Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site tekcbi.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!houxm!mtuxo!mtunh!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!tekcbi!jimb From: jimb@tekcbi.UUCP (Jim Boland) Newsgroups: net.travel Subject: Re: paris, france Message-ID: <406@tekcbi.UUCP> Date: Fri, 15-Nov-85 18:08:29 EST Article-I.D.: tekcbi.406 Posted: Fri Nov 15 18:08:29 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 18-Nov-85 05:20:58 EST References: <874@ihlpa.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 69 > ann christian writes: > Next July i will be traveling to paris france. > Can anyone tell me what type of clothes to take > (or not take), and anything else i may pack to > make my stay (11 days) easier? > Any other comments or helps would be appreciated too. paris is nice and warm in july. It's been a couple years since I've been there, but I can recall walking along the Champs Elysee and sitting at the sidewalk "refreshment" places for some refreshments wearing pants and light shirt at midnite. Activity during summer months is casually dressed. You might want a light sweater for late evening, however. Coats aren't necessary. Some of your dress depends on what you want to do. You certainly wouldn't dress up along the Seine, nor would you wear shorts and T-shirt at a fine restaurant. Usually when traveling around Europe, I pack ties and jackets for business meetings and purposes, and I am casual for all other purposes. If you plan to visit Notre Dame or other religious places, you should dress appropriately. Take good comfortable walking shoes. Do a lot of walking. It's the best way to see the area. > Also, i don't speak french, are menus, etc. in > english, or should i pick up a french/english > book and start trying to stagger through some > phrase book? Oh-Oh. Could be a big problem. Remember, The French are definitely French. You are indeed at a disadvantage if you can't speak the language. Parisians don't like half efforts, either. You either speak the language or you don't. You may find that some menus in tourist areas have english translations, but that is not common. If you leave the traditional tourist areas, you will find very little English. It's a good experience, though. I know a little French but found it was better to not use it. They seemed to be more bothered by my incorrect interpretation/usage of their language than to not use it. (Don't ruin their language :-) ). I've never used phrase books, so I can't really comment on it. When my poor french and english don't work, I found that I could get along fairly well in europe by using either german or spanish. believe me, it really helps to speak more than one language. > I was at a club med in cancuun last year, and a lot > of the employees were french, and if you didn't speak > french (fluently) they wouldn't give you the time of day. > Should i also expect this in paris (if not more so?). > I was at Club Med in Playa Blanca several years ago and didn't have that problem. However, I think that you will find the situation as bad as (and probably moreso) in Paris. For one thing, they generally don't like americans (non french speaking anybody for that matter) and they don't mind conveying that fact to you. If you realize that and don't act the stereotypical american tourist, you will probably get along fine, however. If you get out of paris and into the countryside, you will find it much better, however, they don't speak english, either. Actually, I think the parisians do, and they understand you very well. However, they act the opposite. It would certainly help if you knew someone there and ran around with them. It sheds a whole new light on the ballgame. Usually, I would be with a rep or some other acquaintance who spoke french. In those situations, I had no problems with the people. I only had problems when alone. (maybe it's me :-) ). Be nice and treat people well. And be wary of taxi drivers. They'll take you the long way if you let them. After paris, go to munich (moenchen) and/or austria. how about london? holland is nice in july. so is stockholm.