Goodness, is everyone on vacation? I’ve never seen the forum so empty. I hope we get lots of trip reports from returning vacationers in a week or two . . . hint, hint.
SalB: I’m still here…looking in and reading the posts…there hasn’t been anything really interesting for me to reply to, so I’ve not been posting. Sorry
July 20, 2004 at 5:08 pm
so basically everybody’s here but nobody’s posting because they all think nobody’s here ??
July 20, 2004 at 8:22 pm
Salb, I am still here checking the Forum everyday for helpful tips. Just counting down my weeks before visiting France. It will be just Me and Paris.
July 20, 2004 at 11:06 pm
wonderwoman, When are you leaving? Where are you staying? What are you planning to visit? How long are you staying? Give us details. We long for details.
We are also all jealous!!
July 21, 2004 at 9:13 pm
crc95: I think it is because we are all trying to be too politically correct. I am going to concentrate on helping to find lost Chinese children. Maybe that is where everyone is. What do you think of the exploits of Sandy Berger? What a hot ticket. Donerail
July 21, 2004 at 10:23 pm
donerail, If there is one thing I have NEVER noticed on this forum, it is everyone trying to be politically correct.
July 22, 2004 at 4:29 am
Donerail : maybe you could use that extra coast-guards reinforcement and politely ask them for their help in finding lost chinese babies.
About S. Berger : I don’t really think much about it, but as any anti-Bushist I worry it could do some harm to our good friend Kerry. What do you sense ?
SalB : if you believe these boards are non-politically correct, you have obviously never been on Yahoo! News message boards.
CRC
July 22, 2004 at 6:04 pm
crc95: As with most neo-con initiatives, it looks like the Berger thing will not "grow legs" as we are prone to say.
It is looking more and more each day that its a slam dunk for Kerry. Unless the Bushies figure out a way to do another Florida thing. Elections over here are such a chore – but it can be quite entertaining. I can’t wait for Edwards to slap Cheney up side the head on national TV. Same for "Liveshot" Kerry slapping The Chimp around.
Donerail
July 22, 2004 at 8:31 pm
I’ll be in the US in october, hope I can catch one of these debates, I’ve never watched that in the US yet. Should be interesting.
Did you see how Mr Governor of CA called his Democrats there ? I read there’s already a Tshirt that says ‘Sacramento Girlie Men’ on sale. I want one of these !
CRC
July 22, 2004 at 9:25 pm
crc95: California is a differennt place. SalB can elaborate. I remember waiting outside a Marriott for the shuttle to the LAX airport. There was a worker watering the plants with a garden hose. On closer examination I found that the plants were actually made of plastic. So now they have Arnold, and so it goes. Donerail
July 22, 2004 at 11:26 pm
donerail, Don’t you water your plastic plants in Boston? I suppose they all die in the winter anyway.
We’re going to Sacramento this weekend. Does anyone want me to bring back a tee shirt!!
So what is Arnold, a boylie man?! I can’t believe he was elected. He’s doing exactly the same things Davis did and Davis was recalled. Perhaps we should throw away another 30 million and recall Arnold. We could easily get 30 million by taking it away from health care in small towns, or education. Education is wasted on the young anyway. It might be worth 30 mil to get rid of Arnold . . . although his replacement would probably be identical. Hmm, perhaps a replacement could speak English.
Oops, that’s not politically correct.
July 23, 2004 at 6:30 am
My husband and I are planning a holiday in France in September this year. We need assistance!!!!
1. Which is the most romantic place to visit. 2. Can you recommend an economical hotel or perhaps arrange an apartment for rent for two months. 3. The embassy has indicated that we should get a letter of invitation from a French person.
If you can help or if you know someone who can help, please email to me at petronellaE@gpg.gov.za.
If you can do assist us, I promise that when we meet, we will reward you.
SalB: It is nice to see that you are enjoying these non travel threads. Take good care of Arnold for us. Donerail
July 25, 2004 at 1:06 pm
CRC95: Oh, stay in the US until November for the voting of our next president. It is a treat, don’t miss it! Keep your eye on Florida counting system for me.
