Spending Money:

It probably doesn't matter a great deal what system you use for spending money i.e.: credit cards, debit cards, travelers' checks, etc., especially if you're only going to be there for two weeks. You can use your ATM or credit and debit cards in machines in France to access cash the same way you do here. You must have a 4 pin code - not 5 pin - and will find machines that accept Visa, MC, Discovery, Plus, Cirrus and perhaps some others. It's probably a good idea to bring two cards with you in case a machine is feeling stingy that particular day and refuses to give you any money on one card. It's happened... Let me add something here about traveler's checks. They are fast becoming a nightmare to use. More and more you will find that merchants just don't want to deal with them. So...Don't bring 'em!

Shopping in the supermarkets for common items is an exercise in understanding. For example, when you buy milk you will see choices expressed on the labels that don't provide the usual associations for us. We like our skim milk, or 1% or 2% or whatever. In France when you see "lait entier" that means whole milk and probably has the most fat. "Demi-Ecreme" would be closer to our 2% and the brand that says "Silhouette" would be the equivalent to our least fatty milks. Same thing with cheeses - which are among the most delicious in the world. Just look for the percentage of "matiere grasse" on the container. This means animal fat and if you want to watch how much you're eating just buy the one with the lowest percentage. Of course, it won't taste as good as the fatty cheeses, but hey, we're talking trade-off here!

Speaking of spending money, here are some web sites in French that are guides to restaurants, travel and events:

www.eatinparis.com This has an English option too.
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/ A guide to the trains in France and you can click on the Union Jack for English version. You can find that under "mon guide SNCF".
www.allocine.com A guide to films that has an English option.
www.gites-de-france.fr A great guide with an English option that can help you find lodging anywhere in the country!

As of April 2011 these links are still good.

It's interesting to know that the French system of credit cards and check book banking is different from ours in several important ways: For example, all French credit cards are tied into checking accounts and are therefore debit cards. What's more, they charge no interest! Same with their checking accounts - no interest. There is apparently a movement now to start charging interest for these services, but the French consumer organizations' strength will make it very difficult to make those changes.