I just got back from Paris yesterday, and wanted to thank ALL of you who answered my many questions. You undoubtedly made the trip so much easier than it would have been without your useful info. ^

Paris was lovely. The weather was pretty bad (cold and rainy) but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying it. This trip has sparked such a strong desire within me to travel more often. I hope to see the south of france and Italy by next year.

The only "negative" about Paris was the food for me. At first, I kept making the wrong choices but towards the end, I found that if I stuck with simple fare (spaghetti, croque monsieur, KFC/McDonalds) I was OK. And I couldn't use my AT&T card from any payphone in Paris so I ended up buying 2 cards over there. That was a bummer. But I guess I can use it eventually.

Thanks a million!

Let me add my thanks rather than start a new thread. I returned home yesterday and my delight would have been less without the good advice of fellow fter's.

I had good luck with the AT&T international card using the hotel phone for which I was not charged.

My pocket was not picked on the Metro.

I kept within the food budget and ate some wonderful food.

Madame BamaVol fit right in with her scarf tied just so.

We found Parisians to be generally friendly, helpful and polite.

Wish I had listened to advice here and:

1. Chosen a different shuttle company.
2. Skipped the modern ballet.

Merci to all.

I don't understand how the AT&T card would NOT have worked. Did you dial 0800-99-00-11 for access to AT&T from France before the 1-800 number that is printed on the card?

At first I thought you had to insert the card into the phone so I went ahead and bought a card at the tabac. Then on the last day, I tried to dial the access code and a lady came on in french to say that the number was invalid. I had the instructions written out with all the access numbers, etc but it didn't work.

BamaVol, I came home yesterday too. Were you on a delta flight by any chance?

DL51