Caroline Serling

Yesterday, still jetlagged, I began to write a very detailed review of this trip, but got sicktracked. When I went back this morning to complete it, I found it was not saved! So now you're getting the abbreviated version!

1. Flight over, and car pickup went smoothly. Got to Giverny, where you had no connections, but I think it's too bad you
didn't suggest I make reservations for Monet's house and gardens. Luckily, that occurred to me on my own , or we
would have been very disappointed to get there to find the size of the crowds. Likewise, you had no relationships
with hotels in that area, but I was able to find a very nice hotel in nearby Vernon and it worked out well.
2. Caroline had suggested driving directly to Bayeux but I chose, instead, to take a stop-off in Honfleur, which I had read
was one of the most beautiful little towns in France. If there hadn't been a circus and market day in town that day it
would have worked out better, but we at least had a brief opportunity to drive through the town, even if we couldn't
find a place to park and explore.
3. Upon reaching Bayeux, we parked and went to our hotel. Le Castel was a very nice place, but more of a guest house
than a hotel! We arrived on Saturday in time for 3:00 check-in only to find a sign on the door saying check-in was at
5:00! The place was locked up tight! We managed to spend a couple of hours finding lunch and wandering through
the cathedral but it was a surprise and disappointment to not have a place to cool off and relax. Bayeux is a terrific
town, and on day 3 we had a great guided tour of the town, but unfortunately I don't remember the name of the
wonderful woman in the green hat and scarf! She was very knowledgeable and we learned many new
things, and got a healthy dose of humor from her! By now the heatwave was fully upon us, so it was not much of a
relief to go back to our room! We understood that France does not offer much air conditioning but the temperatures
were WAY beyond anything we expected. The really fun thing about Sunday evening was that it was Fete de la
Musique! That was quite the unexpected bonus, and we enjoyed it very much.
4, Monday was our D-Day experience and it was everything, and more, than we expected. Our tour guide Lucas, and
driver Estephe were very professional and Lucas's presentations, with photos to support what he was telling us,
were top-notch! The group was a good size, about 12, and it made asking questions, and keeping up very manageable.
A huge bonus was at the American Cemetery, where, after Lucas' explanation and instructions of when and where to
meet, we walked the cemetery on our own. Suddenly we heard the national anthem, followed by taps. That was
extremely moving and Lucas told us later that that is an infrequent occurrence, when family of someone buried
there visits. My only criticism of the day was that where Lucas told us to meet ("back at the van") was pretty vague
and it made it hard to figure out which van was ours. It would have better had he had us meet back where we started
IN the cemetery, so no one was wandering the parking lot!
5. Tuesday was our full day trip to le Mont St-Michel. Our driver/guide Lu/Lou was just fantastic! She had a great
personality and was very outgoing. It was a long drive, but there were only 7 of us, plus Lou, and so conversation
flowed, and we really enjoyed our time together. Lou was very mindful of our age, and was very conscientious about
stopping for short breaks as we made our way up all those steps to the Abbey itself. Her tour was excellent and she
was very clear about using our free time for lunch and shopping and what time to be making our way back to the
welcome center for the trip back. Perhaps it was because we had more time with her, but I felt that Lou was the
outstanding guide of all!
6. Wednesday was the day I was most worried about, as Caroline's estimation of how long it would take to drive from
Bayeux to Versailles was different from what Google maps estimated. It turned out that Caroline's time frame was
better, as we opted not to take any Autoroutes, sticking instead to secondary highways. We were worried about
parking at Versailles, expecting be forced to park far away, but we were pleasantly surprised to find parking was easy
and very close to the gates. We did have some trouble figuring out where to meet our group but we managed in
plenty of time. Again, I don't know our guide's name - even with headsets it was hard to hear everything she said with
the crowds. The crowds and the heat really made the day less than it could have been but overall it was good to
finally see a place I have so longed to visit. The temperatures of 100+ made us reconsider the gardens, but
otherwise it was good. The car return and train into Paris were fine, and the cab ride to our hotel was short and
painless.
7. Thank God for cell phones! Diliana texted and called about the change of meeting time for the tour of Notre Dame,
and offered us options if we wanted, of either the Latin Quarter, or the Musee d'Orsay. We had not seen Notre Dame
for 28 years so we were anxious to see how it looked after the fire. We were worried about exactly where and how
we would meet up with Sylvanie but she found us, and she did a wonderful job of showing us both outside and in. It
was a terrific tour, and she, too, was very knowledgeable.
8. Le Jardin de Brea was just great - AC was SOOOO welcome by then, and the staff in the lobby was fantastic, friendly,
and ready with recommendations for nearby restaurants! I know it was not your original recommendation, but it
was perfect! The half hour walk to Notre Dame from the hotel, through Luxembourg Gardens would normally be
easy, were if not for the 104 temps!
9. Our driver to CDG on Friday morning was excellent, and he had bottles of water waiting for us in the back seat. He
got us there in 50 minutes, which should have been plenty, and it was, except that due to the heat passport control
was down, and the lines were exceptional as each passenger had to be processed manually, rather than electronically.
That was the most stressful part of the week, except that we were all in the same boat, and the plane was delayed.

Final thoughts: I think there were a couple of things that could be tightened up, with regard to suggestions, meeting places, etc, but overall it was a wonderful trip and Kimkim took good care of us. Diliana did say that due to our not being able to see Sainte Chappelle we would receive a cost adjustment so I will look forward to more information from you on that. Overall the trip was a very successful one and were we to need travel services again Kimkim would be our choice.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel A La Villa des Artistes

Paris

This hotel was closed for renovations so this does not apply.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

AC was wonderful, breakfast was wonderful! This is a great hotel I would recommend you add to your list of recommendations

Hôtel Jardin le Bréa

Paris

Great hotel, excellent staff, clean, good location

Authenticity & Character

Charming

Location

A half hour walk to Notre Dame through Luxembourg Gardens. Lots of restaurants nearby!

