yakka

I booked a fabulous located apartment in Paris I asked how many stairs and was told 3 . I think there was a communication breakdown there were 3 flights 57 steps in all . It was like climbing up a lighthouse . Whats wrong with this . Try 3 60years old and one 50 yearold with 4 large suitcases 3 small roll on bags and a suit pack . I came home fro 6 weeks in europe 1/2 stone lighter .I blame the stairs . Also with a great Band B in London the underground was one no lift or escalator 29 steps up .This was on the Piccadilly line from heathrow . So make more details enquires it may save a bad back .....

kleeblatt

Or next time next bring smaller suitcases!

Our buildings are old and are difficult to install lifts. I don't think people usually ask for "how many steps". Most people ask for "how many flights", hence the communication breakdown.

What I don't understand is: you've lost some weight and you're complaining? People buy stepmasters to achieve the same results.

MademoiselleFifi

Didn't you ask which FLOOR it was on?

kerouac

I live on the 3rd floor without an elevator. I've never counted the number of steps, but I will now.

scdreamer

Surely you didn't have to carry all those bags up and down the stairs each time you went out or returned.

We are in your age range, and we, too, rented an older apartment in Paris last fall. I think we had four flights of stairs, but the only time there was any issue was when we arrived and had to tote our two bags up. Otherwise, I always viewed the stairs as a welcome antidote to all the rich food we indulged in ... and if I had come home after a couple weeks with any weight loss, I would hve been exceptionally grateful for those stairs!

StCirq

You asked How Many Stairs? That's a truly bizarre question. Why didn't you ask what floor it was on? And 57 steps isn't much at all (and I'm 56). Unless of course you have LARGE suitcases. In which case asking better questions at the start isn't going to help much.

Pegontheroad

I think that asking how many stairs is perfectly logical. There's a difference between the three stairs leading to my back door and the 17 stairs leading to my second-floor bedroom, though I think both qualify as flights. When I have had knee replacements, the three back door stairs weren't a problem, but the 17 stairs to my bedroom were.

Padraig

People seem to use different vocabularies. I would never ask "how many stairs"; I would ask "how many steps" or "how many flights of stairs".

In reality, I probably would not ask at all. Herself and I regard climbing stairs as good exercise, and seldom use lifts. I can usually tell you how many steps up to our hotel room or apartment after our trip (I happen to remember that it was 108 in Vienna; 82 on our most recent visit to Budapest).

Christina

It may be logical for some people, but not most. It really is a very unusual question, and if one did ask that, I would think you'd also ask the floor, of course. And also wouldn't you wonder if you were told 3 stairs but never bothered to find out what floor it was on, or knew it wasn't ground floor?

I'm almost that old (and older than 50) and can carry a suitcase up a few flights myself, so I think that is no real problem. I'm sure each person didn't have four large suitcases, each had one, I suppose. I've rented apartments with no elevators that were 3 flights up and knew about it when I rented it.

So, I do understand that this is simply advice to people to ask better questions, but you are also complaining it was a bad situation (by using the word "Blame&quotbecause you didn't want to walk up and down so much, but perhaps it was actually good for you. If someone has a bad back, I can understand it, but do all four people those ages have bad backs?

Celticharper

I'm no spring chicken either, but my theory is if I can't carry my suitcase up several flights of stairs myself, I've packed too much.

Our joke traveling in Ireland was that we must look like a hale & hearty couple because we were always given a room on the top floor and last one down the hall.

kerouac

Yakka has already taken a pretty good drubbing, and I wouldn't want to add to it, except for the fact that climbing stairs is good for just about everybody and the fact that yakka lost a little weight would overjoy many people.

When my own parents were able to travel, living in flat Florida, they knew that Paris would be an ordeal and went into training for it by going to the only two level department store at the mall and walking up and down the stairs there several times (everybody thought they were crazy for not using the escalator).

They would huff and puff up my three flights but were thrilled to go back down for the challenge of the supermarket and coming back up again with groceries. They also appreciated all of the stairs in the metro, even though I read here constantly that buses should be taken because there are too many stairs in the metro. My parents were absolutely delighted to get back into shape during their trips to Paris. I don't think they lost any weight during their visits, but they didn't gain any either. And they felt much better and full of energy when it was time to go home.

I think that their attitude was a helluva lot better than many of the others here who decry the lack of elevators in the metro and whimper whenever they have to use stairs anywhere. My father was beyond the age of 80 for his last trip, and my mother is now 84 -- and living in a nursing home in Paris. And whenever I tell her that maybe she shouldn't go somewhere because there are a lot of stairs, she always insists <b>&quot;I can do it!&quot;</b>

Sadly, that isn't quite true, but I walk her around as much as possible anyway and take any stairs with her slowly but surely.

cafegoddess

yakka,

How much is 1/2 stone? I love climbing steps, I feel less guilty about eating so much pastries.

I hope you guys had a great time!

Padraig

Celticharper wrote: &quot;Our joke traveling in Ireland was that we must look like a hale &amp; hearty couple because we were always given a room on the top floor and last one down the hall.&quot;

Don't fool yourself. Everybody gets that room.

Underhill

Has anyone mentioned here that in Europe what we call the first floor is actually the ground floor? Useful to know.

As for not being able to get up several flights of stairs, anyone who thinks that's no problem has never had knee problems.

gracie04

I think people should cut yakka some slacka.

While I would have asked how many flights of stairs, or what floor the apartment is on, I can understand her not wanting to climb three flights of stairs to get back to the apartment.

Last Christmas my friend and I rented an apartment in New York that was on the second floor. Believe me, after walking around all day, (which, don't get me wrong, we love doing) we would both look at those stairs and give a little &quot;ugh&quot;.

tuscanlifeedit

I won't give yakka any grief, but I have to ask, what does the following mean?

&quot;Also with a great Band B in London the underground was one no lift or escalator 29 steps up .&quot;

sassy27

yakka, I feel your pain.

My sister and I got back from Paris last month and encountered a similar experience. We got an apartment on the 4th floor. No problem I thought. I always take the stairs (3 flights) at work and our apartment in Scotland last year was on the 4th floor.

Let me just say the Paris apartment had a lot more stairs than the Scotland apartment. Not to mention they were more narrow and the stairwell was almost pitch black during the day. Not fun going up or down after dark (didn't find the light switch until the 2nd day and who would have thought to ask upon arrival?).

Although it didn't kill me (almost killed my sister since she has asthma) I know for the next time to choose something lower to the ground.

NeoPatrick

If someone told me there were a total of 3 stairs to my apartment, I'd be suspicious. I guess you really thought it was on the ground floor?

But I agree that is a lot of steps to deal with every day. Even though I live in a three story townhouse and climb a lot of stairs every day, when traveling, two flights would pretty much be my limit. I like going in and out a lot. Would I run downstairs to get a cup of coffee next door and run back up? With 57 stairs -- I'd think twice about leaving much.

luvtotravel

For those of you who were harsh with yakka, keep in mind that some people have difficulty with stairs. Knee problems, foot problems, whatever. Since she (I'm assuming you are a she) was asking how many stairs (even if she had asked floors, steps, etc.) it was obviously of concern to her. She wasn't traveling with old people, but neither are they young. Perhaps you needed to know more of the facts.

LoveItaly

Hi cafegoddes, a half a stone would be 7 pounds as one stone is 14 pounds I am sure.

I stayed for several weeks at a friends home in Italy. I was given a bedroom suite on the 5th floor (6th floor in the US). Oh boy did I get in good shape, lol. Better than going to a gym.