Need some travel advice for Paris (besides 'just avoid it')
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We do not have burner phones in France. The three main carriers (Orange, Bouygues, SFR) have pre-paid SIM cards which are pretty easy to use, but they usually don't cover international out of EU and north Africa. If you need phones to call yourselves locally, this is the way to go, easy, reliable. You will need to go to a store to put money on your account, though ( I mean this will not go online or ... using the phone). If you need phones to call home, forget it.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Entropy isn't what it used to.
So there are no phones I can buy for cheap, pre-paid phone time included, no paperwork or contracts needed, and then toss them when I'm done? Bleh. This would be phones to call each other locally from one part of the city to another. Like if the wife and I are wandering the streets and her mom wants to meet up for lunch or what not. Or her mom was out and suddenly need company. So don't need to call home. If there was a worst case and I had to call back to the states, I assume I could find a place that has internet access and email/skype home with that. I think the hotel we booked has wireless available.
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So there are no phones I can buy for cheap, pre-paid phone time included, no paperwork or contracts needed, and then toss them when I'm done? Bleh. This would be phones to call each other locally from one part of the city to another. Like if the wife and I are wandering the streets and her mom wants to meet up for lunch or what not. Or her mom was out and suddenly need company. So don't need to call home. If there was a worst case and I had to call back to the states, I assume I could find a place that has internet access and email/skype home with that. I think the hotel we booked has wireless available.
Not so easy, but you can buy a cheap phone and a prepaid sim (Check here for instance, not complicated to understand IMO). The prepaid sim card is the way to go if your phone can handle EU standards. You have free wireless at McDonalds, and McDonalds everywhre in Paris.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Entropy isn't what it used to.
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So there are no phones I can buy for cheap, pre-paid phone time included, no paperwork or contracts needed, and then toss them when I'm done? Bleh. This would be phones to call each other locally from one part of the city to another. Like if the wife and I are wandering the streets and her mom wants to meet up for lunch or what not. Or her mom was out and suddenly need company. So don't need to call home. If there was a worst case and I had to call back to the states, I assume I could find a place that has internet access and email/skype home with that. I think the hotel we booked has wireless available.
Another option: http://www.phonerentalfrance.com/en/services.asp[^]. If you need some local support, feel free to PM me (though I am not living in Paris).
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Entropy isn't what it used to.
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Not so easy, but you can buy a cheap phone and a prepaid sim (Check here for instance, not complicated to understand IMO). The prepaid sim card is the way to go if your phone can handle EU standards. You have free wireless at McDonalds, and McDonalds everywhre in Paris.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Entropy isn't what it used to.
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Guess I will be bringing our phones then. The Nexus 5 uses the US band of LTE so that is out, but it does support GSM voice and 3G data, so there is that at least. Thank you for the assistance. :)
If you do, then buy a prepaid card in a shop (as opposed to online), as you then only need to call a phone number to activate the card. The best seems to be SFR http://www.sfr.fr/telephonie-mobile/sfr-la-carte.html#gammes-recharges[^] -> the 10€ card offers you unlimited SMS and calls (in France), and 100Mo data. Should be plenty sufficient for one week.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Entropy isn't what it used to.
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Well, the losing the mother-in-law should be easy. She wants time to wander alone and be to herself... the wife on the other hand, that might take some planning. Maybe if I get two phones, give one to each and suggest we each enjoy some time wandering, then they can call me when they want to meet up! If I do it fast enough, they might not notice I only got two phones.
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Munchies_Matt wrote:
Go to Luxembourg instead, its far nicer.
Request: I need to go to Paris. Advice: Go to Luxemburg instead. You should work as a consultant.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Entropy isn't what it used to.
Its only a few hours away. :)
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So, I'm traveling to Paris in a couple weeks to handle a personal matter with my wife and mother-in-law. I'll be there for a week and it would be nice to have a couple phones. So I'm hoping that our group who country hop more often than I do have dealt with the problem we are trying to figure out. The wife and I both have unlocked GSM smart phones (Nexus 5) that we could easily pop a pre-paid sim into and be on our way. What I'm wondering is, would it be easier to just buy a couple of burner phones at the airport and leave ours at home? I'm assuming they sell them there but I'm unsure of cost and hassle of a sim vs cost of a throw away phone. Never done it before. Her mom wants to spend some time in the city alone, which given the reason I understand. I don't feel like we need phones, if we want to meet somewhere at six, look at a watch or clock and be there at six. She wants us to have phones so the two of us can do stuff while her mom is out and still allow communication if she needs, like if her mom gets lost. Thoughts? I've lost the "We don't need phones." battle, not one worth fighting. I just want the easiest option for the money.
Make sure you learn a few phrases in French. I've noticed that it makes a big difference if you ask 'Parlez vous Anglais' rather than 'Do you speak English'. It's a matter of attitude, yours, not theirs. (a common American misconception :rolleyes: ) My French friend explained it to me: Most French below the age of fifty speaks English, but they don't necessarily like or feel able to use it unless they actually feel that they're good at it, but if you've show that you tried it and aren't embarrassed about it, they probably will give in. Oh, I should probably recommend L'Escargot Montorgueil[^]. They had the best service that I have ever experienced in a restaurant. We had some problems with communications and didn't arrive until late, but they kept it open just for our company of ten people. And our waitress was really funny, witty and attentive and the food was super (while expensive). Two words: Truffle omelette! While specialized on snails (the name L'Escargot might be a hint), I didn't find it to be anything special. It's just a French excuse for eating garlic butter.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello[^]
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Make sure you learn a few phrases in French. I've noticed that it makes a big difference if you ask 'Parlez vous Anglais' rather than 'Do you speak English'. It's a matter of attitude, yours, not theirs. (a common American misconception :rolleyes: ) My French friend explained it to me: Most French below the age of fifty speaks English, but they don't necessarily like or feel able to use it unless they actually feel that they're good at it, but if you've show that you tried it and aren't embarrassed about it, they probably will give in. Oh, I should probably recommend L'Escargot Montorgueil[^]. They had the best service that I have ever experienced in a restaurant. We had some problems with communications and didn't arrive until late, but they kept it open just for our company of ten people. And our waitress was really funny, witty and attentive and the food was super (while expensive). Two words: Truffle omelette! While specialized on snails (the name L'Escargot might be a hint), I didn't find it to be anything special. It's just a French excuse for eating garlic butter.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello[^]
Oh I absolutely agree with the attitude bit. Same for country I have ever visited, Latin America gets you a long way by not being rude. No one likes being treated like a moron. My family went on vacation in Europe when I was 12 or 13, everyone was talking about how rude the French were. On the contrary, everyone we met was very helpful. And yes, always ask 'Parlez vous Anglais' usually coupled with "Pardon me sir/madam/miss, do you speak english?" which I need to refresh myself on how to say. Either way, do your best to ask in the native language politely and without butchering it. Trying our best made a big difference. At one point, we couldn't find which platform our train was leaving from, asked a person waiting on his, he didn't speak english but took a look at our tickets and took us right to the platform we needed to be at. And I seem to recall that restaurant name from what my wife said would be one we have to visit because of history. Not positive though. If not, I will make a note of it.
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Funny :-D
Cheers, विक्रम "We have already been through this, I am not going to repeat myself." - fat_boy, in a global warming thread :doh: