May 6 2014

Fresh from my well-budgeted trip to Florida I am enthusiastic about a trip to Paris sometime within the next fifteen months; that is, either September this year or April next.

My local Flight Centre assures me that $2,000 will easily cover the fare and hotel (double room occupied solely by me). Taxes are included. They throw in a 6-day transit pass (Carte d’Orange) but it covers only three zones. I’d want a seven-zone monster. In my day (1978-80) there were only five zones.

Vous pouvez vous déplacer sur tous les modes de transport d’Île-de-France, Métro, RER Bus, Tramway et Train à l'exception de la ligne Orlyval, des lignes à réservation de la SNCF et des lignes à tarification spéciale Optile.

I’ll Christopher Greaves Budget.xls for transport to and from both airports (CDG in France) and for meals, but I anticipate a low cost for meals since I won’t be eating on the Champs Elysee but in small back-street cafes where I used to live and work.

I plan to return and visit all the places I worked (Montrouge, Fontenay Aux Roses, Trappes-La Verriere, le Bras de Fer and so on) just to see if they look the same in reality as they do in my memory.

I don’t expect to meet anyone from when I was there.

Already my mind has expanded my stay from one week to two. The second week? Maybe rent a car and drive around the cemeteries of World War One. Maybe trek to the UK and rent a car for a week. Maybe just ride local trains around France and spend each night in a different hotel. Maybe train to Italy. Who knows?

Why not use Flight Centre to book the Air Transit flight and get my own hotel?

The Carte Orange (Orange Card) was a pass for the public transportation system in Paris and the surrounding Île-de-France region. A holder of the pass was entitled to unlimited use of the public transit system within a given period of time, with Cartes oranges being available for durations of one week or one month. The carte orange was discontinued in February 2009, and replaced by Navigo semaine (one-week pass) and Navigo mois (one-month pass).

The Navigo pass … can be issued on the spot to anybody at a station (Passe Navigo Découverte). A Découverte pass costs € 5 at ticket booths. The passes can be credited at ticket booths and machines for weekly, monthly or annual use — unlike comparable cards issued in other major cities, there is no facility to add a certain amount of credit to the card for use on irregular journeys over a period of time.

Navigo passes can be used on the vehicles of the RATP , the SNCF (within the Transilien network), Optile , and companies under the aegis of the Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France (STIF), as well as with the Vélib' bicycle rental system.

Cards either bear a photograph of the holder or must be accompanied by a photo ID card.

Since mid-May 2006, it has been possible to use the Navigo pass in the entirety of the Île-de-France region in place of the paper tickets of the conventional Carte orange, which was completely discontinued in February 2009. Single-trip and 10-trip (discounted) paper tickets are still available from station agents and ticket vending machines and are accepted in all stations and buses, though busier Métro and RER stations will usually have several turnstiles set aside for Navigo card holders exclusively. Bus drivers also sell single-trip tickets.

The highest priced weekly Navigo (currently €37,20) includes transportation within Paris and suburbs, airports Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly (ORY), Chateau Versailles, Fontainebleau, Parc Disney.

You will need a picture of yourself for the pass, 3cm high by 2.5cm wide, which is smaller than passport sized. You can purchase them in photo kiosks near the ticket windows that sell passes on the Metro, RER and Ile-de-France trains.

Duration of the Passe Navigo Découverte

The pass starts on Monday morning with the first cars, and ends on Sunday. Like the Carte Orange, this may impact tourists not arriving in Paris on Monday.

By Bus

I have loved the bus system of Paris proper ever since I learned that the two-digit bus routes are coded by their terminals:

2x represents Gare Saint-Lazare

3x represents Gare de l'Est

4x represents Gare du Nord

5x represents Place de la République

7x represents Châtelet

8x represents Quartier Latin

9x represents Gare Montparnasse

The second number represents the outer terminal:

x2 represents the 16th arrondissement

x3 and 4 represent the 17th arrondissement

x5 represents the 18th arrondissement and the 19th arrondissement

x6 represents the 20th arrondissement and the 12th arrondissement

x7 represents the 13th arrondissement

x8 represents the 14th arrondissement

x9 represents the 15th arrondissement

It is easy to get around Paris by bus, and more fun than the subway. Suppose you are due to meet a friend near Montparnasse and you know that Montparnasse is this way, rather than that way. Just hop on any 9x bus heading that way and you’ll get there? Porte d’Orleans? Look for a bus that ends in “8”.

