Love for 25€ Per Hour

"Love Hotels" have been around for centuries, but that's not what they've been called...until now.

Love Hotels are a Japanese resurrection of an old theme -- a short-stay hotel for couples who want privacy...for you know what. They began from what was known as a "chaya" (tea room) used by prostitutes and lovers. These hotels experienced a real boom when prostitution was de-legalized in 1958 and the 'trade' was forced to go underground.

And now in 2010, Love Hotels have hit the Paris scene. "Love Hotel à Paris" claims to have been the first in France, but that's a pretty big claim knowing the French, n'est-ce pas? This one is on rue Saint-Denis (number 88), not surprisingly, as this is the heart of the red light district.

For as little as 25€ per hour, you can choose a room with a theme of your "innermost desires" equipped, fortunately, with a shower, sauna and video library (bet it's really an interesting library, too!).

So, if during your time in the world's most romantic city (Paris), you meet some tall dark handsome stranger (or petite voluptuous blonde, or other type that turns you on), and all you need or want is one hour of his (or her) time, then be prepared -- visit the Web site at lovehotelaparis.fr

American Tourists Spend More

The Office du Tourisme de Paris just published its statistics for 2009 (better late than never) which you might find interesting. They define the tourist as someone outside of his normal environment who spends more than one night and less than one year (this I find funny considering the visa waiver program is 90 days).

Not surprising is that France is the most visited country with a recorded 76.8 million visitors in 2009, and second to that was the U.S. with 54.9 million visitors. Americans spent the most amount of money, too, with expenditures of $93.9 billion -- $1,710 per visitor!

Of the 76.8 million visitors, 35.3 million (46%) stayed less than four nights with 19.2 million (24.5%) staying eight nights or more. The British make up the largest percentage of visitors with 15.9%, followed by the Belgians (14.2%) and the Germans (13.9%). We Americans only make up 4% and Canadians only 1.1%. (We may be few, but we make a big impact!)

Of the 961.9 million nights spent in France as a tourist, only 5.8% spend those nights in hotels and 15.5% in rented accommodations. The rest either camp (8.5%, can you believe that?) or stay with a friend or family or in a secondary home.

To learn more, download the pdf report at tourisme.gouv.fr/

The Auto-Lib is Almost a Reality

October 2011, Auto-Lib will become a reality and by March 2012, you will find these electric car rentals available in 41 municipalities in and around Paris with 1,060 stations and 3,000 vehicles.

Users will have access to electric cars for self-service and will be able to drop them off at any other station, rather than going back to the starting point. (This is a freedom not possible when you own your own car!)

The service is as cheap as 12€ for a one year subscription then 5€ for the first half hour. A seven-day subscription is a bit more expensive (15€) and so is the 24 hour rate (10€), but what a great way to try it out before committing to a full year.

The car chosen is the Bluecar by Bolloré with a capacity of 30 kWh, it allows travel of about 250 kilometers with a recharge after eight hours. The dashboard is enhanced with GPS guidance.

Each station has a touch screen kiosk, where you can login, select your destination station and various options. The stations average six spaces for parking and each site is equipped with a charging station and an agent will be present every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for assistance.

To rent an Auto-Lib, you'll need a national identity card or passport, a valid driver's license, proof of residence not older than 90 days, for a one year subscription a "RIB" (Relevé d'Identité Bancaire) is required and for subscriptions of one week or one day, just your bank card (I assume it must be a French card with a chip).

This means tourists will discover the same problems renting an Auto-Lib as they did the Vélib...but a solution will be found (I hope)!

For more information, visit the official Web site at autolib-paris.fr/