maitaitom,
before I was transplanted to NYC, I lived in the Hollywood Hills
And I do have my sunglasses on 8-)

"And I do have my sunglasses on.."

Hey, those sunglasses are pretty cool. They look like Hollywood Hills shades. Oh well. I love New York, also.

and Thank you for the kind words

Before I lived in San Francisco I lived in NY.

Before I made a big mistake and moved back to NY, I lived in Los Angeles. The San Fernando Valley to be specific....

I heart LA

Well here it is, late at night (Amazing Race IV is over!) and I am sitting with my glass of Bordeaux, naturalement, to read the answers to my query. Who'd have thought that the way to get Fodorites to defend where they live and work would be to ask a question about a city miles away from most--la grande dame Paris? Let's see, we put NYC, LA, Chicago, Philly, ND and more under the microscope!

Really, folks, it's enough to make me hop on a plane and see Paris yet again, and then I'd come back and file a trip report, and then you'd all start talking about Paris...again.

Oh, yes, this too! An honorable mention goes to Scarlett and Maitaitom, who know that levity and brevity are the spice of life >-

I lived in Monterey, CA for 5 years and every now and then the traffic jams caused by the tourists would drive me crazy, but I had enough common sense never to be rude to a tourist, because I knew how much money was brought into the area by tourists and how much we depended on their $.

As far as New Yorkers being rude, I was there years ago, ready for the rude New Yorkers...they must have all been on vacation that week, because everyone was extremely friendly. I find very often that unfriendly people meet unfriendly people and friendly people meet friendly people.

Great discourse...I would ask, "Why do want to visit Paris?" I expect that the answer will be concerned with its historical aspects. Tours usually get around person to person hassles. Locals avoid entanglements with visitors because they take time. Use available means to get around. I have been lost many times. I had to follow a Hertz bus to find the airport in Los Vegas. I had a taxi lead me to my hotel in Bratislava. New York is great..all in the eye of the beholder. The last time I was there I had rare contacts with natives. Taxis, vans, restaurant, hotels were all manned by immigrants.

That is the great thing about Paris - it inspires such strong opinions in people. Long may it continue!!

allovereurope, I agree with you, btw.

I want to know if maitaitom saves these up or thinks of them on the spur of the moment - ah, to be both witty AND prolific! Sante!

Yes,Paris is beautifull. That's the reason I go there, the scenery,not the people, But....for a city that thrives on tourist dollars, you would expect for me not to have to ask 6 different shops for car parking change, with them dismissing me like a homeless beggar.
-Yes, I evily wish they drop a nuclear weapon on paris and start over from scratch. (okay, I'm better now)

" I want to know if maitaitom saves these up or thinks of them on the spur of the moment.."

I don't save them up, but I have used Eifel and In Seine before in a trip report about six years ago (I also had some terrible Loire Valley puns such as don't look back in Angers). Sometimes there is a post that just gets my creative (well, that could be debated) juices flowing, People can get pretty serious and even nasty on this board sometimes, so it's just my way of trying to provide a little (some would say, very little) humor to the board as a change of pace.

Voila. Vive le Tom.

Don't change a thing, Tom.