Paris Field Trip
 

I leave for Paris on the 16th.

I'm excited.

I may have a bit of semi-free time while I'm there - What should I try to go see that wouldnt be on the normal itenerary? Besides Morrison, that is.

I sort of hate you right now. Have fun!

You beat me to it. Soak up the experience kid.

Hi Ibram - take in the area of La Defense which can easily be left off the agenda - it's Paris' modern business area , but there is some stunning architecture to see (if that's your bag - check out my 'Parisolo' trip via my website for some pictures of the area). Also north of Paris you have France's answer to Disney which is Asterix Park - see the way the French do it (it may not open until Easter). Close by to that is the village of Ermenonville where one of France's artists Henri Rousseau lived and painted.

I'm not up on the youth scene (no surprise there) but have Paris-based clients who are a good deal younger than me, so I will ask them for any lesser-known hot-spots!

Well see, I'm there on a field trip so most of the trip is mostly set - but i may have a few hours of free time here and there so I wanna know if anyone knows any little easily missed spots around town -- I somehow doubt I'll be able to go see asterix park.

Field Trip? I remember being excited about going to the Zoo, and the Liberty Bell ... but Paris? Shit.

Hi Ibram,

May be simething in here

The cemetary where Morrison is buried is very interesting, make sure to take the time to search out the graves of famous authors and artists as well.

I enjoy the Montmartre and Sacre Coer area.

I've been to Paris twice, but never been to the Lourve - I'm not one for waiting in line or paying admission to museums.

Other than that, I really don't like Paris that much.

Dont worry melidasaur, I'm gonna have my lipstick ready for Wilde, my incense to burn for Morrison, and the locations of Chopin, Rossini, Delacroix, Proust all roughly remembered.
I sure do love my dead men.

Imagine my disappointment when this didn't turn out to be pictures of Ms Hilton flouncing around at the Wonder Bread bakery with no panties.

Oh well...I guess France is pretty cool, too. Have a great time, Ibby. Take pics.

The catacombs!

http://triggur.org/cata/hall14.jpg

I think we may actually be visiting them. If not... Well, it's easy to, uh, get lost in paris, no?

Don't sightsee, just wander. Buy a newsapaper from a street stand, have a coffee at a pavement cafe, watch the tourists do the tourist things, watch the Parisiens do ..... soak in the real atmosphere. Paris by itinerary is a whole different ballgame from Paris by recess. Chill, stroll, inhale.

That's what i plan to do during our lunch breaks - along with some busking - musique des rue - but i mean, there is some stuff there you gotta go see while youre there.

Unless your field trip is taking Parisien lunchbreaks, that ain't long enough and is at the wrong time of day.

Really, trust me, you need to chill when everyone else isn't. Go in the shops that look scary, talk to the street vendors. It's worth it. I did it when I was 16 and it was a fantastic experience. If you speak French (and I hope you do at some level) don't let them bully you into speaking English.

The only french I know is whats in the phrasebook...

Just remember, "Combien pour toute la nuit", "Combien pour circuler le monde", and "Combien pour le condoms". :cool:

yay you! :)


So what is your itenerary Ibram?


lol, funny imagery. How is that done?

She's serious, sidhe. Paris is just a skip across the Channel for us (well, there's a bit of France in the way, but not too much trouble) so it's a popular British destination.

I should say from the outset that I admire the French enormously. The trouble is that (along with most of mainland Europe) they have a chip on their shoulder from being invaded so constantly and so recently. 1066 here last count - ha!

So they are incredibly protective of their language, and don't like anyone to mangle it. They also like to show off their education (this is in fact justified - I spent a month in France aged 16 and was impressed with the school I attended). In Spain or Italy, the wily stallholder/ shopkeeper will try to determine the customer's nationality to make them feel at home. In Paris, the same will speak English to you with a weary air, and continue to address you in English even when you struggle on in French.

It's different in the provinces. I was supposed to be practising my French in France, but like any teenager I would have loved an easy option. However the small (heart stoppingly beautiful) village I was billeted in had my number very quickly. French all the way - except once to explain taking back a deposit bottle, when I understood the language but not the concept.

