First off, Paris is a wonderful and pretty safe city, but it has its share of shady operators, as most cities do. The following are mostly ones I’ve encountered or have been made aware of. One way to stay alert is to play the ‘Spot the Scam game. It’s a …
Dawn, and we were up early to get to Notre Dame cathedral. Security was fairly tight, with bag searches before entering the cathedral square. Being early, we were able to get through quickly. With about an hour to go before the Gregorian mass, we perambulated slowly around the interior while …
It has a great ring to it, doesn’t it? The huge A380 plane lurched alarmingly and with a loud crunch we had landed in some pretty challenging weather – several passengers applauded – this is definitely where pilots earn their salaries. ‘Mesdames et monsieurs, bienvenue a Paris’ and with that …
We got out early to catch the gregorian Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral. It was breathtaking – and very moving. We noticed the font in the front of the cathedral with the words: ‘I am the way, travellers are looking for’ – translated into several languages – including Spanish – for …
There are many ways to see Paris, but gliding along on a Segway is one of the better ones. I booked mine through Fat Tire Tours – who also run bicycle tours. The tour leaders spoke perfect English, and were very friendly. In addition, they dealt smoothly with my abrupt …
Imagine working in a local council office. Now imagine that the view from your desk involved gilded statues and paintings worthy of a national museum? What if your office made the Palace of Versailles look plain? There is such an office. If you are the mayor of Paris (Anne Hidalgo) …
Have you ever returned from a trip only to find that after a few days it all seems like a dream? My first trip overseas was like that – I was mainly relying on my memory and just a few notes, primarily to record my costs. With that and a …
