A/C                 What type of air conditioner do you have? ( refrigerant type, or a water evaporater, or some other type)
Internet           What about internet connection?
Music             Can we play any DVD on your DVD player?
Directions       How do I find my way in Paris?
                        How do I go to Versailles?
                       What are the closest subway stations?
                        How do I find "google equivalent" driving directions to travel in Europe?
                       Where is the location of the apartment compared to the center of Paris?

Activities         Do you know what activities are going on in Paris during my stay?
                       What do you recommend doing for the new year?
                       We are arriving on Sunday. Will there be any restaurants, cafes or shops open?
French words What does "Brocante" mean?
BathToilets    How many toilets?
                       Is it a hand held shower in the bathroom?
Beds               Where does the 5th person sleep?
                       How does the sofa turn into 2 twin beds or a queen bed?
Pets                Could you let me know what Paco, my dog, needs in order to get into France?
                       Do you know a pet-sitting service in Paris?

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What type of air conditioner do you have?
Q: The apartment does have a powerful portable refrigerant A/C which easily connects to a hole through the window. I have used it during the worst heat wave and it was able to cool uniformly the whole apartment.
The A/C is used only a few weeks a year so during the cooler seasons it is put it in the basement. This explains why you do not see it in my pictures.
You can check the details on http://www.chemouni.com/bretagne/heat.html
Furthermore the building has been built in the 17th century with thick stone walls and shutters, so with the help of 2 fans (provided) it stays fresh during most hot days without even using the A/C.
The 2 rooms are separated by double doors.When they are open the apartment feels like a large open space and the A/C refrigerates the whole space efficiently.
If needed, I can also provide another A/C unit so the bedroom and the living room can be independently cooled. Typically, very hot days has happened between July 15th and August 15th

What about internet connection?
Q: My husband needs to know if there is Internet access in the appartment. He needs to work while we are there and he prefers that he does not have to deal with Internet cafes, particularly in France where everyone smokes. Please let me know.
A: Your husband will be happy to know that there is a computer mac already set up for internet access with flat screen and completely silent so you can leave it on all the time.
The access is done with fast DSL. There is all the common web browser, Opera, AOL, etc.. and the mac's one : Safari ( this is the browser I recommend to use because it is the fastest)
In case you log out, just login under the name "guest1" . There is no password.
If you need access too, there is another account called "guest2" with no password too.
So you do not have to mix your work with the one of your husband.

Furthermore the computer is connected through a WIFI network, so if your husband brings his own laptop with a WIFI , he can connect it to the network .
The name of the network is "bretagne network" and there is no password to connect to it so it is a breeze to setup your wifi connection.

Time has changed. Parisians do not have the right to smoke in closed area like internet cafes. But does the french people obey to the rules? That will be a real change!

Can we play any DVD on your DVD player?

DVDs are prevented from playing in different regions of the world.
Europe is one of the region. North America is a different region.
If you want to watch an European DVD, use the DVD player connected to the TV.
If you have an american DVD, use the computer to watch them.

How do I find my way in Paris?

There are usually subway and buses maps in the apartment.. A great way is to use the computer which is permanently connected to the web through a DSL line, Paris has many web sites very well done in English for tourists. So do not hesitate to google to find museums, buses, subways , taxi, movies, shows, expositions, etc... instructions.

For instance , the name of the company for transportation in Paris is " RATP". If you google "RATP" you will find this site:
http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais
A very convenient site to get instructions on how to go from one address to another one using the best combination of buses, subways or walks.
Consider using buses. It is more relaxing and you get the view!
To me walking is the best way to feel the ambiance. Paris is relatively small. You could walk from one end to the other in less than 1.5 hour.

What do you recommend doing for the new year?
New year is best seen on the Champs Elysées or at Trocadero, both spots gather million persons all night with a great view of fireworks and Eiffel tower illumination.
Montmartre's sacré coeur is also a popular place to see all the fireworks of the city ( since it is an elevated place).
Crowd is everywhere. I strongly recommend not to take the subways around midnight.
Walking is the best way to feel the ambiance.
Paris is relatively small. You could walk from one end to the other in less than 1.5 hour.

