Ou Sommes Nous?
Jen, Mimi, and I are going to France for a few weeks this summer—our big holiday gift to ourselves and, if the dollar keeps dropping against the Euro, in all likelihood the last chance any of us will ever have to sample the delights of Gallic architecture and culture.
At first, we were hoping to stay with friends, but as soon as we started writing and letting them know we were on our way, none have written back.
Then, for a bit, we were looking into a house swap, but all the French people who want to come to Seattle want to come in August when their country is on vacation, and strange as it may seem, we’re not particularly interested in being in France when all the Francais are gone, so that’s off the table.
Later, for a couple weeks, we were looking into renting an apartment short-term, but it looks like prices are almost comparable with hotels and as long as we’re going to be on vacation, it’s nice to have somebody else to make the bed; and besides, staying in a hotel will give us more opportunities to relate to the locales, whereas if we’re in our own apartment, it’s entirely likely we’ll cocoon and watch videos, just like at home.
So, I’ve been poking around the internet looking for possible accommodations; it’s remarkable to me how sophisticated the whole system has become—a far cry from reading “Let’s Go” and sending letters like we did 20 years ago, and of course, it’s also shocking how expensive rooms are going to be.
When Jen and I lived there in 1988, I thought that someday we’d come back and we’d have plent of money to stay wherever we’d like; eat at all the fancy restaurants, and take taxis everywhere. Ironically, even though we’re way better of today than then, it looks pretty much like we’ll be in the same centime-pinching mode as always.
Vive La France.
At first, we were hoping to stay with friends, but as soon as we started writing and letting them know we were on our way, none have written back.
Then, for a bit, we were looking into a house swap, but all the French people who want to come to Seattle want to come in August when their country is on vacation, and strange as it may seem, we’re not particularly interested in being in France when all the Francais are gone, so that’s off the table.
Later, for a couple weeks, we were looking into renting an apartment short-term, but it looks like prices are almost comparable with hotels and as long as we’re going to be on vacation, it’s nice to have somebody else to make the bed; and besides, staying in a hotel will give us more opportunities to relate to the locales, whereas if we’re in our own apartment, it’s entirely likely we’ll cocoon and watch videos, just like at home.
So, I’ve been poking around the internet looking for possible accommodations; it’s remarkable to me how sophisticated the whole system has become—a far cry from reading “Let’s Go” and sending letters like we did 20 years ago, and of course, it’s also shocking how expensive rooms are going to be.
When Jen and I lived there in 1988, I thought that someday we’d come back and we’d have plent of money to stay wherever we’d like; eat at all the fancy restaurants, and take taxis everywhere. Ironically, even though we’re way better of today than then, it looks pretty much like we’ll be in the same centime-pinching mode as always.
Vive La France.
posted by Professor Dave at 10:10 AM
1 Comments:
With the cost of travel going up and the economy slowing, Echanger Sa Maison has created a web site to address the high costs associated with travel.
Echangersamaison.com has launched www.homeforswap.com , a community website that allows users to exchange homes with each other, thus saving on hotel costs during their next vacation. In addition to saving on lodging costs, members are to find out that they can save even more since their free home also gives them access to other amenities for free, such as a kitchen for meals, a washer and dryer, and even DVD’s. Some residences have free internet access and amenities such as bicycles to take in the local sights. Some members even swap automobiles.
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