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| L'Arc de Triomphe |
So I just took a trip to France for work and was able to spend some time in Paris,"The city of light". This was my first trip so I wanted to share my experiences with you dear readers. Paris is definitely not the same experience (for those of you that have been to New York). It is not a gleaming maze of skyscrapers bur rather it is an Old World city so most of the buildings, which were made long before skyscrapers were around, are no more than 8 or 10 stories tall and have stone facades with decorations, carvings, gargoyles etc. This alone gives the city a different, more charming feel about it. You KNOW you are in a big city walking through NY with its sky high buildings, but Paris has more of a village feel. I like it personally, but don’t be fooled. Paris has 9 million people and the prices to match so while it may not have that Modern city feel, you’re still not in Kansas anymore. I also observed a few more interesting things which I would like to share:
1) It is pretty easy to get around. The buses and metro are well marked inside and out and if you have a metro map and a city map with metro marks on it, you can easily navigate your way around. A one way fare costs only 1.70 euro or you can get a carnet (10 tickets) for less.
2) It is tres expensive here! This is a major tourist destination and they have the prices to show for it. You will find your usual $6 bottles of water and a dejeuner (lunch) in a tourist area is at least $30. If you go out for a fancy dinner be prepared to pay in excess of $50 per person easily! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
3) It was very clean. I was walking around in the morning and the city crews are out hard a work picking up trash, washing the sidewalks and keeping things spiffy. The French take pride in their city and know that tourism is a big industry so they keep it clean. Trash bins are located liberally throughout the city so there is really no excuse to litter. The only item that seems to escape this is the cigarette butts… but more about that next.
4) Everyone smokes. I mean nearly everyone. And they look good doing it too! There is something about the way a French person smokes that makes it more elegant. And they all do it (or it seems that way). Luckily they started to institute a ban on smoking in restaurants a few years ago but the outside venues are still fair game… so if you’re sitting at a brasserie in the Latin Quarter watching the people go by, there is a good chance your table neighbor will be puffing away. Lovely!
5) The women are beautiful and there are a ton of them. Everywhere you look you see some of the most beautiful woman on earth. Neck on a swivel doesn’t even describe it gents. On top of that the French gals are tough too. How do I know this? They jog without bras… who knew?
6) My French is very poor and of course I have an accent but saying “bonjour” and trying the few words you know seems to go a long way toward getting the service you need. I think that they appreciate people trying, even if they butcher it. They will talk back you in French for as long as you can hold out… and when you start to falter, graciously switch to English, which most of them can speak passably enough. So even if you have to look at your notes; give it a try. The service will be better.
7) Many places charge you to use the bathroom! Really! It is only .50 euro but if you are in dire straits and head down to les toilettes only to find there is a fee and you don’t have any change… then you will really be in trouble! Always keep some .50 euro coins in your pocket for this … you never know when you’ll need it. There are exceptions though, as I explain in the next paragraph.
8) Paris has a nice Irish community and plenty of Irish pubs for you to visit. Some of the more famous are Corcoran’s and the Quiet Man where you can get your pint in the traditional pub atmosphere and don’t have to drink the crappy Heineken or 1664 local swill that they serve everywhere else. And on top of that… they don’t charge you to use the bathroom!! So if you need to go, walk into a pub, buy a beer, use the loo, come back and finish your beer at a leisurely pace. It will be worth it.
9) If you have kids, they can go too, but you may want to wait until they are a little older. The alure of Paris is the history which you can't really appreciate until you learn it. Wait until they are at least in middle school and have covered European history. You could just do the amusement parks and Euro disney... but then you would be missing the rich historical sights.
Overall, if you have a chance to go and visit, I would highly recommend it. You could spend 2 days on a whirlwind tour of all of the big sites but this would be a lot of work (and walking!). Instead spend a week there looking at the site's and enjoying the scenery in a more leisurely pace. I intend to try that next time!
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