In Review: Palace Hotel, Paris

Palace Hotel, Rue Bouchardon

I stayed at the Palace Hotel during December 2010. Don’t be fooled by the name, though. As hotels go, this is basic at best, but for my money, the price couldn’t be beaten. I paid just €35/night – or €350 for a ten night stay in a budget hotel that was within easy walking distance of some of Paris’s most popular attractions. Oh, and don’t confuse this Palace Hotel with the much grander Golden Tulip Little Palace hotel nearby, where the same ten nights would have cost me €2,300 or more!

Given that it has been more than two years since my stay, I must stress that this review may be doing the hotel owners a great disservice, since any number of conditions may have changed during the intervening 28 months. However, I have read more recent reviews for the Palace Hotel, and judging from the comments left by other guests, it seems that little has in fact changed.

Room 5: At least the bed was comfortable

While writing this entry, I checked current room rates and to my amazement the prices are almost the same as they were in 2010. However, it is a well known truism that ‘You get what you pay for’, so I can’t stress enough that you get the absolute basics for this price: a wardrobe, small desk, bed, and bathroom. My room did not have the usual extras such as hair-dryer, television, refrigerator, air-conditioner, complimentary tea and coffee, free Continental breakfast, or much else in that regard.

The hotel does offer breakfast (baguettes, butter and jam, coffee, tea etc), but at an additional cost of €4.50 each day. WiFi was also available when I was there, but the signal was quite weak in my room, despite the fact that it was almost directly above the reception area.

Room 5: bathroom

I should also point out that some rooms do not have their own en-suite bathroom/shower, in which case guests must use shared facilities. These rooms are of course priced at lower rates than those with en-suites – currently €25-€30/night.

The hotel owners were friendly and despite their limited English (and my non-existent French), were always eager to help in any way they could to ensure my stay there was positive.

The neighbourhood around the hotel has many good local cafes and Boulangerie’s, as well as other low-cost shopping outlets. A brisk 30 minute walk will get you to the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Les Halles, the Pompidou Centre, the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden. Even the famed Basilique du Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre can be reached on foot in less than 45 minutes.

Room 5: wardrobe and 'desk'

Would I stay at the Palace Hotel again? Most definitely. I think it would be hard to beat the current prices being asked at the hotel, and given its location, it still remains a great choice for visitors on a limited budget.

More Information

Palace Hotel,

9 Rue Bouchardon, 75010, Paris

Tel: 014 040 0945

Tel: 014 040 0946

Palace Hotel… ‎

Email: palace.hotel75010@gmail.com

Craft & Vision: Photography eBooks

Craft & Vision use as their tag line: More Great Ways to Make Stronger Photographs, and the talented photographers who comprise the Craft & Vision team of writers surely live up to that motto. More than 50 beautifully produced eBooks are available as PDF downloads from the C&V website.

Incredibly, most of the eBooks cost as little as US$5.00 each, and all are packed with stunning images, and great content by writer/photographers who know intimately the topics they are writing about.

Right now, C&V are offering free downloads of Craft & Vision II (see link below), so I thought I should give you a ‘heads up’ about the freebie, and mention a couple of other great photography eBooks you might want to check out. However, as mentioned, there are many other books worth examining in detail, so head over to the Craft & Vision website and take a look through the complete collection.

Craft & Vision II: Another Free eBook

This gorgeous 45-page PDF eBook has nine articles that will help photographers of all levels make stronger photographs. Martin Bailey, Piet Van den Eynde, Nicole S. Young, Dave Delnea, Sean McCormack, and David duChemin have written articles exclusively for this eBook.

Articles cover such topics as making sharper images and learning to shoot in manual mode; developing smarter; balancing flash with ambient light; learning to see light; developing style and consistency; isolating your subjects; experimenting with B&W; and coping strategies for challenging light.

Speaking about this free eBook offer, Craft & Vision say: “Consider it a random act of kindness to the photography community we so passionately serve. Aside from the great articles contained in the eBook, you will also discover an exclusive promotional offer, we call it the C&V Starter Kit, where you can save USD $16 and get another four amazing products to help take your photography skills to the next level.”

Click here to view more details

The best things in life may be free, but generally we have to pay for the things we want. The Craft & Vision team have produced a whole range of great eBooks aimed directly at all photographers – whether amateur or professional. Here are a couple of my personal favourites…

Beyond Thirds: A Photographer's Introduction to Creative Composition
This inspiring eBook from Andrew S. Gibson, is about taking composition past the so-called rules. It’s a thoughtful, practical book about the way we build our photographs within the constraint of the frame.

Andrew moves past the traditional discussion of thirds by showing how a more holistic approach can turn a conventional rule into a powerful tool. The eBook explores important subjects like the creative use of balance and focal points, insights into how to shape a subject, and using aspect ratio to establish an ideal foundation for making photographs, and so much more!

