Response from BigAl9999
 

Greetings--

Hello this is Allen again and I am responding to the thread of emails regarding my "What To Do in Paris email."

I am 25 years old and will be traveling with my Mom there at the end of the week. I am new to this site & I was not aware of the proper protocol needed to post a message.

I agree that my question was a bit "vague" , however, there was no reason to insult me. I was especially insulted to be called a "troll". Howard, your messages were particularly unprofessional. Perhaps I could have done more research but there's no reason to insult me.

To the many pleasant responses I received I thank you.

Allen

Hey Big Allen,

I was about your age when I took my first adult trip to Paris. I also was pretty unprepared, also. It didn't take long to figure everything out, however. With the info you've received, you and your mom should have a great time. Learn the metro system (very easy in Paris) and walk a lot. You'll become comfortable with Paris very quickly, I believe.

As for the negative posts and insults, unfortunately some people on the board take this stuff way too seriously. Have fun.
((H))

The problem is this-

There are a group of people (me included) who post frequently and spend time reading posts. Once you've been doing that for awhile you start getting the "unwritten rules." It is wrong, however, for people to assume that everyone who posts here spends alot of time here and knows the so-called "protocols."

Allen, sorry that you found my remarks "unprofessional." It's just when some writes that he/she is going to Paris in a few days and is still asking the basic questions you asked....well, I found it hard to take your posting seriously! (And, from some of the other postings, I was not alone in this attitude.)
And, by the way, protocol has nothing to do with it!

Dear Allen
Perhaps wrong assumptions were made about your intentions, and I will apologize for questioning them.
On the other hand at your request I sent you a long file on Paris that represented a lot of experience and research on my part, and you neither acknowledged it nor thanked me.

FYI Allen, calling you a "troll" simply means that your original post was not genuine, but rather an attempt to bait others on this forum. You were not being called a "subterranean dwelling dwarf".

>You were not being called a "subterranean dwelling dwarf".<

No. That's a Gnome.

According to my dictionary, "troll" and "gnome" are relatively interchangeable. One of the definitions for "gnome" is "troll". Talk about picking nits! And not the point of my post...oh yeah ... it's Friday!

Whatever you do, Big Al, please, please, make sure to get a good guidebook (actually any of the popular ones will do--Lonely Planet, Fodors, Frommers, etc) and read it BEFORE You get to Paris, and use it again for reference when you get there. If you just take the time now to go to the bookstore and get it from the travel section, it will be the best $20 you spend on your trip...you've probably paid hundreds or thousands of dollars to go, so make sure you enjoy the time to its fullest by having the info you need. It really sucks to be in a huge city with so many sights to see and having no idea how to see them, or not knowing how to say please and thank you in the local language.

Thanks Allen for posting again.

Being happily of the unprepared school of travel... my advice (and it's served me well) is get yourself a hotel reservation. Period.

Once you are in Paris you can easily pick up free city street maps, look for weekly English-language publications about events, brochures for tourist sites - from your hotel, a tourist office, or on the streets.

If your hotel is central such as the Latin Quarter (5th) or Marais (4th) or St. Germaine (6th) you just step out your front door and see what you find. Voila!!

I loved my first trip to Paris and did not have a guidebook. Hey, call me crazy! Paris is about the streets - the parks, the restaurants and cafes, open market places, people, wine, traffic, mimes, (oops I'm getting carried away). Have a great trip. Bon Voyage.