Thank you all. My concerns are two fold; being in another land and not being able to have access to cash, and secondly being charged for the privilege to spend, whether through ATM charges or credit card conversion fees. I agree that back ups are good.

I think I'll go with the plan as outlined above, with the following additions. I do qualify for USAA and looked in to opening an account with them. They will allow up to 10 'no charge' ATM withdrawals a month and will also refund up to US$15 in other bank ATM charges. That way if we cannot find a BNP we can use the USAA card. Also we'll have two options in case one is eaten. We also have AAA, so I will look into getting some Euros before we go. Thanks for that tip. I'll carry my AMEX, but I don't plan to use it.

A couple of perhaps odd follow up questions (remember, I'm the logistics freak). The BofA debit card a Visa while the Cap One credit card and the USAA debit card are both MCs. Is there any issue with that? I mean, don't 99% of businesses that take one take the other? Also, if I use one of the debit cards to make a purchase rather than an ATM withdrawal, is there any surcharge for that?

As for the 'train to the city,' we're actually going to Versailles our first day. We'll stand in line to buy the RER tix and our Navigo Decouverte passes - to me that is just one of the lines I am prepared to stand in. We'll take the train to St. Michel where we transfer to the line to Versailles. The following day we will buy the return tickets at the station there as we ride from Versailles Rive Droite to St. Lazare. Belairpatrol, we'll see you at the ADT as we will be there May 23-30.

Thanks again for all the helpful thoughts.