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Would You Take a Free Trip to Paris?

Would You Take a Free Trip to Paris?

  • Total voters
    77
Threegoofs said:
I assume this is a natural human condition


I'm actually kind of sad and distressed to see the negative responses here. It's like some people are stuck in middle school for their whole lives...awful.
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Yeah, it's pretty pathetic, eh?

I couldn't believe a couple people said "I'm just not big into travelling." How can that be? How can you have no innate human curiosity about what another place is like?

Not to mention the one or two idiots who said "Only to bomb it" or something like that. Hell, I think the world would be better off if most of America besides New England, California and the Great Lakes just combusted, but I would never advocate bombing those places out of political disagreement.
 
Ad_Captandum said:
Yeah, it's pretty pathetic, eh?

I couldn't believe a couple people said "I'm just not big into travelling." How can that be? How can you have no innate human curiosity about what another place is like?

Not to mention the one or two idiots who said "Only to bomb it" or something like that. Hell, I think the world would be better off if most of America besides New England, California and the Great Lakes just combusted, but I would never advocate bombing those places out of political disagreement.
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:roll:
 
Gathomas88 said:
:roll:
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Sorry mate. Now, I did follow that up by saying I'd never advocate actually having all those places destroyed -- that was the point of the post. I disagree with the political slant of those places, and I think they're holding us (Western civilisation) back in some ways from further dominating the globe, culturally speaking. And I think the Western world would be significantly more progressive without these regions included.

But I still like the people there, and I enjoy the culture, and it's a fascinating collection of peoples and states and identities.

I visited Tombstone, Arizona recently. Is it a progressive place? Hell no. Is it fascinating, and was everyone I met perfectly lovely? Of course!

Your own South Carolina is another great example. Politically, I'll bet we have some significant differences. Historically and culturally, I think SC is fascinating, as the Union's most rebellious state (three declarations of secession, no?). I think the Carolinas' history as a pirate haven with the Outer Banks in North Carolina, or the Roanoke Colony, or the Shelling of For Sumter... All of it great. Absolutely riveting history, and it has spawned an interesting culture.

It's not just America -- I think if the entire population of Cornwall or Devonshire disappeared, Britain would be more progressive.

If the entire Middle East disappeared, the world would be more progressive.

I still don't want to bomb these places.
 
Ad_Captandum said:
Yeah, it's pretty pathetic, eh?

I couldn't believe a couple people said "I'm just not big into travelling." How can that be? How can you have no innate human curiosity about what another place is like?

Not to mention the one or two idiots who said "Only to bomb it" or something like that. Hell, I think the world would be better off if most of America besides New England, California and the Great Lakes just combusted, but I would never advocate bombing those places out of political disagreement.
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So you complain about another poster about saying something negative about France and turn around and do the same thing about the United States? Classy! There are plenty of good people and places ALL OVER the United States.
 
ChrisL said:
So you complain about another poster about saying something negative about France and turn around and do the same thing about the United States? Classy! There are plenty of good people and places ALL OVER the United States.
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Not at all -- the point was, I feel the same way he does, politically speaking, towards much of the US. I think these regions are in general backwards, unprogressive and painfully conservative.

But my entire point was that I would never advocate bombing them for that, and in fact I love visiting them and learning more about the cultures and histories in those very places that I disagree with so much.


The poster I was complaining about was very conservative, and probably didn't like France for being socialist, haughty and European. But because of his dislike of French politics, he said he would rather visit Paris in a bomber.

I'm saying, that's petty and sad. You don't have to agree with a place politically to find it interesting, fun and full of great people. My example was the American South -- great people, great history, great culture, awful, awful politics.
 
Andalublue said:
I guess if loader used that 'dirty Muslim city' line in a stand-up routine in France he'd be fined for hate speech. Oh wait, wrong minority.
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Possible. But here we have freedom of speech?
I did't traveled by France. One hour on the bullet-train and I was in Brussels. But my relatives in Belgium, were very categorical in their statements about Paris.
 
Removable Mind said:
If Paris is a "dirty muslim city" as loader contends, he might consider going around...not pass through. Gosh, I can think of a lot of options here....like go straight to Belgium and not pass through France.
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The plane was to Paris. From there the train.
 
Perotista said:
Never been there and have no desire to go there. Now give me a free trip to Bangkok and I would be on the next plane out. To me Europe is way too much like the United States.
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Not quite. In the U.S., only half of the population has lost the trail. Europe is sick and dying. And nothing will help them.
 
Ad_Captandum said:
This is a fascinating response -- please tell me more. To be honest, I can't imagine someone not being interested in history, especially European history -- if you could, could you tell me why it doesn't appeal to you?
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Exactly, there is so much history there and so much of it to see.

