Paris, Jour Trois–November 7, 2023

We boarded our river cruise today at noon after yet another harrowing cab ride through the streets of Paris. Cab drivers in Paris are hit or miss, and the guy we had this morning was a total miss. What we have learned for sure is that the taxi drivers here do not have any use for a GPS. You have to show them your iPhone GPS and they study it for a few seconds and then act like they know exactly where they are going. They never enter it into their own phone. So you are lulled into a false sense of security until you figure out they don’t know where the heck they are headed. It’s a completely nutty system. The driver this morning kept mumbling a bunch of French under his breath. I thought he might be praying. I know I was.

We have only been on one other river cruise, and Doug and I had varying opinions. Doug loved it and although I liked it, I thought it was just a little bit too up close and personal. Today after we unpacked we went for lunch in the dining room. All of the tables seat six or more people, and it wasn’t long before Laurel and Kevin from Tampa joined us. Laurel puts powdered gatorade in her iced tea because she has leg cramps and that’s the only thing that really helps. They were completely nice people, but this one experience kind of proves my point. Right now I am keeping an open mind.

Just as a side note, there are apparently a slew of pickpockets around the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and other famous sites in Paris. We were warned about them numerous times by various cab drivers and people at the hotel. The setup is that a defenseless looking young woman carrying a baby approaches you and asks for money to feed her hungry child (apparently they either rent or borrow babies for this purpose). After they get your attention with the cute/hungry baby scam, they have a partner who picks your pocket. What’s next?