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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 1, 2009 16:52:22 GMT
You communicated beautifully, Lola ~~ it was pearls before a swine such as I.
Re: Paris metro ~~ I think many guidebooks talk about subways in various cities as something to do on a visit, simply because subways don't exist in all cities. Thus, something locals do can also be considered "touristy".
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Post by lagatta on Dec 1, 2009 16:52:48 GMT
This may be too sombre a note for a "fun" thread, but have any of you been up atop the World Trade Center in NYC? I did go up the Empire State building long ago, but never the WTC.
The advantage of going up Tour Montparnasse is that you can't see it, say many people. It does seem jarring - the towers of in La Défense seem much better placed in terms of Parisians easily accessing them for work and business meetings, but not so out of place and scale.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 17:37:08 GMT
Yes, I went to the top of the World Trade Center twice. The last time was in 2000 after not having gone for about 20 years.
And around 2007, I went up the Empire State Building again. I think there was a thought in the back of my mind about "you never know how long such things will be possible" even though we used to think they were there to stay.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 21:21:45 GMT
I too visited the top of the World Trade Center,the last time being in 1998. I also visited "Ground Zero" which I would not have done alone but I was with my husband and he wanted to go.
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Post by lola on Dec 1, 2009 21:27:46 GMT
Well, I'm sure hirsuite people with beetling brows were lovely to one another way back when too! Probably even beetles look lovely to one another.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 22:39:53 GMT
I also visited "Ground Zero" which I would not have done alone but I was with my husband and he wanted to go. I go to Ground Zero every time because I have to go shopping at Century 21.
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Post by lola on Dec 2, 2009 2:14:27 GMT
Anyway, bixa, you're a pearl in this oyster bed, and don't you forget it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 2, 2009 2:35:20 GMT
No, no, I belong in the silty muck of the oyster for being adolescently silly about your lovely evocation of place, and your gracious appreciation of another person.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 2, 2009 9:22:08 GMT
Okay so taking the Paris subway isn't exactly touristy ... neither is getting robbed. However, at all the touristy t-shirt shops in Paris I saw shirts that had the "Metro" logo on them. Therefore I proclaim the subway a designated tourist attraction. Besides, a friend told me I should check out the Paris subway because it apparently smells like "piss". (His word).
To be honest, I didn't feel comfortable in Paris. The language barrier was more of an issue there than in any other country I've been in - except maybe Scotland! I constantly had my hands on my pockets to protect their contents ... and even more so after the two pickpocket attempts. One of which was quite dramatic and involved a chaotic scene right in the doors of the subway and I had to run to the next door so I wouldn't be separated from my family. Then the train came to a sudden stop and the power went out. When it came back on, my mom looked down to see a wine-o retrieving his bottle of wine from under her seat. Then we had to redirect our route because someone had thrown themselves onto the train tracks and trains were halted until the mess was cleaned up.
Then there was the old man in the park by the Eiffel Tower with no pants on...
When my art souvenirs were taken from a bathroom in an art museum, the employees shrugged their shoulders and said it wasn't their problem. In fact, customer service seemed non-existent everywhere.
Fortunately, I find such experiences part of the travelling experience.... do not regret refusing to climb up the Arc de Triomphe but happy I took the subway.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 2, 2009 9:37:43 GMT
"Screeching in" is a longtime Newfoundland tradition... it's how they welcome people visiting NFLD for the first time. It has to be performed by a person born and bred in NFLD, and yeah... it basically involves kissing a fish and taking a shot of Screech rum. Then you are handed a Screech In Certificate and become an honorary Newfoundlander.
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Post by hwinpp on Dec 2, 2009 10:34:24 GMT
That's one hell of a kiss Thank God I never had a Canadian girlfriend...
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Post by bazfaz on Dec 2, 2009 10:49:39 GMT
I think I shall initiate a ceremony like that for visitors here. Let's see how Polish Maria likes that.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 2, 2009 12:50:48 GMT
hwinpp, that is only Newfoundland, a rocky island east of mainland Canada. Actually Newfoundland only joined Confederation in 1949 - before that they were an autonomous British colony.
existential, you should have listened in French class!
I encountered the Dirty Old Man without underpants or trousers in Toronto - these things happen everywhere, at least in cities. Unfortunately, so do métro suicides. You do seem to have had quite a run of them though.
Wondering what bazfaz wants visitors to his region to kiss...
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Post by lola on Dec 2, 2009 14:16:11 GMT
(bixa: pearl, and that's final)
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Post by lola on Dec 2, 2009 15:21:35 GMT
The last time I was in Paris it was after a week in a Touraine gite, and the first few hours were off-putting. We headed to Sacre-Coeur that evening, got off the Metro at Abbesses and walked up. I sulked all the way up the hill, wanting to be back in the beautiful clean countryside, but when we got to the steps and especially when we entered the church and heard the nuns chanting, it turned my attitude right around.
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Post by bazfaz on Dec 2, 2009 15:28:26 GMT
Lagatta, no problem with that. Polish Maria refuses to eat prawns on the grounds that they are dirty feeders. So...
