The Dollar Keeps Rocking!

Hey our 401(k)s may have lost something like 40% of its value in the last year (at least mine has) and we may be heading for the worst recession of our lifetimes, but there's one little bright spot in this bleak economic picture.

The US Dollar continues to gain ground vs. the Euro, effectively dropping the price of everything we will buy in France. Early this summer, it would cost you about $1.60 to buy one Euro. As I write this, the Euro is selling for just under $1.25. That's a huge difference gang. I wrote about this about two weeks ago and the price of a Euro has dropped another 10 cents just since then. That's a dramatic change and it's in our favor.

As the investment disclaimers are wont to say, "prior performance is no guarantee of future results," so this could all fall apart tomorrow. But business people also like to say "the trend is our friend," and the trend is very friendly indeed right now.

Of course the only time this will really matter is the day we land in Paris and there's no way of knowing what will happen between now and then.

Just be thankful we're going to Paris and not Tokyo. When Teri and I had a layover in Tokyo in June 07, one Dollar bought about 120 Japanese Yen, and I didn't think things were as expensive as I had heard they would be in Japan. Today the Dollar will buy only about 92 Yen. Look for Honda and Toyota prices to go up in the near future.

Peniston Beach Volleyball Tournament

How can I resist posting this picture of Colleen in action? As you can see, there's some long overdue sewer and street work being done on Peniston Street. And in New Orleans, when the going gets tough, the tough turn their street into a beach volleyball court. Let's hope that the work goes quickly and there isn't a second annual Peniston Street Beach Volleyball Tournament.

Mystery Unveiled

Congratulations to Jen for being the first to identify Colleen's alter ego as Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

This is from the Wikipedia entry on Nurse Ratched:

A cold, sadistic tyrant, Nurse Ratched has become the stereotype of the nurse as a "battleaxe." She has also become a popular metaphor for the corrupting influence of power and authority in bureaucracies such as the mental institution in which the novel is set.

Nurse Mildred Ratched is the head administrative nurse at the Salem, Oregon State (Mental) Hospital, where she exercises near-absolute power over the patients' access to medications, privileges, and basic necessities such as food and toiletries. She capriciously revokes these privileges whenever a patient displeases her. Her superiors turn blind eyes because she maintains order, keeping the patients from acting out, either through antipsychotic and anticonvulsant drugs or her own brand of "therapy", which consists mostly of humiliating patients into doing her bidding.

Here's a clip of Nurse Ratched in action. There is some strong vocabulary in this clip, so those with delicate sensibilities shouldn't click through.

Who is This Person?

Tonight I accidentally figured out who it is that Colleen selected to represent herself in the picture that accompanies her profile (its the picture that shows up along with her incisive comments on this blog), and when I did figure this out I laughed for about five minutes. Am I the only one who didn't get the joke?

If you know who this person is, post a comment, reveal the mystery for all and win five points.

At the same time I learned that Cathleen selected someone named Heidi Klum as her alter ego. At least that's who I think that is. I hate to admit that I don't really know who Ms. Klum is, but I think she may be an actress. The depth of my cultural illiteracy is amazing.

A Picture I Found Looking For Something Else

Free Guided Tour Anyone?

If you saw the Birmingham News this morning (and why would you have?), the Travel section featured two articles about Paris. One was a pretty lame article about how to save money in Paris (sample useless tip: time your visit to include the first Sunday of the month when the Louvre has free admission).

Much more interesting was an article by the same author, Gaelle Faure, about a relatively new initiative called Paris Greeters. This is a volunteer organization that recruits Parisians to take people on a two or three hour visit to their favorite parts of Paris. The volunteers can take up to six people at a time and the best part is that they don't charge a single centime for the service. In fact they aren't even allowed to accept tips.

Here's a link to the English language version of the paris greeters website.

Here's a link to the story that ran in the paper today.

This sounds kind of fun to me, but bear in mind that this is not the same thing as taking a tour with a professional tour guide. The last time Teri and I took a free walking tour we were in York, England. Our guide on that rainy day was a sweet little old lady who was as boring as she was enthusiastic about her town.

So, what do you think? Who would like to try this out on one of our days in the City of Lights? If you think you'd like to do this, post a comment or pop me an e-mail, and I'll try to set it up for the folks who are interested.

What's in Your Wallet?

One more quick post about money, while I'm thinking about it.

Just like in the US, your Visa or MasterCard is going to be accepted just about anywhere in France (other than a flea market or street market). So does it make any difference which card you use at that charming little French cafe or when you're buying that lovely new frock in Paris? Well it turns out that it does.

Most credit card companies charge a "currency conversion fee" of one or two percent for every purchase you make in a foreign country. This is basically a fee for nothing, and is one of the many reasons I'm not feeling too sorry for the greedy banks and the misery they are now going through.

But there is one (and only one) major credit card issuer that doesn't charge this fee at all and that issuer is CapitalOne. This is subject to change at any time, and I'm not suggesting you run out and get a CapitalOne card to save the two percent on your credit card purchases in France, but if you already have a CapitalOne card, that's definitely the one you should use on the trip.

I have one of their cards and it's the only one I use when traveling in a foreign country. It doesn't save a ton of money, but every little bit helps.

Don't forget to call your credit card companies a few days before we leave to tell them that you'll be in France. That phone call should prevent the security department of your credit card company from denying your purchases after you get there. The last time I did this, the companies had automated the process, so that I didn't speak to a human at all, but instead kept pushing buttons from the computerized menu you get when you call the 800 number.

As for getting cash out of the ATM machines, I think the best strategy is to use your debit card or ATM card from your bank. Don't use it too often or get only a few Euros at a time since you'll be paying the ATM fees every time you get cash from the machines. And make sure you've left enough in the checking account at home before you leave to cover any withdrawls you'll have to make.

