I've done a lot of world traveling in my time, but one city I have yet to make is Paris. So, for my wife's birthday (along with a few baubles I bought from Jeff, thanks Man!) I'm taking her to Paris for a week. It's going to be interesting! I don't know a word of French, don't know anything about getting around the city, don't know the right bottle of wine to buy. So all you Parisians out there; what do I need to know? ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
try no to wear tennis shoes...and do not dress too overly american.. it will get you a lot less problems and people wont try and blatantly take advantage of you.. go to sacre cour and the surrounding area..nice restaurants and atmoshpere.. real romantic.. ------------------ "no matter how good she looks someone... somewhere..is tired of her sh*t"
hey sir what's wrong with tennis shoes? Are they "too American"? What would you consider "must see" while we're there? ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
yes there are certain shoes that are comfortable that do not look like you are about to shoot hoops... I am not the fashion police I just noticed whenever I shyied away from the baseball cap the hawaiian shirt and wore more european clothing I was unnoticed and hence nobody bothered me...I could explore without being marked... must see-the eiffel tower of course, notre dame of course..take a walk from the arc de triomphe to place de la concorde..very nice.. the latin quarter on the south side of the river somewhat near notre dame is also worth seeing..very very romantic area..it really depends what you like..me for example I spent time at the bars en les halles and monmarte then i went to pigalle to see the sex shops and the seedy side..if you are fiending and want to smoke a joint head to pere lachoise cemetery and go to jim morrisons grave..you'll probably score there.. your wife would probably like galleries layfette its a dept store but they have all the french crap (chanel, lacoste,etc) that women love.. ------------------ "no matter how good she looks someone... somewhere..is tired of her sh*t"
doesn't the latin quarter host maggott alley? we need rimbaud to drop some knowledge. When we were there last year we were lost as far as our diets went. We ate alot of little cheese sandwiches. mmmm... sandwiche au(?) fromage. ------------------ women love me, fish fear me.
I don't know if it's applicable but thought it worth mentioning. If you are black, you are better off looking American. Otherwise, hangover is right, white people are better off not dressing like an American. Also, they like Canadians a lot better than Americans, so you may want to say Canadian. There are other rules that apply to visiting France, but I don't know if they apply in Paris. Like always saying hello to shop-owners when you enter their store. Btw, be aware that stores often close at funny times in France; less so in Paris, but there too. Also, don't try to tell direction using the sun. For some reason, it doesn't work in Paris. As for places to see, the things I'd suggest have already been mentioned. The Latin Quarter, 14th arrondissement, is trendy. I don't think you'd take this advice, but I'd say get out of Paris asap and visit the rest of France, which is a lot nicer. ------------------ RealGM Gafford Art Artisan Cakes
Thanks Guys! Juan I'm actually pretty good about blending into whatever country I'm visiting. I've had more than one European say with surprise "you're American?" I try not to be obnoxious and try to respect the customs and manners of whatever country I go to. So this shouldn't be a problem! "me for example I spent time at the bars en les halles and monmarte then i went to pigalle to see the sex shops and the seedy side..if you are fiending and want to smoke a joint head to pere lachoise cemetery and go to jim morrisons grave..you'll probably score there." Sir, I too am into the pubs, but it's my wife who will have to be drug out of the "seedy places". First thing she said to me was "are we going to any of the Cabarets?" And I'm sure we'll be making a pilgrimage to Morrison's grave. ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
The Louvre, you have to go see the Mona Lisa!! it's behind like a foot of glass! ooh.. and if you're going in late July you might be able to catch the end of the Tour de France!? oh, and get a phrase book...it could help have fun! rH ------------------ visit: The Psychedelic Groove House of Rockets Basketball Love! President, CEO & Charter Member of Rocketholics Anonymous Jiizz Coach Sloan, "OK guys, after we practice layups, I want everyone to pair up with a buddy and practice your flops" [This message has been edited by rockHEAD (edited April 25, 2001).]
Paris is a great city. I've been there twice. Here is what I would suggest: 1. Learn key words and phrases like "Please" "Thank you" "Do you speak English" money values, etc. I have never met a rude French person but I also asked every French person (in French) if they could speak English before I tried speaking English to them. I think they really appreciate that. 2. Learn the words for foods you don't like! Just to be safe. Those French will eat anything! 3. The must-sees are pretty cliché but every tourist has to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triumph, Place de Concord and the Champs Elysées. The Louvre is worth going to to see the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory etc.. but unless you are a fan of Classical period art you might not find much there familiar. Try to go early to avoid the long lines. The better museum (IMO) is the Musée d'Orsay right across the Seine. It's full of more recent works by Monet, Degas, Van Gogh etc... 4. For something really different go to the Catacombs. It is several miles of underground tunnels there were built in Roman times. They are full of bones. Millions of bones. Very spooky. 5. If you are a Doors fan, you have to go to the Le Pere Lachaise cemetery to see Jim's grave. Kind of a hippy pilgrimage. 6. Giverny is a town just outside of Paris where Claude Monet's house is located. You can tour his house and gardens and see the famous waterlillies and Japanese Bridge from his artwork. I actually proposed to my wife on that Japanese Bridge... 7. Versailles is also very cool. It is a pretty spectacular palace outside of Paris. 8. If it is your first time, you may want to take one of those boat rides down the Seine (although I found the commentary in six languages annoying after a while - not that I don't enjoy hearing other languages but hearing the same thing repeated six times over and over again got old!). 9. Get a Metro pass and take the subway everywhere. It is clean, efficient and a terrific way to get from place to place fast. 10. Finally take some time just to stroll around town and enjoy being in Paris. Sit at a cafe, sit in a park, whatever... Paris is a great place just to hang out in. I could go on longer but you get the idea! ------------------
Chase you ROCK!!! MORE! MORE! MORE!!! ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
I know that being british their sucks. i'm scottish but ive lost most of my accent but my dad still has a strong english accent and we got a lot of crap. granted it was after the english made arses of themselves during the world cup. ------------------ KD 12-21-99
I have only one problem with France, it is full of French people. ------------------ "Of course, thats just my opinion, I could be wrong" -- Dennis Miller
Achebe what's Maggott Alley? Well the wife came home with two guide books and French audio tapes. We're going in June. It's supposed to be beautiful then. ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
mc mark, it's a really really bad place for food on the south side of the river, in what I originally thought was the Latin Qtr, but my wife reminded me that the Latin Qtr was the place, the only place, that we had fun in at night. btw, the catacombs are cool as are many of the churches and all of the big attractions... but you could literally spend 2 or 3 days in the louvre. I can't believe rimbaud hasn't dropped some knowledge yet. He lived there for 6 mos., so he'd better be the master of the place. ------------------ women love me, fish fear me.
