This strange obsession with Paris...
May 18th, 2002, 07:31 AM
#61
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Some diseases you can get from your pets include:<BR>1. Campylobacter infection<BR>2. Salmonella<BR>3. Cutaneous Larva Migrans<BR>4. Ringworm<BR>5. Scabies<BR>6. Toxoplasmosis<BR>7. Tapeworm<BR><BR>Just to name a few. So, go ahead, invite the dog or cat to have supper with you. Or, better yet, bring it to the restaurant with you, cause you know that will look REALLY COOL.
May 18th, 2002, 10:51 AM
#63
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Matthias wrote:<BR><BR>"If I find myself in one, like the Louvre, their rudeness is quickly cured by being rude back....in German. Then the stack of pre-signed surrender papers comes out."<BR><BR>Pre-signed surrender papers...now that is the funniest thing written on this<BR>is whole thread! I'm ROFLMAO!!!<BR><BR>US
May 18th, 2002, 12:21 PM
#64
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Frank and Titus, the medical marvels:<BR><BR>Most of the diseases you mentioned can be transmitted only through direct contact with the feces of an infected dog (ringworm and scabies being the obvious exceptions) or cat.<BR><BR>So it does sound like the two of you may indeed have something to fear. <BR><BR><BR><BR>
May 18th, 2002, 01:29 PM
#65
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I was in Paris for a week last July, and while I did like it, I agree with the original poster. I am not obsessed by it. In only a week there I saw great beauty and great ugliness. The ugliness included watching someone being mugged in the subway, and countless beggars (including childred) who sadly were everywhere and quite agressive. In addition, while on the subway one day, me and my family (husband, 1 yr old baby, and 18 yr old nephew) were verbally harrassed our entire journey. This idiot sat across from us, looking right at us, yelling, spitting, waiving his arms around, and pointing to us. I'm not sure what his problem was (maybe he took offense to our obvious Americaness, or by our Black skin I'm not sure). After 20 minutes of yelling and swearing, he noticed we weren't responding and starting berrating some guy several seats down. This guy did not ignore him, and we watched a minor scuffle break out in front of us (I know this is crazy, but true). Finally the second guy got off the train, and the other guy calmed down, right afterwards we got off. Did it ruin my trip? No. Will I go back again? Probably. But these things do color your perception of a city.<BR>For the record, I prefer Brussels, Belgium to Paris as well. Not to mention Lyon, and Nice. And yes Monaco was a sort of La La land, but I enjoyed just looking at it all, and laughing at how opulent is was.
May 19th, 2002, 12:57 PM
#69
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Yeah, Londoner's complain about the Tube, claim it's not nearly so nice as the Metro, but I've had some hairy experiences on the Paris Metro. Amazing that it isn't better supervised. Also amazing that they let it be used as a public toilet. There are places where it stinks so bad it's gross. Give me the Underground any day. I do like Paris, though, but it's not the end all/do all city by any means.
May 19th, 2002, 02:52 PM
#70
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We just got back from our first trip to Paris, and I have to say I agree that in general the French are aloof, sometimes snobby, masters of the condescending look, and a small percentage don't have a problem laughing in your face. I've lived in NYC for years and am not new to a big city "attitude". While it's true we did meet smiling, helpful people as well, I think the negative experiences tended to overshadow the good. <BR><BR>As for the whole you bring it on by your own attitude and behavior idea, I was willing to believe that until I experienced Parisians for a couple of weeks firsthand.<BR><BR>I thought the majority of native Parisians dressed fairly casually, I saw professional women dressed in tennis shoes to get to work. Many, many people work jeans and casual shoes, if not tennis shoes--and yes, even white tennis shoes. Almost no Parisian we saw was dressed all in black. When I saw people dressed completely in black it was almost always an American woman (and I would guess a Fodorite).<BR><BR>I did admire the women who wore what I would call cruel shoes at any cost (spiked hills in the rocky, dusty parks). I even saw an older woman with sores on her feet and a bandage from looking good over the pain.<BR><BR>Paris is an amazing city, the history, culture, architechture, art, food, etc. all are beyond impressive. We had a wonderful time, though it was colored by some of the nastiness we encountered.<BR><BR>I love animals, including dogs, and that was something I liked about the French. (They're very quick to be loving to dogs, moreso than to people.) Yes, there is quite a bit of dog poop everywhere.<BR><BR>I loved watching the Parisians with their kids in the parks and playgrounds. They're very attentive and loving, and we saw many dads and grandparents along with moms. Here in New York I see lots of little kids with nannies who take care of them all day long.<BR><BR>I was obsessed with visiting Paris for years. I think I'm very lucky to have had the chance to finally fulfill that wish, but I now I find I have an open mind to seeing other parts of the world rather than continuing to fixate on Paris.
