Our Place in Paris

After one of the world's most beautiful weddings, when David and I were thrilled to welcome Melissa into our family, we flew to rain-drenched Paris.  Philippe met us at the front door and welcomed us to this city we love.  David and I were too tired to do much but sit on the couch last night, but the pain au chocolate (chocolate croissants), room to breathe (American Airlines seems to have reached a new low in stuffing people into its planes), and comfortable seating made us happy.

Living room corner with fireplace.

You will be astonished when you hear the price of our centrally located, one-bedroom apartment.

France and Germany on $54 a Day (so far)

The front door leading to our Paris apartment.  This is our second visit so it'll feel almost like home.

I think the world would be a far better place if it didn't have numbers, but David does not share my philosophy.  He actually enjoys creating spreadsheets, relishes the opportunity to force figures into compliant columns, and basks in the glow of bank statements that balance to the penny.

In some ways his penchant for particulars is helpful because he is the one who keeps us on track, financially speaking, when we travel.  While I keep a daily  guesstimate in mind that's usually in the ballpark, David tracks the exact euro amounts in black and white.

That's how I know that, so far, we are spending only $54 a day per person for our trip to France and Germany.

But I'll bet you don't believe me.   I didn't either when David first gave me the figures. 

Not when a Women Traveling Together tour of Amsterdam, Belgium and Paris costs $491 a day.  When the man who shares much of my travel philosophy, Rick Steves, charges $323 per day for a tour of Eastern France, the area we'll be seeing. When even Untours, the non-tour company that arranges an apartment and transportation but leaves you to your own devices, charges $284 a day for a week's apartment rental in France and in Germany. 

Mastering the Paris Metro

David's Never-Get-Lost Sheet

David hates to get lost, so, short of hiring a guide to accompany us--something a Tightwad Traveler seldom considers--he does the next best thing.  His approach is free and effective.  We haven't gotten lost yet!

Countdown Is On

David and I are putting the final touches on our preparations for Europe, and, as always, our thoughts turn to food.

Riding the Rails in Europe

The Points Guy blog post today is all about European train travel.  The author, Madrid-based Lori Zaino, notes the same advantages to train travel that I've mentioned before.  Read her article for tips on routes and prices.

Vacation Glitch Solutions

David and I had a flat tire in the medieval Breton city of Dinan, France.

Everyone hopes his trip will go smoothly with the only surprises being serendipitous ones like finding a perfect deli with mouth-watering delicacies at a fraction of a restaurant's price, but, unfortunately,  mini-disasters can occur.

David and I will never forget the flat tire that marred an otherwise perfect trip to the Brittany area of France.  Luckily, our wonderful hosts, from whom we had rented a hundred-year-old granite three story house, helped us locate and deal with a tire company.  But if you don't happen to have a helpful landlady, what should you do if disaster strikes?

Train Don't Plane in Europe

Our train tickets from Paris to Colmar, France--see arrow on map.

David and I bought our tickets last Monday, three months in advance so we got the cheapest fares, on the easy-to-use site, Capitaine Train.com.  We paid €60 for two one-way tickets from Paris to Colmar, a little town in the Alsace region about 460 kilometers (285 miles) from The City of Light.  If we'd taken a plane, it would have taken three times as long and cost more than twice as much.

Barclaycard Arrival Changes

 If you've been thinking about signing up for the Barclaycard Arrival, you may want to do so quickly as the sign-up parameters will change soon.  Currently you receive 40,000 miles if you charge $1,000 on the card in ninety days.  You earn two miles for every dollar you spend, and those miles can be used for any travel expense:  a flight, hotel room, car rental. 

But soon you will have to spend $3,000 to earn those same 40,000 miles, so you will need to act fast.  While the company won't say exactly when the change will occur, it is promising to do it very soon.  Click here for more information from The Points Guy.

Cheap--Luxurious--Sleeps

Flying to Paris for a pittance is all well and good, but if you have to pay hundreds a day for a hotel, your savings are quickly frittered away.

That's why David and I find luxurious accommodations in every city we visit and always pay  m u c h  less than the cost of a five-star hotel and usually less than a bare-bones, toilet-down-the-hall hostel catering to backpackers.

Here's how we do it.

Paris for a Pittance

David and I are flying this June from Tucson to Raleigh where we'll spend five nights celebrating my son's wedding. Then we're going on to Paris for four nights, staying in our favorite apartment near the Marais, before heading to Colmar in the Alsace region of France for a week.  We'll round out the trip by renting a car in Germany to tour the Black Forest, the Alps, and the Romantic Road with detours here and there to see some of Switzerland and Austria, before boarding a flight in Frankfurt for the return to Tucson.

American Airlines says that these tickets (a one-way to Raleigh and an open-jaw ticket to Europe and back) should cost $1,885.50.  Momondo, a website The New York Times frugal traveler mentioned recently, says we can do it for $1,872.

But we'll do it for less.  A lot less.

My flights cost $513. (David paid $775 because he did not have Southwest FF miles.) And if we'd had a bit more time, the cost could have been zero.*