Paris Postscript: Rue Cler

We were introduced to Paris a few years ago while staying in the 7th Arrondissement's (district's ) Rue Cler because Rick Steves', the Edmonds-based travel guru, recommended it in his guidebook. Rick didn't steer us wrong. Settled in to one of the hotel's he recommended, we were charmed by the area's street markets selling everything from fruit to flowers on the pedestrian-friendly two-block stretch of street. Cafes, bars and bakeries line the street, providing a backdrop to street merchants. It snowed often during our week-long stay and temperatures seldom got above freezing that March, but the merchants bundled up and sold their wares.

This trip we stayed in the 17th Arrondissement, a new favorite part of town; our hotel a block from the Arc d' Triomphe, but we couldn't resist a Sunday morning stroll through the Rue Cler. Paris street markets are open until 1:30 on Sunday then close until Tuesday morning, so the place was packed with shoppers. And despite the joke that it has become Rick Steves' Rue Cler, packed with tourists, we visitors were few and far between.




In addition to the vendors the organ grinder kept the atmosphere lively much to the delight of children drawn to his music. Just a bit further down the block this kid stole the show.

Bagless-Lady - did it work?

The question had been: could Joel and I spend five weeks traveling out of two carry-on-sized roller bags and two Baggallini totes while visiting two distinctly different places: Greek Islands (sandals, shorts and tee-shirts) and Paris, home to haute-fashionistas?

The answer is - YES! But not everything worked as planned, so for those of you head-shakers, here's the skinny:

Our plan was to carry our bags on to the planes, as one was the size of a large purse and the other a cabin-size-approved bag. For that reason we took no toiletries that couldn't fit in that miniscule quart-sized baggie, planning to buy what we needed once we arruved. The plan worked for our British Air flight and was resoundingly dashed by easyJet, the low-cost European airline. They make their money on the extra charges so one bag - of whatever size- means one bag. So we paid to check the roller bags 16L each ($26US) going and 22E ($33US) on our return.

We ended up still buying the toothpaste, mouth-washing and toiletries that we could have brought from home. First, lesson learned: plan on checking bags.

Our wardrobes, while not having the variety of the home closet, were more than adequate. We each took one pair of shoes (to wear in Paris) and a pair of Clark's (http://www.clarks.com/) unstructured black walking sandals for Greece. They are by far the most comfortable shoes we have worn on our travels and my pedometer tells me we walked more than 100 miles while gone. Mine are un.hull ($100, weighing only 6 ounces) and Joel's un.mast ($120- weight 9 ounces). Two downsides: my feet are now suntanned in zebra stripes, but now back in the Pacific Northwest, no one sees them. We were also prevented from taking some of the wonderful hikes in Greece as these two styles didn't quite have the tread to tackle the trails. Next time we will pack hiking sandals as well.

I could have taken fewer tee-shirts and a second pair of shorts. But not having the shorts led to one of our funnier shopping experiences at a farmer's market in Crete. We each decided to buy a pair of unisex (hiking style) shorts for 5E ($7.50US) a pair. The little old lady selling them had me try mine on over my clothes in the middle of the pedestrian walkway (blocking traffic ) and insisted the large that hung to my knees fit perfectly. I ended up purchasing a smaller size!

My Paris wardrobe was black - everyone it seems wears black with a scarf. I had two scarves - more than enough for five days. I was approached by a lady who asked a question of me in French and seemed surprised to learn I spoke English - my wardrobing must have worked. My Paris outfits came from Chico's (http://www.chicos.com/) Zenergy line. I found it to be lighter weight than their Travelers and also dried much faster. I had two pair of pants, a lightweight jacket and a heavier rain-coat (worn in the photo). All took up so little space in the suitcase that I am sold on them for all travel now.

The Baggallini (http://www.baggallini.com/) bags we took were my small Around Town ($74.95, 8" tall, 11"wide and 4" deep, 14 ounces) which fit nicely into the larger Only Bag ($69.95, 10"x 15.5"x 7.5", 20 ounces) The smaller bag fit into the zippered center section and our Acer Aspire One netbook (2.7 pounds)slipped easily into one of the outside pockets that snapped to close. Baggallini was founded in 1995 by two fomer flight attendants. Their products have served me so well that I may never use a conventional purse again at home or while traveling.

I've noted weights on this entry because the reality of European travel is that you are going to be carrying your bags into tight places such as metro cars, airport shuttle buses, over uneven sidewalks, and often times up and down stairways. Metro stations are always interesting with usually a modern escalator going up or down and stairs going the opposite direction. I counted 60 steps, spread over three flights of stairs, at the metro station in Athens near our hotel. Train and Metro stops are often quick and marked with crushes of people jostling each other to get off and get on. Fellow passengers are not sympathetic of tourists attempting to haul huge bags into the cars.