Staff

The desk staff were very friendly, and had good recommendations for restaurants nearby

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lovely room, clean, great AC.

Le Castel & Au Loup

Bayeux

The hotel was very nice, the breakfast was good, the cleaning of the room from day to day was minimal, but Fred, our host was wonderful!

Authenticity & Character

A beautiful building!

Location

Within walking distance of everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Changed the towels but that was all

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Exploration of Bayeux

Bayeux

The cathedral was gorgeous and we enjoyed visiting it. The high point there was going down into the crypt and encountering a quartet of what we can only assume were music students singing a cappella. That was exquisite!

Quality of Experience

Monet's Giverny House & Gardens self-guided day Trip (Tickets are not included)

France

I felt that Kimkim gave us nothing on this! We figured out that we needed reservations, we needed to find our own hotel.

Quality of Experience

Private Notre-Dame & Sainte-Chapelle Visit with Priority Access

Paris

I only give this 4 stars because we were not able to visit Sainte Chappelle

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sylvanie rushed to get back from another toup to give us a private tour!

Self-Guided Day in Le Marais: Cheese Shop, Museums, & Market

Paris

Did not do this due to weather

Quality of Experience

Palace of Versailles Day Trip with Priority Access – Half-Day Tour

Paris

It was simply too hot and to crowded to fully appreciate!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mont Saint Michel & The Abbey : The Enchanted Island

Bayeux

In spite of the heat, and all the steps, this is an amazing place!

Quality of Experience

Our guide was fantastic!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Omaha Beach & American Cemetery War History Day Trip

Bayeux

Even better than I could imagine it to be!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Walking Tour of Historic Bayeux

Bayeux

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We truly enjoyed the locations we visited with our favorite location being Provence. The choice of hotels was wonderful as they were all very quaint and memorable boutique places. The guides were very good with our favorites being Ocean and Coco.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel d’Europe

Avignon

This hotel has an amazing location right in the old town so it’s easy walking to the city. It’s very quiet and the staff were friendly and helpful. We had dinner in the gastronomic restaurant and it was very good and since it was a very small room it was more quiet and romantic and the food was very good.

Authenticity & Character

This hotel has the old world quaint boutique hotel.

Location

The location is right in the old city and so it’s an easy walk into the town.

Staff

They were very friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Le Pigonnet

Aix-en-Provence

The hotel itself is beautiful and the grounds are lovely and they have the most amazing garden. Our room, however, was strange. We were supposed to have a garden view suite but they gave us a weird 2 bedroom room that had to bedrooms, one that was always very cold, and three bathroom rooms. It would have been nicer to have had a sitting area instead of two bedrooms since it was only the two of us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel is beautiful and very close to the town. The garden is lovely.

Staff

The staff were helpful but didn’t seem overly friendly but could have been that we didn’t get there until late in the evening.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was clean but one of the bedrooms was very cold no matter how much we turned up the heat. We had to just keep that door closed so it wouldn’t cool down the rest of the rooms.

La Pérouse 4*

Nice

This was a unique hotel. Upon check in there was an issue with our original room so they put us in the best suite with the most amazing balcony/patio with an almost 360 view of the ocean and the city of Nice. The location is quiet and perfectly situated and the staff are very friendly.

Authenticity & Character

This is an old hotel that has such a unique character that we truly enjoyed and would certainly stay there again.

Location

It’s quiet and has the most amazing view of the ocean.

Staff

The staff were very helpful and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Wine Tour in the Hilltops of Nice

Nice

We enjoyed this wine tour but what added to it was that our driver/guide was so fun and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ocean was a great guide/driver. She added a stop in the village of St. Paul de Vence and also stopped at a winery that we we really wanted to visit.

Transport

Ocean was our driver and guide and did a great job.

Gourmet Stroll in Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence

This was a nice tour to get a taste of the specialties in the Aix with the stories behind them. Coco was knowledgeable, personable and accommodating. This day was market day so we were able to experience which was fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Coco was a great guide. She’s very personable and knowledgeable.

Transport

It was a walking tour so transport was walking, which we enjoyed.

Private City Walk Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence

This was a great overview of the city and a very pleasant tour.

Quality of Experience

I recommend this tour as it gives a nice overview of Aix.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Erin was a wonderful guide. She is very pleasant and is originally from the U.S. so we got a different perspective of the area. She is extremely pleasant and knowledgeable.

Transport

It was a walking tour so no need for transport

Private Roman Highlights: Nîmes, Orange & Pont du Gard

Avignon

This was a nice tour of Avignon and Pont du Gard. Pont du Gard is a must see!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jeremy was a great guide. He was knowledgeable and easy to understand and very personable.

Transport

Our guide was our driver which is what we prefer

Full Day Exploration of St Remy and Arles

Avignon

We enjoyed our day with the guide exploring Arles, Saint Remy and Orange.

Quality of Experience

The tour allowed us to get a good overview of Arles, Saint Remy and Orange.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Matilda was an excellent guide. We wanted to see a town that was not on the original itinerary and she accommodated that and she was knowledgeable and very sweet.

Transport

We had been wanting to visit the Loire for years and to have the whole trip organised for us was so much easier.
All the chateaux visited were excellent and the interpretations offered by our guides Alex and Chloe offered insights and history we had no idea about. These professional guides were essential. The wine tastings were an entertaining, informative and a relaxing way to end the day. Some light snacks with the tastings would have been appreciated.
Thanks to Caroline and her colleagues for quick and positive responses to our queries and requests. We would certainly consider using KikKim for future trip.
Bernie from Hong Kong 🇭🇰