Frugal trip tips for Paris: This was a fairly frugal trip for us. We used 25,000 British Airways miles and $5XX for each ticket. In addition, we used points to stay at the Hilton Arc De Triomphe, Hyatt Vendome, and Hilton Orly. Great thing was, each provided a fantastic breakfast for us - for the 4 of us, at the Vendome (stayed 1 night - reserved 2 rooms) would have cost us 200 Euros - yikes - we did pay tip. Also, at the Hilton Arc De Triomphe - we had access to the executive lounge - so, we were able to eat light lunches and dinners, snacks and drinks. Don't worry, we did eat out a few times. Tip: at the cafe's - there are 2 prices - takeaway and sit and eat. We did takeaway a couple of times and ate on the balcony or if we were eating sandwiches - while we were walking. Next big money saver - since the girls were under 18 - they showed their passports and were able to get into most museum for free. The exception was the gardens at the Palace of Versailles - but they got to do the museum tour for free. Nice trip - we took the train and it was very reasonable. We stopped at McDonalds - no fair - the French McDonalds has a wonderful coffee/tea bar - the McCafe - and also, some very nice pasteries at reasonable prices! British Airways was generous with meals and drinks and they also gave us travelers toothbrushes and toothpaste on our flights. Also, we got to watch as many movies as we had time for on our own individual screens - and no charge for the headset :) Hilton Arc De Triomphe had excellent food, service, and nice smelling toiletries. They also provided us with throw-away terry cloth slippers - which I did not throw away. The Hyatt Vendome upgraded one of our rooms to a suite - it was so luxurious - for "free"! Heated bath floors, very nice Nescafe Coffee Brewing machine - I think I am hooked - and a nice assortment of very nice teas and water in the room. Oh, and a box of chocolates - 4 pieces - about $15 at the store that we thoroughly enjoyed!!!! And they had some very interesting beauty accessories - a comb - guess they don't want anyone with messy hair running around, hygiene bag, etc. Most interesting was the price list for hair treatments that can be done in the privacy of your room - hair dye - confidential - 1,000 Euros anyone? I imagine it to be for a white collar criminal with money - escaping the authorities by changing their looks with a confidential hair dye treatment :) Anyway, I will post a few more pictures now - and add more to the adventure tomorrow :)
The famous Eiffel Tower - we didn't get to go up - a 2 hour wait in line for the elevator ride - and about 30-45 minutes if we wanted to walk up. It costs Euros to do either - but none of us were up for the wait - so, we settled for this picture :)
Aveur (not sure I spelled that correctly) - but that's bye for now :)
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