Got the itenerary today.


Day 1: Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuileries, Place Vendome, and Palais Garnier Opera House

Day 2: Louvre, Ile de la Cite, Sainte Chapelle, boat tour of Seine

Day 3: Catacombes, Centre Pompidou, Notre Dame, Left Bank, Latin Quarter, Eiffel at night.

Day 4: out of townish, Chateau Chambord and Blois.

Day 5: Musee d'Orsay, Hotel des Invalides, Musee Rodin

Day 6: Versailles, Musees du Parfum

Day 7: Montmartre, Place du Tertre, Shoppiong, dinner and movie on the Champs Elysees

Bingo. Couldn't have put it better myself. The Parisiens particularly like to show how sophisticated their English is, and also have little patience for the stumbling French of foreigners. An interesting thing I learned was that French people who go abroad to teach French are often from the South, and Foreigners who want to be French teachers tend to spend most of their "in-country" time in south, so many foreigners speak French with an "inferior' Southern accent! my French certainly has a southern accent. When I was 11, the Parisiens refused to speak French to me. When I was 16, a newspaper vendor asked me what I thought about the rail crash that had occurred near the southern French town my teacher was from :D

The only words you need to know in French: "Je voudrais" Then just point and pay. Intone friendliness and a very moderate embarrassment.

I took a couple of years of French, though that was several years before I actually went to France. People in general were extremely courteous, aside from a rail worker or two. Luckily I didn't need to communicate anything too complicated in Paris, except for train tickets and they had an English speaking window there. Unless you're in a similar situation, I understand you're just going to get ire for trying English in Paris.

Funny story. Near the French-Italian border the rail station signs are all in French and Italian. On the other side they're in Italian and English. (; I was strangely self satisfied seeing that.

--Joe

21 hours.

ho hum ;)

Le Crazy Horse de Paris. :yum:

Oh yeah, my other great French tip was if you're in a real bind, use English words that sound like they came from French, and say them with a French accent.

Example:
reservation -> réservation

After long enough in Europe, you realize that they're all just using weird English words with crazy accents.

Have fun.

Yeah, I kinda figured out the 'speak english kinda with an accent' bit from the lonely planet guide.

wee-wee! Franglais

Ees? Ooh ees it?

Quick - who knows how to say 'hampster', 'smelt', and 'elderberries' in french?

seventeen hours.

Heh. You got me with the countdown.

I would look for:

- Burned-out vehicles. In certain suburbs of Paris, the ethnic minorities take to burning cars as a hobby. You probably won't go there, but you might travel through it.

- Habits of the middle and lower classes - metropolitan and non-metropolitan. Sure, check out the big touristy things that must be seen, but I'd just observe the culture too. Try to figure out how people behave differently than they behave in my world. Try to figure out why.

- I would go to where the people shop, not to where the tourists shop, to see how that is.

At least once you should take a nap during the day, and go out at night and plan to spend all night checking out the nightlife.

I used to live in Fontainebleau - its a nice day trip to the countryside and there are some nice buildings and gardens to see.

Last time I was there was '83 and I spent a week sleeping on the streets - I had about ten bucks to make it through the week. Long story.

The big thing about Paris is just walk around a lot - there are so many cool things to see off the beaten path. Do the main stuff, take the pics then throw the map away, rent a bike and head off somewhere. Make sure you spend some wandering time on the left bank - thats where I remember the bohemians and artists hanging out. Probably lots of cool art galleries there.

You won't be bored.

You can't just drop that in there. New thread please.

I'll tell that story one of these days.

Sure you will. Just like BigV will tell us the story of building his beautiful kayak.

I remember a colleague I served with on a committee. He was complaining that he was being sent to Paris again. Now it may be because his wife was expecting and/or this might have been his 5th or 6th trip, but I did find the comment odd.

Of course later I went from never having to travel on business to about 8 trips to California in 2 years. While it was nice to have all of my meals for free, I didn't have much time for sightseeing and with the work schedule I was sometimes eating dinner at 8pm. So maybe this guys business trips in Paris involved sitting in meetings all day looking out at the Eiffel tower, having to entertain clients, etc.

