cocofromdijon

I sent them a card last week, they must be recovering from their trip!
Hope they are fine. as we say "no news good news" I'm sure Rachael will give news soon.
95€ wow! that is expensive for something that doesn't even work with gas!
looking forward to having your pictures. you will email them, will you?
coco

chepar

What a fun trip report. I originally checked in to see what you thought of the Segway tour - we did it last year and thought it was great fun - but to my great delight, I found your comments regarding Hotel Turenne.

I've made reservations there for next June, after determining that my first choice (Hotel de France Invalides) did not have any rooms with wall mounted shower fixtures. My mother will be traveling with me and has bad knees, so this was a requirement.

I figured the Hotel Turenne's proximity to the Ecole Militaire metro stop was a bonus - your comments about the hotel make me feel better about my choice.

nukesafe

Coco,

That was 95 Euros, not Dollars, for the Segway tour. A bit less, but still a lot, I know. It is still a memorable experience, and perfect for someone like our friend, who had never been to Paris and only had one day to see some of the sights. He got a wonderful overview.

Plus, it was Sunday, and EVERYONE was out on the streets and the parks having a good family day. Left us with a truly warm feeling for the French nation and her people.

nukesafe

Chepar,

As best as I can remember the Hotel de Turenne did have wall mounted shower fixtures. We stayed in both a triple and a double room, and I think they both have that feature. I also checked with my wife, and her recollection is the same -- of course, after spending a week on a boat, with dribbly weak showers, haveing to not use too much hot water, and skimpy towels, the Turenne was heaven!

I should mention that the elevator is the typical Parsian "two person with baggage" size. The lobby is nice, with overstuffed leather lounge chairs and fresh flowers on the table. Did not try the breakfast, but noted a breakfast room just off the lobby. Also,I don't think any of teh rooms have a view of the Eiffel Tower, but it just a matter of a few steps to see it.

They did have air conditioning in the rooms, but it was not working when we were there.

Ecole Militaire is literally just around the corner but, in view of your Mom's knee problem the Metro does have a lot of steps, and some of the transfer stations do involve a bit of walking.

Have a great trip!

Simone1

Your style of writing made the report come to life.

I am so impressed with your sense of adventure. This is not your typical sightseeing report.

I will definitely take your recommendations into account while planning for my trip to France next year. I like the idea of finding a relatively inexpensive base and taking daytrips.

Thank you for your helpful tips.

chepar

nukesafe-

Thanks for the additional detail regarding the hotel - it sounds like it will work well for us.

Has the construction been completed at the Ecole Militaire stop? When we were there last year, construction was ongoing and we couldn't get off at the stop past 9 p.m. - so most nights we had to get off at the next stop and walk back a little further to our hotel.

nukesafe

Did not notice any restrictions at Ecole Militaire. One could tell that there had been construction, as it was not "finished" in some sections. There was a TV monitor tht displayed a list of stations that were closed or under limited access, but Ecole Militaire was not one of them last week.

nukesafe

Coco,

Thank you so much for sending on the letter from Rachael and Justin. I am looking forward to their trip report, especially their impressions of your flat. We wanted to see it when you were taking us around Dijon on Patrimonie Days, but since they were staying there we hesitated to ask.

I'm glad my pictures of Dijon and the Canals finally got to you. Sorry for the delay. I will write to the young couple , and send them some of the pictures, as Justin expressed some interest in doing a canal trip some day.

Dick

cocofromdijon

Dick, if you ever come back to Burgundy for a boat trip, PLEASE take a TGV later in the afternoon!!! so that we would be able to go around Dijon center AND to the flat (it was free the week end on your way back to Dijon!)
Now I wonder what I could do with your pictures and mine..

cocofromdijon

http://82.235.93.13/jacquin/videos_and_pictures.htm

nukesafe

Corrine,

Thank you so much for posting those wonderful pictures showing our pastry sampling in Dijon! I have meant to add a link to my photos own photos, but have been lazy, and have had a few health problems. I'm glad you included some of the shots of the canal boat that I had sent you.

What a memorable trip that was!

Dick

anotherjudy

I guess it is "nice" to know that I am not the only person to fall off a Segway. I hit an uneven spot and the Segway and I went over sideways. But I had a ball on that thing!
Judy

cocofromdijon

Hi Dick
I understand now why you didn't answer me when I wanted to show you the page (when I first put it on myhomeindijon.com) I thought your frog cakes were a good introduction!
Hope you're fine now.
take care!
and don't eat too many sweets for Halloween!

Gowanbrae

I am very concerned that you are accusing our establishment of scamming you. This is a genuine credit card machine company, well established for many years, and as I explained at the time of your transaction I was not aware that you would incure higher charges. As far as I was trained and told that the DCC was providing the customer with a transaction into their own currency, that is all.

We receive guests from all around the world, the HONEST SCOTTISH fanmily have been running this business for nearly ten years, and you are the only person who has ever complained. But you can rest assured that I have always asked our guests since your incident whether they want the transaction in sterling (spelt correctly!!), or their native currency.

