Where would you choose to celebrate a milestone birthday, anniversary or other extraordinary occasion? ex-Marine (husband, Steve) who turned 70, in November. chose Paris, France. Now Paris in the middle of November may not appear to be a great choice on the surface unless you get lucky with the weather. Chances are it will be rainy and chilly with fewer daylight hours but Paris will always be Paris despite the weather. Paris is one of the most gorgeous and exciting cities in the world throughout the year. And, on the plus side, the long lines of tourists are gone.

This is where ex-Marine wanted to celebrate and by golly, that is where we would celebrate no matter what. His decision made, Steve then dropped all the logistics and planning in my lap. Air, hotel, what to see and all the other miscellany.

I went to work on four days in Paris with the goal of maximizing the travel budget to leave lots of room for good food. The most expensive part of any trip is usually airfare. Our carrier of choice is United Airlines but we also had banked miles on American Airlines. Wouldn’t it be miraculous if American had any free air available from Chicago to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris? Et Voila… the huge advantage of flying anywhere in off-season is, yes, two free (don’t you just love the word, “free”) non-stop economy tickets, a snap for 40,000 miles each. Add on the $80+ dollars per person for taxes and air was a done deal. It doesn’t get any better than one hundred and sixty U.S. dollars for two free airplane tickets to Paris!

location of Hotel Moderne St. Germain, Paris
Next up, a hotel. The last time we visited Paris was four years ago and, no surprise, prices went up, the dollar went down and nothing has ever been cheap in Paris. After surfing hotels for a day in different areas of Paris, I decided to return to the Hotel Moderne Saint Germain. We’ve stayed here on at least three different occasions (including with grandson, Josh) and really like the location. Hotel Moderne Saint Germain is in the heart of the lively Latin Quarter with easy walking over to Boulevard Saint Michel, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens and Metro stops including the RER B line from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

They serve an abundant buffet breakfast with ham and cheese, has free WI-FI and a friendly staff. And, another lucky break. A great Internet rate of 303 Euros including breakfast and taxes good for stays of three nights only. Such a deal!