May 25th, 2002, 06:04 PM
#71
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I've never been to Paris - our family of 4 (2 adults & 2 kids ages 10 & 7) will be visiting for the 1st time in early June. We're going to France to attend our niece's wedding. Anyway, based on what I've been reading over the past several months, I'm making myself a nervous wreck over what to wear & how to act in Paris so that my family & I enjoy our vacation. I must admit the thought of being surrounded by smokers, stepping in dog poop everywhere & being worried that we'll be pickpocketed by every Gypsy around because we're tourists makes me less-than-excited. Here in Madison, Wis. we have a dog pooper-scooper law - people clean up after their pets. Restaurants have serious no-smoking sections so those of us who don't care to breathe noxious fumes during our meals can enjoy dinner. If landing in poop every other step and gagging all through a meal is romantic, I must be missing something
May 25th, 2002, 08:33 PM
#72
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Well, Rita, if you go all the way to Paris and focus on smoke and poop, I'm sure you'll be roundly disappointed. If you go looking for the incredible history and architecture and art and culture and food, your trip might turn out better. I'd focus my pre-trip readings on the positive aspects, personally. And there's no need to be a "nervous wreck." This is a vacation, right? Be polite and enjoy it, that's all you need to know. Oh, and do not expect everything to be the way you like it back in the good old USA - I think that's the most common source of anxiety among American tourists. I hope you're willing to acknowledge that other cultures have other practices, and when you're in their country, you're the guest and have to put up with them, just as they do when they come to the USA.
May 25th, 2002, 11:33 PM
#73
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I don't think it's incredibly difficult to understand the Paris obsession a lot of people (especially Americans) have. It offers people an overwhelming dose of the things they want, perhaps more than any other place--sophistication, glamour, high culture, epic history, a sense of being in an important place among important people, being part (for the tourist, maybe a rare enough event) of one of the great scenes in the drama of life--along with, perhaps most importantly, a severe judgement and exclusivity against those deemed not really worthy of taking part. The best people, we all know, are quickly identified and embraced by their fellow beautiful ones in Paris; the mediocre are despised and laughed at. For some of us, this is a harsh medicine to swallow, like getting rejected by Harvard all over again, or having our exhibition of paintings at the town hall not lead to so much as a sexual intrigue. We have prepared for our trip by reading La Nausee and A la Recherche du Temps Perdu in the original French, and though our speaking isn't proficient enough to discuss these works in any great detail with a grammar schooler, we don't understand why this doesn't show in our countenances, why no one can see that we are more than just another generic fat American, why we are still getting no respect, no recognition from the only kind of people who can really make us happy. <BR><BR>And this scenario can be repeated of course in many other cities but the possibilities for spectacular social failure and catastrophe in Paris seem to lap those of almost anywhere else many times over.
May 26th, 2002, 04:22 AM
#74
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HG,<BR>Can you really believe that any tourist would hold a vacation in such esteem? Come on folks, it really is just another city with good and bad, with parts that you personally may or may not enjoy. This is not a test, something to prepare for, something to worry about. My goodness... It's called a vacation!
May 26th, 2002, 07:20 AM
#75
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I have to agree with a previous poster who declared Paris off limits for many years after a bad experience in the seventies. I spent my Junior year in Paris over 30 years ago. As much as I loved the city, its history and architecture, museums, etc., I would have preferred to do away with all 10 million Frenchmen so as to be able to enjoy the city without having to put up with their nastiness on every front. Consequently, I too have spent the last 33 years badmouthing them every chance I got. <BR><BR>It was with much trepidation that I revisited Paris last month with my husband for 7 days after a 33 year absence. What I found was a very pristine city (compared to how it was in the sixties), and very friendly natives wherever we went. We must have walked 15 miles a day and I have to honestly say we did not come across one pile of dog poop. So whether it is I who have matured or the city which has changed, this experience was worlds better than the last and I cannot wait to return.
May 27th, 2002, 10:35 AM
#79
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<BR>Absolutely impossible to walk 15 miles a day and not see any dog poop in Paris. Heck, if you didn't see it, then you would have stepped in at least 20 piles. That said, I LOVED all the beautiful little doggies I saw with the Parisian people. Made me envious.<BR><BR>ukexpat wrote: "This idiot sat across from us, looking right at us, yelling, spitting, waiving his arms around, and pointing to us. I'm not sure what his problem was (maybe he took offense to our obvious Americaness, or by our Black skin I'm not sure). After 20 minutes of yelling and swearing, he noticed we weren't responding and starting berating some guy several seats down."<BR><BR>Now, strangely enough, I saw the same sort of thing. A 60-ish white male was very loudly berating and gesticulating at another passenger who was black-skinned. They did not know each other because the white man got on at the same stop I did, and the black man was already there. I could not understand the man's French, but I did understand the word cannibal spoken a few times. The black man was laughing, but most everybody else seemed upset, including the female seatmate of the crazy guy. She started berating him in what were obviously disgusted tones. <BR><BR>I was in both London and Paris two weeks ago and rode subways a LOT in both places. Paris had by far a greater number of crazies riding public transportation.<BR><BR>Just observations, not value judgements.
May 27th, 2002, 11:25 AM
#80
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I've been wondering about just which subject/topic would be appopriate to place my question under and I think this one is as close to the subject matter as any. Here's my question for anyone who has taken the tour.How bad is the smell during the guided walking tour of the Musee des Egouts? I thought it would worth the time but my wife isn't quite as excited with the idea as I am. Any info will be greatly appreciated...Mike <BR><BR>
