We were in Paris last week during the runup to the election. The weather was very warm, with glorious days and two nights of spectacular thunderstorms. We have been in Paris a number of times before, but you learn something new every trip. Here are some of the lessons this time.

Transportation from UK: we stopped in the UK to visit friends and flew LHR to CDG (origin BOS). Bad idea. Take Eurostar. Why: 1. You have to be at the airport so far in advance that the 40 minute flight is no advantage 2. there were flight delays, further reducing the advantage 3. you arrive in Paris and are still at least half an hour from the center of Paris.

Transportation from CDG to 7eme: booked van service in advance. Bad idea. Plane from LHR was late and the van service didn't monitor flight. Wound up waiting an hour and a quarter despite repeated calls. It is not worth mentioning our company since everyone we saw waited at least 30 minutes. We usually take the RER and Metro but I had surgery recently and couldn't manage stairs with luggage. Next time: bus and taxi.

Clothing: I have been a "strict constuctionist" on clothing, recommending erring on the side of formality. I am softening my position. Owing to the hot weather, Parisians were generally less formally dressed than I have seen them in the past, though I saw one brasserie in the 5th with a sign saying "Proper Dress Required, No Shorts." Adult women's clothing mostly looked like Talbot's/Anne Taylor -- e.g., pulled together and crisp -- rather than ultra casual. I (male) wore a blazer and polo shirt or nice t-shirts and was unnoticeable. Families in the parks, young people on the street, people just wandering around looked comparable to the US or UK, though those who were "going out" to shop, eat, etc generally seemed to have taken more effort. Small children adorably dressed.

Rick Steves: Another area where I am going soft. I like his shows but I have always felt his guides were bad because you go somewhere he mentions and find only tourists carrying his book. Well, I have decided that he is a pretty good source of "on the ground" information about how to do things like take the bus, but I now give him an "F" for his lack of cultural background. He helps you understand how things are in France but not at all how they got that way. For example, why do the middle classes in Paris want to live in the city, banishing the poor to the suburbs, just the opposite of most of the US? Why are churches in such bad physical condition? Etc etc This kind of cultural information is vital to understanding what is going on around you.

Worst moment: six American friends on a bus loudly holding forth on French politics, entirely unaware that most middle class French people understand enough English to know everything they were saying -- and cringe.

Best site, new to me: Parc Andre Citroen. Boston has been arguing for years what to do about the awful City Hall Plaza. Here is the answer.

More if anyone has specific questions.

Great observations. I don't know if any guide book can give you the answers to all of the questions that spring to mind once you get there. That is why I wish I had a better command of foreign languages...it would be so nice to be able to get the opinions and observations of the residents.

I always thought most of those shuttle services out of CDG required you to call them <b>after</b> your actual arrival and then they came by and picked you up. IOW they don't necessarily monitor any flights.

What have I misunderstood here?

Thanks for the thoughtful observations. Perhaps some of the posters who live in Paris will chime in with some comments.

Hi A,

&gt; why do the middle classes in Paris want to live in the city, banishing the poor to the suburbs, just the opposite of most of the US?

I once thought that by reserving the city center for mixed use housing and commerce while putting the huge office parks and high-rise apartment buildings out in the suburbs the Parisians were showing how far ahead of the US they were in city planning.

Turns out that the soil under most of Paris won't support high-rise buildings. They can only build them in the outskirts.

Why do Americans prefer to live in the suburbs, banishing the poor to the sterile city centers?

I'd rather, if I were to live in a city, be downtown, like in Paris.

Dukey, you _do_ call the shuttle service when you arrive. None that I observed took less than half an hour from the time the passenger arrived on the door where they pick you up. Ours took much longer &quot;because you were not there when we came by to pick you up&quot; (we went directly from the phone, not more than two minutes from phone to door 10) and we had to wait for another van to come out from Paris.

The pickup for our return flight went better. He was at our apartment only 20 minutes after the scheduled time, which is not out of line with SuperShuttle or similar in US.

We're going Sunday and staying near the Latin Quarter...........just in time for the riots going on there the past 4 nites. Should be interesting.

I will be corrected on this if I'm wrong. But I once read that they quarried all that mellow/goldish stone that builds all those buildings right from under Paris...hence, all those HUGE many levels underground garages.
That hence, not enough support for steel buildings ...
AND someone in the past dictated that buildings in center city could only be so many stories tall (5 or 6?) to allow for some sunshine to hit the streets at some time during the day...
My little town in Delaware is enjoying a renaissance of sorts, and its beginning to be quite &quot;posh&quot; to live downtown and forego the expensive commutes from the 'burbs..and the lawns, etc.
Also, again correct me .. .but aren't quite a few of those apartments inherited? Why not LIVE in the center of one of the worlds great cities.
If I could I'd live in downtown London and New York as well.
Not that there's anything wrong with Hoboken New Jersey...