Greetings From Paris

[Ryland3210]

The most beautiful women in the world are women!

[Orson]

Yes, Ive been treated rudely in France and...

 

yes, southern France has some of the best, dang motorcycling roads on the planet

 

racetracks with center stripes

 

oh yah... the food ain't too bad

[Dan M]

Come on now, as with any foreign country, if you visit like a hot shot American, expecting everyone to cater to you, you'll get resistance, even rudeness. If you come across as a friendly tourist, speak the native language, even a little, you get friendly in response. How do you treat people who don't speak English over here? Believe it or not, we Americans are no longer considered the saviors of Europe. What happened 50+ years ago is a distant memory. I had a wonderful time in Italy, my daughter and ex had a wonderful time in France and Spain. There will always be isolated cases as mentioned above, but overall, travelling is what you make it. Joe

 

That's it Joe. If you don't act like an "ugly American" most will treat you well. In cities or resort areas they realize that you are spending there and they appreciate it. If you are in the country, the people are mostly just nice.

Just think of a European traveling in the rural south where "y'all ain't from 'round here, are ya?" is what you get if you live in the next county. Imagine if you are from another continent. I'm sure they have some stories to tell when they get home.

If I were to vacation here in Chicago eating in restaurants every day and shopping or sight seeing. The odds of getting a rude waiter or shopkeeper are at least as good as anywhere else. And I speak English - - - even if they don't!

No matter where you travel to, large cities always get the bad reputation. Mostly from people who don't travel much and are somewhat intimidated.

[dlaing]

The most beautiful women in the world are women!

...not all of them

[ferguzzi]

I love paris, I lived there for 6 months in the early nineties, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure you will encounter rudeness, but that;s true of any big city. hong kong, new york, london. God knows, even Dublin.

But the french have a few reasons to be arrogant. Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. The food is arguably the best. So is the wine. The people are fabulously good looking, and stylish. And they invented joie de vivre. Next to the Italians, I reckon they've just about got it right. Sure there are faults, but Who doesn't have them?

[Ryland3210]

...not all of them

 

Dave, have you been hanging around with the wrong people?

[Ryland3210]

I love paris, I lived there for 6 months in the early nineties, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure you will encounter rudeness, but that;s true of any big city. hong kong, new york, london. God knows, even Dublin.

But the french have a few reasons to be arrogant. Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. The food is arguably the best. So is the wine. The people are fabulously good looking, and stylish. And they invented joie de vivre. Next to the Italians, I reckon they've just about got it right. Sure there are faults, but Who doesn't have them?

 

My personal favorite city is Venice for beauty, and Italy for food, with Indian as a close second. I think the English still make the best desserts. The cuisine France is famous for was originally brought from Italy when a French King married an Italian. I wish I could remember which one. It escapes me just now. Was it Catherine di Medici?

[antonio carroccio]

The cuisine France is famous for was originally brought from Italy when a French King married an Italian. I wish I could remember which one. It escapes me just now. Was it Catherine di Medici?

yep

[Alex-Corsa]

yep

 

Which all were "brought" from the ancient Greeks ...ooriginaly way way back.

 

Lucky you Alex. I love Paris. I was there in the fall of 2006. Rented an apartment around the corner from Notre Dame. What a great city, not to mention all of the beautiful women strolling about.

 

Think I will do the same. Rent an apartment , hopefully ,next year. If there you have any tip about it based on your experience

drop me a PM

[frogonwheels]

Hello Friends,

 

I have been following this thread for a while. I was born in France and until my early 20's ( some 25 years ago ) I was truly French. After I met my future wife, I decided it was time to bail out and see the world. Moved to California, and here I am, 2 kids and a business later.

I honestly would love to go to France more often. But the 3 times we have gone back, it was just plain FANTASTIC !!!!

Because of my wife and 2 sons, we do speak mostly English, so I pretty much qualify as a foreigner. As a matter of fact, when I speak French there, people ask me where I'm from ? Go figure ?

There are at least 2 kinds of " an American attitude " : one is the arrogant one, the loud obnoxious one etc... you know the type. The other one is why I love it here : a smile on your face from morning up, eager to have fun and to connect with everyone, basically a " radiant, charismatic " feel about live. With that game face on, I just found out EVERY experience in France was fantastic. From Paris to the smallest village ( like 3 folks !!! ).

French people are just very cautious. Sadly, the first impression does it !!!

But I guaranty you, if you bring a great attitude along, you'll do just fine....

But, at the end, it ends up being a very personal experience. Even with all the bullshit I grew up with in relation to the Brits, I LOVED England ( of course its people ! ).

I have lived in Germany and in Africa. I have had always a great experience where ever I ended up.

I have a dream : take my V11 and travel through Europe.

