There's a M'App for That

For years I’ve been supplying clients with Paris city maps, Michelin route maps and all sorts of printed information.   I’m a map lover, and I’ll probably never stop using the paper variety.  But that pile of paper can take up a lot of room in the suitcase.

Though I’ve been slow to catch on, my last trip gave me a chance to use some of the smart phone options available.   It’s a revelation.   Of course some apps are a lot better than others.   Here are a few of my favorites for France:

City Maps to Go

For a whole host of cities in France and elsewhere in the world.   What I like best is that you can stretch it out large enough to read the street names and shrink it down so that you can see where you’re headed.  

Cost:  $1.99

France Travel Guide by Triposo

A good basic sightseeing guide for many major locations in France.

Cost:  Free

XE Currency

A basic currency exchange – up to date if your phone’s online. 

Cost:  Free

RATP

The guide to the Paris metro.  Maps of the metro lines, bus routes, RER and station exit maps.   You can map your trip across town, using subway,  bus or a combination.  Traffic reports too if you’re online.

Cost:  Free

SNCF

Train timetables and itineraries, maps of train stations. 

Cost:  Free

France 24

The news from France – in English.

Cost:  Free

Time Out Paris

One of my favorite restaurant and travel guides for Paris

Cost: Free

Pudlo 2012

A really good restaurant guide for Paris – in French

Cost:  $3.99

Set...

Someone asked me recently how I would pack for my upcoming trip of seven weeks.   The  answer ought to be – the same as for a shorter trip.   As little as possible.

The experienced traveler, it was said, was one who could stick her toothbrush in her  book – and leave.

The other old rule is to lay out everything you plan to take, then take half the clothes and twice the money.   Not bad advice.

Almost all of us end up carrying too much, and forgetting something that matters.  With more and more restrictions on baggage size and weight, with more fees for extra bags, it pays to travel light in more ways than one.   If you need a list of reasons, consider the following:

Most international flights still allow for one free checked bag and a carry-on.   Extra bags and extra weight bring extra fees.

Travelers using public transportation – bus, train, subway – move easier with fewer bags.   Many subway stops – and parts of train stations – lack elevators or escalators.   Lighter is better.

European cars are still smaller and have smaller trunk space.   Too much luggage and you may have to up the size of your rental just for the suitcases.

Lots of small, charming, historic hotels lack elevators too – they also lack bellboys.

Finally, you will probably buy things – which will add to the stuff you’re carrying.  Best to start out light, at least.

Packing Tips

Carryon luggage

Pack valuables and necessities in your carryon – that includes medications, glasses, tickets, itinerary information.

Carry your passport and money on your person – have photocopies stashed in your carryon and your checked luggage.  For women, a purse with a zippered section – for men, NEVER in your back packet.

Pack one change of clothes – or at least underwear – in your carryon.   If your checked luggage goes astray for a day or longer, you’ll be a lot more comfotable.

Carry electronics – computer, cameras, etc in your carryon.

Condensing the Necessary

If you carry a computer or tablet, lots of your travel information – guides, itinerary, local information – can be carried electronically.   Maps can be had from the tourist office.

If you have a smart phone, numerous travel apps can replace paper.   See the upcoming post for details on travel apps for France.

Pick a color for your wardrobe and take mix and match, layers, and, for women, a variety of scarves.  You’ll look very French.

Do Take:

Converter plugs for your appliances – computers, chargers, phones.   They’re small and necessary.

A small kit with eyeglass repair screws, small scissors, bandaids, aspirin, etc.

A corkscrew and knife (in your checked luggage) if you like to picnic.

Extra plastic bags for all kinds of uses

Don’t Take

Valuable jewelry

An alarm clock, if there’s one in your phone

A hairdryer, if you’re staying in hotels.  You might want one if you’re renting a house or apartment.

Underground in the Loire

The lovely limestone of the Loire valley, called tuffeau, has been quarried since the Middle Ages to build the houses, walls, castles and fortifications of the region.

