s are big mamma jammas.

This could be a long flight... — This could be a long flight…

I think Jess’ exclamation, “We’re flying upstairs!?” summed it up. While being in the nose of the plane would have been cool, it was pretty neat to walk up the stairs to the first class cabin in the “hump” of the plane – I’m not sure I’ve ever been up there myself. The first class cabin consists of four rows of two seats each, we chose the last two seats in an effort to minimize bothering others. The cabin ended up being full due to some weather issues in Frankfurt the day before, so I was a bit nervous as we got ready to take off.

For once M was cool with taking off with me instead of mom

It turns out it was silly for me to be nervous, for a couple of reasons. First of all – the cabin had SO much stuff for Little M to play with that she just had a great time for the majority of the flight. Opening drawers, closing drawers, putting stickers on the armrests, putting headphones on, putting headphones on me, and best of all – playing on the separate bed.

Nothing like a pretzel and some first class butter

Having a separate bed with a lap/infant is pretty clutch. What that meant was she could lay out all her toys on the bed and just PLAY. Yes, she’d run back and forth between Jess and my seat, but for the most part she didn’t have to be sitting on us, climbing on us, or any of that.

When she fell asleep, we just lay her down there and could still sit next to her and keep an eye out. The seat itself doesn’t recline to fully flat so parent and child can’t both sleep fully flat at once, but it was a daytime flight anyway. The biggest issue was that there was way too much for her to play with – she was completely overstimulated throughout the whole flight. That meant it was pretty tough to get her down for a nap.

Being able to sit on the bed together opens up a lot of options in terms of space for the toddler

Eventually, after Jess tried in vain for over an hour to get her to sleep, I just took M into the lavatory until she passed out. There was about 5 minutes of intense crying there, but thankfully all the other passengers in the first class cabin were awake (and the noise cancelling headphones + bathroom door did a lot, Jess said M was tough to hear with all of those barriers).

We once again survived the first class flight by dividing and conquering. Jess would watch M while I ate, then we’d switch, and the same if anyone wanted to watch a movie. We both managed to get through one movie on the seven hour flight, haha. We also used up almost every single “present” we had wrapped in “the bag” – the nice thing about the return journey is you don’t have to save any of your tricks!

Nothing like a little overstimulation on a 7 hour flight

All in all, I’d say having a seat and a bed is pretty awesome – especially if you have a lap child in tow. I realize that this isn’t something that people have the chance to do often, but if you are considering Lufthansa First Class with a lap infant, I definitely think the 747-400 product is better than the other new first class products. You just can’t beat that kind of space.

Final Thoughts

We had an amazing trip to Germany and Austria this summer. We climbed mountains, sang the Sound of Music, and ate some amazing food. In terms of summer trips, this one ranks high up on the list. If you’re thinking of visiting Germany, I say do it. For some reason it doesn’t get the press of Italy or France, but it’s a lovely country and we had an amazing time. Thanks for following along! Until the next trip…

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Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

Final Preparations for the Little One

Lufthansa First Class with a Toddler

Slow Days with a Sick Toddler

Sightseeing in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Observations After a Week in Germany

Climbing to AlpspiX and Neuschwanstein Castle

Zugspitze and Mittenwald

Sound of Music Bike Tour in Salzburg

Lazy Sunday in Salzburg – not

Rainy Days in Berchtesgaden

Visiting Museums and Biking in Vienna

Food in Germany and Austria

Rating the Toddler Friendliness of Our Hotels

Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Good for Toddlers?

Aug 21 2014

Bavarian Summer: Lufthansa First Class Terminal Good for Toddlers?

I was super, super tempted to slice my own prosciutto at the Lufthansa First Class Terminal

On our way home, we had the chance to stop by the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. Aka the building that in its entirety is a lounge. I gotta say, I think it was a bit too overhyped. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super cool – but I personally feel it’s only marginally better than the regular Lufthansa first class lounges. It’s a neat thing to have and experience, but the first class lounges are pretty spectacular on their own. I’m going to try to stick to the toddler-related aspects of the lounge; it’s been over-covered extensively elsewhere.

We kinda walked through the employee entrance...or something — We kinda walked through the employee entrance…or something (Wikipedia)

We arrived in Frankfurt from Vienna around lunchtime and our flight wasn’t until late afternoon so we had a good couple of hours to kill. It was a good thing too because finding the lounge was a bit of a pain. First of all, not every Lufthansa agent in the terminal seemed to know where it is and we received a few different sets of directions. Eventually, we exited baggage claim and turned left. After walking for ten minutes (with a Beco’d toddler and our carry on bags), we walked through what must have been the waiting area for taxis and car services and finally reached the lounge. Some nice Lufthansa agent saw us looking pitifully at the set of stairs leading up to the main entrance and let us in to the elevator downstairs.

Upon exiting the elevator, we were met by an agent who led us through security. This was a huge help because at that point we were really losing grip of all of our bags. She also booked us a sleeping room where we immediately put M down for a nap. When she woke up, the three of us took lunch in the First Class Terminal restaurant. Apparently it’s catered by DO & CO which means something to Jess? Not to me though. There was a buffet set out but the highlight was the burrata and coppa from the “mozzarella bar” (it’s made to order). Jess was only ordering for herself but we ended up getting two orders delivered to our table.

The rest of our time at the FCT was spent trying to entertain Little M – we did this by splitting time with her, museum style. We spent a lot of time in the sleep room – that way M was contained and not too loud for everyone else. Nobody was on the waiting list so I didn’t feel bad hogging it. Jess spent some time in the lounge chairs which she said were way more fun than they looked – unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures because I was busy drinking Macallan at the bar with my daughter.

Quite possibly the funniest and most horrifying aspect of the First Class Terminal experience involved the infamous Lufthansa ducks. Little M is obsessed with water as you may have gathered from this trip report. Well she was calmly observing this nice fountain in the FCT when she was approached by a lounge attendant with a duck (her like, fourth Lufthansa duck of the trip I think). This was all well and good until the attendant was all, “Do you want to throw it in the water?” Me: “Noooooooooo!”

For the record, I did not encourage this

It was too late, the attendant had already thrown the duck in the water. After a few minutes playing with the duck in the water, the attendant left us with a child who wanted to do nothing except throw ducks into this beautiful fountain. It was super cute and also super embarrassing.

Why look at planes when you can look at buses

Anyway, overall the FCT was a great way to prepare for our flight home. M took a bath, we both showered, I drank some wine and scotch, we ate some great food, and who doesn’t want to be driven to their plane in an awesome car. In our case, said “awesome car” was a minivan.

Sweet, sweet ride. — Sweet, sweet ride to our plane.

Final Thoughts

The Lufthansa First Class Terminal is a pretty cool place, once you can find it. I wouldn’t say it’s toddler friendly, but I wouldn’t say it’s a bad place for toddlers either if your toddler is relatively well behaved. There is enough to distract them (not including the fountain) and if you can score a sleeping room it’s great for a nap. I’m glad I went, and I’d go back if I’m ever in Frankfurt on LH F, but I don’t think I’d reroute just to visit the FCT in the future – Lufthansa’s regular first class lounges are good enough. A gummy bear is a gummy bear in any terminal!