Planning ahead

Written 22 April 2018

Our last couple of trips to France have been to steeply mountainous regions that were also upscale tourist destinations, and under those conditions the rental car proved more of a liability than an asset—nailbiting driving conditions, unreliable GPS, and insanely difficult parking that (insult to injury!) cost as much per night as a hotel room. So this year we decided to take it easy and omit the rental car. It didn't take much thinking to come up with a destination where we could use public transport for three weeks without running out of things to do and where we hadn't spent much time recently—Paris!

That decided, we looked at our calendars and found that the last three weeks of June were entirely unencumbered, so I set about looking for reasonably priced accommodations for that period. Now, nothing's really reasonably priced in Paris, but surely we could do better than a hotel. Résidéale, a long-term residential hotel we used once for a week in Lyon, seems to have folded—its Paris properties have been turned into retirement homes— but I found VRBO ("Vacation Rental by Owner"), a sort of umbrella organization for agencies offering short-term apartment rentals. They have a really slick website where you can search for apartments by size, location, price, etc. and that then gives photos, a map, a very clear descripion (in English; VRBO is based in Austin) of what the apartment does and doesn't have. I found several that were available for our dates and met our specs: two bedrooms, elevator, sheets and towels supplied, full kitchen, shower, wifi. They also happened to have washer and dryer and telephone. The proprietor of our first choice failed four times to respond within 24 hours (a requirement VRBO imposes by cancelling unanswered applications), that of our second choice doesn't take rentals longer than a week. The third used the "instant acceptance" option VRBO offers and then replied in person within hours. I mentioned to her that we might arrive in Paris earlier than her official check-in time of 2 p.m. and promised to keep her posted when we made our plane reservations.

I was just about to make those reservations when—enter the French Rail Workers' Union. Drat. In 1995, the rail workers brought the French government to its knees by striking. Lots of other unions went out in sympathy, and the country's transportation system was brought to a halt for weeks. (A huge surge in rollerblade popularity in France dates from that time; rollerblade rallies are still held a couple of times a week in Paris. But I digress.) Now they're at it again, partly over wages but mostly over job security. They have announced "rolling" strikes from how until the end of June. They will be on strike two days out of five throughout that period, and the metro and airport workers, and maybe even taxi drivers, are likely to go out as well. One of the strike days coincided with our projected arrival in Paris. Even if the flight could get in, who knows what transportation from the airport to the apartment would be like. And throughout our time in Paris, the metro might not run two days out of five. As I say, drat.

I immediately went back to VRBO and reserved the same apartment for three weeks in July, including a note to the proprietor that we would cancel one or the other block of time, depending on the rail strike. We actually have until 25 May to cancel the June block with a full refund, but we've pretty much decided to go ahead and cancel it, planning to go in July instead, so as not to wait too long to make the flight reservations. That's a disappointment, as the weather will be that much hotter, the smog will be worse, many more tourists will be there, and many restaurants will be closed for vacation. But, hey, it's still Paris!

The apartment is near the Marais neighborhood, near many museums, good restaurants, and historic sights, including the old Jewish quarter. The proprietor doesn't even give us the exact address until a month before our arrival (although I'm pretty sure I've deduced it), so I'm not sure she'd want me to give it here, but I'll ask.

Written 21 May 2018

Hold the presses—new data are in! A Tallahassee friend who travels frequently to France on business and was just there during the rolling strikes has told us that, yes, the Metro does run on strike days, although sometimes at reduced frequency, and he had no trouble getting around despite the strikes. After brief deliberations, we decided to delay our arrival by one day, to avoid arriving on a strike day, and to go in June after all!

I accordingly cancelled the July apartment reservation, and the proprietor was very accommodating about changing the arrival date for June. We've made our airline reservations (paying for them this time with points earned on our credit-card account) and are all set for departure on 8 June, to arrive at 1:10 p.m. on 9 June. By the time we get through passport control, baggage claim, customs, and a taxi ride, it will surely be after the 2 p.m. check-in time. Perfect.

Now, I'm doing homework on Paris museums and attractions we haven't visited before, as well as checking into the current temporary exhibitions at all the the ones we have (noting opening days and times, addresses, phone numbers, etc.—in Paris, I'll buy a 30-day local SIM card, so my cell phone will work). We also plan to buy Navigo cards, which are good for unlimited travel on Metro, buses, commuter trains, and tramways throughout the Îsle de France (the Paris region) for the calendar month. They're cheaper than the four 5-day tourist travel passes we would need, as well as covering a wider area—they'll get us all the way to Versailles and Fontainebleau, as well as to Melun (for Vaux le Vicomte and Blandy-les-Tours, two castles we want to visit).

Meanwhile, David is reading the Gault-Millau guide (Our lastest copy is four years out of date! How do these things happen?!), choosing likely restaurants. He even wants to try Le Grand Vefour, long-standing Paris institution, world famous "Jewel of the 18th century art décoratif'," and hair-raisingly expensive. Should be a hoot, so long as we keep our eyes off the prices and just hand them the credit card.

As I suspected she might, the proprietor does not want me to reveal her name or the exact location of the apartment. I'll just say that our nearest Metro stop is "Filles du Calvaire."

Written 7 June 2018

Departure tomorrow! As I suspected, I've found a ton of stuff to do in Paris. Besides museums and attractions we haven't seen before and temporary exhibitions at the ones we have, our old friends Canauxrama (whose half-day cruise through the St. Martin Canal tunnel we did a few years ago) also do full-day excusions on the Seine, one upstream and one downstream, out of the city, with lunch at the midpoint and commentary along the way. They do a third up the Ourq, but that only runs in July and August.

Finally, a friend and Westminster Oaks neighbor just got back from a trip to Paris with her nieces and nephews and absolutely raves about a guided tour they did in motorcycle sidecars! Intrigued, I looked up the company and read about their offerings. Their introductory 40-minute tour and their three hour-and-a-half more advanced tours each listed five stops, each and every one of which we had already visited and explored on foot. Their half- and full-day tours outside Paris were getting up out of our price range, but they also claimed to do custom tours, so after a little back and forth negotiation, we arrived at, and signed up for, an hour-and-a-half tour of a couple of areas we don't know well. Should be fun!