Day 11: Au Revoir to France

Although Marie had advised that the Hilton La Defense breakfast room would not be opened until 6:30 am, misterpiggy was lucky to be let in early and he savoured his last breakfast of fresh juices and croissants. 



Marie was there to bid Adieu to those leaving at 7 am to catch their morning flights.  The check in line up was long so it was lucky that misterpiggy got to the Charles De Gaulle airport early that day.
Thanks again to Marc, our competent and skilled driver!

In summary, Misterpiggy was impressed with the professionalism of all the Trafalgar staff and would highly recommend the French Escapade tour to anyone wanting to get a taste of Paris and the south of France.

Misterpiggy enjoyed many aspects of the tour including the chance to visit a perfumery and a winery, because he would never have done this on his own.   The villages of St. Paul du Vence, Eze and Avignon were a photographers delight.  Nice was a beautiful city in it's own right and misterpiggy would like to to revisit it in the future.  The visit to the Dulac patisserie in the Rhone valley was a nice surprise also.

There were little things that delighted Misterpiggy though seemingly trivial.   Listening to the string symphonie outside the Comedie Francaise.  Light, flaky and delicious croissants and pastries.  Ditto for the crepes.  And french fries!  Now misterpiggy knows why they are called "french" fries, so crispy and light.  Ok here's a surprise one, the paper napkins in all of the hotels were as thick as linen.  Misterpiggy was so impressed with them, that he brought one back as a souvenir!

If there was one part of the tour that Misterpiggy found disappointing, it was the visit to Monte Carlo and Monaco.  Misterpiggy wasn't allowed in the hotels (he didn't bring a tuxedo) and couldn't take pictures in the casino, so he wished he had spent more time by the waterfront. Perhaps Trafalgar could make Monte Carlo an optional tour in future.

Well this wraps up Misterpiggy's trip report. He will definitely return to Paris one day to see Versailles, The Louvre in it's entirety and visit Montmartre, the Latin Quarter and stroll along the Seine.

Stay tuned for future blog posts to see and hear what misterpiggy has to say about the hotels which he stayed at duing the course of the trip.

A bien tot from misterpiggy!