Paris Greeters Program

A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a Paris Greeters program on the Rick Steves website. The way it works is that there are people in Paris (and other locations as well) that volunteer to take tourists to areas of the city that they are familiar with and might be less "touristy". They don't charge for the tours but they do take donations that are passed on to the program that puts the volunteers in touch with the tourists. I looked at a few sites and this program received some really good reviews. I thought this might be a way to experience Paris in a different way, through the eyes of someone that lives there.

We submitted a request and I did hear back today that they accepted it. However, they don't start putting us in touch with a volunteer any earlier than 6 weeks from the trip. They also mention that it might be possible that we wouldn't hear anything definite until just before our trip. I'm looking at this as an added bonus. If we can make it work, great! If it doesn't work, we'll just head out on our own.

By the way, we're taking some French lessons from a neighbor. Michele Lamb is teaching us a little bit of the language and how the French and English language are connected. It's amazing how many of our words are similar to the French words. Michele was born in France and lived in or around Cherbourg and has studied languages. We're fortunate that she's willing and has the time to give us a few pointers. We're just hoping to pick up a little bit of the language that will help us feel a little more comfortable while we're in France. It's only 47 days now until we leave. I can't believe that it's getting this close.