NOV 13 - NOV 19, 2019 this week in Palm Springs

Continued from page 21
Day four go to visit Montmartre and the
Sacred Heart Cathedral. Great views of
Paris. Be sure and visit the Montmartre
Museum as well and the associated Renoir
Gardens.
Where to eat
Grab coffee at Alma Coffee. Don’t ask for
milk or cream in your coffee. The French
don’t use it and don’t drink (although they
eat a lot of cheese).
Ma Bourgogne has great steak and fries (in
the Morais).
Travel Tips
• Your ATM card works at French
banks and they don’t charge a withdrawal
fee.
• Many of the museums are free the
first Sunday of the month in the winter.
• Paris is seven hours ahead of Chicago
so the jet lag is a hassle. Try to check
into your hotel early but wait until 3 to take
a nap. On the way home, stay up late at
home to re-adjust.
• The Euro is worth slightly more
than the U.S. dollar.
• Tips are included at restaurants.
• Buy a 10 ticket pack of Metro tickets
and save.
• Turn off your phone and put it in
Airplane mode. Shut off all data for all
your apps too. Otherwise you will face
roaming charges from French carriers
which can be quite high. Most places have
free internet so you can stay connected that
way.
• Most locals speak some English but
if you can, try to start the conversation in
French.
For more information and travel ideas
Paris has a number of LGBTQ publications
all of which have city gay guides. Qweek
has a lot of ideas especially for nightlife
(Qweek.fr) along with maps of the neighborhoods.
Strobo Magazine has a great
map of the nightlife (strobomag.com).
Tribu is another great publication also with
a map.
ParisInfo.com has travel tips as well and
you can visit them at the Hotel de Ville
(City Hall) in the Marias.
You can’t beat a winter visit to gay Paree.
*Bill Malcolm is the nation’s only syndicated
LGBTQ value travel columnist. He
resides in Indianapolis and his column is
or has been run by LGBTQ publications
in Indianapolis, Chicago, Tampa-Orlando,
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Detroit, Washington,
Raleigh, Charlotte, and Palm Springs
and also found on the IGLTA travel blog.
He received no compensation of any kind
from any of the places visited (nor airlines
nor hotels). His opinions are his own.
27