July 26, 2004 at 8:41 pm
SalB, OK everyone, here the details of my plan to visit Paris in September. I will be leaving on September 2nd and returning on the 11th. I will be staying at the Relais du Louvre (Le.), Paris. My plans are to visit Eiffel Tower, Musee du Louvre museum, Musee des Arts de coratifs, Notre Dame de Paris, and Opera Bastille. Since this is my first time in France, I will be using the Airport Blue Shuttle to and from the airport. Hope I have time to visit Lyon and Lillie, Capital of the French Flanders. I am aware, CRC95, this will be pushing it, but I like a challenge.
I made all my plans using France.com. It is a marvelous tool.
The Blue Shuttle is terrific, especially at rush hour. You don’t have to fight the crowds. We usually take the RER train but if we have an early flight or it’s rush hour, we use the shuttle.
philipE, I’m going to list your questions and my comments will follow them. It’s easier to read that way. (At least it’s easier for me!)
1. Which is the most romantic place to visit? Depends on your tastes and even the time of year. We love Paris and highly recommend it. On the other hand, it’s hard to find a place in France that would NOT be romantic. It’s a very romantic country.
2. Can you recommend an economical hotel or perhaps arrange an apartment for rent for two months? Depends on where you stay! If you opt for Paris, the Hotel la Sorbonne is very inexpensive and it is clean and in a great location. An easy way to find a hotel is to click on the blue and red France.com at the top of this page and do a search for hotels. They have a special place to search for Paris hotels and you can also search for hotels in other places France. There are photos of the hotels and there are also very good reviews of most of them. We’ve used the France.com reservation service for years and have never had a problem so I highly recommend it.
3. The embassy has indicated that we should get a letter of invitation from a French person. This surprises me, so I will ask if you are American citizens living in the USA? If you are, you should not need either a letter of invitation or a visa if you are staying 3 months or less. When Americans stay longer than 90 days, they do need a visa. If you are not US citizens, you need to check with your own immigration authorities and do what they tell you. We would need to know your country of citizenship to help you on this question.
donerail, I tried very hard to find a tee shirt for you but we got sidetracked visiting wineries in the Shenandoah Valley Gold country near Sacramento. We were having so much fun we forgot all about the Arnold tee shirts. I hope you will forgive me!
July 26, 2004 at 10:29 pm
crc95, Have a little faith in me. We are voting before we leave for France. In the USA there is an absentee ballot that you can get and do your voting 30 days before the election. You vote, turn in your ballot and then disappear to France. We actually called the Registrar of Voters to find out the earliest date we could get our ballots and vote and planned our trip around that date. We even allowed ourselves one day in case the Registrar had some crazy problem. Believe me, we will vote in November . . . It’s just that we’ll do it in October!! Nice.>
SalB : I knew I could count on you in Operation "Back To The TX Zoo".
CRC
July 27, 2004 at 6:15 pm
SalB: As they say in Chicago, "vote early and vote often." Crc95: When is the next big election in LaFrance? Donerail
July 27, 2004 at 7:22 pm
crc95, You’re not insane enough to think I’d vote for a Texan, are you? I thought you had more faith in me than that. Actually, it appears that you have absolutely no faith in me. I’m so sad . . .
BTW, Did you vote for Chirac? He’s not the world’s greatest president either . . . granting you that the alternative was far worse. The point is, that the alternative should have been different.
Ah . . . governments . . . the bane of our existance.
July 27, 2004 at 9:16 pm
Donerail, France is a country that holds elections almost EVERY YEAR, due to the fact that there are plenty of political appointments, since everyone in this "business" should have his own little job !
We’ve just had some local elections last May, and then the Euro parliament election in June. Chirac’s party got his butt kicked each time, but doesn’t give a flying rat’s azz. This coming september we’ll have some elections for the French Senate, and next year maybe, Chirac may decide to hold a referendum about the Euro constitution draft.