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 2, 2009 20:18:38 GMT
Fine, Lola, as long as I can be Baroque and you can be one Of Great Price.
I think ExistentialCrisis has hit on something many people don't like to admit, but that is a fact about traveling that must be acknowledged. That is, some places just don't work for some individuals. Then, if that person admits how she feels, she is barraged with examples of how great the place is, "didn't you try _ _ _", etc.
I already mentioned my feelings for Monte Alban. I'm sick to death of people gasping, "But it's a magical setting!" or "I could feel the history in those old stones!". How nice for them. I figure anyplace that makes me yearn for neon signs and a cold beer is someplace I don't care for and that's that.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 20:21:43 GMT
You can imagine my reaction to a lot of things that people find "magical" about Paris.
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Post by cristina on Dec 2, 2009 21:25:22 GMT
"Screeching in" is a longtime Newfoundland tradition... it's how they welcome people visiting NFLD for the first time. It has to be performed by a person born and bred in NFLD, and yeah... it basically involves kissing a fish and taking a shot of Screech rum. Then you are handed a Screech In Certificate and become an honorary Newfoundlander. Don't forget, the person being screeched must wear a hat, traditionally a sou'wester, and then has to proclaim "and long may your big jib draw (me old trout)!" before downing the rum. And the fish has to be kissed on the lips. Fortunately, I was 12 on my first visit to Nfld so I was exempt from this initiation right.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2009 22:22:57 GMT
The first time I crossed the equator, I was slightly worried about the folklorish Neptune ceremonies that are done on ships. Luckily, I was on a plane...
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Post by hwinpp on Dec 3, 2009 2:42:24 GMT
Well, looking at EC's lower pic, one fish got his spine bitten out and one got beheaded...
That's why I wrote
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Post by cristina on Dec 3, 2009 3:26:03 GMT
Well, looking at EC's lower pic, one fish got his spine bitten out and one got beheaded...That's why I wrote Newfoundlander's have a wonderful sense of humor. Not that the rest of the Canadians don't, but you really need a serious sense of humor to survive in Nfld. Let me know if you'd like me to sing some Newfie songs for you.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 3, 2009 3:29:54 GMT
Are you originally from there? Such a great leap to Phoenix!
Yes, I do know people from there - was going to say from the Rock, but some Newfoundlanders find that offensive if said by someone from afar.
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Post by cristina on Dec 3, 2009 3:43:28 GMT
Are you originally from there? Such a great leap to Phoenix! Yes, I do know people from there - was going to say from the Rock, but some Newfoundlanders find that offensive if said by someone from afar. My mom is a Newfoundlander. And she is among those offended by the Rock reference. I think it might be a bit generational. I've leapt about a few places before landing in Phoenix. Phoenix was my own doing, however.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 3, 2009 11:23:16 GMT
Um... well, those little fish in the picture certainly aren't the kind you're supposed to kiss... but they must be tasty! The only pics of Screeching In with the big fish kiss I could find were on google and had close ups of people's faces, and I don't feel right stealing those and posting them on a public wall for some reason, even though they are already public.... hmmm...
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Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 3, 2009 11:33:07 GMT
You're right Bixa - Paris was not the place for me. But who knows, maybe I'll like it better next time. Most people can also not believe that I couldn't stand being in Nelson, BC: Just don't like being smothered by mountains... and surrounded by people that always wanna climb them. I was definitely yearning for neon lights and cold beer!!!!!
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Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 3, 2009 11:35:31 GMT
Lagatta: I've had lots of French education... unfortunately I don't think they do an adequate job in Canada of teaching our other official language. I even took advanced and International Baccalaurate French. There's another problem too. As you know, Quebec French is much different than France French... I've even heard of people from Quebec going to France and not being well understood. In fact, when I stayed in Quebec City last May there were 6 of us in a room (where I was staying thanks to couchsurfers.com) and two of us were Quebecois, two were French, and two were Anglo-Canadians... and no one could really understand anyone very well!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 4, 2009 14:56:40 GMT
I don't know if it's the same for everyone, but I think what can put you off a place is the onus of having to appreciate it. There you are, in a place that cost you time, trouble, & money to reach and you feel ........... well, not what you're supposed to feel. I think it can cause a grumpy backlash reaction to the place.
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Post by bazfaz on Dec 4, 2009 15:34:15 GMT
I am going to confess that the pyramids disappointed me. I know, I am the only person in the world who feels like that. The pyramids are big, very big - I'll give you that. The guide who took our French (apart from us) group said that if the stones were
laid end to end they would reach Paris. And they were built without modern technology. And that is amazing.
But still, I looked at the pyramid of Cheops and thought ... big.
And no, I don't want a camel ride. And no, I don't want my picture taken in front of it. And no I don't want any of your postcards.
Big.
That's all.
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Post by lola on Dec 4, 2009 20:37:56 GMT
I've had a grumpy backlash reaction to the Grand Canyon ever since 8th grade English teacher Mrs. Scirocco had us watch home movies she'd taken of it from the window of her moving car. Ever since then, I've felt a slight queasiness about the place.
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