Links

I just added a link to the 10 day forecast for Paris to the links section of the blog on the right hand side of the screen. It's the top one.

If you've never looked at the links on the blog or haven't in a while, I suggest you spend a little time with them now, giving special attention to a few I'd like to mention.

If you're bringing an mp3 player (iPod) with you, I strongly suggest you go to the Rick Steves link and print his maps and mp3 downloads of his walking tour of Paris, and his guides to the Louvre, Orsay and Versailles. The Louvre is massive, and it would take our entire time in Paris to cover the whole thing. Even if you did spend your entire time in Paris in the Louvre, everything would be a blur without a little context or an art history degree. Rick does a terrific job of taking you to the "right" places and giving you some insight without boring you. Also, his hand drawn maps are very, very good.

I just downloaded all of those mp3 files (except the Louvre, which I'm skipping this time) and loaded them on the pod, so I guess I'm taking it after all. I'll encourage Teri to do the same thing with her pod, so we can walk around the museums like total geeks staring at paintings and having Rick tell us what we're looking at.

If you haven't already, please, please, please print out the 5 page pdf guide to our trip done by Special Places Travel and read every single word of it. It covers just about everything in terms of the practical information you need from whether to bring a computer (no) to special sightseeing tips in Paris. If you read this guide several months ago, read it again now. I just remembered that this guide was also included in the "kits" you all received so you probably have it lying around the house somewhere. It's the one that has the signed "welcome aboard" cover sheet.

If you're planning to buy a museum pass, or even if you're not, I would encourage you to go to that link and download their pdf brochure. The brochure gives the operating hours and Metro stops for all the major museums in Paris. I think they're supposed to give you this brochure if you buy the pass, but there's never a guarantee that they'll have it. Print pages 7 thru 18 (and add page 25 if you're planning to go to Versailles).