The bus that runs between Gare de l’Est and Porte d’Orleans? Got to be a 38, right?

Buses in the suburbs have a 3-digit numbering system, and I haven’t worked it out, yet.

By Car

Saves walking; I rent a car in Paris and spend a day wandering around Trappes; but what is there to see there?

France: Macon Chalon, View the white cliffs of Dover, WWI battlefields, cemeteries,

UK: Anglesey, Bull Bay, Whaley Bridge

Things to see, do

Ploegstreet or similar; Gare de Lyon at 8am; Place des Fetes supermarche; Pre St Gervais, 56 Rue de Mouzaia; Place Clichy, Courcelles; St George’s Church; Chatelet les Halles; Rue St Denis; Rue Montparnasse; Street vendors; Street markets; Boulangerie; Cafes; Go to end of each RER line and spend the day; Fontenay aux Roses; Montrouge; Trappes/La Verriere; Le Bras de Fer, Corbeil Essone; Massy Paliseaux

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

In the Countryside

Schedule

Assume a 14-day stay in Paris, the first and last taken up with packing, travel.

SUN 14-Sep	Depart Toronto midnight
MON 15-Sep	Arrive 3pm, purchase Navigo, travel to hotel. Eat
TUE 16-Sep	Hotel Regina; Montrouge,Porte d’Orelans
WED 17-Sep	1 RER B2 (Chatelet Les Halles) Robinson & Fontenay Aux Roses
THU 18-Sep	2 RER D4 (Gare de Lyon) Le Bras de Fer, Boutigny, La Ferte Alais
FRI 19-Sep	3 SNCF (Montparnasse) Rambouillet, Le Perray, Les Essarts.
SAT 20-Sep	4 SNCF (Montparnasse) Maule, Mareil, Baynes
SUN 21-Sep	Rue St Denis/St Georges Church; Boulevarde Montparnasse
MON 22-Sep	5 SNCF (Austerlitz) Etampes, Etrechy
TUE 23-Sep	Buttes Chaumont, Pre St Gervais, Place des Fetes
WED 24-Sep	6 SNCF (Gare du Nord) Bruyeres, Persan
THU 25-Sep	Courcelles, Port de Clichy, Place de Clichy, Porte de Clignacourt
FRI 26-Sep	7 SNCF (Gare de Lyon) Montereau, Champagne
SAT 27-Sep	Place Clichy, Courcelles, St Germain des Pres
SUN 28-Sep	8 SNCF (Gare de Lyon) Souppes, Nemours
MON 29-Sep	Pack, Eat; travel to CDG; meet Ian Pearson; fly out 1725

To ask

What if it rains? Brolly? Coat? Just stay indoors/on buses. How far can I walk on concrete anyway.

Can I do a flight and first-week-only accommodation in Paris?

What day does the flight land at Paris? (“The pass starts on Monday morning”)

What time does the flight land at Paris?

Trip.doc

Sunday, April 27, 2014

I appear to have saved up a little over $1,800; that means I air-fare and one week’s accommodation. I should be able to add $1,000 by September.

So a likely travel date is September.

I meet with Dan and confirm 1 week accomodation, a 6zone Navigo, arr Monday morning. Use C/UK passports, power adapter from almost any store here.

I should probably buy a local equivalent of the 100 minute Virgin Mobile once I get there.

