First things first, I talked with my ex because when we fly standby they take the money directly from his check. My first trip wasn't a big deal but this time I'm going first class...yea yea the kids too, so I knew this trip would impact his check more. He agreed as long as I reimburse him for at least half....wow, that was easier and more generous than I expected.
Next, I started researching apartment rentals. I found one site, AirBNB (www.airbnb.com), which I thought seemed good. You would see in a future post how that decision turned out. Through AirBNB, I found several properties for rent and one individual in particular listed properties that were of interest to me and had great rates and received great reviews. There was a great property in the 1st arrondissement, in square of the Fontaine des Innocents, so for me it was perfect. The apartment rents for $600 US per week, so this would be an excellent option for the kids and I. I did not currently have the money to rent to the apartment, so I decided to keep an eye on it.
I also continued my research and designed an itinerary that would be allow us to visit key areas while walking through the city...at a normal pace and created an online itinerary through Nile Guide. There was a free app for Guides To Go.
Here are some prep tips to take into effect:
- Make sure your cell phone has international access....seriously
- Purchase conversion plugs (however many you will need for the electronics you will be taking with you)
- Bringing a powercord won't hurt
- I work for a University, so we were all able to get international student ids
- Also can get certain discounts throughout the city....boat tours is one (will talk about more in another post)
- Register with International SOS (www.internationalsos.com)
- It is an organization that provides emergency medical assistance to travelers, also in the event of a REAL emergency they provide evacuation
- Make sure to get important numbers, email, and addresses (for embassy and hotel)
- Your bank
- U.S. Embassy
- AirBNB (or whoever you use)
- Your landlord or hotel
- Scan all of your important documents, save them into a pdf and then email it yourself
- In the event anything is lost or stolen, you can access through your email from any location
- Also make and email to yourself a back-up list of hotels where you would want to stay in case a problem occurs with your plans (you'll understand later)
- Learn the area in which you will be staying for things taken for granted
- laundry
- atm
- market
- pharmacy
- Pack lightly
- You won't need a lot for a short trip
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