The diagrams and creative exercises will provide you with the ideas and insights you need to compose more engaging photographs.

Click here to view more details

BELOW THE HORIZON: Understanding Light at the Edges of Day, was written by Dave Delnea, a photographer whose commercial work includes some of the finest resort properties in the world.

Delnea’s ability to see and capture the mood present in light at the edges of day have garnered him some exceptional clients and produced some amazing images.

His secret is no secret at all; simply to understand and capture the light that is uniquely present when the sun is below the horizon and other photographers have put their cameras away. Highly recommended.

Click here to view more details

Click here to visit the Craft And Vision website...

Touring New York Harbor

Image courtesy of Working Harbor Committee

~ It is good to see New York City’s Working Harbor Committee (WHC) emerging from winter hibernation.

I am on the organization’s mailing list, and their latest ‘On The Hip’ e-newsletter lists a number of forthcoming activities, including the very popular Hidden [New York] Harbor Tours.

I have joined three previous Hidden Harbor Tours (two in 2010, and another in 2012), and I consider them to be some of the best ‘hidden gems’ of any visit to New York. You can read my account about one of those tours here…

Image courtesy of Working Harbor Committee

Among events scheduled from now until the end of summer, are a series of narrated tours under the theme: Beyond Sandy: Keeping the Conversation Alive, as well as more Hidden Harbor Tours. 

Beyond Sandy, is described as a series of special Hidden Harbor Tours exploring the many issues and plans arising from Super Storm Sandy, that focus on the array of global warming and sea-level rise protection alternatives being discussed by government, private institutions and citizens. Special guest speakers will discuss and pose questions such as: Are Netherlands-style sea barriers the answer? How did various neighborhoods fare and why? Fight the ocean or retreat? And How did the working harbor fare and help?

Each tour will have two guest speakers from a number of sources: the maritime industry, government agencies, private industry, think tanks and universities, as well as other noted experts. The tours are two hours in length and visit Red Hook, Sunset Park, The Verrazano Bridge, Staten Island, Bayonne and Hoboken, the lower Manhattan shoreline and many points in between.

The tours leave from Pier 16 at the South Street Seaport District (itself heavily impacted by Sandy – under 6 feet of water) at 6:30 p.m. on the large three-deck motor vessel Zephyr

There will be three different tours:

Tour 1 - High Seas on the Inner Harbor: From Wall Street to Snug Harbor This tour is from the Verrazano Bridge to Hoboken, including Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. See where giant sea gates are proposed.Tuesday - 21 May, 2013Tuesday - 18 June, 2013

Tour 2 - Fire, Floods and Floating Containers: East River - Hell Gate to Governors Island This tour traverses the East River from Queens to Governors Island, including the East Side of Manhattan, Newtown Creek and Brooklyn Navy Yard. See the site of the giant electric sub-station explosion.Tuesday - 28 May, 2013Tuesday - 25 June, 2013

Tour 3 – Protecting Our Ports: From Red Hook to Newark Bay.This tour traverses Kill van Kull to Newark Bay, including container terminals, oil docks, tug yards, and rail yards. Learn how close we came to a goods delivery crisis.Tuesday - 4 June, 2013

Purchase tickets here…

North River Tour on June 11

Image courtesy of WHC. Inset: Bill Miller.

Hosted by Bill Miller, this tour will begin by passing around the southern tip of Manhattan and the large ferry terminals to Staten Island and Governors Island.

It will also travel north up along the west side of Manhattan passing the Battery and Castle Clinton, then most of Hudson River Park, including historic ships, ferry terminals, fireboat terminals, historic Pier 57, Chelsea Piers, excursion boats, the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum and finally the passenger ship terminals.

The tour will then cross over to the New Jersey side passing the historic Hoboken waterfront, scene of "On The Waterfront", another active shipyard, Morris Canal entrance and finally, as all tours do, it will visit the Statue of Liberty before returning to Pier 16.

The tour departs from Pier 16 at the South Street Seaport District at 6:30 p.m. on the large three-deck motor vessel Zephyr

TICKETS:

Adults: $39.00 | Children (3-12 yrs): $25.00 | Seniors: $32.00

WHC, South Street Seaport and THIRTEEN Members: $32.00

Purchase tickets here… 

Here is a short video I put together after my 2012 Hidden Harbor Tour:

I would dearly love to join one of the above Hidden Harbor Tours, but sadly, I won’t be visiting New York City this year. However, if I visit again in 2014 as I hope to do, a fourth tour will be definitely part of my trip.

Additional Hidden Harbor Tours including Port Newark/Port Elizabeth and Brooklyn are being planned for July, August and September. If you think these unique tours might appeal to you, I highly recommend you signup for ‘On The Hip’, the official e-newsletter of the Working Harbor Committee, and bookmark the organization’s blog for ongoing news and information.