Travel
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Paris in the Fall!
Hubby and I are going to Paris in September for our wedding anniversary! I'm so excited--neither of us have never been before and it's definitely going to be a "bucket-list" experience for us!
Any tips from those who have been? I've heard we can take the Euro Train to London for a daytrip, since it's not too far, so I'm hoping to plan that into our trip.
Also, neither hubby nor I speak a lick of French. I've heard that the French are not too accommodating if you don't try to speak it but I've also heard that they get offended when you butcher their language. Yipes...any experiences there?
We will be there for about 10 days. I just got a few guide books so I'm going to start planning our itinerary soon 
Thanks, all
Re: Paris in the Fall!
I make it a point to learn the basics where ever I travel. So I would try and learn at a minimum hello, goodbye, thank you, can you speak english please and the all important where is the restroom!
Have fun.
I agree with this. Although I know more than just the basics, immediately after I start speaking in French the Parisians usually switch to English as it is quite obvious that their English speaking abilities are far better than my French speaking abilities. I would also recommend learning the word sorry "desole." This word has proved to be very helpful during times of miscommunication!
The French in general tend to be very formal while Americans are very informal. I think this major difference is what causes a lot of issues with American travelers in France. Do your best to always say bonjour madame or monsieur when entering a store; the French appreciate this.
With ten days I would recommend either visiting London for a few days OR visiting another area of France (i.e. Loire Valley, Normandy, etc). However, if you are set on staying in Paris for those ten days, you definitely won't run out of things to do. I have visited on three occasions (11 days total) and still haven't seen everything! At least try to do a few day-trips to surrounding areas such as Versailles, Chartres, etc.
Why don't you try learning some French before you go? I rented some audio-only lessons from my local library and have been listening to them in my car on the way too/from work. Also, if you go online to the BBC website they have a 12-week French course. Good luck!
We did a 10-day trip to Paris and the Loire Valley in September 2007 (blog entry about it here). We went later in the month, and the weather was cooler than I thought it'd be. I ended up buying a sweater there. We've also been to London twice, and while you maybe can do it as a day trip, I wouldn't bother. It would be a long asss tiring day. I'd give it a few days at least.
Before that trip my husband and I did a 6-week French class that met once a week in the evening at a local high school. It was nice to have a teacher to learn basic pronunciation since neither of us had any experience with French, and the book he had us get was good for basic words. I studied up again before our trip to Paris last spring (blog post about that one here), and people were actually starting to respond to me in French. I can't have elaborate conversations with people, but the really basic phrases and words you need aren't that tough and you have a lot of time to practice if you start now.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain
My Travel Blog
I love Paris. When we went, I remembered a few French phrases from taking one year of the language as an extra elective in high school. Once I got a few syllables out, the people could tell I wasn't French and spoke to me in English. However, I found everyone we encountered to be friendly, especially our hotel staff.
I agree with pp - you have more than enough time to learn some phrases/a bit of the language. Can't hurt to try, right?
I also agree with the pps who have mentioned doing day trips. Versaille is a great way to spend a day (and you can easily spend a day there) - it was DH's favorite part of our trip.
We intentionally didn't see stuff in Paris so that we have an excuse to go back (Normandy is on our list, too, since DH's great-uncle is buried there.)
Have a fabulous time!
GP buddy to blenderdance
I have never found French people, Parisians included, to be anything but polite. I speak French at a business proficient level, but my husband speaks none and no one has treated him badly for it. My experience has been that locals in France treat tourists at least as well as locals treat tourists here in DC, probably better
Honestly I think a lot of American tourists think people in Paris or NYC etc. are rude because many Americans with the means to travel aren't accustomed to being in enormous cities and mistake a rapid pace or indifference to constahorseshoes or tourists for brusqueness and snobbery.
Like pp's, it doesn't seem worth it to go to London for just a portion of a day (after train travel).
Several on this board recommended the Paris Museum Pass, which gets you into several sites and also to Versailles. The price varies depending on amount of days, but it may be worthwhile for you to consider and try to plan your itinerary accordingly
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