It's official. I LOVE Paris!!! I thought I would like it, but it overwhelmed me because there is just so much to it - so much land, so much history, so much to do and see. I am used to Seattle and Zagreb, not Paris! I absolutely love it, but I have learned a few things. Mainly: Do not try to cheap-skate Paris. You may as well just wait until you can afford it (and with the dollar the way it is, that might be awhile...). We tried to stay at a budget hotel - BAD choice (details forthcoming but too long to write tonight. Suffice it to say you pay for what you get...). And then we saved money with the Museum Pass - which really is a good idea and is totally worth it. However, you should not try to do ALL of the museums in 2 days. Your feet will hate you... Especially if you injured one of them in Brussels and have not given it time to recover. Also, don't kid yourself that when you go to Disneyland Paris you won't buy anything. Of course you will buy things! That's half the fun of Disneyland! (How could I NOT buy the Disneyland Paris Pirates of the Caribbean T-shirt for 7 Euro??) And never - I repeat, NEVER - EVER - believe the hotel people when they tell you laundry is inexpensive or that they have a free shuttle to the train station. Umm, not all of this bill was mine - in fact most of it wasn't - but how can these people live with themselves charging $440 for a bag of laundry??? 5 Euro per pair of socks? Are you kidding me??? No, we discovered. They were not kidding. Ok, I'm done griping. In my next post, look forward to reading about the joys and amazing-ness that is Paris! (I still love it... Pray that I can afford the rest of this trip - still 3.5 months to go!)
