Hi Bob,
We had a really great time. We enjoyed all the activities in Paris and were really glad that we went to Strasbourg too. I loved staying at the Bristol. They made everything so easy! We got there around 8am on our first day and they pretty much had our rooms ready and waiting for us. We walked down to a pharmacy and got our QR codes and were able to go everywhere.
When we left to go to Strasbourg, we left our luggage in our room and they moved it and stored it for us and had it back in our rooms when we returned. We did a tour (on Christmas) of the bread mill, cheese and chocolate production in the hotel and after they sent us two types of bread, cheeses, and chocolates to our room. We also had dinner at 114 on Christmas Eve and although expensive it was fabulous.
The hotel arranged for a nurse to come on Christmas day to do our Covid tests and that was super easy and a comfort to know that we were all negative. You did have to make an appointment to go to the gym but we didn’t have problems getting the times that we wanted and two of my girls loved the pool and the steam room. Strasbourg was great. We arrived around 9:30 and got breakfast and walked around town.
We were to meet our guide at 2 and were able to get into our rooms around 1:15. The town was great – charming and really decorated for Christmas. The markets closed at 8 and masks were required. They also had more structured areas where you had to go to eat and drink which we were told was for covid. Our guide was great and we were surprised at the historical significance of the town. It was difficult to get into the restaurants that were recommended – I should have made a reservation in advance since it was very busy and would love to go back someday and eat at Crocodile.
I will definitely recommend you to anyone that I know who is looking for a great Paris vacation. I think that Paul and I would like to do other parts of the country at some point including some wine tasting destinations so I will be in touch about that.
Thanks again! Rachel