In no particular order (off the top of my head)

Musée d'Orsay - Its collection of Impressionist paintings alone is worth the visit and even more enjoyable when you consider the Impressionists and how they struggled and were ignored.

Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame

Palace of Fontainebleau

Les Invalides

Has anyone mentioned Versailles? Not exactly Paris, but almost.

Montmartre - You want history, pick a period.

The shops, the small cafes, the incredible food, people watching, walking along the Seine, quaint local customs and the beauty of the city itself is difficult to describe. It is truly a beautiful city.

We have tromped around all over France many times and love it all, well not Calais, but we always spend some time in Paris.

We have had grand times in Edinburgh as well, by the way. It is another wonderful city to visit. Our first visit we discovered that three pints of a wee heavy and the rest of your day is going to be spent in the pub. You aren't going anywhere else nor do you want to.
 
Paris is one of the most disgusting cities in Europe.

An extremly rich center in which you cant even buy a bottle of water for under 4 euros, surrounded by blocks of flats filled with muggers and cutthroats.

Everyone who has been there knows that for the past 20 years, Paris is simply feces with a little bit of gold dust sprinkeld over it.

If you make a Eurotrip, go to: Madrid, Barcelona, Prag, Gdanzk, Warsaw, Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg, Rotterdamn, London, Göteburg, Kopenhagen, Milan, Rome, Rimini and if it has to be France - go to Toulouse.
 
Risky Thicket said:
Exactly, there is so much history there and so much of it to see.

In no particular order (off the top of my head)

Musée d'Orsay - Its collection of Impressionist paintings alone is worth the visit and even more enjoyable when you consider the Impressionists and how they struggled and were ignored.

Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame

Palace of Fontainebleau

Les Invalides

Has anyone mentioned Versailles? Not exactly Paris, but almost.

Montmartre - You want history, pick a period.

The shops, the small cafes, the incredible food, people watching, walking along the Seine, quaint local customs and the beauty of the city itself is difficult to describe. It is truly a beautiful city.

We have tromped around all over France many times and love it all, well not Calais, but we always spend some time in Paris.

We have had grand times in Edinburgh as well, by the way. It is another wonderful city to visit. Our first visit we discovered that three pints of a wee heavy and the rest of your day is going to be spent in the pub. You aren't going anywhere else nor do you want to.
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I really wanted to see Versailles. The historical gravitas the place carries is simply obscene. Unfortunately, however; the time table I was on didn't really work, so I didn't get the chance.

I toured the Louvre (and got my picture with the Mona Lisa :mrgreen: ), Notre Dame, and the Arc de Triomphe though. While I didn't get to go inside due to the absurd line, I also walked up to and around the Eiffel Tower.

Everything else (related to the landmarks, at least) more or less lived up to my expectations, but I was actually a bit disappointed with Notre Dame. The building is frankly kind of puny by modern standards.

The Basilica in Washington D.C. is easily like three or four times its size.
 
The German said:
Paris is one of the most disgusting cities in Europe.

An extremly rich center in which you cant even buy a bottle of water for under 4 euros, surrounded by blocks of flats filled with muggers and cutthroats.

Everyone who has been there knows that for the past 20 years, Paris is simply feces with a little bit of gold dust sprinkeld over it.

If you make a Eurotrip, go to: Madrid, Barcelona, Prag, Gdanzk, Warsaw, Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg, Rotterdamn, London, Göteburg, Kopenhagen, Milan, Rome, Rimini and if it has to be France - go to Toulouse.
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I wouldn't go quite that far. However, I would agree that the city really was not so nice as it's sparkling reputation would suggest.

The museums, landmarks, and food were all pretty good. It was everything else that was the problem. :lol:
 
Risky Thicket said:
Exactly, there is so much history there and so much of it to see.

In no particular order (off the top of my head)

Musée d'Orsay - Its collection of Impressionist paintings alone is worth the visit and even more enjoyable when you consider the Impressionists and how they struggled and were ignored.

Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame

Palace of Fontainebleau

Les Invalides

Has anyone mentioned Versailles? Not exactly Paris, but almost.

Montmartre - You want history, pick a period.

The shops, the small cafes, the incredible food, people watching, walking along the Seine, quaint local customs and the beauty of the city itself is difficult to describe. It is truly a beautiful city.

We have tromped around all over France many times and love it all, well not Calais, but we always spend some time in Paris.

We have had grand times in Edinburgh as well, by the way. It is another wonderful city to visit. Our first visit we discovered that three pints of a wee heavy and the rest of your day is going to be spent in the pub. You aren't going anywhere else nor do you want to.
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You don't happen to remember which pubs you visited, out of curiosity?
 
Gathomas88 said:
I wouldn't go quite that far. However, I would agree that the city really was not so nice as it's sparkling reputation would suggest.