Thursday, May 01, 2014 1 Canadian Dollar equals 0.66 Euro

Thursday, May 08, 2014 Dan says about $200 for an insurance package (cancellation, interruption, medical emergency); Pay balance by Jul 19th for Sep 1st. Can’t extend 14 days to 21 because must give 14 days notice, i.e. would have to give notice a week before leaving. Looking at about $1,000/week for accommodation.

Hotel: To Microtel standards; WiFi; meals not necessary.

“The price of Typical Meal (Per Person) in Coulommiers, France is 6.68 EUR”

“We have found that we are spending between 50 and 70 Euros for meals here for the two of us”

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

I drop in to see Dan, with an envelope of cash. Dan sends me an email; I’d asked him NOT to; I now get Flight Centre pop-ups when I do web searches.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Walked 10,000 steps along the Don, plus 2,000 for the papers etc.

I didn’t pee. What do I do if I have to pee on the roadside?

I’ve had another thought: When I was in Paris in 1978, “ethnic food” was a novelty to me, thrilling to go into a different place on Rue Montparnasse each evening and sample a different national cuisine. Now I am used to it. Indian, Chinese, Thai and so on. Do it all the time. Will I be bored at “Etoile de L'Inde” in Fontenay-aux-Roses?

For each index, McGhie, clean paras, replace %20

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Walk to St Andrews is 2.1 Km

Walk to NoFrills parliament street is 1.7 Km

St Andrews to Spadina 2.4 km;

Yonge & Lawrence 7.1 km

On Saturday I will walk to Lawrence, grab a bite to eat, explore, and (perhaps) walk back.

More thoughts: If the RER days go well, I can probably compress two or more Paris visits into one day, freeing up one or two days more for RER.

All Overview maps should be to the same scale. 1 km?

All Detail maps should be to the same scale. 200 m?

Friday, May 30, 2014

When I lived and worked in Paris 35 years ago, I smoked like a chimney; do Parisians still smoke everywhere? As a non-smoker will I find it upsetting?

Should I buy a cheap pair of pants with multiple pockets in the USA before I go? Shorts/pockets ditto?

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Booked my flight and 6 nights in a hotel $1760.

Walked to Lawrence, uphill, 7 km in 90 minutes. A total of 14,000 steps for the day; I walk at 3Km/hour

I should not thumb my nose at a cheap meal at a fast food like Subway; If nothing else I will have to have a dialogue with the server over type of bread, fillings etc.

What are these RESTAURANT SCOLAIRE “Paul Desagneaux”?

Monday, June 09, 2014

What to take/pack? If possible, a carry-on bag, if not, something that isn’t a burden.

What are Air Transat’s baggage rules? 1-877-TRANSAT (872-6728)

What rules regarding:-

(1) Crestor medication	OK with Drs Note OR with label on jar
(2) Over-counter e.g sleeping tablets	OK if solid; not liquid over 100ml
(3) Acer net book	OK
(4) Phone-as-podcast	OK
(5) Any excess/undisclosed charges	None
(6) Vegetarian meals	Book 2 days before
(7) Free baggage weight	10KG shoulder, 20KG in hold
(8) XS baggage charges
(9) Eye-drops	OK
(10) Small pen knife	NOT OK!
(11) Bank envelopes

ACER cable
ACER net book
Bank envelopes
Camera
Camera cable
Cash Euros 666+500
Casual Shirts x 4
Cell cable
Cell phone
Credit card, debit card
Crestor medication
Dockers +1
Eye Drops
Glasses x 2
Handkerchief
Hat
Item
Jacket – Beige
Maps
Memory key (MP3 files)
Milk bags for snacks
Notify/Pay up credit cards
Passport Canadian
Pencil
Postage stamps for a school
Sac-poche
Shoes
Shoulder Satchel
Skivvy
Small notebook
Socks x 4
Sunglasses
Toothbrush
TTC tickets x2
Undies x 4

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Today I walked into RBC with $1,000 cdn in banknotes and put the charges on my bank account. The exchange rate in G&M reads 1.4538 but RBC paid me E666 based on an exchage rate of 1.5139; that is, they take six cents on the dollar on top of their service charge. FWIW I took a photo of the SN of the banknotes.

