• Lots and lots of vaping, and still more smoking than in the US. Why?

• Contraceptive vending machines are common in the metro, which seems, uh, handy?

• People watching on the metro is great! And the metro is extremely fast. However, the bus allows you to see things and to stay, or get, more or less oriented geographically. The metro just whisks you along and boom you’re in another part of the city. Our rules: If it is rush hour, take the metro even though it is crowded because it is so fast. If not rush hour, try to take the bus for its sightseeing benefits. And while the metro is too noisy for conversation, I had a few lovely conversations on the bus.

• Weather in the fall was perfect for us. Cool, one or two bits of light rain, and the gradual turning of the leaves was very pretty.

• I recommend having a few shopping quests that will take you to non-tourist places and activities.

• I speak almost intermediate French (i.e., not a lot), but I have a very good accent. Hence my French was complimented virtually every time I had even a short conversation. Made me feel wonderful! Learn a little French, and also never forget, I mean never, to say “Bonjour” to initiate a question or conversation. One of our first days we got flustered in the metro because our passes didn’t seem to work, and when I approached the agent I launched into our problem. He smiled and said “Bonjour, madame” and I realized my mistake. “Pardon, bonjour monsieur, mais le billet ne marche pas” and he smiled and helped us. I cannot emphasize enough the magic of being polite in the local language.

• Paris has the typical amount if street work which in a city of lots of buses means bus stops move temporarily. Several times I had to ask a local for help, which, (see above) was given with a smile after the requisite “bonjour.” Once a clerk even left his post to come out onto the street to help us find it. Fortunately the transportation system is excellent and missing a bus means maybe a ten minute wait in most cases. Breathe.

• Enjoy seeing dogs in restaurants!

• Save time to simply wander a neighborhood.

• We use an eSIM on David’s phone and I join his hotspot. Monday while I was at baking class and he was walking around the cellular network went down. Yikes! We had been in Paris for 8 days and knew enough to make our way home by getting on a bus that went to a major train station and finding a bus there whose route we knew would get us back. This was only feasible because we had been there long enough already. As a backup, block key routes (we use google maps and google lists, very functional if often annoying) out on your phone and take a screen print.
• We have yet to conquer the problem of getting verification codes via email OR text. They just don’t show up…until you’re on the plane heading home. Sigh. So try to get all apps loaded while in the US.