I have to be fair. My wife and 25 year old daughter went to Paris with an old sorority sister of my wife's. Nobody spoke French but everyone was very cordial to them. They were quite pleased. They came back singing the praises of the Parisians. Regards, Bob S.
On Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 6:39 PM, Keith Whaley <[email protected]> wrote: > Bob W wrote: >>>> >>>> Paris is probably my favorite big city. Wonderful food, fabulous photo >>>> ops, and, for the most part, nice people. Paul > >>> Uhhh, nice people? Which Paris is that, Paul? > >> These things are probably all relative. I know some non-Parisian French >> people who think that Parisians are so far up their own culs they can see >> the Eiffel Tower from above. > > My wife and I talked, in soft-spoken English, to a number of French folks > all over the countryside, south and east of Paris, who felt exactly that > way. Even THEY were treated as 2nd class citizens and frequently snubbed by > Parisians. > >> However, as a Londoner who sometimes has to >> struggle to get through the tourist crowds, I can certainly sympathise if >> a >> Parisian is occasionally, er, more assertive shall we say than the tourist >> is used to. Especially when faced with crowds of Italian schoolkids >> blocking >> a doorway or standing fifteen deep right at the foot of a crowded >> escalator... > > Yessir, I tried to take that into account. > >> Nevertheless, even if Londoners are occasionally a little terse with their >> guests, please be assured that you are all honoured and very welcome. I'm >> sure the Parisians (and indeed New Yorkers) feel the same way, and my own >> experiences of Parisians have been generally positive. >> >> Bob > > Good for you, Bob. > > To be fair, we sometimes feel the same way about New Yorkers, and sometimes > even those in downtown Boston, for that matter! > On the other hand, our visits in London were generally positive and a lot of > fun. We know folks all over the Isles, including Wales and Scotland, and get > along with them very well. > > The only time I ever felt Parisians were helpful or even recognized we were > alive, is when we had our 16-year-old daughter with us. She was an attentive > 3rd year French language student, being taught by a Parisian citizen. So, > she knew the language reasonably well and spoke it with the proper accent. > > THEN they smiled at us! When they deigned to look at us at all... > > None of our family are stereo-typical Americans, loud, brash in manner or > dress, or demanding in demeanor. Long time travelers, we are respectful, > quiet and usually quite easy going. > > As such, we find those who act as tho’ we ARE undesirable or otherwise > gauche travelers, more than a bit puzzling... > > 2 1/2 trips in Paris without our daughter confirms our opinion. > > Best, keith > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
