#5. Don't try to buy stamps from a parking meter - no matter what the symbol on the side looks like. A blue 'P' is universal for parking!

For those of you in Paris - look at the picture of an envelope with the blue stamp on it, it's on the side of the machines... K later tried to tell me it was obviously the symbol for a ticket, but it looked like mail to me!Stamps were .85 EU each and our hotel sold & mailed them for us. The first batch I sent out Monday had arrived in NY by Thurs.

I am proud of myself as I believe I actually wrote 10 while I was there! I always have a goal to keep in better touch with friends & family... I even sent DH one each day - which double as journal/photo ablum entries!

6. Don't plan only 4 days in Paris -next time plan 4 days for ourselves & invite dear husbands (DH's) on days 5-10!

As I look at my notes, we weren't as negative as I thought - we stopped at #6 on the do not list. But, we were also typically writing while having a beverage stop, so the journal has to be censored a bit!

Luggage company called at 6 - should have delivered 2 bags to my office by 8PM. And we definitely took an extra 8 hours to get home, not the 4 I mentioned earlier. 22 hours total travel time, but most of our flight mates were sleeping in PHL last night, so K & I were lucky we got home.

I mentioned the Absenthe, but not the bottle of wine, (sample size) Chartruese, liquid chocolate yumminess, or the 3 jars of honey. As well as gifts from the funky store Pylones (?). Now that I think of it, I was a Customs nightmare - & my luggage may be a mess when I pick it up tomorrow :)

I travel with things I can throw out - sample toiletries, old socks, magazines for the trip out etc, so I am good at making room for the trip home. I also pack a Baggalini that I check with only laundry on the way home.

What I can't wait for is my credit card charges - seriously! I've never tried to keep to a budget before, and I think I did it. I'm not looking yet as transactions never post as fast as I expect. I'm on full disclosure for this trip - I'll tell all as I believe I did pull off the whole soiree for under $1000.

BTW, I called 4 different CC's before I left & all charged the 3% foreign currency transaction fee. I'm sure some Fodorites have cards that don't, but my bank & my FF card do. The other two I called as DH and I keep them for credit purposes - they are our longest standing cards. My bank, HSBC, surprised me when they said even my ATM transactions had the 3% fee on them! No wonder Barcelona/London felt so expensive in June...

travelphile,

What a great thread. I am happy you enjoyed Paris! An amazing city!!

I too was a 'Francophobe' before my first visit in 2006. But I fell in love with Paris and returned in 2007. I have now spent 13 nights there, and still have only scratched the surface of what Paris has to offer.

Tom

PS Off subject, did you ever get the pictures from Adaliade from our dinner in Florence? Also, keep an eye on your e-mail, I will be in Munich at the end of the month and will be sending my 'Photo of the Day' again. Tell J, your DH, I said hi.

T!!! I thought you had left the Fodorite world - my addiction isn't as deep as it was a few year's ago, but it's resurfacing :)

I never did get pictures from A & I wonder if I have her email in my travel docs. I am terrible about doing anything useful with docs - all my (2005) Switz/Italy documents, receipts, hotel cards, restaurant cards, etc are all in a baggie waiting to be turned into a scrapbook - someday my friend, someday. Catching up with you is great! I have followed your excursions by email and by pbase with frequency.

Fodorites will be impressed by this - a WEIRD coincidence.

I was browsing pbase and 'ooh, ahhing' at TRSW's Paris @ night gallery - I even made DH come look. It had been posted for 2 months, but I was browsing it 2 days before M called begging me to go to Paris or Amsterdam with her! When I thought of your photos, the night shots of Paris had me sold!