I learn from Shane that the name of what I need is “travelers belt”. I want a slim pouch that is fastened to my trouder belt but sits inside my trousers, at the front, below my waistline, across my belly. Large enough to hold my passport and a chunk of cash for my during-the-day menaders. Small cash I can keep in my trouser pocket, but big cash I want secure.

I must copy T:\TALKS to Acer just before I leave.

Monday, September 01, 2014

This time two weeks I’ll be wandering around the city on my first night; it comes to my mind that there are many small diners and so on NOT visible through Google Maps in Toronto. There must be many small bistros in these suburban towns not visible to Google Maps, places where one can get a coffee and a sandwich, or at the very least, a boulongerie and a charcuterie.

I have my two large sheet maps and have trimmed the cardboard covers from them to make them manageabke.

This is my 1cm map; the region covered is 130 Km east-west and 100 Km north-south; my range of stations extends a further 40 Km south of the borders of the map.

The yellow Stick-It notes represent good candidates for day-trips out of town on the Transilien system (5 Zone Navigo).

The orange-bordered flags are places where I worked out of town, and I might go there just to wander around and reminisce, perhaps on my way back from a trip.

Copy photos of Banknote SNs to Acer, memory key.

Trim hair/ears/nose!

Remove battery from cell phone.

Thursday, September 04, 2014

I checked hotels near Montrouge and restaurants in.

Hotels seem to be $100 or thereabouts. If I find three in a row I can pick the one that looks best. Entrees seem to be $20 on restaurants that advertise on the web; I figure that a bistro will be cheaper (as in steak-frites or plat du jour).

So I think that $60 per day is a good budget for meals, and $100 per day for hotels from 21st Sept. (i.e. another $800).

I plan to start each day with $60 in my pocket, and any balance goes back into funds.

Friday, September 05, 2014

There is a 10Kg carry-on allowance.

I have weighed myself with and without my bag and clothes:-

	me	Me+bag	bag	Kg
	176.4	191.8	15.4	7.0
	175.8	192.2	16.4	7.5
	176.0	191.8	15.8	7.2
average	176.1	191.9	15.9	7.2

I am pretty well 3Kg UNDER the limit for carry-on, and I’m taking no bag luggage. This means I can afford to take (if I want) about another 6 pounds of hardware or clothing. Can I use it? Probably not. BTW the 7Kg includes a light coat, hat, wallet etc which will actually be on my person.

Polish shoes

(1) Hotel Kyriad; $94; per night; 3-star hotel; 3.7; 9 reviews; Free parking;

(2) Hôtel Chevallier; $81; per night; No rating yet

(3) Euro Hotel Sovereign Saint-Denis; $84; per night; 2-star hotel; 2.8; 16 reviews

(4) 1ère Avenue Val Sénart; $77; per night; 3-star hotel; 2 reviews; Free parking

(5) Comfort Hotel Gennevilliers; Contemporary Hotel located behind St-Ouen bridge & ; ithin walking distance of shopping & the River Seine.; $98; per night; 2-star hotel; 1 review; Free Wi-Fi · Free parking

(6) Lemon Hotel; $44; per night; 2 reviews

(7) Hôtel Balladins Champigny Sur Marne; $74; per night; 2-star hotel; 1 review; Free Wi-Fi · Free parking

(8) Comfort Hotel Rosny-sous-Bois ***; Modern Hotel situated near Rosny II Commercial ; enter & Porte de Bagnolet.; $83; per night; 3-star hotel; 4 reviews; Free breakfast

(9) Adagio Access Paris Quai D'Ivry; $87; per night; 3-star hotel; 2 reviews; Free parking

(10) Campanile Brie Comte Robert; $89; per night; 2-star hotel; 4 reviews; Free Wi-Fi · Free parking

(11) Hôtel Balladins Chilly-Mazarin; $61; per night; 2-star hotel; 3 reviews; Free Wi-Fi

(12) Premiere Classe Le Blanc Mesnil; $65; per night; 1-star hotel; 2 reviews; Free Wi-Fi Free parking

(13) Premiere Classe Marne La Vallee Noisy Le Grand; $71; per night; 1-star hotel; 2 reviews; Free Wi-Fi · Free parking

Friday, September 05, 2014

Examination of my hotel location (33 Boulevard de Reuilly) shows me between two stations on the ...

