copyright 2012 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A. all rights reserved LISA, INC. (EURL) cutecatfaith.com We spent a week in Rome, Italy once on a package tour, and the weather was very mild -- we only had rain on the last half of the last day we were there (and then it was horrible!). Never visit Paris in July or August, and forget about April, for that matter. January is your bargain time here, but is not for everyone! Epiphany lasts about a week and the ambiance is pleasant and convivial, as much as you could expect from Parisians, who are notoriously shut down, anyway, and then, the horror of January sets in, with cold, bleak days and a high rate of suicide as taxes fall due. It's known as "black January." For cause. People die of "natural causes" the most in August in France, and January is suicide month. As long as you're prepared to do "inside stuff," January might be a bargain for you in Paris, France. I am a private tour guide and facilitate business here, also -- among other things -- all legal and declared. If you really like Spring flowers, visit here in March, but never during Easter school holidays -- STAY OUT OF EUROPE DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAY TIME. By April, Spring has past, and in early May, we usually get a killer heat wave! The French consider air conditioning unhealthy, and there are no screens on the windows. The flies and mosquitoes are really nasty here. You have been warned! They eat everything which flies in France, including the flies, I've said for years now. Paris has a well-deserved reputation as being inhospitable to tourists. It's a big country, so consider other cities, villages and regions. Most of them will be thrilled to see you. Not for your money really, as this is not, on the whole, a capitalistic country, thank Goddess, but you'll give them something to laugh at! They'll talk about your faux pas for decades! They'll never get over 'em! I like Quimper, Colmar, and Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, for example. Those are just three off the top of my head. What's good in Paris in January? Art and culture, food, shopping, "inside things." Some days will be so wet, cold, icy or blustery, you just might have to snuggle in with a good book at a café for a few hours, or chat with your friend -- forget about mingling with the Parisians in any real sense of the word. You could have romance here, or a huge spat. Torture, eh? Very likely, your paramour will come down with bronchitis or a nice gastroenteritis. Count on it. What you will see are bleak skies, lots of precipitation, and little snow or ice yet a penetrating, unhealthy cold in the perpetually foul Parisian air. Your secret? Your trip is likely to be cheaper in January, and you can thus perhaps buy something of quality to have shipped back home if you can't carry it (again, I can help with this), and though Parisian food is not my favorite of French fare, face it, there are a ton of charming restaurants and cafés here. There are always caterers in the greenmarkets and pretty much everywhere for that matter, so if you don't have a place to cook and aren't lucky enough to be invited "chez moi," you can buy wonderful ready-made foods. If you like cheese, bread, wine and meat, chances are you'll be very happy here. As for pastry or chocolate, oh la!

• published: 05 Jan 2012
• views: 1804