2007 will be the next big election year in France, with president, MPs, and city councils / mayors to renew.
SalB : I do have a lot of faith in you, but you’re a former teacher, and teachers are some weird caste, so I’ll never be able to feel totally comfortable with you.
CRC
July 27, 2004 at 11:24 pm
crc95, LVB is a current teacher. Does she scare you too? If it makes you more comfortable, I spent more time as a musician than I did as a teacher. Let’s face it we all have to earn a retirement income somehow! Teaching works.
Think of me as a photographer and painter. That’s what I do now. They are pretty user friendly professions.
July 28, 2004 at 1:35 am
oh ok. Well I’ll try. But it’s hard.
CRC
July 28, 2004 at 12:59 pm
One night, George ‘Chimp’ W. Bush was awakened in the White House by the ghost of George Washington.
George ‘Chimp’ W. asked the ghost, "Mr. Washington, sir, what is the best thing I can do to help the American people?"
"Set an honest and honorable example, George W., just as I did."
The following evening, the ghost of Thomas Jefferson appeared before Bush in the dark bedroom.
"Mr. Jefferson, sir," George W. asked, "what is the best thing I can do to help the American people?"
"Preserve the land for future generations and stay out of foreign affairs."
Bush wasn’t sleeping well the next night, and saw yet another figure moving in the shadows. It was the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. "Mr. Lincoln, sir, what is the best thing I can do to help the American people?" George W. asked.
"Go see a play."
July 28, 2004 at 1:15 pm
crc: As I’ve told my French friends, teachers get the last laugh when it comes to mean, cruel, or just plain annoying students harassing them during the year. It’s called EXAM TIME!
Are you more comfortable with me now?
July 28, 2004 at 4:54 pm
I am here and there…maybe soon in late Sept. I will be in the North half of the Philippines. Right now, I am in a smaller town south of Fresno, Calif. and it has been tres tres Warm at times. I haven’t been following the Boston Convention real closely. I saw where there was a discusson about Culture in France, and McDonalds. I admit that I ate at a McD after Notre Dame mass. And I have used McDon. in Munich on Marienplatz…and also, one in Singapore last Sept. People in Paris were pleasant at McDon. the price was what I expected…but I realize I like local places, too.
July 28, 2004 at 5:58 pm
LVB : I knew it, I knew it godangit !!!!
CRC
July 28, 2004 at 9:30 pm
crc:
July 28, 2004 at 11:19 pm
danairozo, It’s okay. We’ve all eaten at McDonald’s at some time in our past. We just try to forget about it and move on with our lives.
Did you attend High Mass at Notre Dame? It is a magnificent experience. We heard the boy choir one Sunday and it was akin to going to Heaven.
BTW, are you the one from Visalia? If so, it’s been HOT HOT HOT.
July 28, 2004 at 11:45 pm
hi SalB… yes Visalia is hot but a little nicer today…I went to the Sunday Evening Mass at Notre Dame.. it was not a High Mass. Nice Priest or Pastor who spoke well–I understood a good part of it. The war in Iraq had just started and I kept hearing words like Blood and war. There was an Organist..but he had no Hunchback…lol. Yes, I slipped back into the McDonalds "safe" thing…next time either I would take a train trip to Saarbrucken and back..with hopefully a night in Nancy…or go from Paris to Marseille and back.
July 30, 2004 at 3:13 pm
Cooler here today too. Thank goodness!
Try to attend a High Mass some time at Notre Dame. The organ is wonderful and the boy choir is one of the best I’ve heard. There is also a free organ recital on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 at Notre Dame. You have to get there early to get a seat but it is an amazing experience. When he pulls out all the stops, the entire building shakes and you wonder how it survived for a thousand years. I was picturing huge stones turning to dust and piling down on top of us. When he is playing lightly, you swear you can see little notes dancing around the clerestory windows high above you.