Its production left behind thousands of kilometres of quarries and caves, which, over the centuries have been reused and adapted to hold everything from entire villages to mushroom production to upscale housing.

If you’re in the region and between chateau visits, you can stop for a meal at one of my favorites,  La Cave aux Moines,  whose restaurant, les Pieds Bleus (the Blue Feet!) serves a wonderful meal of rillettes, various kinds of mushrooms grown in the caves, and fouées, a flat bread baked in the wood-fired oven in the restaurant, all presented by candlelight and firelight, deep inside the troglodyte cave.  La Cave aux Moines is located on the main road between Tours and Saumur.   Here’s the website.

http://www.cave-aux-moines.comwww.cave-aux-moines.com

Another troglodyte restaurant in Montlouis (a great place to taste Loire valley wines), Restaurant La Cave, serves a more elegant (and expensive) menu.   The owners are also winemakers for 5 generations, and you can tour and taste the wines as well.

http://www.restaurant-la-cave.com

Le Jour de Merci Donnant

Happy Thanksgiving

Not a French holiday, but the classic description by columnist and humorist Art Buchwald explains it all to our friends in France.

Click here to read and enjoy:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/23/AR2005112302056.html

Ready...

Planning and packing for a long trip isn’t much different than packing for a shorter one, but there are a few extra things to think of when you’re headed across the pond to France.   As I’m getting ready for a long trip of my own,  I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned.

Everyone always asks about the best way to deal with money matters.   Here’s my list of things to know:

Notify your bank and credit card companies of your travel plans.

In the interest of fraud protection, you might find your credit or ATM card refused (or swallowed by the machine).  No fun at all. 

Changing money

In France and in much of western Europe, the easiest way to change money is via your ATM card.  It’s also the method with the best exchange rate.  However:

            If your password is a word, memorize the corresponding numbers i.e.  ohno = 6466.   French bank keypads have only numbers, not letters.

            Look for this symbol or one like it to find an ATM machine:

 

Your bank will probably charge a fee to make withdrawals, though some do not – check beforehand to see how much, and what your daily limit is.   French banks have a daily limit of 300 Euros, so even if your limit is higher, that’s all you can get in one day.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a different bank – 300 Euros a day from bank machines is all you’ll get.  Plan accordingly.

A few traveler’s checks as backup doesn’t hurt, but it’s no longer necessary in France.   Places to cash them are getting fewer and fewer, whereas bank machines that take your ATM card are everywhere and function 24/7.

Change a little money into Euros before you go, but wait until you’re in Europe to change large amounts.   You’ll get a much better rate.

Credit Cards

Visa and Mastercard are widely excepted.   Some merchants will not accept American Express, and virtually no one accepts Discover.

If you rent a car, the car rental company will put a hold on your credit card for the amount of the insurance deductible – usually between $500. and $1000.,  possibly more if you rent a luxury vehicle.  It won’t be charged to your card, but it will change your available credit.  Again, plan accordingly.

Carry at least one different credit card than your traveling companion, in case one of you has a problem with your card.

European credit and debit cards operate on a chip and pin technology as yet unused by most American credit card companies (some are just starting to try them out.)   What this means is that your American credit card does not work in many useful machines,   These include:

Ticket machines for train tickdets, metro tickets, bus tickets.

Bike rental in Paris (Velib) and elsewhere in France

Electric car rentals in Paris and Nice

Gas station pumps at automated stations (many have no human attendants after hours)

Machines that will provide cash against your regular Visa or Master Charge card charge exhorbitant exchange rates.   Avoid them.

Likewise, hotels will change money or cash traveler’s checks at very high rates.   Smile and say no thanks unless you’re either desperate or have money to burn.

Lots of money woes can be avoided by prepaying many costs before leaving home.  Hotels, trains, car rentals, guides – all can be prepaid.

Finally, if you are, for some reason, removing more than $10,000. cash from the US, Uncle Sam will want to know.