More new photos...Total Expenses for 16 nights in Paris....Hotel review...Tom's pizza and dessert for the last dinner n Paris...
Of course, we had to end with a photo of the Eiffel Tower. It seems to have a personality of its own, offering varying views based on weather, crowds and time of day. |
Included in the total is the following:
US $3352, EU $2511 Hotel Eiffel Seine
211, EU $158 Taxi, train fare
644, EU $483 Tours and sightseeing
1438, EU $1077 Dining and groceries including all taxes, fees and tips
959, EU $719 Airfare and baggage fees
Grand Total:
US $6604, EU $4948 Grand total at an average cost per day for two of US $413, EU $310.
Wow! The architecture is breath taking. |
It is these expenses that motivate us to stay put for two to three months at a time when we have time to recover from the higher costs for hotels and cruises. At the end of the year, it all averages to an average monthly cost we'd budgeted long ago, so far, very close to our target.
Hand made pasta in the window of a local restaurant/deli. |
We stayed in a mid range hotel, dined in mid range restaurants (except for three occasions), walked everywhere seldom taking a taxi and made no frivolous purchases.
There's a pharmacy every few blocks. |
The total cost for the outstanding two and a half months on the island of Madeira, Portugal was US $10720, EU $7979 at an average daily rate of US $139, EU $104.
We were abled to flag down a taxi as we stood at this corner after dining at La Fontaine de Mars on Tuesday. |
Is it any wonder that we've chosen to stay put as often as we can? Without doing so, we'd hardly be able to continue traveling for the long term.
With almost 13,000 restaurants listed on Trip Advisor in Paris, its tricky deciding on where to dine. |
As for the Hotel Eiffel Seine, we've found it to be a good boutique hotel with excellent front desk service by knowledgeable English speaking staff always willing to help in any manner. The cleanliness of the hotel was superb, although the room was seldom cleaned by 2 pm.
Most this perfect looking fruit has been imported to Paris as is the case in many other cities throughout the world. |
We only had the breakfast once, early on, provided gratuitously by the hotel when our bathroom ceiling had been leaking for days. Had it been more appealing, we may have had it again, especially when we booked late dinner reservations in the finer restaurants and for the River Seine cruise.
Beautiful fruit for sale on along the boulevard. |
During our 16 day stay, occasionally we had entertained the thought of having breakfast in an outdoor café. But, after many less than memorable dining experiences in the neighborhood, we decided against it. Why pay for less than desirable food when one isn't hungry?
Tom and I calculated how much more we could have spent if we were like most travelers eating three meals a day. It could easily have been as much as an additional US $100, EU $75 per day (for two) for an extra US $1600, EU $1196 bringing the grand total up to US $7604, EU $6644.
We realize that most people coming to Paris as a vacation/holiday don't stay for over two weeks. From what we've gleaned from sitting in the lobby posting each morning, many from the US for example, stay for a weekend or a maximum of five nights. However, the average daily cost would be the same.
Carved door to a city business center. |
I must add that Tom drank alcoholic beverages less than four times at dinner, our only meal, usually having one 50ml beer averaging US $11, EU $8.24. I don't drink alcohol and on a rare occasion I order tea or mineral water at about half the cost of beer, certainly not in front of the staff or other customers. Its our responsibility to research restaurants before choosing them to ensure they fit our guidelines.
Tom was ready to dig in to his large pizza at Amalfi. |
Oh sure, we sound "nitpicky," nickel and dime-ing ourselves to the hilt. However, we tend to order food off the menu that we truly want, not the lowest priced items, and never making any type of fuss about the bill or prices of the food, services or products.
The dish of Italian grilled calamari (squid) in a gluten free chunky tomato sauce with a side of green beans and salad was one of the best meals I've had in Paris. |
We may seem as if we're "tightwads."We're not. We're careful and most of all appreciative of the opportunity we've created for ourselves to travel the world for as long as we can, for as long as we chose, only possible with our diligent record keeping while maintaining a budget that impacts every expenditure.
Last night Tom had this pizza topped with an egg at Amalfi, our favorite local restaurant. |
By late afternoon, we'll be situated in our London hotel, expecting similar expenses with very otherwise different experiences. We'll be back tomorrow morning with our first post from London, photos, cost and description of traveling on the Eurostar plus, our first peek at the London scenery.
Thank you for "virtually" traveling along with us as we continue on our worldwide journey. Pack your imaginary bags (not too much stuff) and prepare yourself for the next leg!
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Photo from one year ago, August 16, 2013:
The view from the 300 year old stone house where we lived for two and a half months, located in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy. We wrote about Tom's frustration over the poor Internet signal preventing him from watching the Minnesota Vikings footballs games after paying US $169, EU $126 to the NFL website for viewing games while outside the US. No refund was provided. As a result he has given up hoping to watch the games. For details from that date, please click here. |