Travel Alert-What You Really Shouldn't Leave Home Without

Travel is for fun, carefree, away from the real world experiences, right? That’s true until you wind up in a hospital and the doctors trying to take care of you need vital information you don’t have. This nightmare became a reality some years ago when my husband developed what we thought could be a blood clot after a long flight. We raced to a French hospital and struggled with trying to supply doctors with useful information about his medical history. After exhaustive tests our fear turned out, mercifully, not to be the case, but it scared us into constructing portable medical files containing every scrap of information we thought we might need to provide should another emergency arise in the future. This has worked fine – and “yes” it’s been helpful on a number of occasions -- although adding unwanted bulk to our paired down baggage.

This time, for our upcoming trip to Paris, I’ve gotten smart. Each of us will carry our own USB Flash Drive containing all of our medical information including: emergency contacts for doctors and family, most recent medical reports, lists of medications and procedures (down to vitamins and supplements), insurance information and even our health care directives. Digitized records are not universal, so we asked our physicians for Xeroxed copies of the information they judge to be most important, scanned them into our computer and then transferred them to the Flash Drive. All this slips on a key ring and will be easily available at all times. Current prescriptions are kept in a small folding wallet that can be taken to be filled wherever we may be. If only we’d thought of this when we lost that pair of glasses in an Amsterdam café in the pre-medical file days and groped our way through the rest of the trip. (Caution: Not all medications are available outside the US, so be sure in cases where you cannot do without that you have an ample supply.)

Having your emergency and medical information available for any doctors who may be called upon to treat you is not a precaution just for people who have complicated health situations, it’s for EVERYONE. It could save your life – don’t leave home without it.

What Can We Learn from the French?

The French have given the world haute cuisine and haute couture but perhaps their greatest untapped gift is “haute civility.” Haute civility is not the gallant hand kissing the rest of us cannot quite get the hang of or that seductive accent that makes whatever they say sound great, it’s the way they treat each other – and us -- in public places. That old stereotype that the French are rude and unfriendly is kept alive by people who simply haven’t spent time among the French. Take shopping for instance, French shoppers enter a boutique with a polite “Bonjour” to the proprietor and they leave with an appreciative “Merci” (which is reciprocated) whether they have made a purchase or not. A “bonjour” is routinely offered to fellow passengers when entering an elevator – no staring at the ceiling pretending you are alone, and other patients waiting in doctors offices are greeted the same way. Civility even extends to public transportation. In the Paris metro, elders can be assured they will be offered a seat no matter how crowded; and travelers routinely hold swinging doors open for the person behind them. Imagine that on a subway elsewhere. Recently, an American friend living in Paris told of riding a Paris bus and seeing an elderly woman defy the posted and commonly observed direction that passengers should enter through the front door and exist from the rear. Instead, this woman was making her way from her seat in the back against the stream of on-coming passengers. Not only were there no shouts of recrimination, the bus driver and some passing pedestrians stopped to help her make a safe exit. Hurray for the French fine art of social civility – we can all learn from it.

How better to say "Je t'adore" on Valentines than with Parisian lingerie?

The old warning about “wear nice underwear in case you have to go to the hospital” is something Parisian women never have to worry about; they see having beautiful – and matching -- lingerie as one of life’s necessities. It’s a private pleasure and one we all deserve. And what better time that Valentine’s Day to update your lingerie wardrobe – or, better yet, have someone special do it for you. Here are some top picks from our insiders’ little black books.

Cadolle
Since 1889, the bra was invented here by Herminie Cadolle, this legendary custom and ready to wear boutique has never been without its loyal devotees.
4 rue Cambon, 1
Métro: Concorde

Chantal Thomass
Saucy and seductive Chantal Thomass makes naughty very nice -- always in luxurious fabrics.
211 rue Saint-Honoré, 1
Métro: Tuileries

Les Folies d’Elodie
The sweetest of sweet-nothings that turn every woman into a coquette.
56 ave Paul Doumer, 16
Métro: Trocadéro

Sabbia Rosa
Supernova of lingerie with clients such as Madonna, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Catherine Deneuve.
73 rue des Saints-Pères, 6
Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Finding the best hot chocolate in Paris

Reaching a consensus on the best hot chocolate in Paris is as difficult as agreeing on the definition of beauty or what happiness is but it doesn’t keep us from questing after them. In your own pursuit for the ultimate “Cocolat Chaud” here are candidates suggested by our insiders at I Know A Little Place:

Angelina
226 rue de Rivoli, 1
Métro: Tuilleries

Conversations about hot chocolate in Paris usually begin with Angelina; but, Paris being Paris, they do not end there. A handy spot with unforgettable ambiance, after visiting the Louvre or browsing the bookstores WH Smith and Galigani, Angelina’s Chocolat Africain is a welcome treat.

Café de Flore
Corner of boulevard Saint-Germain and rue Saint-Benoit, 6
Métro: Saint Germain-des-Prés

An international fashion icon living in Paris confided to me that her quest for the city’s best hot chocolate ended here among the friendly spirits of Jean-Paul Sarte, Simone de Beauvoir, and Picasso. It was a chilly night when I met her there, the boulevard Saint-Germain was at its’ most captivating, and it was hard to disagree. To savor the experience even more she always gets a table facing the street.

Jean-Paul Hévin
231 rue Saint-Honoré, 1
Métro: Tuilleries

Enjoy the drink of the gods upstairs in the tiny tearoom and for an extra treat pick up a jar of seriously decadent “pate a tartiner” hazelnut spread on the way out.

La Charlotte de Isle
24 rue St. Louis-en-I’le,4
Métro: Pont Marie or Sully-Morland

Relish this thick confection served in petit cups with an intensity that defies description, surrounded by one of the most enchanting spots in Paris.

Ladurée
Any of the three locations:
21 rue Bonaparte, 6
Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés

75 avenue des Champs Élysées, 8
Métro: George V

16 rue Royal, 8
Métro: Madeleine

The Grand Dame of Parisian tea rooms, each with their own personality but all with authentic hot chocolate, only enhanced with a selection of their memorable macarons.

La Maison du Chocolat
8 blvd Madeleine, 9
Metro: Madeleine

The tasting bar offers my own personal favorite “Caracas” – but it’s not for the feint of heart, along with other exotic combinations and flavors.

Ritz – Bar Vendome
15 Place Vendome, 1

For glitz and glamour, and on a day when price doesn’t matter, the hot chocolate at the Bar Vendome is like drinking liquid gold.

SiP Babylone
46 Boulevard Raspail, 7, 9
Métro: Sèveres Babylone

After an afternoon shopping at the near-by Bon Marché reward yourself with a sinfully divine hot chocolate with hazelnut topping.