it looks a lot like a $50/night Holiday Inn, just located in London. Holy cow, London is expensive.
Every visitor to Paris should see the catacombs. They are an incredible sight. There are over 200 miles (350 km) of tunnels beneath Paris from centuries of quarrying. When the graveyards became too full, thousands upon thousands of bones were moved to the catacombs. Skull and femurs are stacked artistically in a solemn homage to the dead.
My visceral emotional reaction was that something was wrong here – that the bones of the dead shouldn’t just be put on display for visitors to stare at. But as I walked through the catacombs, it was clear that was just a cultural preconception. The catacombs are a respectful memorial to the dead and treats their memory is a far more dignified manner than, say, “Bodies: The Exhibition”.
Oh, and the Canadian couple that recognized me from TV and asked me to pose for photos did so before we entered the consecrated area, so that’s cool, too.
… remember that “C” stands for hot. Damn near burned my fingers off.
More life-changing advice coming soon. It’s tough to keep up on the road. Particularly after boiling your fingers.
It’s cheaper to pay to travel to Paris and get a hotel there for three days than it is to stay in London. So I’m going back to Paris. Frenchies, hide your eclairs!
Did you know that different credit card companies charge different fees for transactions abroad? I use credit cards as much as possible when I travel abroad. They’re more convenient, have historically had a good exchange rate, and are much safer than using a debit card or cash. (If you debit card number gets stolen, your bank has no obligation to refund you for your loss. Your credit card company, however, does.)
However, since 1999, banks have begun instituting foreign exchange fees on transactions abroad, ranging from 3% for Citibank cards down to 0% for Capital One (who absorbs the cost of the currency conversion). You could call each of your credit card companies to figure out their conversion fees, or you could check out the great site I just found, Flyerguide.
Flyerguide has info on all the rates charged by most credit cards and debit cards, as well as advice on Frequent Flyer programs, travel routes, hotels, and more. Turns out the 5% I get back on restaurants is enough to overcome Citibank’s additional fees, but the 2% I get back on groceries isn’t and I should keep using my credit union card at the grocery stores. A frugal frequent flyer – that’s me!