Q:I was thinking about standing just along the Seine to watch the fire works, maybe one of the bridges.
Where would you go?
A:If you like to stand on a bridge, the "Pont Neuf" is a great one.
Personally I will first have a great dinner and drink great champagne
then I will walk peacefully the rue de Rivoli until Concorde.
There after a champagne refill, I will walk up the Champs Elysées.
Once tired, i will go back home with a cab.
and I will finally have cafe and croissants since it will probably be the morning :-)

What does "Brocante" mean?

Brocante means market of used antique objects usually sold at a cheap price ( a little like an official garage sale but with only antique objects but often of good quality)

Where is the location of the apartment compared to the center of Paris?

This apartment is in the very much center of Paris.
The exact center is considered as being Notre Dame. The apartment is 1/2 mile North of Notre Dame on the right bank, about 15 mn walk.

What are the closest subway stations?

4 Metros stations are very close
"Republique", "Arts et Metiers", "Temple" and "Sebastien-Froissart"
All are in less than 2 minutes walking distance.

How many toilets?

Just one.The bathroom has a tub , a sink and a shower. The toilet is in another independent room with a little sink. This is the way most of the french apartment are conceived. It is awkward for a french person to have a toilet bowl in the bathroom.

Is it a hand held shower in the bathroom?

Yes and no. The shower can be hand hold or can be hooked on the wall. To take a shower, you need to stand in the tub.Almost all apartments in France have a hand held shower to help cleaning the tub after a bath. French take bath often and use the shower just to rinse. That's explain why many apartments do not have a hook for the shower handle and sometimes not even a curtain.This apartment has both.

Once I rented a room in an hotel in France. When I opened the faucet to get a shower, the handle started spinning and projecting high pressure water all around. I was still dressed.

Where does the 5th person sleep?

There is a good quality folding twin bed which is stored in the laundry room.
It is easy to roll it , to unfold and to fold without removing the linens.

The convertible bed also turns into two singles very easily.
The drawer under the sofa contains the second bed. You just need to roll it out and to lift slightly to release the legs on both sides.
In the morning it is a snap to fold the legs and to slide the second bed under the first without having to remove the linens

How does the sofa turns into 2 twin beds?

The convertible bed turns into two twin beds very easily.
The drawer under the sofa contains the second bed. You just need to roll it out and to lift slightly to release the legs on both sides.
In the morning it is a snap to fold the legs and to slide the second bed under the first without having to remove the linens.

To make a queen beds, just bring the second bed against the first one and use the velcro band to attach to the mattresses. You will notice while sleeping the separation between the two mattresses. An advantage also is that if someone moves durng the night, the other one will not feel it.

We are arriving on Sunday.
Will there be any restaurants, cafes or shops open?

You will be in an animated neighborhood of Paris .
There will be plenty of restaurants opened ( actually all of them in the neighborhood) . All are actually good enough.Go by the price.

Do you know what activities are going on in Paris during my stay?

You can consult this very informative web site http://en.parisinfo.com/ and you can buy from any newspaper stand the weekly booklets "Pariscope" or "L'Officiel des Spectacles". They show all activities in Paris for one week, movies, theater, expositions, and others

Could you let me know what Paco,my dog, needs in order to get into France?

The European Union adopted new measures for the importation of pets (dogs, cats and ferrets) into the EU member states.
In order to bring their dogs, cats and ferrets from the United States into France, travelers must abide by the following conditions:
- each family is limited to 5 animals. Every animal must be at least 3 months old (or otherwise travel with the mother).
- every animal must be identified by a microchip (standard ISO 11784/11785) or a tatoo. If the microchip's standard is different, you must bring your own scanner in order to read the microchip.
- every animal must have a valid rabies vaccination (if it is the first rabies vaccination for the pet, you must wait 30 days before departure)
- the health certificate will be valid for 4 months after signature by an official veterinarian (certified by the USDA) or endorsement by the competent authority (USDA). The list of USDA Area Offices of Veterinary Services may be consulted at the following URL address:www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/area_offices.htm.
- the blood test is not required for animals coming from Canada and the United States.

1 - Ensure the airline will allow you to take your pet overseas - their policies for overseas flights are not the same as for domestic flights (I don't know if you're bringing it in cabin or not; if you are, airlines are much pickier for pets in the cabin on overseas flights - we only found AIr France that would allow this from our departure area - the Southeast; neither USAirlines nor American would).

