We went to Paris for a week in April and I would like to tell you a little bit about our trip.

• We stayed in the Latin Quarter at the Agora Saint Germain. http://www.hotelagorasaintgermain.com/.  We booked hotel and flight separately.  8 nights, 155 Euro a night (from memory).  We stayed in a double superior room, very cozy, clean, and a great view!  It is less than one block from Erik Kaiser, a magnificent baguette shop.  We walked to the Hide Out, Parthenon, Notre Dame, The Cluny, Latin Quarter, Grocery, Wine, Restaurants, Book Stores, Parks, simply AMAZING..!
• We used “Eating and Drinking in Paris” by Andy Herbach as our restaurant guide.  We had some of the best meals of our lives!
• We visited 8-10 sites by using the Museum Pass.
• We took a bike tour with Bike-About-Tours.  This is a must-do for everyone.  Here is the website: http://www.bikeabouttours.com/
• We very successfully navigated from the airport to the hotel, almost
• without incident.  I could not figure out how to read the street names, they are on the buildings as opposed to corner signs.  Once we figured this out,  navigation through the city was a breeze.
• We attended a wine sampling, interesting info about wine.
• Weather was incredible!
• The map we received at the hotel was indispensible, I used it constantly in walking and travelling the metro.

• We spent our first evening in the Hide-Out (http://www.hideoutparis.com/map.html) , wow is that beer stout.
• We had a great time and met numerous kids from around Europe, the drinks are very inexpensive and the environment accommodating to say the least.  Thanks for the hangover. 

We had our challenges, mostly with dining:

• Still remain uncomfortable with the tipping system, we never knew what to leave for a caf� or for dinner.  I only found the statement Service Compris on one receipt that I can think of and it was on  a receipt from a cafe.  It would make us much more comfortable at dinner if we understood more about the tipping system.
• We brought a converter with us but we were unable to use appliances
• like our laptop and wife's curling iron (quite distressing to her).  The voltage was regulated somehow and our converter could not overcome the issue.  Advice, buy a good converter, perhaps ask the hotel in advance how to overcome this challenge.
• Food for the first few days, we stopped into whatever diner or café  that was open and had several curious meals that the price did not equal the quality.  I think it’s really worth it to plan a nice dinner or lunch each day.
• The train system did lose us when traveling to Versailles, when there is a branch in the track you have to exit the train and catch a specific one to go to your specific route.
• Menus, we didn’t realize until a little later, that it was quite all right to order a single item off of a menu, we thought that we were expected to order from each of the 5! Eek!

  
We took plenty of photos but I noticed that we did not have pics of the restaurants that we dined in, I guess we did not want to seem to touristy by taking pics of the restaurant.  I miss them now however, the meals were a significant part of the experience.  Another thing that we did not take pics of or appreciate enough was the street musicians.  My goodness, there are some very talented people playing and singing in the metro and on the streets.  Just wonderful, and they contribute so much to the feel of the city!  There was a musician traveling through our quarter with one of the old music (box) machines that you see the monkey dancing with, he would stop at each building and play while shouting up to the windows.  It was quite enchanting.  

We cannot wait for our next trip abroad, thank you so much for your expert advice, it really enhance our trip and our experience.

Joe M.