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Post by Xcalatë on Feb 14, 2019 10:53:54 GMT
London, Paris is probably the most overrated city in History. I really prefer smaller European cities like Bruges, Florence, Dubrovnik etc
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Feb 14, 2019 14:35:43 GMT
London
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Post by Lucy on Feb 14, 2019 16:47:43 GMT
Would love to do both, but I'll go with London.
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Post by divtal on Feb 14, 2019 17:50:12 GMT
Depending on the time that you have for the whole trip, you could do both. If you're leaning toward one, spend the bulk of your time there, and take the "Eurostar" train to the other. It's only a little over two hours, between them.
Over the holidays, I spent a week in London, then 4 days in Paris. It's fast and easy. I even came went back to London for 1 night, to fly out of Heathrow, without complication.
(Note: "Brexit," is scheduled to take effect on Mar. 29. If there is "no deal," the above may not be applicable.)
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Post by hi224 on Feb 14, 2019 18:20:01 GMT
Londons killing paria.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Feb 14, 2019 19:04:41 GMT
I've been to both, but only briefly. Tough call, but London has the edge for me. Growing up in Canada I was obsessed with British music, films and history, and I still am. Also, my ancestors hail from there, so I would love to go back and see it properly some time.
France is beautiful though, don't believe the hype, they're not all rude. The south of France (and Monaco) is super glitzy and very impressive. I wanna go back there too!
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Post by BATouttaheck on Feb 14, 2019 19:26:22 GMT
Lebowskidoo 🦞 I think it's mostly the Parisians who have the reputation for being rude … sadly, all I saw of France was Paris and several of the people encountered there lived up to that reputation. The man in the postcard shop near Sacre Coeur who had me translate a postcard he had received was an absolute delight as was the man I conversed with while waiting to go in a tour ~ me in my highschool French .. him using little words and speaking slowly and both of ignoring the yahoos listening and giggling at us. He finally said something to them in very rapid, very angry French and they stopped ! I suspect that both of those men were not "Parisians" !
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Feb 14, 2019 19:46:23 GMT
BATouttaheckI'm sure there are some nasties in France, I was just lucky to avoid them. I did have a hard time with some Belgians in Antwerp, but that's another story.
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Post by teleadm on Feb 14, 2019 20:01:49 GMT
London
I've been to places where no one speaks English, jumped on the wrong subway train in Lisbon once and came to some outskirt where no one spoke any English.
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Post by Nora on Feb 14, 2019 20:04:46 GMT
but for the wrong reasons it seems. the language spoken shouldnt really matter (you will get by in paris without french, no worries). i want to highlight again how easy it is to do both when u r in europe already. really do consider that. depending on your timeline and budget you could very easily add Amsterdam too, which is a lot of fun. take it from someone who grew up in europe, lived in England and had been to Paris at least a dozen times - Paris is really worth a visit and offers more “exotic” things to an american than london does. London is great too, sure. But dont skip out on Paris.
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Post by Nora on Feb 14, 2019 20:09:41 GMT
London I've been to places where no one speaks English, jumped on the wrong subway train in Lisbon once and came to some outskirt where no one spoke any English. thats a normal part of a decent traveling experience. and i even feel like it should be. other than missing a plane because of it there is no real danger in experiencing it. had this happen to me in a remote mountain village in china and in the end drawing what i wanted worked the best . Its no reason not to go to a place, just because thet dont speak the language you do. Plus in Paris these days this is Super Unlikely for this to to happen, if you ask 5 people under 40 4 out of the 5 will know enough English to point out which direction you should go. especially service people or students.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Feb 14, 2019 20:15:46 GMT
I've been in several european countries and almost never had a communication problem. It's truly embarrassing as a Canadian, a bilingual country, that I really only know a few words and phrases in French.
My friend from Finland told me they are required to know several languages in school, she spoke Finnish, Swedish, German and English. Another friend was Romanian, she knew Romanian, French, English, Italian and Spanish. In Portugal she simply decided to "figure out" Portuguese on her own since it was so similar to what she knew already!
It seems everyone you meet in Europe can speak some English. I felt positively stupid and in awe of them. In France I went into a shop and the owners were American!
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Post by BATouttaheck on Feb 14, 2019 20:19:43 GMT
Nora in Paris they may speak English but it's more fun for them to pretend that they don't UNLESS they are being paid to be a helper … as in service people at train stations etc. You may have better luck because you are such a cute little Llama who everyone wants to help ! Being assumed to be an American often doesn't help much either !
