Five crazy Parisians

by Tom Johansmeyer on

You never know what you’ll see when you hit the streets of Paris. From performers to beggars to local strange, there’s an endless supply of color. Everyone has a Paris story, I’m sure, involving the bizarre. So, definitely add yours to the comments below. I’ll kick the process off with five of my favorite crazy Parisians.

1. The “Bosnians”
If you’ve been to any major attractions in Paris, you’ve seen them. Clad in a flowing skirt and headscarf, the woman approaches you, asking, “Do you speak English?” Then, she unfolds an index card with a sob story about escaping from Bosnia. Reply to them in rapid French (even if your accent and vocabulary suck, as mine do), and they’ll give up easily. Early in the morning, you can see dozens of them gathered in front of Gare du Nord, as if there’s about to be a shift change. That’s the beauty of France: even the beggars seem to be unionized.

2. The Nursing Student and Bride
This is one person, actually. A young lady needed money for her upcoming honeymoon, so her fellow nursing students dressed her up and paraded her through the Latin Quarter. I just had to give her a few Euros, even if only for the performance. This was much more entertaining than the brides-to-be wearing sashes and giggling as they enter the porn shops on Eighth Ave in New York.

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3. The Frightened American
When you’re lost, running late or have any other question, you rehearse in your head what you play to say – I do, at least – and unleash it on the most sympathetic-looking local while trying to sound like a pro. I found my target and cut loose. He looked scared and slowly pushed the cuff of his sleeve back to reveal his watch. The poor guy had hoped I was asking the time.

4. The Openly Intimate
Another young lady, to honor her favorite fairy tale writer, brought her bed onto Place des Abbesses in Montmartre. Like the writer, she wanted to “share her intimacy” (not in that way, sicko). You could kick off your shoes and hang out in bed with her for a while. Definitely strange, but it was an interesting concept.

5. The People Drawn to the Openly Intimate
Yeah, these drunks were real weirdoes. Unsurprisingly, Ms. Shared Intimacy packed up her bed and left by midnight.

Belgian family recreates “Home Alone” – son left behind on rest stop bench

by Scott Carmichael on

Next time you run through your checklist of things you don’t want to forget when you go on vacation, be sure to include your kid(s) on the list.

That is where a Belgian family went wrong last week, when they left their son on a bench next to their caravan.

The family had stopped at a French highway rest stop and set up their caravan for the night. When the young boy got too hot indoors, he decided to sleep outside on a bench.

When he woke the next morning, his family was gone, and he was on his own without any money or a phone. His family made the mistake of leaving the rest stop, without making sure their son was still with them.

The boy eventually made his way to a gas station where the police were contacted. His family was stopped about 200 miles away and immediately returned to the gas station to pick up their child.

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Gadlinks for Monday 7.13.09

by Brenda Yun on


Well, it’s Monday, and it’s back to the grind for most of us. I, however, am down with the flu and am writing this from bed. I hope the rest of you are having a more healthy day. Here are the latest travel stories from the world wide web.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening.

More Gadlinks HERE.

Renoir going to Paris, you should too

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Don’t you want to hang out in Paris with Renoir? The exhibit “Renoir in the 20th Century” is coming to the national Galleries of the Grand Palais on September 23, 2009 and will stay through December 21, 2009. That gives you plenty of opportunity to soak in what promises to be an impressive exhibition. And, since you’re already hooked on Paris (who isn’t?), Concorde Hotels & Resorts is trying to lure you in the door … which shouldn’t be that hard when you see what they’re offering.

So, shell out for a hotel room (starting at $282 a night), and you’ll pick up two priority tickets to the Renoir exhibition and buffet breakfast for two for every night you stay. You can choose from six hotels for this package.

  • Hotel de Crillon – this 18th century masterpiece has a history closely linked to that of the Place de la Concorde
  • Hotel du Louvre – facing the Musée du Louvre and the Opéra Garnier in the heart of Paris’ fashion district, Hotel du Louvre is differentiated by its colorful interior
  • Hotel Lutetia – the grand hotel on the Left Bank is right in the middle of the action of Saint-Germain des Prés and its fashion boutiques and isn’t far from the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Musée d’Orsay
  • Hotel Concorde St. Lazare – uniquely charming and only a short walk from the Opéra Garnier and several famous Parisian department stores
  • Hotel Concorde La Fayette – located between the Champs-Elysées and La Défense
  • Hotel Concorde Montparnasse – you’ll find it in the heart of Montparnasse

French tourists voted worst in the world

by Scott Carmichael on

OUCH – If you are French, I recommend that you stop reading now, as this is bound to hurt.

The French have been voted worst tourists in the world, in a survey of 40,000 tourists. The results paint a pretty bleak picture of the French, calling them “penny-pinching, rude, pushy and terrible at foreign languages”.

I’ll leave my own opinion of the French out of this, as the survey seems to reach the same opinion I’ve often come to.

The survey was carried out by research firm TNS Infratest on behalf of Expedia, and asked hotels to rank their guests in 9 different criteria.

Joining the French at the bottom of the list are Spanish and Greek tourists. The best tourists come from Japan, followed by the Candians. US tourists got high marks for their generosity when it comes to tipping, most likely the result of the insane tipping etiquette in their own country.

The results are very much in line with the same research done last year, which obviously means the French don’t care too much about their bad reputation.

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Which countries *cough* smoke the most?