Hey, you! 🥺🥺
Day 3 had a shaky start, which just got worse as the day went on. Unfortunately, I fell ill the night before - an hour after dinner. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I had the worst stomach pain ever! At some point I had to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes so I was pretty exhausted. Maybe it was because of the food, maybe I caught a cold, or maybe one of those 24-hour stomach bug. Whatever it was, it pretty much ruined the last part of our trip.
What a pity because for the first time in days, we woke up to a blue and clear sky!
I made a real effort to go to our hotel's breakfast because first, I was sure it was going to be good and second, I needed to get out of that hotel room and get fresh air. To know how breakfast went, click here for the post.
Surprisingly, I was able to spend an hour in peace for breakfast, but after an hour I felt like I needed to go back to the hotel room and rest. I was feeling weak. Then I received a phone call from the Philippines Embassy asking us to come back because there was an issue with our file. Uh-oh.
If you've read our Paris Itinerary post (click here for it), then you know we had plans of visiting the Paris landmarks via the Batobus. This was our day of legit visiting. We already had our Batobus tickets and thankfully, they are valid for six months. We plan on going back to Paris in May so hopefully we will be able to use the tickets then. Honestly, I was feeling too weak to do this that day.
I would have given anything to go to our next hotel and rest, but as I mentioned earlier we had to go back to the Philippines Embassy. Thankfully, my tummy seemed to cooperate and I didn't need to use the toilet for the next two hours.
And as luck would have it, we were able to check-in 30 minutes early, although I suspect that was possible because we were given the "worst" room of the establishment.
We paid for 3 people, but were given a room for two. The room was pretty small for 2 people, so you can only imagine how tight it was for 3. We had a double bed which they expected us 3 to share and you could barely walk around it.
Imagine this - it took one step and a half to get from the door to the bed. One step from the bed to the coffee machine on the table. Two steps from the table to the bathroom. You could literally grab anything anywhere in the room from the bed. Convenient? Oh yeah. Uncomfortable? Definitely!
You know how I feel about luggage carriers, right? Good news is they had one! But with the bed taking most of the room space and half a meter distance between the bed and the walls on two sides (hello claustrophobia!), you could actually create your own little fortress.
I won't even get into details about the bathroom! I wouldn't know where to begin.
I understand that business is business but when you look at photos online and your first thought is "wow, how cozy!", then when you get there and you see the real thing - the disappointment can only be heartfelt.
Despite paying for three people, we were not given a third bed space to sleep. There was no space anyways. We later asked for an extra blanket, they gave us one, only to realize that they gave us a dirty one. They even admitted so themselves. Cleanliness was obviously another issue. The room is carpeted and I could immediately smell the dust. While planning our trip, I had looked at some of their online reviews and there were mentions of bed bugs. 😱😱 I had decided that as a serious establishment, they most probably had done something about it, but honestly I had to double-check. Thankfully, they did get rid of the problem.
What they didn't get rid off was the God-awful curry smell lingering in the room. During this pandemic period, I would have imagined that they would open the windows and let fresh air in and out while cleaning. It didn't seem so.
So when all is said and done, why didn't we leave?, you might ask. First, I was so ill that part of me went into denial mode and second, we were told they were fully-booked. They unfortunately could not do anything for us, just as we feared that anywhere else near the area was fully-booked as well.
And if this wasn't enough - there is still one more thing. The noise. From our room, we could hear the metro all day and evening. Admittedly, this wasn't an issue for us as we do well with noise, but for someone longing peace and quiet - I wouldn't recommend staying here. Consider yourself warned.
Poor S really wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower, so while I was doing round trips from the bed and toilet, the Husband and S went to see The Iron Lady up close and personal.
The rest of the day went as "well" as you can imagine. I was in pain and very disappointed. But life goes on, right? In fact, at this point, all I wanted was to be home.
Which is what we did the next day. In our quest to find croissants for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch, we stumbled upon a flea market in the streets of Montparnasse. A quick visit around the market, an Uber ride later, and we found ourselves at the bus station waiting for our bus to go home. The bus ride (FlixBus) takes about 4 hours and a half, with one stop mid-way. I wasn't feeling too well, but with over-the-counter meds and an empty stomach, I managed to do well the whole time.
As I'm writing this, I realize that we've been home for a few weeks now. Audrey Hepburn wasn't wrong - Paris is indeed always a good idea - and I can't wait to go back already. I guess I'll just have to wait for May patiently.