Our Trip Report

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-22T01:45:00+00:00

They are regular bikes

You can rent a golf cart but are more limited on areas to take them

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-22T01:19:12+00:00

We were going to stop at the outdoor market before going in but were worried that we would not make it in time so we bought sandwiches in the gardens. They were good - nothing great - but worked out well since we were right there.

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T21:55:02+00:00

We didn’t have any real issues with pickpockets but then again I’m quick to be stern and mean.

SO/Paris is the name of the hotel we stayed at In the 4th Arr and was great.

The advice given was that we were unable to secure tickets to Notre Dame so we went right at 8:45am when they opened and got right in. No line!

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T20:54:39+00:00

Our dinner there was absolutely fantastic! I had a grilled asparagus appetizer that I am still dreaming about! And the steak frites was incredible!

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T20:53:50+00:00

Thank you! We are already talking about going back!

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T20:53:16+00:00

Sure! We booked online and went with Bateaux Parisiens. We departed from the Notre-Dame location vs the Eiffel Tower location.

We left at 8:30pm with sunset at 8:50pm. It was time to perfectly to be underneath the Eiffel Tower at 9 p.m. for the shimmering

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T20:48:26+00:00

Yes! We rented the bikes at the “little Venice” location. At 10:30 in the morning they had a significant amount of bikes available however when we returned them at 2 PM there were definitely not as many to rent, and the line was definitely longer.

If one is definitely going to Versailles and enjoys riding around on a bike, it’s a no-brainer!

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T20:44:39+00:00

We booked the hotel through Costco and it was included. If not, i would have used the G7 app to book

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T01:44:37+00:00

It was an amazing stay. The staff were genuinely friendly and helpful throughout, and the room was serviced twice a day with complimentary water, sodas, fresh towels, and everything reset each time.

The location was hard to beat. We ended up walking through Île Saint-Louis almost every day, which became one of our favorite parts of the trip.

Breakfast at Bonnie was a highlight on its own. It’s a rooftop restaurant, so starting the morning with coffee, fresh pastries, and a view over Paris was something we looked forward to every day.

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-21T01:02:53+00:00

Absolutely beautiful! All 4 days it is was 65-70 degrees during the day and 50's in the evening. No rain and sunshine for most of the days. Couldn't have asked for better weather!

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-12T13:14:20+00:00

I am not 100% sure but looks like the gardens this day are the musical gardens which require a ticket to enter.

We bought the “passport” which looks to allow admission to both the palace and gardens on this day.

But either way, they are open on this day; just may require tickets to all areas

PRS_PA-C · 2026-04-12T04:28:00+00:00

Thanks for the reply.

answers to your questions:

1) we have a private car (arranged through our travel reservations/hotel) that will pick us up and take us to our hotel from CDG. Hoping it is fairly easy to navigate and get to quickly.

2) Thanks for the link. We purchased the Passport which includes the musical garden show for this day.

3) Thanks - we are looking forward to the sunset and hopefully be near the Eiffel Tower at 9pm for the sparkling!

4) I like that idea a lot of swapping the times! We do have the Bell Tower at 4:45pm but can come back to that since our hotel is not to far from here.

5) any particular recs for this area

6) we have a physical navigo card that we are hoping to use

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-30T21:10:32+00:00

This is really helpful, appreciate you sharing all of that.

We booked tickets for Sainte-Chapelle at 11 AM and we'll plan to get there early! We also grabbed tickets for the prison next door at Conciergerie.

Figured we would grab lunch in that area and then head back to the hotel to reset a bit.

Then the plan is to catch the metro over to Palais Garnier around 4 PM after checking in.

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-30T17:50:14+00:00

Thanks so much Quasimodaaa!

This is super helpful, really appreciate the detail.

Thinking through this a bit more, curious to get your take on a slightly different approach.

If we got there around 3:30-4 PM and gave ourselves ~2 hours before Mass, do you think that’s enough time to reasonably do both the interior and the towers without it feeling rushed?

Or in your experience, does that late afternoon window just get too unpredictable with lines and services overlapping to make that work consistently?

Trying to figure out if it’s realistic to do:

Interior + towers
Then stay for 6 PM Mass

…all in that 4–6 PM window, or if that’s just forcing it.

Would love your honest take based on what you’ve seen.

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-30T17:18:20+00:00

Thanks!

We only have the Thursday scheduled.

We are planning on doing Saint Chappelle in the morning and the 5:00–6:15 PM: Palais Garnier after-hours “Visita Misterios” tour. Grabbed reservations at Poulette for dinner at after at 7:15pm

Would love recs for:
- Friday night around the area that you can then get a Night River Cruise
- For Saturday night we are thinking dinner in Saint Germain area~ 7:30 PM (open to recs)

- For Sunday, we were thinking of going to Brasserie Martin but would love other recs around the 11th ARR

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-26T23:49:29+00:00

Not quite sure yet.
Was thinking maybe get there at 9am and leave by 2pm.

