I'm going to get clobbered for this, but about Paris...
Jun 4th, 2002, 07:45 AM
#141
Guest
Posts: n/a
I PROMISED myself I was NOT going to respond to this but.....I LOVED PARIS Margie. This is what I experienced:<BR><BR>Arrival:<BR><BR>Natives speaking with me and being friendly @ the luggage carousel.<BR><BR>Dropped an envelope containing everything, passport/$$ etc., on the CDG sidewalk-someone picked it up just as I noticed I had dropped it and looked around not as if to steal it but concerned for its owner!<BR><BR>Shuttle-driver could NOT have been nicer<BR><BR>During visit:<BR><BR>No less than three people on three different occaisons who saw me reading my map approached me asking if I needed help.<BR><BR>In cafes and bars-people (natives) introduced themselves to me and even bought me drinks!!<BR><BR>Hotel personnel-helpful, asked if I needed sightseeing suggestions etc.<BR><BR>Metro-never a problem. People gave up their seats for me when they learned I was American. (I refused but he gesture was great).<BR><BR>Paris is an awesome, beautiful city filled with culture and history.<BR><BR>Go again with a different attitude. Learn and speak French-have fun with it!!! I promise, you will come home with a completely different experience.<BR>
Jun 4th, 2002, 07:58 AM
#142
Guest
Posts: n/a
“Go again with a different attitude. Learn and speak French-have fun with it!!! I promise, you will come home with a completely different experience.”<BR><BR>Can anyone responding to this post read??? I never got the impression that Margie’s attitude was the problem, and as I recall, seems that one of them had both a high school and college background in speaking French. Frankophiles will read into a message only what they like.<BR><BR>
Jun 4th, 2002, 08:35 AM
#143
Guest
Posts: n/a
I wish Margie would come back...she says she was "disappointed" and her expectations weren't met, all because she was treated "dispassionately".<BR><BR>HOW IS IT that this dispassionate treatment took away from the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, a lazy cruise down the Seine on a sunny day, the miles and miles of precious artwork filling the museums, the churches, etc. etc.....HOW can she have been disappointed in any of that just because she was treated dispassionately? It just doesn't follow. She manages to mention her wonderful trips to the V&A and Tower of London in London, and how wonderful her experiences there were based on the stellar customer service. Did she see any sites of interest in Paris or just ride the metro, go to restaurants and stores where she was snubbed and step in dog poo? She never once mentioned anything she actually saw from a cultural view, so I have to assume she didn't make an effort to "see" Paris at all, only the attitudes she encountered. Hence, I discount her complaint entirely.
Jun 4th, 2002, 08:52 AM
#144
Guest
Posts: n/a
Amy Paris is more than the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. People travel to other countries to meet the people and sample the culture. Margie was not only treated dispassionately, but also rudely, and you ask how this detracted from her trip. Foolish question.
Jun 4th, 2002, 09:12 AM
#145
Guest
Posts: n/a
Sometimes it's just the way you feel. Perhaps Margie didn't sufficiently articulate the reasons she had a less than pleasant time for some, but it's the way she felt upon return that counts. I too was disappointed in Paris. I'm not going to tell anybody not to go, but I expected to fall in love with the city like many others and did not. I suspect that was part of my problem - too much build up.<BR><BR>We had just come from Italy where we had a marvelous time. Paris felt more standoffish, less accomodating. In checking into our hotel, the person barely looked up and smirked as she handed us our key. No "welcome" or "glad to have you"; no words at all, literally, except our room number. So it was a bad start. Then we found several instances of graffiti that said "US go home or we'll kill you". That was right after 9/11. Didnt make us feel very safe. In a city known for it's food, we had a hard time finding a good meal because we didn't always understand the menus and hardly ever received help (believe me we tried between my husband's semi-fluent French and a phrase book). We also waited an hour to go up the Eiffel Tower (admist rude tourists and annoying vendors) only to get halfway up and wait in another line to go to the top.<BR><BR>Now, I'm not saying these things will happen to you, and I'm not saying don't go or that it's a bad place. I'm just saying that I was disappointed. Was it beautiful? Yes. The Louvre was magnificent and the city itself was breathtaking. However, I don't have plans to return but can't wait to go back to Rome.<BR><BR>Everyone has their own opinions and experiences. For those that love Paris, great. For those that don't, that's fine too. As long as no one pushes their opinions on others, no harm done (and even if I read this post before my trip, nothing could have stopped me from going - I was convinced it was going to be the romantic city of my dreams). I'm glad I went, but was disappointed overall. It's just the feeling I got. Why did I love Rome? It was the way I felt when I was there.
