Travel Tuesdays {Paris Flea Markets}...

My favorite day in Paris we spent at Les Puces {direct translation- the fleas}.  There is nothing like a Parisian flea market.  There is no junk- only treasures can be found.  Come prepared for sticker shock- remember this stuff is a lot older then American antiques and collectibles.  The dealers aren't kidding around-  be careful when touching things, there are very valuable things around and some of the vendors can be touchy about it. 

There is a real spirit of community among the vendors.  A lot of them congregate together in little groups, drinking a wine or watching a show together.  They are a hard to read bunch and not ones to be messed with!  There was a great article about Paris in National Geographic {the travel one} about Paris and there were pictures of some of the vendors and I saw those ladies when we were there!  I bet they have been there for years!  Ryan snapped this pic below- I am prowling for good finds...

There are a couple of flea markets in Paris.  We haven't seen the others {yet!} but we spent a full day almost at Les Puces de Saint-Owen at the Porte de Clignancourt.  We took Metro line 4 to Porte de Clignancourt.  Follow the crowds, it's not hard to miss at all.  If you  head towards McDonalds then you know you are going the wrong way.  And do not have coffee at McDonalds...it is not good.

The neighborhood outside the market is not the best, so hug your purses a little closer and tell your men to watch their wallets.  We didn't have any problems except for me needing to buy breakfast for little homeless children outside of McDonalds while Ryan was getting money from the ATM.  They will be looking for you Americans, so remember what I told you about maybe trying to dress a little more European- it will help!  I promise. Or just pretend you don't speak English - another great tip.  They know Americans are suckers.  I am sorry but you know it's true!  Put some sad images in front of us and play a little Sarah Mclachlan and we are putty in your hands!

The market is open Saturday and Sunday from 9-6.  It gets really busy in the afternoon but there are no early bird deals.  These are old, expensive things so don't come hoping to find the steal of the century, come early to beat the crowds {and at certain times of the year- heat}.  These dealers know their stuff and what it is worth so it's hard to haggle.  I did pick up some odds and ends.  Like vintage French postcards for one euro a piece.

The stalls, which are more like little tiny shops, are full to the brim of interesting things and fabulous displays.  Everything from furniture to old science equipment.  There is something here for everyone but perhaps my most favorite part was the market to your left as you are making your way to the antique markets.  It is full of new clothing, shoes, and handbags.  It was pure heaven.  I could have brought back an entire suitcase full of shoes {I brought back 4 pairs! bring an empty suitcase with you for souviners}.  You could get two pairs of flats for twenty euros!  The style of the clothing is very european so it is a great place to get a little Parisian chicness on the cheap.  People ask me all the time where I got my boots...Paris baby!

So here is what you need to remember about Les Puces:

*dress comfy there will be lots of walking

*eat here: Le Soleil, 109 av. Michelet, St-Ouen tel. 01-40-10-08-08-

*bring cash- watch your purses and wallets!

*you don't have to get there early to get deals, just to beat the crowds

It was the best day of our honeymoon.  I could have easily come back the next day and stayed for 7 more hours!  It was crowded but we were lucky and had amazing weather!  So we were happy just to stroll slowly along just taking it all in.  

There are little flea markets all over Paris and I would love to see more.  The next time we go, we will buy a big piece for our house.  There was just too much to decide from and we didn't plan on spending a whole lot of money that day so we were unprepared!  But in case you are worried that you are going to find an amazing piece but have no way to get it back home- don't worry the vendors deal with that all the time.  They will help you ship it and get it through customs.  

Next Tuesday will be our final Parisian Travel Tuesday. Look for a recap on all of my best French tips {i love puns!} and maybe a little giveaway {French vintage postcards anyone???} 

Travel Tuesdays {Getting to know Paris}...

Bonjour!  We have talked about booking our flight, getting prepared to leave the country and getting to Paris, and now we are to the good stuff- what to do once you are finally there! When staying in Paris {or any European country really} you wanna readjust what your expectations of a hotel room are.

These are not Holiday Inns.  There are no movies to rent on the T.V. {if you have one} and there are no English channels {except for maybe CNN International}.  There are no mini fridges or room service.  Now this is in MOST- not all- but you are really going to have to look for a hotel that caters more to Americans needs to find that stuff because I have stayed in a lot of hotels over there {even fancy ones} and have never once seen any of those things.

