About 10 years ago I got a wild hair one year, and we went to Paris for Christmas. It was a wonderful experience. I cashed in Delta frequent flyer miles, for seats on Air France, and booked a Best Western about 3 blocks west of the Eiffel Tower. For out of pocket costs, it didn't cost much more then the two of us flying to Florida, renting a car and staying in a hotel the year before. It was very low key and low stress. Paris is a little like Rome, don't try to control it, don't expect it to work as promised, just go with the flow, and out-pout the locals and you will do fine. I have been trying on and off since high school to learn French, it was at it's best for this trip. One of my favorite stories is buying a metro pass, I succeeded in my elementary French at making the purchase from a not to patient ticket agent in the station nearest to our hotel. Then Jay stepped up, you could see her bracing for yet another foreigner who barely speaks the language, and in perfectly accented French he simply said, "I'll have the same." He speaks French, I try, but he let me take the lead and stretch my limits. Isn't that part of what travel is about, stretching our limits and expanding our understanding of the world?
awwwwww, you're adorable!
ReplyDelete"...stretching our limits and expanding our understanding of the world?"
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I love to go any place new. A new state, a new country...and I avoid all semblance of a "tour". I'll go it alone or find friends (thanks to my blog, I can go all over England) who can show me around the things that make the places special - not just the tourist traps. And if you think you speak the language in England...HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Nope, you do not!
Peace <3
Jay
You walk off the street into the lobby of a hotel in London and they say to "take the lift to the first floor." Ummm - I am on the first floor, no you are on the ground floor, the first floor is the second floor and the third floor is the second floor. Two cultures separated by a common language.
ReplyDeleteHad a friend whose wife wanted to take a belated honeymoon to Italy. He was worried about the language barrier. I told him a few stories like this and he acquiesced. Came home elated! It all worked.
ReplyDeleteJay
you have passe-partout
ReplyDeleteLove the beret!
ReplyDeleteI love those last minute wild hair trips, even small ones.
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