| Bob Brown |
Feb 7th, 2000 05:54 PM |
Hi Simon. I understand your concern about the language. But, please believe me when I say that I speak about enough French to say "Bon Jour" and "Merci". <BR>I carried a phrase book and a French-English dictionary with me as well as a map -- the one in the Fodors book on Paris. (I also have the big Michelin map of Paris that has a street index. I found it very valuable for locating quite a few streets that did not show on the smaller map.) <BR>My wife and I spent 5 fun days in Paris doing everything on our own. We got help several times from English speaking Parisians when it was necessary. We even free-lanced our trip to Giverny. <BR>The taxi driver at the train station spoke less English than I did French, but he could say "50-50", which was how we split the cab fare with another couple. (They were from Japan and spoke some English; that is how we teamed up to share the ride.) <BR>We also took the RER out to Versailles and walked to the palace from the train station. <BR>Almost all of the hotels in the 5th, 6th, and 7th Arrs. that cater to tourists have someone on the staff who can speak at least a little English. And I was told that 3-star hotels must have an English speaker to earn the rating. (I do not know if that is true, but that was the story.) <BR> <BR>I think if you prepare well by knowing where you want to go and HOW to get there, you will be ok. There is something of a challenge involved in striking out like that, but Paris is easy to get around in on bus and Metro. <BR>So I would say do your homework and go for it. You will feel quite content after you make your way about. <BR>The only warning I have is to believe the stories you have heard about pick pockets because I was a target of an attempt that was not carried out. I am not sure if the fact that my wallet was in a zippered pocket deterred the fellow or if he felt of it and decided it was too thin to be worth the effort. I suspect it was the thin wallet that caused him to pass up this particular opportunity. He would have gotten an old wallet with $7 US and my voter registration card. <BR>How did I find out about it? A passenger on the Metro car I had just boarded spoke excellent English (probably an American) and he told me what happened. <BR> <BR>And, I might add, I never had occasion to feel that a clerk in a store, or a waiter, or anyone else was trying to cheat me. Perhaps I was just lucky, but by in large, we found the Parisians to be courteous people.
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