Whenever I travel abroad, I try to get some of the "local" cash before I go (but check your bank's exchange rate first to make sure you're not getting robbed). Your home town bank should be able to supply you with Euros without any problem, but you may need to call ahead if you are getting cash from a small local branch of your bank.

Whatever you do, don't get your Euros from the ripoff currency exchange booths at the airport--you'll be way overcharged for that maneuver. There's a big spread between their buy and sell rates and they usually throw in a flat fee on top of that.

I always carry too much cash on trips (at least I start with too much--I don't end with much very often). I've never had a problem, but my rule of thumb would be not to carry more cash than you'd feel comfortable losing or being stolen along the way.

One Bit of Good Financial News

I don't know about you guys, but I've been watching the unfolding financial crisis in horror and anger. Declining home values combined with a crashing stock market have made us a whole lot poorer on paper than we were just a few months ago.

I won't get into the politics of it except to say that we're caught in a real dilemma with this mess. If we let the greedy and the stupid suffer the fates they deserve, they'll take the rest of us down with them.

Let's pray that our economy is a whole lot more resilient than it appears right now and that we get through this downturn quickly.

But there is one tiny bit of very good financial news in all of this--for us anyway.

The US Dollar is absolutely rocking against the Euro right now. Take a look at the chart above. Just three months ago it would have cost you $1.58 to buy one Euro. Today you can buy a Euro for $1.35. This means that the price of everything in France is a whole lot cheaper than it was three months ago. That doesn't mean that France will be cheap, but this is big difference.

Nobody can predict the future, but it would be really nice if this trend continues at least until next June.

From the Sick Bay

Here's an update from Colleen, our Médecin examinateur En chef (Chief Medical Officer). She posted this as a comment to another post, but some of y'all may have missed this, so I thought I'd pass it along here.

I'm not positive about this, but I believe that pharmacists in France can sell antibiotics and a number of other drugs without a doctor's prescription, should it become necessary for any of us along the way.

-----------------------------------

I have consulted with the CDC recommendations for vaccinations prior to our trip, and they recommend that we all have up to date Tetanus(within 10 years), 2 doses of MMR (measles, mumps rubella), yearly influenza, and pneumococcal vaccines. Hepatitis A is recommended in case of a random outbreak.

I have a First aid kit, and some over the counter medications that may come in handy.
Everyone should have their own prescribed medications in the original bottles, and bring them in your carry on luggage.

We all know how our bodies react to out of the ordinary routines, rich food and excess alcohol. I encourage you to bring laxatives, Tylenol/Motrin, and antacids if you usually benefit from these!!

Praticienne d'infirmière

The Latest in Paris Fashion, Part Deux

Wouldn't it be cool if we saw people on the streets of Paris actually wearing this? This outfit is from famed French fashion designer Pierre Cardin and was revealed Monday during the presentation of his entire Spring-Summer 2009 and Autumn-Winter 2009 collections at his villa in Theoule sur Mer, southern France. Link here if you want to see more of Cardin's designs for 2009.

The Latest in Paris Fashion--Really!

This dress was unveiled in a French fashion show in Paris last week for one designer's Spring ready to wear collection. Ladies, I think you'll want to compare notes while we're on our trip so that you don't all end up wearing this outfit on the same day.

How the French View Sarah

Here's another post from Charles Bremner's Times Online blog brilliantly explaining to the Brits how the French view America. This time he weighs in on how the French view Sarah Palin.
Enjoy . .

This might be an exercise in what the French call "shooting at the ambulance", or kicking someone when they are down. But here's a look at the French reaction to Sarah Palin.

Like the Gallic adoration of Barack Obama, the French view of John McCain's vice-presidential choice has been simplified by the cultural filter. The personnage of Palin and the initial enthusiasm she generated were puzzling for a country that disdains displays of faith and moral certainty. Her convention joke about hockey moms being pitbulls with lipstick took a lot of explanation.

In le Monde, the elegant Dominique Dhombres explained that Palin was an elemental type from l'Amérique profonde. "She is a go-getter, almost an assault tank. A virago ? That's for you to decide... She believes in God, America, the family and firearms. She defines herself as 'une maman hockey'."

On France-Inter, the main state-run radio station, a commentator this morning described Palin as une sacrée bigote -- a really sanctimonious woman (literally 'a holy bigot', though the words are softer in French).

French feminists have had the biggest trouble with Palin. They have come round to the conclusion that she is a dangerous agent of anti-feminism. "The exhibition of this fundamentalist version of femininity and maternity in the American presidential election concerns all of us," wrote Julia Kristeva in Libération. "Whether she represents the banality of evil or tragic caricature, can this strangling of women's emancipation... be reversed?"

Elle, the thinking Parisienne's fashion weekly, denounced Palin on Monday as "the incarnation of a new femininism, as dangerous as the 'Islamic feminism', which has recently been invented by the Muslim fundamentalists." Marie-Françoise Colombani, Elle's editorial columnist, concluded that Palin was proof that the "worst enemy of woman is often a woman."

Palin's self-undoing with her inept interviews has been greeted with relief and a little gloating. Headlines today called her "Sarah la gaffeuse" and McCain's Achilles Heel. Libération had fun filling a page with her confused answers to questions from Katie Couric and others. Her words about Vladimir Putin "raising his head" and flying over Alaska and her incoherent views on the Wall Street bail-out have been prompting widespread mirth.

The cartoon is from le Nouvel Observateur. McCain says: "There's only one solution left." Palin replies: "Bomb Wall Street".