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Post by Nora on Feb 14, 2019 20:27:15 GMT
Nora in Paris they may speak English but it's more fun for them to pretend that they don't UNLESS they are being paid to be a helper … as in service people at train stations etc. You may have better luck because you are such a cute little Llama who everyone wants to help ! Being assumed to be an American often doesn't help much either ! I have honestly never experienced this trope describing french people as unhelpful or unwilling to speak english. i actually have the opposite experience each time. I speak french but sadly have a thik “american” (to french ears) accent to it since it was a third language i was picking up i mever really mastered its sound) and what frustrated me was how wuickly french people would switch to english with me when thet realized i wasnt a native or fluent speaker. i do realize being a woman might play a part in my overall experience in life, where I feel like most strangers are naturally nice / helpful to me and realize for men this experience might be different. i have always felt like being a woman has more advantages than disadvantages.
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Post by divtal on Feb 14, 2019 20:32:12 GMT
but for the weong reasons it seems. the language spoken shouldnt really matter (you will get by in paris without french no worries). i want to highlight again how easy it is to do both when u r in europe already. really do consider that. depending in your timeline and budget you could very eassily add Amsterdam too, which is a lot of fun. take it from someone who grew up in europe, lived in England and had been to Paris at least a dozen times - Paris is really worth a visit and offers more “exotic” things to an american than london does. London is great too sure. But dont skip out on Paris. Agreed. I love visiting both cities. I'm not sure that I could choose a favorite, between the two. As for language, European countries, are light-years ahead of us ... the U.S. ... in terms of cultivating multi-lingual skills. And, English is high on the list, as the language of most international business. Don't short change yourself on Paris, if you have the time. I've not been to Amsterdam (save for switching planes). And, in December, I noticed that it's the 3rd terminus on the "Eurostar." Next trip! (Depending on how Brexit plays out.)
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Post by BATouttaheck on Feb 14, 2019 20:33:19 GMT
Nora Different people experience the same place in different ways .. there are several tales of what happened in Paris that won't be gone into but "being treated well " was not part of them. Maybe things have changed since I was there BUT it was bad enough that despite opportunities to do so, I never returned and never shall . Never had negative experiences a la Paris in ANY other country I visited. I used to stop to read a guide book or a map and people would offer to help OR ask me for help !
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Post by divtal on Feb 14, 2019 22:03:11 GMT
Nora in Paris they may speak English but it's more fun for them to pretend that they don't UNLESS they are being paid to be a helper … as in service people at train stations etc. You may have better luck because you are such a cute little Llama who everyone wants to help ! Being assumed to be an American often doesn't help much either ! Right, Bats! The Parisians are great, and it took me a long time to understand why there was this feeling that the French/Parisians were rude. I had never found that to be the case. I didn't understand. Then, it occurred to me. Question ( you have to be honest, and to have a sense of humor about yourself): The citizens of what two countries, on this little blue-green planet, are the most obnoxiously self-righteous? No contest ... The U.S., and France! The way that I see it is that we, Americans, expect everything to be "our way!" The French are "The French," and beyond that they just don't give a s___! It's a perfect match. I'm not fluent in French, and I like to keep learning. However, with proper respect, and a sense of mutual teasing, encounters can be great fun. Please understand that, as Americans go, I do pretty well in the cute-little-llama department.
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Post by mecano04 on Feb 15, 2019 22:59:18 GMT
There are Parisians in Paris, so that's enough to make you go to London.
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Post by poelzig on Feb 16, 2019 0:42:31 GMT
Nora in Paris they may speak English but it's more fun for them to pretend that they don't UNLESS they are being paid to be a helper … as in service people at train stations etc. You may have better luck because you are such a cute little Llama who everyone wants to help ! Being assumed to be an American often doesn't help much either ! I have honestly never experienced this trope describing french people as unhelpful or unwilling to speak english. i actually have the opposite experience each time. I speak french but sadly have a thik “american” (to french ears) accent to it since it was a third language i was picking up i mever really mastered its sound) and what frustrated me was how wuickly french people would switch to english with me when thet realized i wasnt a native or fluent speaker. i do realize being a woman might play a part in my overall experience in life, where I feel like most strangers are naturally nice / helpful to me and realize for men this experience might be different. i have always felt like being a woman has more advantages than disadvantages. Well you are a painfully annoying smug douchebag so you fit in perfectly with all the other pompous assholes despite your thik [sic] "american" accent you are so ashamed of having. Then again if anyone actually believes your countless stories, everywhere you go you are adored and strangers fall all over themselves to tell you how cool and interesting you are. You do resemble Hercules Poirot in drag but I think he's Belgian so you're probably just lying again.
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Post by Aj_June on Feb 16, 2019 4:51:02 GMT
I have lived in London in past for a considerable time and I think it is a great city. I have very little interest in visiting Paris. When I tour Europe next time I would probably visit Vienna, Budapest, and Warsaw.
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