Walk out the front door of Notre Dame and go straight toward the end of the island. As you pass rue de Harley, there are a couple nice restaurants and if you go down rue de Harley to Place Dauphine, there are several nice restaurants on the Place. Try it next time and tell me what you think.
31 Comments On Where is everyone?
SalB: I’m still here…looking in and reading the posts…there hasn’t been anything really interesting for me to reply to, so I’ve not been posting. Sorry
so basically everybody’s here but nobody’s posting because they all think nobody’s here ??
Salb, I am still here checking the Forum everyday for helpful tips. Just counting down my weeks before visiting France. It will be just Me and Paris.
wonderwoman, When are you leaving? Where are you staying? What are you planning to visit? How long are you staying? Give us details. We long for details.
We are also all jealous!!
crc95: I think it is because we are all trying to be too politically correct. I am going to concentrate on helping to find lost Chinese children. Maybe that is where everyone is. What do you think of the exploits of Sandy Berger? What a hot ticket. Donerail
donerail, If there is one thing I have NEVER noticed on this forum, it is everyone trying to be politically correct.
Donerail : maybe you could use that extra coast-guards reinforcement and politely ask them for their help in finding lost chinese babies.
About S. Berger : I don’t really think much about it, but as any anti-Bushist I worry it could do some harm to our good friend Kerry. What do you sense ?
SalB : if you believe these boards are non-politically correct, you have obviously never been on Yahoo! News message boards.
CRC
crc95: As with most neo-con initiatives, it looks like the Berger thing will not "grow legs" as we are prone to say.
It is looking more and more each day that its a slam dunk for Kerry. Unless the Bushies figure out a way to do another Florida thing. Elections over here are such a chore – but it can be quite entertaining. I can’t wait for Edwards to slap Cheney up side the head on national TV. Same for "Liveshot" Kerry slapping The Chimp around.
Donerail
I’ll be in the US in october, hope I can catch one of these debates, I’ve never watched that in the US yet. Should be interesting.
Did you see how Mr Governor of CA called his Democrats there ? I read there’s already a Tshirt that says ‘Sacramento Girlie Men’ on sale. I want one of these !
CRC
crc95: California is a differennt place. SalB can elaborate. I remember waiting outside a Marriott for the shuttle to the LAX airport. There was a worker watering the plants with a garden hose. On closer examination I found that the plants were actually made of plastic. So now they have Arnold, and so it goes. Donerail
donerail, Don’t you water your plastic plants in Boston? I suppose they all die in the winter anyway.
We’re going to Sacramento this weekend. Does anyone want me to bring back a tee shirt!!
So what is Arnold, a boylie man?! I can’t believe he was elected. He’s doing exactly the same things Davis did and Davis was recalled. Perhaps we should throw away another 30 million and recall Arnold. We could easily get 30 million by taking it away from health care in small towns, or education. Education is wasted on the young anyway. It might be worth 30 mil to get rid of Arnold . . . although his replacement would probably be identical. Hmm, perhaps a replacement could speak English.
Oops, that’s not politically correct.
My husband and I are planning a holiday in France in September this year. We need assistance!!!!
1. Which is the most romantic place to visit.
2. Can you recommend an economical hotel or perhaps arrange an
apartment for rent for two months.
3. The embassy has indicated that we should get a letter of invitation
from a French person.
If you can help or if you know someone who can help, please email to me at petronellaE@gpg.gov.za.
If you can do assist us, I promise that when we meet, we will reward you.
Thank you.
Petronella Ezeolisa
petronellaE@gpg.gov.za
SalB: It is nice to see that you are enjoying these non travel threads. Take good care of Arnold for us. Donerail
CRC95: Oh, stay in the US until November for the voting of our next president. It is a treat, don’t miss it! Keep your eye on Florida counting system for me.
SalB, OK everyone, here the details of my plan to visit Paris in September. I will be leaving on September 2nd and returning on the 11th. I will be staying at the Relais du Louvre (Le.), Paris. My plans are to visit Eiffel Tower, Musee du Louvre museum, Musee des Arts de coratifs, Notre Dame de Paris, and Opera Bastille. Since this is my first time in France, I will be using the Airport Blue Shuttle to and from the airport. Hope I have time to visit Lyon and Lillie, Capital of the French Flanders. I am aware, CRC95, this will be pushing it, but I like a challenge.
