Tale of whistle-stop Paris trip puts Karen on the map
A TRAVEL writer from Tweedmouth has been recognised and rewarded for her account of a fleeting 15-hour trip to Paris on the cheap.
Karen Bryan, of Riverdene, was challenged to write an informative and entertaining account of her brief time in the French capital.
Budget airline easyJet had asked her and three other writers to take part in a 15-hour blogger challenge to celebrate its 15th birthday. Her story was voted top blog by easyJet Facebook fans.
“It was really great to win and receive more exposure for my blog,” said Karen, founding editor of the Europe a la Carte travel blog.
“As a result, I got a page feature in the easyJet magazine so it was good to have my work recognised outside of the so-called bloggersphere.”
The challenge for each of the bloggers was to spend 15 hours exploring a secret destination with only £100 to spend.
It was only when Karen arrived at Luton Airport at 6am on December 22 that her trip to Paris was revealed, while her counterparts headed to Munich, Malta and Istanbul.
“Paris is a wonderful place but it’s almost too overwhelming to do it justice in such a short period of time because there are so many amazing attractions,” she admitted.
And, of course, she quickly realised that her money wouldn’t last long in one of Europe’s most expensive cities.
“After paying 18 Euro for a return train/metro ticket from Charles de Gaulle Airport to my accommodation, the Seven Hotel Paris, I realised that 100 Euro wasn’t going to go very far in the French capital as I’d have to spend some more money on transport and buy food. However, as my time was limited I thought I’d rather explore Paris than linger over lunch and dinner.
“Fortunately I’d recently compiled a Best of Paris Travel Tips post on the Europe a la Carte blog, so I had some ideas on what I could do in Paris.”
She was also helped by readers passing on their Paris tips via Facebook and Twitter, although this was partially thwarted by a poor Wi-Fi signal in her room.
Her sightseeing began with a trip to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur before heading for the Arc de Triomphe and a walk down to the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde.
The next morning took in a trip to Notre Dame with a quick stop at the Fontaine St Michel followed by a walk along the River Seine to the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. A bit more sightseeing saw her visit a branch of A La Mere de Famille confectionery shop and the Musee de l’Armee before heading back to the airport.
Little did she know, however, that her biggest challenge was still to come - getting back home.
“My flight back was delayed for more than two hours as Newcastle Airport was closed due to snow. And when we did finally land there were no taxis,” she revealed.
“I’d decided to hang around the airport until early morning and then make my way to Berwick by public transport but when I phoned my husband, Demetrius, to tell him that I wouldn’t be home that night, he said he’d come and pick me up.
“I finally arrived home at 3.30am after a horrendous drive north on the snowy A1.”
In 2002, Karen created Europe a la Carte, a travel website which aims to inform, inspire and entertain readers who love travel in Europe.
“I chose the name to reflect the fact that more travellers were opting for an ‘a la carte’ versus ‘set menu’ approach to planning and booking travel,” she explained.
“The internet was really catching on and I thought that there was a market for online European destination information.
“I also thought it would be wonderful to work in a field in which I had a great personal interest, as I’ve always loved travelling in Europe.”
The Europe a la Carte blog launched in October 2006 and two years later became multi author, in order to add more variety and different perspectives.
But while many people would consider it a dream job, Karen insists she rarely has time to relax on her travels.
“I’m not sure many people believe me but it is quite demanding,” she insisted.
“You’re always thinking about photos, video and content. There’s really not much time to relax!”
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Weather for Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
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Wind direction: East