Jun 4th, 2002, 10:05 AM
#146
Guest
Posts: n/a
My Opinions: you entirely missed the point of my post...Margie clearly didn't "see" anything else. I'm sure while she spent year anticipating this trip she didn't daydream to herself "I bet the waiters will come to me, white cloth over their arm, smile pleasantly while they pour my Evian, and better yet, the Metro will smell SO GOOD." She most likely dreamt of the seeing the sun hit the Eiffel Tower, strolling the Rodin museums gardens, sampling her first Berthillon ice cream. None of this do we know she even tried. Her "expectations" were ruined. How juvenile. You don't have to tell me that people travel to meet other people from other cultures, but I'd have to say that for someone who waited "all her life for this trip", I doubt that was her primary purpose. Hey Margie, did you see ANY sites while you were there? Did they pale in comparison to your expectations as well??? That was never made clear about Paris, but more than clear about her trip in London.
Jun 4th, 2002, 10:58 AM
#148
Guest
Posts: n/a
“Go again with a different attitude. Learn and speak French-have fun with it!!! I promise, you will come home with a completely different experience.”<BR><BR>Can anyone responding to this post read??? I never got the impression that Margie’s attitude was the problem, and as I recall, seems that one of them had both a high school and college background in speaking French. Frankophiles will read into a message only what they like.<BR><BR>
Jun 4th, 2002, 11:17 AM
#150
Guest
Posts: n/a
Having just read the original post I can’t find anywhere that Margie is advising anyone not to go to Paris. I read that she was disgruntled with the demeanor of the people she met. (So was I.)<BR><BR>I read a letter about someone finally getting to a place she’d always wanted to go to and who found it lacking. Pretty simple stuff.<BR><BR>Margie’s only mistake was that she said what she said about Paris instead of some less mythical city (mythical methinks primarily to American females.)<BR><BR>What did she see? I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure one couldn’t hang out in Paris that long and not see anything, particularly when we know, as good little detectives should, that she visited several “cultural” spots in London. Do we somehow assume that though she bothers to visit places like the Victoria/Albert that she didn’t go anywhere in Paris?<BR><BR>Francophiles grasping at straws.<BR>
Jun 4th, 2002, 12:34 PM
#152
Guest
Posts: n/a
I think the ones not reading here are the anti-Paris people. What Amy is saying is true. While I was disappointed in Rome's crowds and filth, I cried when I saw the Sistine Chapel, was spiritually uplifted at St. Peter's and will never forget my time in the Borghese Gallery or seeing the Trevi Fountain for the first time. Do you people understand now? Margie's letting the trivia overrun her memories of the beauty of the city. Her loss.
Jul 29th, 2005, 09:59 AM
#156
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Interesting post.
I am French but I've lived in the US for many years. Whenever I go back to Paris, I do not expect the level of service we get here in the US.
When I used to live in Paris, I remember not being particularly friendly to tourists...there are so many of them. I am ashamed to say that I often ignored the tourists and did not have time for them.
Someone mention that French people don't smile for no reason. That is very true. A waiter/waitress will not smile automatically. When I moved to the US, I was often asked why I did not smile
Also keep in mind that Parisians can be rude to other French people. It's happened to me many times and I speak French fluently with no accent. So, if you are not treated well, do not think that it's because you are Americans.
