France Trip Review and Learnings

Overall, every part of the trip went smoothly; we had no problems to speak of at any point.

We enjoyed France. France is a beautiful country with amazing sites and kind people. There is so much history there.  Cynthia bought a little book of French history, which was helpful.

The home exchange worked well.   It was nice to have a base to explore from, a car to explore with, a house to spread out in, and a television to watch the Tour de France. Our neighbors in France were very friendly and helpful.

The weather was cool when we arrived, but very hot by the end of our stay. 

In Europe, most credit cards have an electronic chip in addition to a magnetic stripe. Our cards do not have chips; they worked in some machines, but not others.  In every case we were able to figure out a work around, cash, or a human being with a more flexible credit card machine.

I bought an Orange Telephone chip for my unlocked iPhone, and bought a month of service, including data.   It was very helpful to be able to use Google maps for navigation, as well as being able to look up various information as we went. I will probably buy data on future international trips, as long as the price is reasonable.

For some reason, they don't use top sheets in France.  They use duvets and duvet covers.  This was a problem when it was warm, the duvet was too hot, but uncovered was too cold.  It might make sense to bring a top sheet for summer trips in France.

Odds and ends: Public water fountains are nonexistent in France.  On the way to the airport, I learned that there was an iPhone app for the Paris transportation system, which would have been very helpful.

Oh, and we got along, after a month in close quarters......