Currency

A quick note about currency.

As you know, France is part of the European Union (EU), in which countries all use the same form of currency: the euro

I like the euro. Sometimes it's still strange to use the bright colored bills instead of the same dull green color of "money" we are used to in America. But they have the usual bills - 100s, 50s, 20s, 10s, 5s. Once you get into the smaller units, though, they use all coins instead. There's the 1 & 2 euro coins, and the 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, & 1 cent coins.

Really, there's just SO MUCH CHANGE ALL THE TIME. A word of advice for anyone traveling to Europe in the future: bring a change purse. Best investment of your life. Without mine, I'd be a mess trying to pay for things.

Speaking of paying for things, that's a bit different here too. First of all, there's no tipping. When you go to a restaurant or get a cab or whatever, you don't tip the server/driver/whoever. It's a strange thing to get used to. At first I felt bad, being an avid tipper back home. But unless you had the best service of your life, you just don't tip. It's a culture thing.

Also different, but in a WONDERFUL way, there's no extra tax on things. Let me phrase that differently - there's still tax. But in America, when something costs $9.95, you then add in 6% (or however much) sales tax, so your total is then $10.55. In France, tax is already included in the advertised price. So if something is 9.95 euro, that's how much you pay! Technically, the item really costs 8.32 euro plus tax, totaling 9.95. But you don't have to think about that, which is so nice.

Paying at restaurants is therefore a lot simpler in these respects. You know exactly what you'll have to pay when ordering off the menu because you don't have to factor in tax and tip at the end. So convenient.

I'd have to say, the only thing annoying about the euro is the conversion back to the dollar. Of course, it's the US's fault for the poor exchange rate. One euro is the same as paying $1.29, so everything here is technically more expensive once you convert it back to dollars. But, as frustrating as it is now, I have to admit it'll be nice when I return to the States with 800 euro and realize I actually have over a thousand dollars!

Silver lining people :)

A bientot!