Champs Elysee: worth an afternoon or too tacky?
Jul 23rd, 2017, 12:07 AM
#42
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 1,645
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
to talk about Saudi culture as if it were the same as culture in Qatar seems more than unusually dense these days, when headlines are filled with the near-war between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Apparently people like to throw around appearances of a worldly outlook but their parochialism and lack of knowledge of Arab and Muslim culture is what they are revealing (even as their elected governments relentlessly kill these people with their approval).
Personally I wouldn't stroll the Champs-Elysees except at night, just like I wouldn't bother going to the Ginza as a tourist except at night. If I saw a Muslim tourist on the Champs-Elysees at night sporting a batoola -- which, by the way, has its origins as practical device to protect one's nose & lips from blowing sand & which ultimately became decorative -- i'd not gawk. I've been a tourist in countries where my native dress was gawked at and it was unpleasant.
Personally I wouldn't stroll the Champs-Elysees except at night, just like I wouldn't bother going to the Ginza as a tourist except at night. If I saw a Muslim tourist on the Champs-Elysees at night sporting a batoola -- which, by the way, has its origins as practical device to protect one's nose & lips from blowing sand & which ultimately became decorative -- i'd not gawk. I've been a tourist in countries where my native dress was gawked at and it was unpleasant.
Jul 23rd, 2017, 05:41 PM
#43
My husband was a college student and in Paris when the lights went back on
on the CE after WWII. He wanted me to see it on my first trip to Paris in the early 80's. He was disappointed even then at the changes.
on the CE after WWII. He wanted me to see it on my first trip to Paris in the early 80's. He was disappointed even then at the changes.
Jul 24th, 2017, 07:19 AM
#44
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
batoola -- which, by the way, has its origins as practical device to protect one's nose & lips from blowing sand & which ultimately became decorative>
Why don't men wear them then?>
they are in fact a way to keep women from being laid eyes on by other males.
Why don't men wear them then?>
they are in fact a way to keep women from being laid eyes on by other males.
Jul 25th, 2017, 03:15 AM
#47
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<<Why don't men wear them then?>>
Good point, Pal. Sandstorms are nasty (been in a couple in Tunisia, and men ran around groping women during them, believe it or not - I was horrified between the sand in my hair and teeth and random guys feeling me up), and can't imagine why women in particular need to be protected from them. You don't see men all swaddled up to protect THEIR faces. Pfff!
As for the Champs Elysées, it's so emblematic of Paris I can't imagine not wanting to see it as a first-time visitor. I would go home regretting not seeing it, I think. I never go there anymore, but that's beside the point.Take the Paris Virgins there for a quick look-see and move on. They can go back if it grabs them.
Good point, Pal. Sandstorms are nasty (been in a couple in Tunisia, and men ran around groping women during them, believe it or not - I was horrified between the sand in my hair and teeth and random guys feeling me up), and can't imagine why women in particular need to be protected from them. You don't see men all swaddled up to protect THEIR faces. Pfff!
As for the Champs Elysées, it's so emblematic of Paris I can't imagine not wanting to see it as a first-time visitor. I would go home regretting not seeing it, I think. I never go there anymore, but that's beside the point.Take the Paris Virgins there for a quick look-see and move on. They can go back if it grabs them.
Jul 26th, 2017, 12:01 AM
#48
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 564
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Of course your friends have to see the Champs Elysees. It's a no-brainer.
While it's true that the CE doesn't feel very French anymore, and doesn't have the typical cute shops you see on the Marais, it's still one of Paris's most beautiful boulevards.
I like it more during the day, though.
At night, it becomes a bit tacky.
Avoid the night clubs on the CE at all costs.
While it's true that the CE doesn't feel very French anymore, and doesn't have the typical cute shops you see on the Marais, it's still one of Paris's most beautiful boulevards.
I like it more during the day, though.
At night, it becomes a bit tacky.
Avoid the night clubs on the CE at all costs.