2 - Each country may have different regulations for letting pets into the country (UK and couple others require a 6 months quarantine) ; we're only going to France with our pet (if you're going to other countries, I recommend you check their official web sites and if needed call a consulate), where it's thankfully pretty straightforward (see the first section of this web site):

http://www.ambafrance-us.org/intheus/customs/7000.asp#dac.

3 - A micro-chip is required, as stated in the above attachment; while you can use a North American micro-chip as long as you bring a reader (which you can get as a free loan from Digital Angel - the manufacturer of the NA micro-chip our dog has), we have put a second, Euro chip in her. No problems with the two chips co-existing in the pet - you may have to move the scanner around a bit to scan the correct tag, but it does work - we've tried it. You can buy this on-line at
http://www.pettravelstore.com/store-pet-friendly-chips1.html

4 - you must provide a filled-in official European vet form, certified by a government vet. SO Paco's vet is probably accredited like ours is, but that's not good enough. I actually checked with a live phone call to the French government's official vet in the dept of Agriculture actually (took me weeks and multiple phone calls here in the US and in France to find the correct place and person to talk with). There's a form your vet should know about that will request your state vet's official certification. Our vet knew about this and filled it out and sent it in (you, the owner, also need to sign it). Here's the official form we downloaded from the French government web site, that needs to be signed by your vet, then certified by the government vet.

5 - Apparently certain breeds of dogs are not allowed in public without stringent precautions, if at all (dogs considered to have fighting dispositions aren't allowed at all - "category 1"; guard and defense dogs - "category 2" - need additional papers plus leash and muzzle - there's a list of these on the French government web site, but I believe this isn't applicable to you and Paco).

6 - There's a law that says dogs must be on a leash at all times in Paris. Apparently not consistently enforced however. And also scoop it's poop - fines are something like 400 euros if you don't - they're really serious about it

7 - Look forward to it: everyone tells us Paris is an extremely dog-friendly city!

do you know a pet-sitting service in Paris?

if you need a pet-sitting service, we have found one: http://www.animado.com - the Canadian Embassy in Paris uses them apparently.

How do I go to Versailles?

Here is the web site for directions to Versailles from Paris:
http://www.versailles-france.com/tfaqa001.htm

How do I find "google equivalent" driving directions to travel in Europe?

Here is a great web site for driving directions anywhere to anywhere in Europe:
http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm

I would like to drive to Paris, but need to confirm there is a place for me to park my Honda Jazz

There is also off street parking about 2 euro an hour with a maximum of 2 hours, so you have to come back every 2 hours otherwise you get a ticket for about 11 Euros.
The off street parking is free from 7pm to 9 am, but it is not easy to find a spot except in August

It is possible to park your car in a public parking garage very close to the apartment.
The name is " Garage de Bretagne"
The address is 14 rue de Bretagne, Paris 75003
The phone is 01 42 72 00 46
it is 18 euro a day but I do not know the availability.
You can check their web site at http://www.location-parking.com/parking-public/75003-Paris/Garage_de_Bretagne.htm
If you need help to talk to them, please fee free to ask me.

Also, if you park in non central neighborhoods, for instance at any "Porte" of Paris,
I am sure you will find availability and cheaper price.
The web site I gave you can help you to find another public garage, but it seems to be written in french only ( so far)

Where is the adapter? I would like to use my curling iron on my
hair.

ou cannot use your curling iron with just an adapter. It will burn since the voltage in France is 220 V
and your curling iron cannot handle more than 110 V.
If you really need to use it, you need a transformer ( in french a "transformateur") which can handle the power
that your curling iron need.
Read the number of watts written in your curling iron and find a transformer with the same or higher number of watts:
for instance a 200 W transformateur.

Here is an extract of my web page: http://www.chemouni.com/chevreul/instructions.html
Electricity, Voltage

The Voltage in France is 220 V while in US it is 110 V. Furthermore, the US and French plugs are not compatible. We do provide one plug adapter which will allow you to plug your appliance. But please make sure that your appliance can handle 220 V ( see the label) otherwise use a travel transformer instead of the adapter. Most of the travel appliance which are cordless, such as shaver, laptop can be recharged with a voltage from 110 to 240 Volts. In that case you only need the adapter provided.Be especially careful with items such as printers, curling irons, hair dryers (we do provide a hair dryer).

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