In the showers {cause there ain't gonna be a bathtub honey} there is usually a hand held shower sprayer sometimes there is a wall mount for them, sometimes not, and you have to just hose yourself down.  But at least the water is safe to drink so it's not entirely a third world country experience.  If you plan on blow drying your hair bring an adapter and makes sure it is strong enough because you don't want to blow a fuse like I did in your hotel room : ) hey I still make rookie mistakes...

This wasn't meant to scare you away from staying in hotels in Europe, it is just to prepare you for the differences.  Every hotel I have ever stayed in has been clean and well kept- they just don't all have indoor swimming pools and On Demand t.v.  We had a very charming patio and our second story room had a window looking out over it.  You could open the windows and let the breeze blow in and listen to the sounds of the streets of Paris- bliss.

Paris truly is the city of love but love is going to be far from your mind by the time you land and get to your hotel.  Jet lag isn't pretty.  It can make you feel sick and if you don't get "on time" with France it can last for days.  I have a solid routine when I fly into Europe that helps me beat jet lag.

I learned this from my boss in Germany {because she has done the whole flight thing back and forth A LOT}  if you arrive in the morning and are able to check into your hotel right away- DO NOT spend the whole day sleeping and then get up and stay up late that night.  What will help you is to take a small 2-3 hour nap, get up and have some lunch, maybe take a walk and then again take a small 2-3 hour nap.  When you wake up eat some dinner and do a little something and turn in around 9.  I guarantee that you will wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go for the day!

Getting around Paris was so easy.  With a map of the city and using the river as our marker it was a cinch!  We used the subway to get everywhere.  At first Ryan was afraid to use it.  I have used them all over the place so I am never afraid of a subway system.  I am always amazed at how clean European subways are.  They do not smell of trash and have gross stuff everywhere you step {thank you New York City} and there aren't bums everywhere.

There are also going to be double decker tour buses EVERYWHERE, any major landmark, you will find a stop for these tours and place to buy tickets.  For about forty euros each we had a two day pass to get on and off at any of the destinations.  It is slow and makes a lot of stops, so don't use it to get to a destination in a hurry.  But it is fantastic when your legs are aching from walking and you just want to sit and look at Paris go by.  They will give you a pair of headphones when you buy your ticket.  Plug them and pick your language and you are all set for a tour in English {or whatever your native tongue may be, they have many different languages to choose from}

There are so many things to see and do in Paris.  It is hard to tell you what you should see because I feel like it is different for everyone.  I would have been happy just seeing parks and eating bread and cheese. Other people like a really packed itinerary so here are some of our favorite sites to see but research stuff on your own and see what Paris has to offer- there is something for everyone!

*The Eiffel Tower

*Garden of Luxembourg

*Notre Dame

*The Louvre

That is really just the tip of a very big ice burg! So be prepared to put on your walking shoes {of refuse to put on comfy shoes and pay the price like I did!  Don't forget to just take time to enjoy being in Paris.  Sit in a cafe and linger over your coffee or wine. Let the sun shine on your face and soak all the sights and smells in.  You are in Paris!  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity- enjoy it because before you know it, you will be back in good old commercialized America!

Travel Tuesdays {Getting to Paris}...

So you have your ticket to Paris.  You are dreaming about croissants and men in berets but have you even thought about money?  I was twenty when I moved to Germany with 500 dollars in my pocket {at that age paying for my own plane ticket seems amazing, let alone saving up $500 while living on my own!}  Sadly that 500 dollars did not transfer over to Euros so pleasantly.  After the transfer I had about 350 Euros.  So check the currency exchange rates to help take away some of the guess work.  

Credit card companies are also another good place to check in with.  Any cards you plan on taking with you need to be contacted about your impending trip.  To make sure you card will work in France and that they do not turn it off because of suspicious transactions.  Look on the back of the card for words like Star or Cirrus.  These are usually internationally accepted but check with the card company just to be sure.  Credit and debit cards are the cheapest way to transfer money. 

Travelers checks may work for some but I have never needed them.  I have always used atm's to get cash with any American card {and I had a bank from a tiny farm town so if my card works-yours should too}   When we were in France we didn't even need cash that much.  We used our debit card automatically and because we bank online and we had our laptop, we could check our balance after every day's transactions to make sure we didn't let the transfer exchange mess up our account {which has happened to me before and can be easy to do}

Parlez-vous francais?  I wished I had tried to learn just a little bit of French before I went.  I was so consumed with the wedding and wrapping everything up that honestly I didn't have time but if I had I would have used Live Mocha.  It is totally free {unless you wanna take the $10.00 travel course}  I really love it and use it now to brush up on my German.

