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"Saving" for a CDG taxi - how do you "save" 5 euro a day?

"Saving" for a CDG taxi - how do you "save" 5 euro a day?

Old Jun 14th, 2006, 08:30 AM
  #21  
 
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I don't fly cheap. To me, not having to sit in a cramped coach seat for 22 hours is worth the incremental cost. The realtive comfort of a taxi is in an entirely different cost/benefit class.
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 08:32 AM
  #22  
 
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r-e-l-a-t-i-v-e
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 08:42 AM
  #23  
 
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As stated both now and many times before, choosing to use either a taxi or the RER is a personal choice. But it appears that one person in particular cannot accept this and needs to make sarcastic comments about those who choose to take a taxi everytime there is a thread like this one.

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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 08:48 AM
  #24  
 
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<<Sitting on a park bench with a 1,25€ liter from Monoprix works, too.>>

Except that it is not served in a Coca Cola glass with beaucoup glacons and a piece of lemon...with a straw...
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 09:56 AM
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If we all made the same amount of money and had the same travel budget, then maybe this conversation would be productive. But it is just silly. Some people travel very inexpensively, and others spend thousands/day.

Someone who is only spending $25/night on a hostel bed isn't going to spend 40-50Euros on a taxi when transit is available! Someone spending $400/night and has suitcases to carry isn't going to think twice about the cost of a taxi. It is all so individual. There is nothing "wrong" with either choice, it totally depends on individual finances and priorities.

I happen to fall on the side of taking transit and spending on the other small comforts - not having to worry about saving 5 Euros/day. I travel light and ENJOY public transit, so additional travel time is no big deal to me.
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 10:10 AM
  #26  
 
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I don't think taking a taxi instead of the RER after a long flight from the West Coast falls anywhere near the category of "spending like there's no tomorrow."

Most people here fall in between spending the bare bones at all times and tossing euros around like confetti.

I know when we flew from the West Coast to Paris, we were beat upon arrival. We took cabs so we could close our eyes for part of the journey (somewhere after the Ikea and before the Arc de Triomphe) and not have to worry about watching our possessions every minute or moving them out of the way of other travelers. If that makes us unforgivably profligate in some Fodorite eyes, tant pis.

Obviously Robespierre finds it hideously wasteful when someone takes a taxi from CDG instead of mass transit. But they're not spending HIS money. What they with their own is their business and there's no place for sarcastic hectoring to take a different approach.
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 10:20 AM
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If breakfast is not included in your hotel tarif, you can save money by grabbing a croissant and a cup of coffee at a stand-up snack bar, e.g., at a train station or some metro stations.
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 11:52 AM
  #28  
 
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People!!!! Besides saving a nickle by drinking water instead of coke, you are also not putting that sugary crap in your body.

Not drinking that coke in order to afford a cab also saves your health so you can take another trip!

Gail
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 12:08 PM
  #29  
 
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Whatever you people say, there IS a way to save on public transportation.

For example, you can save a couple of euros by walking a bus route.

Now imagine how much more you'd save if you'd walk the same route, only instead of taking a taxi, not instead of taking a bus!

Just use your brain for enormous savings!!!

Add to this all the money you can save by watching others drink soda.

And then on advice of our beloved Rick wrap-up 1/2 of the breakfast buffet and hide in your pocket.

So, how much is our saving total comes to?

If seriously, for me taxi is a luxury. Let's compare Zurich airpot-to-hotel: taxi approx. 60 franks, shuttle 19 franks. Yes, 10 minutes longer. I survived.
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 12:08 PM
  #30  
 
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What part of

"I'm not saying that one or the other is correct; the bottom line is that what something is "worth" is a matter of personal choice which cannot be argued."

don't you understand?
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 12:42 PM
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By the way, if you're really strapped (such as wandering minstrels or meandering wastrels), you can also take the city bus N°350 or 351 for two or three (depending on your off-point) tickets 't'.

I trust this mention of a further possibility will not be construed as sarcastic hectoring.
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 02:41 PM
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starrsville, when I saw the heading I knew you had started it! You are too funny. FYI, I didn't have a coke today
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 03:31 PM
  #33  
 
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It is a very humorous non-sarcastic post, starrsville. I think next trip to Paris I will give up buying some pastries to save some euro.
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Old Jun 14th, 2006, 04:00 PM
  #34  
 
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When you set the sniping aside, this is an interesting post.

For the last several trips, we've decided that a cab to and from the airport is worth the expense to us (and we can afford it now, where earlier it was more of an issue). But there are other places that we spend more than many people would choose (or be able) to spend - restaurants. And other places that we probably spend less than people with our income usually spend (hotels).

I would never buy a Coke in Europe - but then, I rarely drink them at home, so my choice is to spend cafe money on wine or coffee!

I avoid over-priced (to me) resturant breakfasts - we don't eat big breakfasts, so it's an unnecessary expense for us. Instead, we have a coffee and croissant at an outside cafe. And we pay more to sit at a table. And then I use up any savings on buying interesting items from a local bakery or patisserie!

Anyway, when you get to the point where you have more money than you need for food, clothing and shelter, it becomes a matter of choices (the biggest in this context, of course, to travel or not, and to travel to Europe or not). And it's interesting to see the choices that others make.
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Old Jun 16th, 2006, 11:39 AM
  #35  
 
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Absolutely, Lexma, it's all about choices and priorities, and it's really silly for anyone to impose their own on someone else. We're talking about a trip to Paris - above all, enjoy yourself!
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