BVDH The Blog

"You're embarrassing me!" --My Day in Paris

The above quote is from the brilliant Felicia Goodman who yelled it at me at some point during my day in Paris when I was talking too loud in a Paris Metro station.  Although I cannot recall whether I was making fun of French people, or the French as a whole for loving to surrender, I'm sure it was something of the sort. 

So I went to Paris with a strong anti-French bias and looked forward to hating Paris.  That was certainly not the case.  I actually love Paris, much more than London.  Yes, that's right, I liked Paris more than London.  (I am shocked too--especially for me).  My stereotypes of the French, that they were rude and mean especially too Americans, were shattered.  Every person I ran interacted with, whether in French (yes, I actually speak about 15 and a half words of French) or in English (that would be most of the time), was very pleasant and most polite.   They always said "merci" (thanks for those of you who are language challenged like me) even for the smallest things.

Compare that to London, where it was impossible to get anyone to be kind to me, even as I went out of my way to be kind to them.   I was surprised and my opinion of the French most definitely changed to a very positive one.

London: My observations

So as I pack up to head to Paris shortly (remember I am five hours ahead of EST), I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on my experiences in London.  Overall, I'd say it's a pretty amazing city with lots to do, a certain aura of liveliness in the air (a la D.C.), and many cool places to explore.  So here are some observations, both positive and a bit more critical:

• I don't understand what is considered a safety issue here versus in the States.  For example, they have no problem leaving bakery items completely uncovered in grocery stores and coffee shops here, something that would get you shut down quicker than you can say doughnut in the U.S.  So that's okay, but having a hair dryer in the bathroom (it's instead rather conveniently located in my desk drawer) is not safe.  I don't get it.
• Britain would be a terrible place to be in a wheelchair.  The Tube is almost completely inaccessible to those in wheelchairs with tons of steps.  Even my hotel has steps going up and down on the floor I am on.  The country would not be able to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act if its life depended on it. 
• Speaking of the Tube, the London Underground is a very good subway system.  The trains seem to run often and it's a rather pleasant experience.  One thing though is it is a long walk (5-10 minutes in some stations) to switch lines on the Tube. 

Eurotrip: "Cigarettes kill"

In the United States we have the Surgeon General's Warning on packs of cigarettes that say something like they will kill you.  Fair enough.  In an example of British bluntness, they skip sentence and cut to the chase with the lower third of each pack saying "CIGARETTES KILL."

Simple. True. And right to the point.  I approve.  But this certainly doesn't stop many from smoking and it seems to be more widespread here than back in the States. 

BVDH The Tour: Eurotrip!

Hey Everyone,

In case you haven't heard, I'm off to London and Paris this weekend for a 72 hour trip across the pond.   I'll be blogging from Europe, so be sure to check back for updates.

Enjoy the Superbowl!

Benjamin

New Orleans: Overrated

Recently, I went to New Orleans for the first time.  I was there for about 36 hours (rather long for me in one city) over two nights and I felt like that was more than enough time to explore and decide about the Big Easy.  To put it rather simply, I really dislike New Orleans. 

The French Quarter (where I stayed and is most famous for Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras) is one-half tourist trap and one-half drunken fraternity party.  Bourbon Street itself I found whole unimpressive with one block looking like the next.  Each block had about 28 frozen daiquiri bars featuring pizza by the slice (delicious I'm sure--I wonder how many frozen drinks you would have to have before the pizza actually tasted good), four tourists crap shops with lots of beads and t-shirts, three sketchy looking strip clubs, and a couple of cafes all featuring a nearly identical menu. 

New Orleans certainly has character, but it's not the type of character I enjoy.   I'm sure there are some nice restaurants and good things to do, but the French Quarter, especially at night it's little more than a giant frat party (not something I enjoy in the first place).   It was bad in January, I can only imagine how insane it is during Mardi Gras, which is coming up in a couple weeks.