We have friends who live in the desert Southwest, where summer temperatures can hit 110 degrees for days at a time between May and September. They book extended stays of one or two months every summer at hotels in cool mountain areas of California, Utah and Nevada.

They pay from about $150 to $200 a week for small, one- and two-bedroom suites. They say the secret for getting bargain rates is that they choose hotels in towns where there are big universities. The hotels are not busy in summer, and lower their prices ... usually by 50 percent or more ... to entice retirees and others to occupy rooms during slow business months.

We always put everything in our suitcases and all other necessary stuff days before we’re scheduled to go to the airport. We’re up bright and early in the morning, and the taxi arrives precisely at 7. OK, we’re all packed and ready to roll. Right? Of course not. There’s always something missing. Where are my prescription sunglasses? Did I forgot to pack those new pills the doc gave me? Where’s that little digital computer game I bought for grandson Billy, and the talking doll for granddaughter Betsy? (Loud, hysterical) I don’t care if the taxi meter is ticking. I’m not leaving until.....

I believe the answer is yes if .... and there is an if or two. First, as it also happens in American big cities, Paris visitors often experience impatience and rudeness. Hotel service employees, waiters, cabbies and other harried people must work long hours to make a living in a highly competitive metropolis and tough economy. However, In my travels throughout France, I’ve seen very few incidents of intentional rudeness. Maybe my positive feelings about French hospitality are because I approach people there differently than most American tourists. I speak the language, not perfectly, but adequately. I studied two years of high school French, and was considered such a good student I was chosen to escort a group of visiting French Navy officers around our city for a week. At first I had a surprise awakening, and it wasn't because of the manners of the visitors. They were all great guys.

It could make you mad as a grizzly when a hotel price is quoted to you for $99 a night, but after state taxes, occupancy taxes, phone use and other costs are added on, you’ll actually be paying $125. And don’t even think of opening that hotel room “honor bar”. It’s the same with airline fares. Our favorite airline advertises $60 each way flights on short hops, but with taxes, baggage extras, fuel charges and other add-ons, the cost could be $80 or more. Don’t even ask about advertised cruise prices versus what you’ll actually have to pay.