Etoile-Nation

This takes me from Etoile through Kleber(St Georges Anglican), Tour Eiffel, Montparnasse, Denfert Rocherau so with one transfer I can reach Courcelles, Clichy, Billancourt, Pontoise, Trappes, La Verriere, Malakoff (and hence Fontenay), Porte d’Orelans, Montrouge, Robinson, Massy-Paliseau, Saint-Remy, Marne, Boissy and more.

Creteil-Balard

With one transfer I can reach Marne, Boissy, Les Halles, Place des Fetes, Gare de l’Est, Gare du Nord and more.

87

Gare de Lyon, Bastille, St Michel(close!), St-Germain, Champs de Mars.

64

Doesn’t do much for me, but Gambetta lets me walk to Place des Fetes.

24

Takes me from the banks of the Marne to Gare St Lazare via St-Michel, Pont Neuf, Concord and Madeleine.

29

Takes me via Gare de Lyon to Gare St Lazare by a route slightly to the North of Les Halles.

Sunday, September 07, 2014

Seven more sleeps! I AM excited; I am so far into the “enjoy yourself” mode that I want to go out at 6am Sunday, walk the streets, buy a Sunday newspaper and a coffee, in general, start living the life of a tourist. I have learned that the flight is 7h20m. Include 20m for deplaning, and half an hour up front being seated and I’m up for 8 or 9 hours of cramped quarters. I shall take a sleeping pill wth me and take it just before I start my vegetarian meal. With luck I’ll be out-of-it for a large portion of the flight.

I am amazed that it will take me less than half an hour to be ready and just GO. It won’t happen, but if FC phoned me at, say, 9pm tonight, I could be at the airport by 10:30, 11 at the latest.

The PgUp key on my Acer has come adrift; I am tempted to get it fixed before I leave, but second thoughts tells me to nurse it until I arrive in Paris – another chance to practice my French!

Language will be different; this time around I know that local slang is present in a language – I will not find every sound in my dictionary. I know too that my efforts to be speak WILL be understood by native speakers, it will be only my timidity that holds me back.

My podcast device will flatten its batteries while I wait at the airport!

I will have several things to do on my first day there:-

(1) (CDG) Navigo 1week

(2) Check price Regina

(3) Acer adapter

(4) Razor blades

Sunday, September 14, 2014

I am awake early, four o’clock, so excited I know I will not go back to sleep. I rise and fry an onion and toss in the remaining four eggs from the ‘fridge; a protein-laced “last breakfast”; gorged, I can hardly waddle through the apartment, but I make my bed, smooth the plain purple sheet, and begin to assemble my packing list.

There is a slight tremor as I work through my packing list. I reach the item “Notify/Pay up credit cards” and dutifully phone the company to advise them that I might be using the card outside of Toronto – an aberration that their computers are sure to flag.Dialling the number gets me the news that the office is closed and I should call back during regular business hours. Doh! So I press “1 – lost or stolen card” hoping that pressing “1” won’t automaticallt invalidate the card; who knows, their computers might be smart enough.

I reach an operator and explain my problem – that the office is closed until after I’ve left and sure enough the operator can read her script and tells me that the solution is to phone back when the office is open. We play problem-solution tag for three volleys and then I manage to persuade her to find a pencil and a piece of paper and take a note, which she does.

We part on the best of terms and I contemplate reverting to prayer; it is, after all, Sunday morning.

By 8am everything I plan to take, excepting the juke box, is on my bed ready to be stuffed into the bag. Twelve hours from now I ought to be at the airport.