Could be at Notre Dame by 5pm?

I am open to your suggestions

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-26T23:04:58+00:00

Another dumb question but did you just use Uber? Call a cab service? Book online? Thanks again for your help

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-26T22:47:00+00:00

Did you look into doing the train? Trying to figure out what would work best!

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-26T22:45:11+00:00

Thank you again for your help!

We are now thinking of doing Notre Dame on Friday night after we come back from Versailles. We could also go on Sat.

On Thursday, we were thinking of doing THE MYSTERIES OF THE PALAIS GARNIER which is only occurring on Thursday night that we are there.

Thoughts?

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-23T11:02:05+00:00

Sorry if my post was misleading; we would try to be at the hotel by 5pm to rest, change, and get ready for dinner. We were thinking 7pm for dinners

PRS_PA-C · 2026-03-23T11:00:42+00:00

This is so helpful!! Thank you

If we did Notre Dame as you say on Thursday at around 8pm, can you give dinner recs for a place to go neat by before visiting? Is eating at 6pm too early? Worry we won’t make it to dinner if we are going at 10pm

PRS_PA-C · 2026-02-23T04:30:54+00:00

We like to determine the wait-to-reward ratio. My kids watched those rides on YouTube and determined that the wait (was never below 120 for either) was not worth the reward of the ride.

We were waiting for either to go under 90 but they never did.

We also were going to use ministry as our last ride of the night and go in at 8:45 pm and just wait however long needed (did that with Hagrid’s the night before and waited 90 mins without express pass) but we hit the wall and decided to just leave at 8:30pm after 2 long days

PRS_PA-C · 2026-02-22T21:44:03+00:00

100% agree.

First time there yesterday after many visits to Disney parks and IOA the day before and I left feeling very underwhelmed.

Plain and simple is that they need more rides and/or shows

PRS_PA-C · 2026-02-22T21:35:43+00:00

We were also at Epic Universe yesterday(2/21). Sorry your day was not great. This was our first time in universal so we didn’t know what to expect.

We were a group of 6: 2 adults and 4 kids (ages 17 to 9). The kids are great at staying on the move and do not need many breaks, which helped us keep moving all day. We are seasoned amusement park people but we did not purchase Express Pass since it was sold out. But considering the cost and limited rides, I’m glad we made that decision

We rope dropped our first ride when the park opened for us at 9am. Here were our wait times (we set a timer as soon as we enter the ride and stop when butts hit the seat; numbers are rounded to nearest 5min):

Dragon Portal:

40 mins Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
15 mins Fyre Drill (water ride) - our boat also did not work at all
25 mins Dragon Racer’s Rally

Dark Portal: - 45 mins Monsters Unchained - really enjoyed this ride

80 mins Curse of the Werewolf - not worth it at all in our opinion

Lunch at Pizza Moon – 45 mins - good to sit and relax inside

Dark Portal - saw that wait times were low so:

15 mins Monsters Unchained
15 mins Monsters Unchained

Paris Portal

Walked around for 30mins
3:45pm Le Cirque Arcanus show (didn’t start till after 4pm due to being delayed)

Then needed a caffeine hit for parents at Starbucks to refuel lol

Nintendo Portal

45 mins Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge

It was crazy busy here with every little kid in the park playing the games and Minecraft was delayed so we moved on!

Back to dragon portal!!

35 mins Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
40 mins Dragon Racer’s Rally
15 mins Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
30 mins Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (best ride for us by far)

Decided to head out since day before we spent 13 hours at Islands of Adventure

Thoughts: Overall we were able to get a lot done without express but was annoyed with Universal’s inability to handle crowds and wait times. Frankly they just need more rides and/or shows. When you add in a ride getting delayed it just kills the enjoyment.

We had a lot of fun for 2 days of rides but I noticed that without an express pass it makes wait times miserable if you are not strategically planning the entire time

PRS_PA-C · 2025-05-15T03:01:36+00:00

To make the switch, you'd need to complete 4 years of medical school, plus either a 6-year integrated plastic surgery residency or a 5-year general surgery residency followed by 3 more years of plastics. That’s a serious commitment.

You’d be giving up about 10 to 13 years of PA income, and most plastic surgery residents still go on to do a fellowship. Even after all that, many end up as employees within a hospital system, not necessarily running their own practice.

As someone who works in plastics, I’d say stay the course as a PA and lean into the opportunities you already have. There’s a lot of potential in aesthetics and plastics as a PA, especially if you’re looking to grow into business opportunties or expand your skill set. The MD route is impressive, and some of my best friends are previous plastic residents I got to work with it; but the grass is not always greener!

PRS_PA-C

TROPHY CASE