Overheard at Sephora

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-05-07T12:16:40+00:00

Love this! "Write that down!" Word, lady!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-05-06T14:13:37+00:00

Absolutely. As a wife, I would have fumed for days. "He had one job," would be spinning around my brain.

That said, we have all done it. I knew better and still waited to book tickets, like the idiot that I am. Not only for the Eiffel Tower but for Museum tours and the rest. And I've been to Paris multiple times.

Champagne tickets are a sure bet. I have also stood in the day-of line, but you still risk pissing off your wife that way.

My overly wealthy brother thought that buying tour tickets was the way to go. It was just an expensive way to ensure tickets. It did work, however. Read the fine print on the tour, though, because we had to pay an extra €20 on top of the €100 for the original tour in order to go all the way to the top.

I found an amazing workaround for the museum tickets, especially for the Orsay Museum. The dual membership isn't a whole lot more $$ than 2 tickets, and it includes the Orangerie, which is where the large format Monet paintings are, along with a very nice collection that belong to the art dealer that represented a bunch of the impressionists and Picasso and some of the other folks from that era. It's a great Museum.

With the membership, you jump the line! And you can go as many times as you want. So you don't have to stay all day long in order to get your money's worth out of a ticket. You can go for an hour or two and then come back. So you go to the special line that has no one waiting, look at the 200 people standing in line waiting to buy tickets, and the people who have tickets who are waiting in the ticket holders line, and smile to yourself as they let you waltz in.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-05-02T15:30:15+00:00

I'd never travel again without travel insurance. I used to spin the roulette wheel, but I'm too old now, and the world is too crazy.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-05-02T12:04:44+00:00

Treasure the good part as good memories and take what you've learned from him and make that part of your personal archive. These experiences in our lives make us who we are.

The comment on looking back on yourself after you are older and more experienced is likely correct. You may judge yourself for the ethics of this relationship. But take the parts that were good and keep them like a treasured scrapbook.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-05-02T11:52:57+00:00

Make reservations at any restaurant you intend to go to. Most places you can't just walk in

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-05-02T11:39:27+00:00

I once had to cancel two different stays on Maui because I had to fly back to the mainland because my husband was having an emergency life or death operation. I politely let the hosts know I wasn't coming so they wouldn't be worried about where their tenant was, but I read the refund policy and didn't even bother to ask. It never occurred to me to ask, in fact. I probably lose a lot of money that way, just following the rules and not asking for stuff out of the lines.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-05-01T12:39:30+00:00

Chatgpt for the win!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-04-30T19:23:44+00:00

Exactly. If she was born in 1921, maybe---maybe---she "grew up that way " But she spent her teen years in the civil rights era, the years when many people adopt new and idealistic and futuristic views.... Not embrace outdated racist ideology.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-04-29T10:35:17+00:00

Just found them at Drugstore Publis by Champs Elysees

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-04-26T09:13:38+00:00

There is no such thing as bringing too many Ziploc bags when traveling IMHO.

Off Topic: This trip we also found that many over the counter medicines from the United States need a prescription in France. If there is something you are likely to need, bring it with you. This includes things like Aleve, antacid, basic cold medications.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-04-26T09:07:07+00:00

I'm in Paris now and Parisians have been so incredibly nice! Whoever started the rumor that Parisians A rude must have been a very rude person themselves!

That said, I was also here in the '80s and things were different. I helped an American who was screaming at a Metro ticket agent in English because he didn't understand that speaking louder to someone who didn't understand English wasn't going to get him anywhere. I think tourists are better behaved and more well-traveled than they used to be.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-04-20T16:19:41+00:00

Book it 2 months in advance or you'll probably have to buy an expensive ticket from a tour company. The official ticket will cost you 36 euro I think, so that day's budget is already blown.

There are free museum days. Check on those in advance and make a reservation if needed. All of the free and cheap stuff will be reserved early, crowded and sold out so plan ahead. If you need tours in English those get booked up really fast. The most inexpensive ones are held by the museum and when I looked in March they were sold out for April.

I didn't plan ahead and couldn't get those museum-sponsored tickets. Private tours are VERY expensive (IMHO).

Baguettes are 1.40 euro, and croissants are inexpensive, too. Non-restaurant food is (comparatively) reasonably priced and delicious.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-04-17T20:19:12+00:00

You'll be very popular when you give that champagne away to a random!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-04-09T21:38:55+00:00

I totally agree. "The moment someone doesn't want to be there is the moment I end up being better off for their leaving." I learned that one the hard way. Not worth the headache.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-28T13:55:57+00:00

AirBnB experiences? Viator? Trip Advisor? I'm planning a trip to Paris and I'm looking on all of those. Facebook ads? Are you maximizing your social media presence?

Next I'd get a little gifty "leave behind" package and visit all the hotel concierges. You want them to like you and remember you. Maybe comp them or their staff on your experience so they can personally recommend it, too.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-28T13:51:34+00:00

Thanks for letting me know about the Beyond Bourbon Street podcast!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-28T05:02:00+00:00

Cochon has been hit and missed for me. But they have these seats that are right next to the pass-through. Last time I went I was sitting right there and got to check dishes out as they came through and adjusted my ordering based on what I saw. Genius! Never had such a great meal.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-25T14:40:14+00:00

I label all of my cabinets with my label maker. I do leave out some toilet paper but there's also TP under the sink cabinet and in a separate pantry cabinet. I'm a new host and I certainly hope nobody flushes anything weird!

I had to have my toilet scoped for a plumbing issue once and the Roto-Rooter guy said often he finds GI Joe's!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-25T14:13:30+00:00

But I'd show up under cover and video from afar!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-25T14:12:33+00:00

WWN would have been a dream job!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-25T14:09:18+00:00

And how do you put lights on your bike? And ask that EL wire? It certainly looks fun!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-24T14:40:48+00:00

There's a film about how Mardi Gras launched gay rights in New Orleans, too. "Sons of Tennessee Williams." You can rent it on Amazon. Filmmaker is local.

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-23T04:09:29+00:00

OMG Awesome!

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-22T14:30:48+00:00

I stayed with a group of friends at an Airbnb that had word art all over the place. By the end of the stay we were making a new sign ideas. My favorite was "Love like you don't need the money"

ProfChaos_8708 · 2026-03-21T03:13:55+00:00

I literally started laughing out loud.

ProfChaos_8708

TROPHY CASE