I tried to make your stay as welcome and comfortable as possible, as I do with all our guests, you can only guess I'm sure about how upsetting your remarks are. I am not a fraudster or scammer, and I shall first thing in the morning take this up with the company involved.

I did appologise at the time and I hope you will now post an appology here to me personally. Thank you ... By the way thanks for the leaving present on the sheets!!!!

janisj

Wow - Gowanbrae - I think you totally misinterpreted nukesafe post! He CLEARLY stated he didn't think you were scamming him.

&quot;<i>Makes me believe that the company selling this scam also scams their customers by not clearly explaining about the “CHOICE” part.</i>&quot;

In this sentence &quot;customers&quot; refers to <b>YOU</b>. He says he thinks the machine users are also being scammed since you seemed truly surprised about the incident.

I don't think nukesafe owes you an appology but after your last little dig you definitely owe him one.

By the way - no one called you dishonest, and the fact that no one has complained about DCC doesn't mean a thing. It is a recent twist in credit card processing and most people know nothing about it.

In fact nukesafe did you a REAL favor by bringing it to your attention. More and more US media are warning about this &quot;scam&quot; so more and more people will be watching out for it.

Gowanbrae

janisj

I felt that the scam was directed at me. Or else why would our business name be mentioned. No other visitor from USA has ever had a complaint about the machine. I feel humiliated. I have to pay for the privilage of using this machine and charged for every transaction, how can it be a scam when the machine comes from one of the biggest banks in the UK.

nukesafe did say the DCC scam in Dufftown, so how can this not be directed at me. I am absolutely appauled.

We got this machine for the ease of our guests, not having to find cash all the time. Now I'm begining to wonder why I bother

oldie

Gowanbrae, as you say, you have to pay a charge for every transaction.

I wonder if it worth the hassle. I suppose it depends on how many foreign guests you get. UK visitors will of course be able to pay by cheque.

nukesafe

Gowanbrae,

I am truly sorry that you are offended by my mentioning your establishment by name as practicing the DCC scam. I took pains to point out that I did not think you were to blame here, but wanted to point out that the credit card companies may have only presented their side of the story to you.

Perhaps you have not read the other posts on this forum which discuss this subject. Many people were shocked and outraged by being stung in this manner in Scotland and Ireland, and called it a &quot;near criminal practice&quot;! Members also asked those who had be subjext to this to be specific as to which establishments were adopting the scam so they could check their bills carefully before signing. They have written to not only the credit card companies and to the relevant Boards of Trade in the countries involved to protest.

As I explained when we had our discussion, some (simple) folks might indeed appreciate having their bill charged in their home currency. Most, however, are appalled when they find out the significant charges that appear on their bill as a result. It is not only the amount of the charge, it is the fact that they are not asked if this is all right with them. After all, it is the clear policy of the credit card companies to require the customer's consent prior to the sale being charged. When they are not asked, it really does feel as if you have been swindled.

You were most gracious in cancelling the charge for my stay, and re-charging it in Sterling (did I spell it correctly that time?), and I said in my report that I believed that you were unaware of the implications of DCC. I also did enjoy staying in your clean and friendly eatablishment. I would recommend it to others.

That said, I deeply resent the implication of your snide insinuation about us -- &quot;leaving a present in the sheets&quot;. Never happened!

janisj

Gowanbrae: It looks like you still don't get it. Nukesafe defended himself well but I need to barge in again. Sometimes misunderstandings are caused by the &quot;two countries separated by a common language&quot; difference between American and UK English.

But not in this case - I just think you jumped in w/o analyzing what nukesafe really wrote.

He made it VERY clear that the scam is carried out by the credit card machine company -- NOT by you.

Yes, he mentioned Dufftown - since that is where it happened. Yes, he mentioned a DCC scam - for that is what DCC is. Yes, he mentioned your B&amp;B - because that is where he ran into this deceitful practice. But no, he did not say you were running a scam. He <b>VERY CLEARLY</b> said that you were &quot;<i>puzzled and had no idea</i>&quot; and that you were being scammed as well.

I would think you would be thrilled that he brought this to your attention. Just to give you a heads up -- the New York Times, San Francisco Charonicle, Los Angeles Times and several other major US newspapers have recently run exposes/articles calling DCC a scam and &quot;near criminal&quot;. So if any of your future American visitors have read these stories they may very well think you are trying to cheat them. Now, You and I both know you aren't - but that won't help much if your visitor thinks otherwise.

I would suggest you take a deep breath, re-read what nukesafe actually wrote - and realize you now have more knowledge about DCC and can avoid problems down the road.

cocofromdijon

janis, I'm SO happy you came here to explain Dick's post and defend him!
this is exactly what I thought but couldn't say properly.
I could have understood Gowan's reaction if he had attacked her/him directly but it was not the case at all!
shake hands and have a nice day!
coco