BonjourParis

What's a better way to travel France then tugging along extra guide books? Take along the Kindle. New (and more to come) technology allows readers to download entire books and read a few pages when they have time. There are still a few glitches but they'll be resolved sooner than later. Many people become addicted within only a few hours. They curl up in lounge chairs and lose themselves in a world of reading. The size is very appropriate and travelers won't feel as if they're flittering away their time while in transit.

Americans frequently ask Bonjour Paris about moving to France or another European Union country. For many, it’s the dream of a lifetime to live in a place they consider culturally more enriching.  For others, it’s an adventure.  These people are generally ones who’ve been coming to Europe for years. If they had the foresight to buy property—a pied a terre or a country house, perhaps for retirement—they have a leg up on a lot of people.  But unless they also converted dollars into euros a couple of years ago, living in the EU with the dollar at its lowest in history should make you stop and think.  And think again.  And pray for divine guidance.  

It’s May and if you’re visiting France for pleasure or trying to do business, be forewarned. May is a sacred month when there are three holidays and life tends to inch along at a snail’s pace.  Some people call it a moveable feast, but the problem is that traffic is so bad that nothing moves.  It’s more like an ongoing vacation where if you do your calculations correctly and tweak your calendar, it can add additional time-off to your already allotted five-week-long vacation period and the annual eleven national jours feriés (holidays). 

The adage that you can’t get a bad meal is Paris is ever so wrong. And during this time when the dollar buys relatively nothing compared to the euro, Alexander Lobrano’s book is especially welcome. It’s also a breath of fresh air for passionate eaters, whether they are gourmets, gourmands or people who simply care about what they put in their stomachs.

Pass laws. Make it so expensive that it’s a major part of your weekly budget.   Plaster “Smoking Kills” warnings on cigarette packages.   Does that do the trick to persuade the French not to light up as if there’s no tomorrow?  It’s too soon for statistics to be statistically sure that the ban has had a real effect. Only time will tell.  If you’re a smoker and travel frequently between the EU and non-EU countries, you’re at an advantage since you can buy duty-free cigarettes.  But you’re not going to do that because you’re going to quit, right?

By definition, expatriates who live in Paris usually don't feel as if ordering a café at the local tabac is going to break their weekly budget, most especially if they stand at the bar where the French government regulates the cost of un vrai. Don't order a café crème or (OMG) sit down. Then all bets are off. It's an entirely new ball game these days.