I made all my plans using France.com. It is a marvelous tool.
Tips anyone!
wonderwoman326, Wow, you like whirlwind tours. Go for it. If you have any time left, I highly recommend both the Musée Rodin and the Musée de Moyen Age (Cluny Museum). They are both wonderful, small museums and the Rodin has a delightful garden too.
The Blue Shuttle is terrific, especially at rush hour. You don’t have to fight the crowds. We usually take the RER train but if we have an early flight or it’s rush hour, we use the shuttle.
philipE, I’m going to list your questions and my comments will follow them. It’s easier to read that way. (At least it’s easier for me!)
1. Which is the most romantic place to visit? Depends on your tastes and even the time of year. We love Paris and highly recommend it. On the other hand, it’s hard to find a place in France that would NOT be romantic. It’s a very romantic country.
2. Can you recommend an economical hotel or perhaps arrange an apartment for rent for two months? Depends on where you stay! If you opt for Paris, the Hotel la Sorbonne is very inexpensive and it is clean and in a great location. An easy way to find a hotel is to click on the blue and red France.com at the top of this page and do a search for hotels. They have a special place to search for Paris hotels and you can also search for hotels in other places France. There are photos of the hotels and there are also very good reviews of most of them. We’ve used the France.com reservation service for years and have never had a problem so I highly recommend it.
3. The embassy has indicated that we should get a letter of invitation
from a French person. This surprises me, so I will ask if you are American citizens living in the USA? If you are, you should not need either a letter of invitation or a visa if you are staying 3 months or less. When Americans stay longer than 90 days, they do need a visa. If you are not US citizens, you need to check with your own immigration authorities and do what they tell you. We would need to know your country of citizenship to help you on this question.
donerail, I tried very hard to find a tee shirt for you but we got sidetracked visiting wineries in the Shenandoah Valley Gold country near Sacramento. We were having so much fun we forgot all about the Arnold tee shirts. I hope you will forgive me!
crc95, Have a little faith in me. We are voting before we leave for France. In the USA there is an absentee ballot that you can get and do your voting 30 days before the election. You vote, turn in your ballot and then disappear to France. We actually called the Registrar of Voters to find out the earliest date we could get our ballots and vote and planned our trip around that date. We even allowed ourselves one day in case the Registrar had some crazy problem. Believe me, we will vote in November . . . It’s just that we’ll do it in October!! Nice.
>
wonderwoman : your plans look good. When in Paris, I’d recommend you go on top of the Arc de Triomphe (you can’t miss it when you are on the Champs Elysées), to my opinion the view is better from the top of the Arc than on the top of the Eiffel Tower. I’m glad you are going to my hometown of Lyon also. I wrote a post about Lyon just a few days ago, and gave some tasty tips about where to get to the good food in Lyon, maybe you’d want to have a look at it. I don’t know Lille much, I’ve only been through it, but I heard it’s an interesting place. I tend to compare Lille and its surroundings (what we call Le Nord) to Detroit metro in the US : towns with an old industrial history that have problems to adjust to modern times.
SalB : I knew I could count on you in Operation "Back To The TX Zoo".
CRC
SalB: As they say in Chicago, "vote early and vote often." Crc95: When is the next big election in LaFrance? Donerail
crc95, You’re not insane enough to think I’d vote for a Texan, are you? I thought you had more faith in me than that. Actually, it appears that you have absolutely no faith in me. I’m so sad . . .
BTW, Did you vote for Chirac? He’s not the world’s greatest president either . . . granting you that the alternative was far worse. The point is, that the alternative should have been different.
Ah . . . governments . . . the bane of our existance.
Donerail, France is a country that holds elections almost EVERY YEAR, due to the fact that there are plenty of political appointments, since everyone in this "business" should have his own little job !