I am now thinking about 'next time' and ways we can further save weight and space. I'll let you know when come up with the next plan.

Autumn in Paris

Leaves are falling but the trees on the grounds of the Royal Palace were still shades of green and gold this afternoon. Just down the street the flower beds were filled with lavender and white blooms. The sun was out but just a hint of a chill in the air. Rain is predicted to return tomorrow.

A toast to Paris

So many champagnes and so little time. The photo on the left is of just one of the hundreds of window displays showcasing more champagne brands than one can imagine. The other is of me with one of those bottles. I couldn't resist the temptation. Bottle prices are reasonable, in fact, less than back home in many cases. Champagne by the glass in local bars and restaurants we've been to ranges from 10 - 12 euros; about $15 - $18; making the decision to buy a bottle much easier.

Since our room doesn't have a refrigerator we've chilled our champagne on the window sill; the crisp fall weather was a perfect device for doing so. We added some of the fresh raspberries we got at the street market and toasted our stay in this fabulous city.

Numerous guidebooks say that wine (that doesn't include champagne) is cheaper here than water. Today at lunch we ordered two salads and 'still' (tap) water. Silly us. . .we thought tap water was free; not so at Fauchon, the trendy shop that sells wine and other tasty items. We paid 5 euros or $7.50 for it.

Marche Poncelet - Saturday morning market

Thought you'd like to join us at our Saturday morning market walk today: Marche Poncelet, about five blocks from our hotel. I chose fruit and cheese to tempt your taste buds.

Bon Jour from Paris!

I am sitting just inside the top left hand window writing this post from Paris. We arrived at our hotel at 8 p.m., our delay thanks to the Orly ground-handlers strike was only about three hours. We are in Hotel Cecilia, a charming three star hotel about two blocks from the Arc de Triomphe.

It is a rainy, cloudy day here and the leaves are falling. Definitely a change from the month we have just had in Greece. We put on shoes and socks for the first time since mid-September today; rather a confining feeling but good for jumping rain puddles.

Credit card safety tips -

We spent the first couple of hours in Athens cancelling the credit cards that Joel had in his wallet -- several locals told us that generally the bad guys take the cash and toss the rest, but to be on he safe side, we cancelled the cards anyway.

Prior to the trip we had notified the fraud department of each company of where we would be traveling so that they wouldn't put a hold on the card when activity showed up from places outside our normal circle. What we didn't do was to verfiy the phone number to use should the card get stolen. Turned out the numbers on the back of two of the cards weren't valid; one had been changed, one was an 800-number that only worked in the US. (They have collect call numbers to use outside the US). We used our laptop to access their web sites and get correct numbers, but could have saved much time had we had the numbers with us.

What has saved us real inconvenience is that I have a credit card account in my own name; Joel isn't on it. I had it and we are using it for the remainder of the trip. I also had a card for each of the accounts we cancelled which provided us the number of the account to cancel. Single travelers should keep credit cards in different bags and make sure you have copies of the card numbers somewhere other than on the card.

We will have new cards waiting for us by the time we get home.

Welcome to Athens: pick-pocketed

While we have met some of the most incredibly kind people along the way, we also have now experienced some of the world's worst: pickpockets. Throughout the world we have encountered folks who told tales of taking precautions and being on alert for criminals and still were crime victims. Guidebooks tell you to be on the lookout as well. We have usually been obsessive-compulsive about theft prevention. But we've now joined the ranks of pick-pocket victims.

Subway trains, tourist attractions, crowded shopping areas are all ripe for the picking (pun intended) and we usually are on high alert when in those places. I have a lock-hold grip on camera and purse, with bag clamped under the arm. Joel has hand in pocket and similar grips on bags. But we weren't on high enough alert in Piraeus as we caught the metro into Athens.

Hindsight is 20-20. I thought the man that blocked my way out of the doorway and down the isle was simply being rude. He continued to be 'rude' to Joel not letting him move past with suitcase and bag. I was so focused on Mr. Rude that I didn't pay attention to his two sidekicks; one of which removed Joel's wallet from his pocket so swiftly that he didn't realize it was gone until they had hopped off the train at the first stop out of the port.

I can tell you I am no longer the nice traveler on metro trains or buses; look at me for more than 30 seconds or glance at my purse, and I am likely to start swinging my umbrella at you.