After leaving Normandy last Friday, we made our way to Paris. After much rain and congested traffic, we finally made it to our hotel. 
The room was 10×15, three beds (one was a bunk bed), and a bathroom that was 4×6. Needless to say, it was tiny but comfortable, for the most part. No, I didn’t get photos, it just didn’t make sense.
The next morning, we drove to the nearest subway station, purchased our tickets and boarded the train heading for the military museum and after, to the Louvre. I realized I was a victim of pickpocketing when I went to get my cell phone and wallet and they were not in my pockets. I was devastated. Luckily I was able to contact my bank and cancel my credit cards and carrier to suspend my cell service. This is why I fell off the face of the social media world on Saturday.
Here’s the lesson I learned. When using public transit, there are some things you need to do to keep your valuables safe. If you have a bag, backpack, etc., put your wallet and cell phone in the bag and keep it in front of you. Better yet, if you don’t need your wallet, don’t take it with you, just enough cash to get you through the day in a coin purse in your bag. Don’t wear expensive watches or jewelry either, that makes you a target. Luckily, they didn’t get my passport or main camera. I was able to recover the photos I took with my phone.
The biggest lesson I learned was this: don’t use a password generator app to keep your passwords secure. If I had been able to login to my cloud service, I could’ve shown the police where my phone was. Yes, I spent about 3 1/2 hours in the police station filing a report. I couldn’t access my email because the password was generated by an app and stored securely, yes, on my phone, as were all my other passwords. I tried everything I could to change my email password so I could get the security code to access my passwords, to no avail. Always know what your passwords are.
After the stint in a Paris police station, we made it to the military museum with an hour to spare. No, we didn’t make it to the Louvre either. I did get some photos but we were rushed and couldn’t really enjoy it. We went back the next day for a longer visit and I’ll do a post about it once I get my photos processed.
Over the next few days, we made it to the museum of the Great War (WWI), the US memorial to the victims of WWI at Chateau Thierry, and at closing time to the American Cemetery in Belleau Wood. Nearby is the German cemetery from the same war. I’ll do posts about these places as well.
After a wonderful, high stressed stay in Paris (as you could probably guess), we made our way back home.
I enjoyed my time in France, with memories that will last a lifetime.
Enjoy,
Kelly
Kelly Guymon Photography 
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