We last visited springtime Paris several years ago and stayed in a little hotel just across a narrow street from Le Sorbonne. From our room we could look into classroom windows and hallways as the students came and went. There was a flower and tree-lined square on the other side of the hotel where students and others gathered day and night to gab, drink, eat and otherwise act like students anywhere. We happily joined in.

We hit all the tourist sites, including the Napoleon’s Tomb, Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Siene River cruise, as well as other historical sites. Of course, we dined at the great restaurants, from little sidewalk eateries to the grand dining rooms of the Ritz Hotel.

We're not smokers, and that bothered us when eating inside and al fresco at Paris sidewalk cafés. Accustomed to the no smoking rules now in effect in most U.S. cities, it seems every Parisian, from teen to dotage, smokes endlessly.

Hotels, restaurants and shopping in city of the Golden Gate can cost tourists lots of gold. However, with smart planning, seniors can actually enjoy visits there without spending too much of it. Next time you’re in San Francisco, here are suggestions to help in your quest for free things to do.

Haight-Ashbury Memories: If you were part of the foggy, smoky 50s and 60s hippie generation, wander back to where it all started. Along with funky stores, you'll see poetry readers, musicians and ragged wanderers, making for great people-watching and video/photos.

Golden Gate Park: A thousand square acres of beauty and tranquility typifies the city's laid-back character. Make up a picnic basket and enjoy morning mists by Stow Lake. Visit the free-admission Conservatory of Flowers, de Young Museum, Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Check the schedule for free events, music and fairs.

Your travel4seniors.com editor recently viewed the tranquil sight during a tour of Israel.

Our feline family member always knows when your travel4seniors.com editor is preparing to go on a trip. Is that a resentful scowl on his face because he knows he isn’t going along? Does it happen in your family, too?