Spent a month in Paris 25 years ago. Loved it. Try and get to Nice. In Paris, we stayed at a pension and the daily fare was the best month of eating in my entire life. You will have a ball. The Louvre. Notre Dame. Versailles is outside of Paris maybe an hour by train. Go, man, go! ------------------ Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils. PowerbizOnline.com
Achebe he'll be around. He's just forming his thoughts. right Rimmy? Where's the most fun? The Rive Droite or the Rive Gauche? Pretty Good huh? RichRocket what's your best Paris story? ------------------ Everything you do, effects everything that is.
I just went there a couple weeks ago! Paris is great, and like Chase said the metro is a really great way to get around. It's really intuitive to use, too. Just don't try to get to the Champs Elysees from the Madeleine stop... you'll end up in the sex district... well anyway. I don't know if you're big into cars, but there's a Peugeot showroom on the Champs Elysees with some freakin' awesome vehicles in there. Check out the 206 CC. Umm... when you're crossing the street, don't worry about the status of the actual light. Makes no difference in your ability to cross. =) Sacre Coeur was mentioned, it's really neat, and there are a bunch of cafes in the area nearby, but there's also a LOT of street artists, etc. They'll try and hold you up long enough so they can start drawing you, and once they start you sort of have to pay them. Some of 'em are really sucky at drawing, too. Of course you have to see the Eiffel Tower, at night. It sparkles on the hour, so make sure you see that. I think the metro stop for that is Bir el Hakeim or something like that. Definitely something very un-French. A great thing about getting tickets for the metro is you don't have to deal with actual French-speaking persons. They have machines that'll give you the tickets. Get a "carnet" of them.. it's 10 tickets per carnet, and they're 56 francs for 10 as opposed to 8 for 1. They can be used over any period of time, too, so you can save 'em day to day. Enjoy yourself, man!! =) ------------------ "I don't want to join a club that accepts people like me as members."
My best Paris story is going to Nice, actually! Also, I got to meet Doc and Merle Watson backstage when they were playing in Paris. Merle was killed in a tractor accident about 2 years later. This weekend is the Merlefest in his memory. I'll have to think on it some more. It was all wonderful. It was a college summer school; I was the only one along who spoke no French. I got to spend my mornings lounging in the Luxembourg Gardens while my classmates were in classes. I had short tutorial sessions with the student teachers for an hour each day and we went on junkets in the afternoon. It was my first time abroad, so it was all eye-popping. ------------------ Time is a great teacher-- only problem is it kills all its pupils. PowerbizOnline.com
Tu ne parle pas francais? Ne t'enerve pas!Detendez-vous, vous voulez aimer bien Paris. I've never been to France, just practicing for my class this semester. I plan on possibly going in June, so Im brushing up on mes etudes. have fun mark ------------------ right on
I am a world traveller myself, so here are my thoughts: 1. The Louvre (http://www.louvre.fr/louvrea.htm) is immense. I read something like if you saw every piece in the Louvre, and spent 3 seconds on each piece, it would take like a month (or some other ridiculous amount of time), without stopping, to see everything. I would recommend seeing what you want (they have maps) and moving on. The "big 3" of the Louvre is the Mona Lisa, Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory), and the Venus de Milo. See those if nothing else. 2. Versailles is a must. That place is friggin' huge. I enjoyed the gardens more than anything inside. The gardens there are among the most beautiful things I have ever seen. 3. The Metro (subway) is an excellent way to get around. Buy a full one day pass, you'll need it and will definitely get your money's worth. It always best to not look like a tourist in Europe. While Paris is beautiful, in my experience there are some very rude people there, and their stereotypical disdain for Americans is well known. Don't despair, there are some very nice and helpful people in Paris. One last tip: Go to your fav bookstore and buy a Frommer's Guide to Paris, and a Paris book by Rick Steves (the PBS "Travels in Europe" guy). Those are the best two travel guides money can buy, IMHO. ------------------ "I have no regrets except that I wasn't up to keep Randy from getting on that plane." --Ozzy Osbourne on guitarist Randy Rhodes