So let's see...We have our tickets, money, and we are learning some French, what are we missing?  Oh yeah, passports!  These are a must.  If you don't have yours, this is something that needs to be done in advance.  It can take up to three months to process the application and get it in the mail.  You can pay extra to have it rushed and it doesn't always take so long but it's better to plan ahead.  

Have you thought about what you are going to pack?  We had to do a little tweaking to Ryan's every day apparel.  His usually uniform of t-shirt, jeans, ball cap, and white tennis shoes is a dead giveaway of an American.  Not that this is a bad thing but it does make you stand out and gives pick pockets a good idea of who to target.  Wanna learn how to dress french?  Hip Paris is a great blog even if you aren't planning a trip to Paris anytime soon.  This blog is full of food, sites to see, and is current on what is new and happening in the city.  I still read it all the time.  Maybe I should add it to my sidebar...

Don't worry about the plane ride.  Ours was around 9 hours.  It is a long time but airplane food has come a long way and so have the movies.  We each had our own screen and a whole menu of movies to choose from.  Remember to bring some cash on the plane {dollars or euros} to pay for things like extra snacks and headphones.  I bring a book and some magazines too so I don't get too bored.  The one thing I will recommend is getting a good neck pillow.  It was so hard to sleep on the plane.  We landed in the morning and couldn't check into our hotel for 6 hours.  So it would have been nice if I had gotten some sleep on the plane.

Once you land in Paris there are three options to get you from the airport to the city.  A commuter train {are you really going to be that brave?!}, a shuttle, or an expensive taxi ride.  We choose option b- the shuttle.  I didn't even think about airport transportation until the day before we were leaving.  Please don't make that mistake!  I messed up all of our reservations and we ended up having our hotel book our return journey to avoid further mistakes.  Your hotel staff will most likely speak English, at least a little, if you email them they can probably do a better job of booking a shuttle then you can.  Or you can also find the shuttle counter at the airport and book one on the spot.  

The airport in Paris is one of the trickiest I have seen.  I found it very hard to get around.  It feels like a maze and you always feel like you are just going in circles.  Eventually you will wind around to the right part, just keep walking.  That's the best advice I can give you {and don't yell at your new husband cause you are grouchy and the time change is getting to you!}

So here we are.  Paris.  We are waiting for our shuttle to take us to the most magical city in the world.   And our story will continue next week!

Travel Tuesday { Paris }

"America is my country and Paris is my hometown..."

Gertrude Stein

Paris just seemed to make sense for my first Travel Tuesday series.  Since I was just there less then a year ago it is still fresh in my mind.  I hope by the time this series is done all of you will have a tiny taste of Paris that leaves you itchin' to go there.  If this series does nothing else I hope it inspires you to travel to new places near or far away.

We are gonna start with booking our tickets.  Paris is one of those cities that is going to be amazing any time of the year but I will share with you a few of the best and worst times to go.  The best time is obviously May through July.  No need to explain why. It's summer and the weather will be gorgeous and cool.  This is what they call the high season.  In August Paris basically shuts down and everyone leaves the city for vacation.  Some stores do remain open but your options are going to be quite limited. 

We went in September and it was perfect.  The weather was cool but not cold.  The sun was shining everyday and we got a steal of a deal!  We only paid around $900 a person for airfare and hotel!  That is an incredible deal!  And I will tell you again where we booked it.  TRAVELZOO.COM  it is amazing.  Go there right now.  You will have a blast just planning pretend vacations {i do all the time}.

I always do a lot of research online when I am planning a trip.  I go to all the travel sites.  I compare prices.  It takes a lot of homework to get a good deal but it is possible to travel on a budget.  Just be smart and double check all your bookings.  I once booked a trip from Munich, North Dakota to Florida.  I didn't live in Munich North Dakota I lived in Munich GERMANY!  Those mistakes are easier to make then you think and they can be costly.

So for homework this week think of a place you would like to travel to and research for the best deal.  Just see what you come up with.  There are some amazing deals out there go find one!  You could be on your way to Paris just like this lucky guy!