Not to beat a dead horse, but I realized that my desire to be concise in my post about Paris relegated me to leaving certain things out. During my 3-days there, I noticed things, had interesting encounters, and left with impressions that I feel I should share. I know the majority of you aren't as interested as I was with Paris, but some of these things might be good to know?
My first hour strolling along in Paris I was the "victim" of the Parisian Ring Scam (Evidentally this is very famous and my friend Ben was very impressed that it happened to me). I was alone on one of the bridges of Paris when an older women started calling out in my direction. I turned and looked at her pick up something off the ground. She started saying that it was her lucky day because she just found a golden ring. She showed it to me and tried it on her fingers...too bad it didn't fit! So she asked me to try it on...oh, speaking in perfect English. However it didn't fit. Too bad she didn't notice and she insisted that it fit and that I should keep it. So I did. She started walking off and I was left with a crappy cheap golden ring. But then! She turned back and asked me if- because I now had a lucky day- could make it her lucky day. I immediately figured out what was going on and I yanked the ring off my finger and gave it back. Very strange...but I'm glad I got the full Paris experience.
Speaking of scams, near EVERY Paris sight-seeing venue, there are Africans selling little "metal" Eiffel Towers. EVERYWHERE!!! And they only speak English. However, I guess its illegal, and they always have one guy selling and others watching for the cops. Its a pretty neat sight to see when they notice a crackdown coming and they take off running.
Speaking of English, you don't need to know ANY French to get by in Paris. Even when I started to speak French, they would immediately respond in English. Not to mention that nearly anyone from a country outside of France used English as their language of choice. Oh, and also the gobs of Americans all around. It almost felt like I was in America at a French-themed amusement park.
Speaking of Americans, I've had a French person and an Australian tell me their sure-fire ways of telling if someone is American- the girls wear REALLY short shorts, and the girls have REALLY straight hair, respectively.
Speaking of things being straight and short...that's not what the lines were. To get into anything, you had to wait in a line. I guess I knew that, but it still shocked me when I get to a museum and still have to wait 1 hour outside.
Speaking of lines, the sightlines in Paris are fantastic. For a quick history lesson, Baron Haussman was commissioned to renovate Paris in the mid-1800s. Basically, he created the Paris that we know today. This man really knew what he was doing. He created wide avenues and these aforementioned sightlines. However, it does make a lot of the streets look identical. Its easy to get lost, but its great to catch a fantastic view of the Eiffel Tower.
Speaking of the Eiffel Tower, there are GAP's in Paris! And Office Depot's. Its strange to get excited over common America.
i just need you to know that i love all of the "speaking of" in this blog. it makes me feel like you're telling me a story, but with you speaking. i miss hearing you speak! lets have a skype date soon. WHEN YOURE HOME!!! well, no, cuz i want you to spend all your time with your mommy.. but you know what i mean =)
ReplyDeletei miss you, friend.
and i think you should feel lucky you almost got scammed. bravo! =)