Hello From The South of France

[EmerilVOL]

Which one of you lost his license plate about 20 years ago????

I found it.  Here I am in this little village in the South of France and what do I spot but a license plate from Knox County, Tennessee.  I will be posting a pic to shame the perpetrator into confessing. 

Yep cue the X-FILES music for sure.

[Black Diamond Vol]

Sounds like your "How I spent my Summer Vacation" presentation to the class is going to be pretty interesting this September.

[volsboy]

The first day I woke up. I went downtown to look for a job.......The second day of my summer vacation.........

[EmerilVOL]

Sounds like your "How I spent my Summer Vacation" presentation to the class is going to be pretty interesting this September.

Yep I have over 1000 pics already plus a video of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit.  We went to Monaco and our driver drove us around the Grand Prix circuit and we recorded video of it.  Is a cool video that I will edit and post as well.

Will be back to the states on Wednesday evening (May 6) and will give you a ring next week.

[BanditVol]

Cool. I am going to be there in June. 

Are you using an ATM and if so, did you have to get a card with a chip?

[EmerilVOL]

Cool. I am going to be there in June. 

Are you using an ATM and if so, did you have to get a card with a chip?

. Get a prepaid Visa card and load it with some cash then go across the pond.  All the new prepaid cards are chipped and it is the best way to protect yourself plus it is useful at restaurants and shops as well.  Prepaid is the way to go and you can reload them just by calling your bank and getting them to transfer money into the account number on the card.

[murfvol]

Done. I'll be calling Emeril's bank and telling them to load my prepaid Visa. Thanks!

[BanditVol]

. Get a prepaid Visa card and load it with some cash then go across the pond.  All the new prepaid cards are chipped and it is the best way to protect yourself plus it is useful at restaurants and shops as well.  Prepaid is the way to go and you can reload them just by calling your bank and getting them to transfer money into the account number on the card.

Thanks.  As it turns out, my bank told me that my ATM card will work overseas provided the network is there and that I file some paperwork with them online ahead of time so that they know I will be withdrawing money in France.

But I do still want a credit card with a chip.  I checked at Wal-Mart.  The ones they had there had lots of fees and did not appear to have a chip.

My American Express card already has a chip.  Is that widely accepted in France?

I will likely get a prepaid one regardless.  Thanks for the advice.

[PirateVOL]

Thanks.  As it turns out, my bank told me that my ATM card will work overseas provided the network is there and that I file some paperwork with them online ahead of time so that they know I will be withdrawing money in France.

But I do still want a credit card with a chip.  I checked at Wal-Mart.  The ones they had there had lots of fees and did not appear to have a chip.

My American Express card already has a chip.  Is that widely accepted in France?

I will likely get a prepaid one regardless.  Thanks for the advice.

Where I've been in Europe, they look at you weird when you produce a card without a chip (like my corporate card).

[EmerilVOL]

Thanks.  As it turns out, my bank told me that my ATM card will work overseas provided the network is there and that I file some paperwork with them online ahead of time so that they know I will be withdrawing money in France.

But I do still want a credit card with a chip.  I checked at Wal-Mart.  The ones they had there had lots of fees and did not appear to have a chip.

My American Express card already has a chip.  Is that widely accepted in France?

I will likely get a prepaid one regardless.  Thanks for the advice.

Best thing to do is select one or two cards to take with you and leave everything else at home. If your ATM card does not have a chip it is useless unless you go into a bank that is part of your network and talk to the tellers and make sure you speak excellent French if you do that.  That is why we did the prepaid chipped cards from visa at our bank.  Plus if you use a bank issued card they will refill it for no charge.  We only got charged for the initial issuance fee which was cheap compared to those at Wally World.  The system in Europe is that they bring a terminal to you, you swipe or slide in your card and enter a pin (if the card has a chip) and then the charge is authorized.  Card does not leave your sight.

[BanditVol]

okay I'll check with my bank.  hopefully they have a prepaid card with a chip in it