I hope you do get the free time, Ibram.

I never sleep well on business trips. Strange hotel room. Strange bed. Working long hours. Thinking about the work to be done the next day. Miss my wife sleeping next to me. etc. etc. It's not like vacation travel at all.

petit dejeuner

smelt n'est pas un mot vrais

les berries d'ages elevees

I'm baaaaa-aaack!

Didjya miss me?

Stories. We wants stories.

Oh man, where to begin?
The foiled pickpocket that attempted to spit on our rad tour guide but instead hocked one right onto a meek little asian girl in the group?
Coming outta the closet to a TAS student (thats not in the GSA), finally?
Almost getting lost in the catacombs?
Nearly freezing to death under the Eiffel Tower, buying a (FIFTY EURO) jacket the next day - and then being too hot the rest of the week?
Dancing in the freak snowstorm in "Blwah" (Blois)?
Being pelted by painful hail at Chambord?
Marching for a bit in the high-school protests that were going on while we were there?
Developing a (very nasty and not good at all) crush on my teacher/trip leader's 18-year-old daughter?

All of it!!!

Especially the crush, it has all the makings of a great story.

Spill ibby, SPILLLLL!!!!

C'mon! Tell all!

...those were the stories. I think theyre pretty self-explanitory... 'cept the crush which i dont wanna talk about.

Coming outta the closet to a TAS student (thats not in the GSA), finally?

Developing a (very nasty and not good at all) crush on my teacher/trip leader's 18-year-old daughter?

:confused:

I'm... less open than I would like to be at TAS - but one of the few people who actually talked to me on the trip flat out asked if I was bi, and I said yes.


Ms. Paradis' daughter Rosalie (who's at art school in Venice right now) came over to Paris to join us on the trip, and... well, I got a huge crush on her. Shes cute, funny, witty, hot, bi, artsy, nice to me, actually talked to me (unlike most of the people on the trip)... but A.) she's taken, B.) I'M taken, and madly in love with Caro anyway, C.) she's not a computer person and probably wont ever really talk to me or even meet me again and D.) she's nearly three years older than me.
Ah well, 's'all good.

D.) she's nearly three years older than me.

So , my wife is 6 years older than me , and we have been togather for 18 years as of yesterday !!!

Pictures. Now. Start with the 18 year hottie.

Please?:o

Happy Anniversary!!

Thanks B !!!

Congrats, zippy!

I agree with you on the age issue, though 15 and 18 tends to be a bigger gap than 25 and 28.

A bigger gap by a LOT.

I dont think I actually have any shots of Rosie; I'm not big on taking pictures of people, really.

You realize that means she poses nude a lot, plus is always looking for people to pose nude for her. Males are always in lower supply, too. ;)

We did, uh, talk about that, believe it or not...

But shes not a huge fan of painting people, unfortunately.

Oh

Em

Gee.


I ran into Rosie today, downtown. I haven't seen her since the trip, and she's only been back in town from Venice for two days. She was downtown by 101 shopping with her girlfriend, and I was on a quest for Coldstone ice cream (I totally FREAKED when i learned there was a coldstone here), and... there she was, just standing on a street corner. We walked a couple blocks, caught up with eachother's lives a bit, etc.

Now I have a crush on her all over again.

Oh, and I just realized I never did post pictures.


http://fadingroots.deviantart.com/gallery/photography/

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs15/300...adingroots.jpg

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs13/300...adingroots.jpg

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs13/300...adingroots.jpg

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs14/300...adingroots.jpg

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs15/300...adingroots.jpg

That's awesome!
I'm going to Europe in mid-August with some family.
Going to be there for about a month.
How long are you going to stay?

Are trip is pretty huge, were starting in Amsterdam and then through Germany and Switzerland and then Paris. Then we go through the south of France. I'm stoked!

oh wow. i didn't see the date on this thread. i guess the question should be, how long did you stay?

Only a week or so.

Have fun on your trip!