The museums, landmarks, and food were all pretty good. It was everything else that was the problem. :lol:
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The Louvre museum was one of the most grotesk sights I ever had in my life.

It cemented my opinion that mankind didn`t know how to appreciate art, when I watched hundreds of people buy expensive tickets and crowd up for hours to make one single picture of a Mona Lisa hidden behind thick glass.

And to then simply leave the museum after having made that pick.........




Whilest some of the most impressive and amazing European artworks of the past 800 years, stolen by Napoleon between 1792 and 1812 from all over the continent and beyond was on display just a few more steps away.

Mankind is doomed.
 
loader said:
Possible. But here we have freedom of speech?
I did't traveled by France. One hour on the bullet-train and I was in Brussels. But my relatives in Belgium, were very categorical in their statements about Paris.
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Seems a bit suspicious to me that the most vitriolic and vehemently anti-Paris people in this thread all have a 'Very Conservative' tag next to their name. Perhaps a bit more than coincidence that someone who describes himself as "Very Conservative" shows no interest in the capital of France?

But I hope that's not true, because it'd be such an awful reason to close the door on what everyone agrees is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, chock full of fascinating history and culture. Perhaps you have a better reason for your dislike?
 
Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame

Palace of Fontainebleau

Les Invalides
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Caliph Omar mosque stands on the foundation of the Temple David. Sultanahmet Blue Mosque in Constantinople (Istanbul) stands on the foundation of church of Hagia Sophia. And place of Notre Dame de Paris will soon face a mosque.
 
Ad_Captandum said:
Seems a bit suspicious to me that the most vitriolic and vehemently anti-Paris people in this thread all have a 'Very Conservative' tag next to their name. Perhaps a bit more than coincidence that someone who describes himself as "Very Conservative" shows no interest in the capital of France?

But I hope that's not true, because it'd be such an awful reason to close the door on what everyone agrees is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, chock full of fascinating history and culture. Perhaps you have a better reason for your dislike?
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"Some Like It Hot". Maybe you like the Muslim occupation of Paris.
 
Ad_Captandum said:
You don't happen to remember which pubs you visited, out of curiosity?
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The one I was thinking of in particular was on the Royal Mile, left hand side as you are walking up the hill. Not much help I know but by the time we left I couldn't pronounce my own name much less read. It was a popular place for local people at lunch during the week.
 
loader said:
"Some Like It Hot". Maybe you like the Muslim occupation of Paris.
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I don't really know what you're saying. Who's occupying Paris?

And what does 'Some Like It Hot' have to do with it?

I don't believe you're from New Jersey -- why can't you form cogent sentences in English?
 
I like places with history.

Nothing beats a stroll through Barcelona, probably the only city in Europe that wasnt sacked, bombed, burned, besieged, starved and burned again.

You can wonder through it and it is all so authentic and wonderfull, be it the medieval or 18th century spanish imperial architecture.

And places have to be affordable and fun, like Prag, where even the cops seem to be constantly drunk.

And culture, in that regars Gdanzk is currently somewhat of a secret tip as it has evolved more and more into Polands capital of art, literature and theater.
 
Risky Thicket said:
The one I was thinking of in particular was on the Royal Mile, left hand side as you are walking up the hill. Not much help I know but by the time we left I couldn't pronounce my own name much less read. It was a popular place for local people at lunch during the week.
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The Royal Mile is, believe it or not, a mile long, and so there are plenty of pubs along it. Curiously, if you're walking up towards the castle, most of them tend to be on the right side, unless I'm forgetting some.

Some of the more famous ones, and perhaps one of the ones you discovered, are Deacon Brodie's Tavern, the Albanach, the Kilderkin... Maybe one of those? Anyway, glad you had a good time -- I'm a pretty big fan of Edinburgh myself!
 
loader said:
Caliph Omar mosque stands on the foundation of the Temple David. Sultanahmet Blue Mosque in Constantinople (Istanbul) stands on the foundation of church of Hagia Sophia. And place of Notre Dame de Paris will soon face a mosque.
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What's your point?
 
Ad_Captandum said:
The Royal Mile is, believe it or not, a mile long, and so there are plenty of pubs along it. Curiously, if you're walking up towards the castle, most of them tend to be on the right side, unless I'm forgetting some.

Some of the more famous ones, and perhaps one of the ones you discovered, are Deacon Brodie's Tavern, the Albanach, the Kilderkin... Maybe one of those? Anyway, glad you had a good time -- I'm a pretty big fan of Edinburgh myself!
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One of the reasons why central streets in European cities such as the "Ringstraße" in Vienna or the "Champs Elysees" in Paris are so long and wide is because they were constructed during the 19th and 18th century.

Not for the purpose of parades, but after having expiriences with revolutions these streets were perfect for stationing heavy artilery on them for crowdcontrol.

Just another boring historical fact.
 
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