My wife and I are booked into the Bateau Simpatico in September, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, and we were wondering if anyone knows anything about it. We will be there for a week. Thanks in advance
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Sorry, don%26#39;t know about the boats - lovely location though. I wonder whether the Seine River cruise boats cause much noise? Really funny screen name - haminahamina - Eddie Murphy reference?
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Did you go? We are considering the same boat for May of 2008. What was your experience?
stelmosfire@cox.net
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I%26#39;m also considering this - please post your experiences!
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In Paris we lived on a boat the Bateau Simpatico underneath the Eiffel Tower and the metro was just a few minutes away. The metro was so close that I had concerns about the noise but other than low ding dong announce of an arriving train it was very quiet. I actually though we had a doorbell at first. Very clean and fresh smelling. The interior is rich in wood with elegant yet comfortable furniture. There is a full kitchen but we only used the microwave and the refrigerator. If you look at the pictures from the website the bathroom is at the top of the steps. Their is plenty of closet and drawer space and there are 2 amoires with games and extra linen.
I loved sitting up on deck in the evening while sipping a glass of red wine while tourists went by and I could see the envy in their eyes.
The shower looked small but there was more than enough room. Plenty of hot water and the water pressure was great. Ample storage and counter space in bathroom. Love the view from the porthole in bathroom as well. We also never used the washing machine but if I remember correctly 1 load takes like an hour or so to complete. Best thing about the boat was the owner. Bob is full of life and spending time with him was a highlight of our trip.
Also, be aware that it takes about 2 hours to meet with Bob and go over everything.
The river is calm until dinner time when the tourists boats go by and that is the only time we really experienced a rocking motion which was fun and gentle enough to adjust to.
There is internet connection which Bob has to help you get setup but this allowed us to download our pictures and videos every night and to write a trip journal while our days events were still on our mind.
The port holes are low which means the view is from a sitting postion. On one side you see a stone wall and from the other a beautiful view of the Seine. There are upper windows which the blinds were pulled for privacy reasons so the view of the Eiffel Tower is really only from the deck of the boat. I never bothered to open them to see if there was a view from inside the boat because by the days end we were too tired to care.
There is also a tv and videos which we did not use.
Getting on an off the boat was a bit scary at first for a landlubber but by the end of the stay I was running the boards like a seasoned sailor.
There was just something magical about the boat that made our stay in Paris very special.
We wrote a trip journal which includes pictures on the yahoo trip planner website which includes some tips which may help others when planning a trip to Paris and/or Barcelona.
http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-journal-1283841-paris_and_barcelona_september_2007;_ylt=AuwWHuhLd9y_u6JTTGoFFU6bItAF
I have an pretty good video I did with my comments about the boat which would be nice to add to this as you can see and hear the sounds of Paris at 8:30 in the morning and get a feel for the location of the boat. If I find a place where that can be uploaded and shared I will update this.
I hope this review helps you decide to stay on the boat because I really feel that it was a major part of our Paris vacation experience.
Oh and we had no problems with getting our security deposit back.
Did I also mention there is a phone you can use.
Any other questions and I will try to answer all.
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