Brian, we loved your report. Would you please check that RER ticket price to Versailles? Seems high. Thanks.

Brian, great report!!! It put me right back in my favorite city! Sigh*** <BR>So detailed and interesting! Where to next?

Al, you're right. It was actually FF14.5 each. Spilled some wine on my notepad, smudged the decimal point.

I hope Christina revisits this post and sees that in her haughty rush to chastize Brian, she assumes that just because the words translate language-to-language, the meaning translates culture-to-culture as well. Not so. Brian is, of course, correct that in the US, "until wednesday" includes Wednesday. If the last day is Tuesday, you will see "until Tuesday" or "through Tuesday." But I'm sure Christina has *never* been confused by a cultural difference. Also, Christina, given that 3/4 of the people who visit the Louvre are tourists (and it is no doubt similar at Versailles), it seems that the exchange between tourists and the French state is not entirely uneven. <BR> <BR>Brian, I enjoyed your detailed report, and I have a tip for you for your next trip regarding using the RER with luggage. Board the train at the very firt door of the first car or the last door of the last car. You'll find yourself in an open area (though it does fill up with people, strollers, etc. when the train is busy) where there is more room for your luggage, and also four fold-down seats. Not as comfy as regular seats, but overall more comfy because you're not squeezed in with your bags.

One other thing, Brian--yes, they're lighting the eifel Towere with the New Year's strobe show all year; they do it on the hour after it gets entirely dark. I have a great picture of it from April (not blurry at all) that I've had enlarged for the album.

Hi Brian, thanks for a wonderful trip report! I'm going to Paris at the end of October for a week with a friend. I wanted to ask you about the RER express to CDG. What time did you take it and how often does it run? If I remember correctly the RER normally takes 40-45 mintues to get to the airport. <BR> <BR>I too enjoyed Le Petit Troquet. Hope to get back there again! <BR> <BR>

Many thanks, Brian. I have kept both of your reports and think of you as the Baedeker of the Bars and Bistros. Both reports have been grafted into our dossier of places to visit this fall. Pay no attention to your detractors, Brian. Some people enjoy having their knickers in a twist. It is a lonely and perverse pleasure.

Thanks, Al. I was glad Christina cleared that up for me. <BR> <BR>Monica, we got on the train somewhere around 1:00 PM on a weekday, and simply jumped on the first one that said CDG on the little TV monitors (got lucky). It very well may have been marked express, but we didn't know it was an express until we started whizzing through all the suburban stations. We may have stopped only 3 times from St. Michel. You can probably check the schedule at your RER station for when you plan on leaving. Have fun in October.

Holly...