We’ve just had some local elections last May, and then the Euro parliament election in June. Chirac’s party got his butt kicked each time, but doesn’t give a flying rat’s azz. This coming september we’ll have some elections for the French Senate, and next year maybe, Chirac may decide to hold a referendum about the Euro constitution draft.
2007 will be the next big election year in France, with president, MPs, and city councils / mayors to renew.
SalB : I do have a lot of faith in you, but you’re a former teacher, and teachers are some weird caste, so I’ll never be able to feel totally comfortable with you.
CRC
crc95, LVB is a current teacher. Does she scare you too? If it makes you more comfortable, I spent more time as a musician than I did as a teacher. Let’s face it we all have to earn a retirement income somehow! Teaching works.
Think of me as a photographer and painter. That’s what I do now. They are pretty user friendly professions.
oh ok. Well I’ll try. But it’s hard.
CRC
One night, George ‘Chimp’ W. Bush was awakened in the White House by the ghost of George Washington.
George ‘Chimp’ W. asked the ghost, "Mr. Washington, sir, what is the best thing I can do to help the American people?"
"Set an honest and honorable example, George W., just as I did."
The following evening, the ghost of Thomas Jefferson appeared before Bush in the dark bedroom.
"Mr. Jefferson, sir," George W. asked, "what is the best thing I can do to help the American people?"
"Preserve the land for future generations and stay out of foreign affairs."
Bush wasn’t sleeping well the next night, and saw yet another figure moving in the shadows. It was the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. "Mr. Lincoln, sir, what is the best thing I can do to help the American people?" George W. asked.
"Go see a play."
crc: As I’ve told my French friends, teachers get the last laugh when it comes to mean, cruel, or just plain annoying students harassing them during the year. It’s called EXAM TIME!
Are you more comfortable with me now?
I am here and there…maybe soon in late Sept. I will be in the North half of the Philippines. Right now, I am in a smaller town south of Fresno, Calif. and it has been tres tres Warm at times. I haven’t been following the Boston Convention real closely. I saw where there was a discusson about Culture in France, and McDonalds. I admit that I ate at a McD after Notre Dame mass. And I have used McDon. in Munich on Marienplatz…and also, one in Singapore last Sept. People in Paris were pleasant at McDon. the price was what I expected…but I realize I
like local places, too.
LVB : I knew it, I knew it godangit !!!!
CRC
crc:
danairozo, It’s okay. We’ve all eaten at McDonald’s at some time in our past. We just try to forget about it and move on with our lives.
Did you attend High Mass at Notre Dame? It is a magnificent experience. We heard the boy choir one Sunday and it was akin to going to Heaven.
BTW, are you the one from Visalia? If so, it’s been HOT HOT HOT.
hi SalB… yes Visalia is hot but a little nicer today…I went to the Sunday Evening Mass at Notre Dame.. it was not a High Mass. Nice Priest or Pastor who spoke well–I understood a good part of it. The war in Iraq had just started and I kept hearing words like Blood and war. There was an Organist..but he had no Hunchback…lol. Yes, I slipped back into the McDonalds "safe" thing…next time either I would take a train trip to Saarbrucken and back..with hopefully a night in Nancy…or go from
Paris to Marseille and back.
Cooler here today too. Thank goodness!
Try to attend a High Mass some time at Notre Dame. The organ is wonderful and the boy choir is one of the best I’ve heard. There is also a free organ recital on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 at Notre Dame. You have to get there early to get a seat but it is an amazing experience. When he pulls out all the stops, the entire building shakes and you wonder how it survived for a thousand years. I was picturing huge stones turning to dust and piling down on top of us. When he is playing lightly, you swear you can see little notes dancing around the clerestory windows high above you.
Walk out the front door of Notre Dame and go straight toward the end of the island. As you pass rue de Harley, there are a couple nice restaurants and if you go down rue de Harley to Place Dauphine, there are several nice restaurants on the Place. Try it next time and tell me what you think.