Just a thought. Very FEW of those folks in the "privleged class" are actually making any more then you. Most of them are one of two groups. One is the group that gets to fly on business. Lots of business pay for the upgrades (Mine does) the other is folks like me who fly on miles. (And we still had to pay taxes on those seats! LOL!)


And as for boarding at CDG. I think your "elite" was lucky. On my last business class flight out of there we got herded onto the bus first.... where we waited in the OVEN for the bus to be filled to overflowing for the drive across the English Channel to the plane (OK Maybe it was only to Brussels!) Someone posted a thread that compared CDG to a ghetto and I had to agree it wasn't far off.

Love your report.

"Remember guys it’s not about need, it’s about want. Women are always on the lookout for shoes and handbags- if you just accept that life is a lot easier to get thru"

Always worth repeating.... My upcoming trip to Paris originated because I WANT a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes and my friend WANTS a new LV purse. I need to hold them, try them on, smell the leather...

Great report. "You know a lot of European hotels are so small you have to leave the room to change your mind!" is the best line I've read in a while.

I hardly ever read posts on France (no experience and little interest). I'm so glad I did though! You made me giggle repeatedly. I wish I could get my husband to understand the difference between want and need when it comes to shoes! You've been taught well.

Bill - I loved your trip report! Refreshing (like a cold can of coke.) And you could give classes on marital harmony: shoes & handbags - give it up men. I can't say why but when my family and I were in Paris and Rome in December, my 23 year old daughter and I simply couldn't see enough shoes and handbags. There was always one more store.

Thanks!

Great report. It is interesting to me how much I enjoy one like this as well as the multi-post, detail laden reports. Two different deliveries, and both enjoyable. A good way to end the day. Good night all.

If you read the posts on the Asia forum on Bangkok there is a lively banter about staying on the "Wrong" side of the river. In Paris,there is no "Wrong" side of the river!

For rosetravels:
Women have handbags. Men (at least in the UK) have sheds.

And for BillT - on your next trip to Paris, you could counter with a trip to the BHV basement.

Loved your report! And I must admit to bringing 3 bottles of diet coke with me earlier this month on my trip to Paris! But, they were for my niece (who's studying there for the semester and desperately misses US diet coke). There's definitely a taste difference, although I bought coke light in Eds and thought it was fine!

Coca-Cola Paris supermarket price check:
Coke Light Lemon 6x33 cl = 2.75
Coke Light Lime 6x33 cl = 2.75
Coke Light Sango 6x33 cl = 2.80
Coke Light 10x33 cl = 4.60
normal Coke 10x33 cl = 4.65
Coca-Cola Blak 6x25 cl = 3.45
Caffeine free light or normal 6x33 cl = 2.75
normal Coke 6x150 cl = 8.20

Then there are the 20cl and 50cl containers, but you get the picture.

Don't get me started on Pepsi.

Kerouac:
Are these prices per can? In Houston I can buy a 12 pack of Coke usually for $1.99 . On rare occasions I can get it for $1.89. A Two Lier bottle of Coke here can be had for $0.89 at times.

Do the figures "6" and "10" mean anything to you when you see them with multiplication signs?

I'm sure that Coke is much cheaper in the US, but I used that brand because everybody knows it. I had a friend from Boston who swore that the Monoprix house brand of cola was twice as good as Coke while costing 3 times less. In my own neighborhood, the big selling sodas are all imported from North Africa and are even cheaper.

Great report, and inspirational (I'm working on mine, and hope to deliver it shortly). Regarding Sacre Coeur, they do have a little bus that takes the place of the funicular (which was down when we were there in April), so don't let the stairs scare you off. Thanks for your insights!

FYI 6x33 means a six pack of 33 cl cans

Those prices aren't really that much more than in the US for regular prices, although I don't buy soda very often. It's usually on sale, but when not, it's pretty expensive regularly here, also. The 2-liter bottles are cheaper, of course (89 cents is rare where I live, although happens on sale once in a great while, but it's more like $1.25). Cans are cheaper than the plastic bottles, but it tastes pretty bad.

Right now, my supermarket has a 12 pack of Pepsi bottles on sale for $4. They are 12 oz bottles which is about 33 cl. Normally, they cost a lot more, and it's a lot cheaper when you buy the 12-pack. A 12 pack of Coke is not usually $2 where I live, at least not a size equivalent to 33 cl. I don't think it's ever that cheap for a major brand of cola here. Another store is selling a 12-pack of 12 oz cans of Coke this week for $3.50.

I have to giggle at how this post has devolved (is that the right word?) from a Paris trip report to soda price specifics.

Yes we seem to be digressing a bit- suffice to say that I submit that Coke is cheapest in Houston - $1.99/12 pack- compared to Paris and problably just about anywhere else!