Bouchercon Hiatus #1: 20 Mistakes to Avoid in Paris

Since so many of us are participating this week in Bouchercon 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina, we'll be sharing with you some of our favorite posts from the past, starting with this classic from Cara.  Enjoy!

1. Missing the last Metro home

Full taxi's pass you by, you face a long walk home

2. Heels on cobblestones - unless you’re Parisian + have grown up doing this.

3. Sacre Coeur pickpocket petition scams - avoid them and go up the back stairs

4. Bicycling the rond-point Bastille - you value your life, right?

5. Sales clerks on the Rue St Honoré - only if you’re really buying that Vuitton should you face them

6. Demonstrations + strikes - forewarned is knowledge - check before leaving the house or you might have no bus or Metro to catch

7. Side stepping suspicious streams on the pavement/trottoir - you get the reason, non?

8. Les soldes/ The Sales in January and June - only if you’re obsessed, determined + have your game plan in place should you enter the fray at Galleries Lafayette

9. Touching the fruit at greengrocers - just don’t

10. Fishing in the Canal St Martin - it’s very shallow and yet they find bodies once in awhile 

11. Paris Plages - your call if you want to slap on oil and sardine crunch with the Parisians who couldn’t get out of Paris in August 

12. Driving through Sunday manifestations/strikes - again, you value your life, right?

13. Not greeting shop assistants when you enter and leave - an expected common courtesy

 14. Flashing an iPhone at Metro stations - that’s if you want to keep it

15. Puces St Ouen - instead go to Porte de Vanves fleamarket more locals and deals

16. Pigeons - hard to avoid but keep extra cafe napkins in pocket to alleviate those white plops

17. Late night kebab - eh, go for the frites 

18. Sunbaking on the Seine - see #11 Paris Plages + #16 Pigeons

19. Lining up for the Louvre - find the back entrance and enter via the Pyramid

20. Dog deficit - hop, skip + jump 

Any questions?

Cara - Tuesday