And you know what, most guys around our world have been, or dreamed of, playing with motorcycles. A bike, contrary to what so many would want you to think, will open the world to you. That will take care of the guys. As far as the women, they love adventure. They might not relate to your grease and bruises, but they will love your smell of adventure.....

 

Oops, I got carried away....

 

Bye.

 

Thierry

[ALLAN]

[I have been following this thread for a while. I was born in France and until my early 20's ( some 25 years ago ) I was truly French. After I met my future wife, I decided it was time to bail out and see the world. Moved to California, and here I am, 2 kids and a business later.

I honestly would love to go to France more often. But the 3 times we have gone back, it was just plain FANTASTIC !!!!

Because of my wife and 2 sons, we do speak mostly English, so I pretty much qualify as a foreigner. As a matter of fact, when I speak French there, people ask me where I'm from ? Go figure ?

There are at least 2 kinds of " an American attitude " : one is the arrogant one, the loud obnoxious one etc... you know the type. The other one is why I love it here : a smile on your face from morning up, eager to have fun and to connect with everyone, basically a " radiant, charismatic " feel about live. With that game face on, I just found out EVERY experience in France was fantastic. From Paris to the smallest village ( like 3 folks !!! ).

French people are just very cautious. Sadly, the first impression does it !!!

But I guaranty you, if you bring a great attitude along, you'll do just fine....

 

 

I lived for a while in a small village south of Paris. I struggle with any language other then English but make an effort. My 'bad' experiences that come to mind while living and traveling in France have come from observing other Americans. When I am around arrogant, obnoxious Americans I am embarrassed because I think the locals are going to judge me by the actions of these other Americans. To be honest, I avoid tourists, whether American or not, when on holiday on the European continent. Italy is my favorite place to visit but I also love France, Spain (No. 1 for beautiful women), Germany, Holland, Norway, Slovania - actually every country, without exception, I have ever spent any length of time in. It's all about attitude and making an effort to fit in, and not stand out.

[antonio carroccio]

take my V11 and travel through Europe.

I've planned kind of "Tour de Europe" with my friend, Dennis, around the first week of May.

Like Ballabiobertie did last September.

 

au revoir mon ami...

[Guest goffredo]

I am Italian, born and bred in Rome - THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN THE WORLD PERIOD NO DEBATE ALLOWED. IT IS DOGMA! :lol: :lol: -.

I spent several years in the UK and I have been living in Paris for 8 years now.

 

Tourist traps in Paris? You bet. Exactly as in Rome, Amsterdam, London, New York, Venice, etc etc... I still remember the taxi driver who tried to screw me from JFK to NY despite the clear sticker on the window about the fixed rate... And of course New York is still one of my favourite cities, nevermind the creative taxi driver who tried (man did he tried..) to cheat.

 

Rudeness in Paris? Exactly as above with some extras due to cultural clashes. Example: the acceptable 'volume' of one's voice in a restaurant is not the same in Paris and in Rome, or in USA for the matter. What is perfectly acceptable in Rome, might not be so in Paris and viceversa.

 

Stereotypes? Again, of course they exists in Paris as everywhere. US citizens will hardly be involved in conversation about WWII but more likely about Kyoto and Irak...

I wish we could talk about Opera every time I met new people but being Italian I know I'll have to cope with the occasional arguments about corruption, mafia and football players diving... ( as if I give a flying f*** about football anyway! )

 

Well, the point is: I am seeing this post too late, next time one of you is in Paris, send me an email let me fix for you a proper no-tourist-trap-tour of the town.

Even a ride of the town on a Guzzi might be arranged...

 

goffredo <at> goffredo.com

 

Cheers,

 

G.

[Skeeve]

. My family is originally from Germany, a century and a half ago, and I don't particularly care for their cuisine either. Not even beer anymore. Maybe a good bratwurst a few times per year, and German chocolate cake.

 

Spetzle!

[Frenchbob]

I hardly ever go to Paris. but recently, my son was stranded at the Gare du Nord in the strikes on his way down to see me; he knew this was going to be the case before he arrived and phoned me to ask if I could pick him up. "Why not?" I thought [dumb]. It took a while to get there by car through strike-ridden, traffic-jammed Paris, but when I was off the BP and asking directions [satnav technology has passed me by] I met with unfailing politeness and good humour: the last direction I got from a back-packing, hiking Parisian trying to get home was "Oh, turn left down there and you'll get to the back of the station; it's one-way but no-one will bother today!" When I got to the back of the Gare du Nord I had to pull up and phone my son, who was at the front. The taxi rank seemed the right place. "You can't park there, you'll block us in," I was told by a cabbie. "Where can I park then?" "On the pavement, like everyone else!" I made my call, met up with my son and got back to the BP using the bus and taxi lanes almost exclusively. Again, no road rage, just give and take from everyone in the same boat.

 

Parisians are OK by me!