I think the younger generation of Parisians tend to be more friendly and welcoming.
Generally we tend to judge a city by the way we are treated during the few days that we stay in that city. It's really not fair. There are times when I've been treated very well in Paris and others when I met some very rude people.
I can really both sides on this issue.
Karina1
I am French but I've lived in the US for many years. Whenever I go back to Paris, I do not expect the level of service we get here in the US.
When I used to live in Paris, I remember not being particularly friendly to tourists...there are so many of them. I am ashamed to say that I often ignored the tourists and did not have time for them.
Someone mention that French people don't smile for no reason. That is very true. A waiter/waitress will not smile automatically. When I moved to the US, I was often asked why I did not smile
Also keep in mind that Parisians can be rude to other French people. It's happened to me many times and I speak French fluently with no accent. So, if you are not treated well, do not think that it's because you are Americans.
I think the younger generation of Parisians tend to be more friendly and welcoming.
Generally we tend to judge a city by the way we are treated during the few days that we stay in that city. It's really not fair. There are times when I've been treated very well in Paris and others when I met some very rude people.
I can really both sides on this issue.
Karina1
Jul 29th, 2005, 10:37 AM
#157
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have travelled to France for the past thirteen years, always spending time in Paris, Provence.
My experience has been the opposite of yours. I speak a fair French. Occasionally, we ran in to that bored personality but not often. The French, however, are not generally like Americans, Italians or Irish. Not smiling, hug'em types.
Let me illustrate by comparing two events that I witnessed:
In the U.S., at a bus stop, a head leans in to a stopped bus and asks "Do you go to Spring Street?" The driver politely answers.
In Paris that head is ignored by the driver because it did not say "Excusez moi........." The language and customs of France expect courtesy.
I have asked directions, etc. a hundred times and seldom met with the sullen reaction you got, which I am sorry you did. Perhaps if you spoke French and followed the French ways you might have been received better.
Also, remember a city or country can not be judged by a few rude morons.
Better luck next time.
Anthony
My experience has been the opposite of yours. I speak a fair French. Occasionally, we ran in to that bored personality but not often. The French, however, are not generally like Americans, Italians or Irish. Not smiling, hug'em types.
Let me illustrate by comparing two events that I witnessed:
In the U.S., at a bus stop, a head leans in to a stopped bus and asks "Do you go to Spring Street?" The driver politely answers.
In Paris that head is ignored by the driver because it did not say "Excusez moi........." The language and customs of France expect courtesy.
I have asked directions, etc. a hundred times and seldom met with the sullen reaction you got, which I am sorry you did. Perhaps if you spoke French and followed the French ways you might have been received better.
Also, remember a city or country can not be judged by a few rude morons.
Better luck next time.
Anthony
Jul 29th, 2005, 11:05 AM
#158
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tony is right.
If there is only ONE rule to remember is to approach a French person by saying: "Bonjour" or "excusez-moi".
I've seen many tourists be ignored (just like the ones on the bus that was mentioned by Tony) because they jumped in with their question WITHOUT saying "bonjour" first.
karina1
If there is only ONE rule to remember is to approach a French person by saying: "Bonjour" or "excusez-moi".
I've seen many tourists be ignored (just like the ones on the bus that was mentioned by Tony) because they jumped in with their question WITHOUT saying "bonjour" first.
karina1
Jul 29th, 2005, 12:58 PM
#160
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
soccr,
Nutty? I think not...I am much more of a legume.
What about this 3 year old post is no longer relevant? Are the responses from the earlier poster any less valid? Should we only take heed of those that currently use this board? Many of the respondants are still active and thoughtful contributors.
Nutty? I think not...I am much more of a legume.
What about this 3 year old post is no longer relevant? Are the responses from the earlier poster any less valid? Should we only take heed of those that currently use this board? Many of the respondants are still active and thoughtful contributors.
