Palace of Versailles
by alancollins
Saving time & money Went to the Palace of Versailles recently. Discovered that the Palace was not open till 12noon. Most people just waited and queued till 12 noon. Discovered that you can go into the gardens for free until 12. So if you get there early and the Palace is not open walk across to the Trianons first. If you get back in the main gardens by 12 there is no charge. Its only 3 euros but every little helps.
Vazaha as cleaning personnel
by Norali
My first flight was great.. no fear, no malaise... I was with my parents, comforted so it went OK... I was given a plastic gameboard (jeu de dame) as pasttime on board. Yet, I didn't have time to play with it. At that time, kids used to receive gameboards, coloriage books to keep them busy. I think I spent time listening to the many music stations available.
When we landed at Orly airport.... I admit I don't have any memory of it. Except, the shuttle in the airport we took from a point to another (terminal?).
I knew my uncle (mum's brother) was going to pick us up... So, he was there. We had a stop over Marseille. And I had some memory of it, indeed. When we landed, I could see then the sea from above... Again, it sounds silly to talk about that but this, so far, was engramed in my mind.
Something you wouldn't expect to be surprising: the sight of French (and whites in general) persons cleaning and removing garbage bins from corners in the plane. That was during the stopover. In Madagascar, vazaha (white persons) use to be bosses... not part of cleaning staff... Well, that was strange for me.
The No. 1 Paris Icon - the Eiffel Tower
by jrs1234
I've never actually climbed it - but I just love looking at it close up. While you can see it from all over central Paris, it's much more spectacular close up. Built in 1889, it attracts hordes of tourists, so expect long queues. Charges vary depending on how far you go up and whether you take the stairs or the lift. In summer it's open from 9am until midnight, with slightly shorter hours the rest of the year.
Try and get to see it after dark as well as in the day - there's a relatively new lighting system in now - and for 10 minutes every hour of darkness this is switched to make the tower "glitter" and it's very pretty!
Always greet them with bon...
by calex
Always greet them with bon jour( daytime) or bon soir (night time) and if you speak french you are golden, if not then good luck trying to communicate, on my first day there it took me a half hour to order a bottle of coke.
no need to tip but it usually makes me feel better about myself
Packing List
by Tobin
Take small bags because everything there is small including the elevators. It's kind of like the mid-west over there. The weather changes in split seconds. Take whatever you feel comfortable in. If you can afford to fly there, then you can buy some clothes when you are there. Just take the normal stuff. Maybe a shower curtain because for some reason, they don't believe in them. Oh, take an adapter for plugging your stuff in. Take whatever you want. I tool like 14 throw away cameras. Used all of it too. We went to the south of France and had a great time on the Med. Take your time and relax. Don't pick a fight with anyone and if you smoke Virginia Slims, they don't make them there.