<p>I, too, warned my Ds about pick pockets and unwanted attention. We had no issues. Its like traveling in any big city, just remember, its easy to get distracted. I carried a small bike messenger style bag across my shoulders with a flap. It was very casual and inexpensive looking, it was easy to sit and eat lunch with it on my lap, and it was hard to reach into. But I don’t think anyone even got close to me. </p>
<p>We went to NYC over spring break. My Ds were stared at, whistled at, but nothing they couldn’t handle. This while mom was right next to them. So much for feeling young and spry!! Sigh. </p>
<p>As for eye contact, I think NYC was worse than Paris. Everyone is busy. And some cultures think looking is rude. So, its not a personal thing.</p>
<p>How lucky your Daughter is. I am an international flight attendant and many, many times I have been overseas by myself just looking out the hotel window and people watching or walking alone or sitting alone in a cafe. I could write a novel on what I observed and your D will be off to college with something unique to write about. If shes a writer, keeping a journal will be an amazing solitary experiance. I have 2 sons and I took them all over the world when they were young and now they are older they only want to go on cruises. I hope someday when I am a grandma with health issues my DIL will be open minded enough allow me the privilage of introducing my grandchildren to some of my favorite destinations. What a wonderful educational experiance!</p>
<p>Over the past few summers, I have spent more than 3 months in Paris. It is an extremely safe city. I spent much of my time in the city by myself, including going out late at night (up to 1 a.m), taking the Metro and walking around.</p>
<p>It is far safer than most American cities. One will see well dressed, elderly women walking alone at night or taking the subway then.</p>
<p>One should watch out for pickpockets in the major tourist areas such as near the Eiffel Tower and at the L’etoile, Concorde and Chatelet subway stop, where hordes of people are. Particularly at night, the crowded touristy areas on the Left Bank also can be pickpocket havens.</p>
<p>One good thing about Paris is that in the summer, it is light until about 11 p.m. </p>
<p>Incidentally, people don’t go around grinning in France nor do they grin when they approach sales clerks, etc. What Americans regard as friendly smiling is what seems to the French to be behaving like one is mentally deficient.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it is considered polite to begin any transaction or encounter with “bonjour,” even if one is asking for directions or buying a ticket. When Americans don’t do that, the French regard them as being boorish and treat them accordingly. It’s also considered polite to say “au revoir” at the end of one’s transaction.</p>
<p>If those are the only French words that one knows, it’s OK to apologetically say the rest in English. Most French people whom one will encounter know English and will speak it if one seems polite and if one has taken the time to give pleasantries in French.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend Rick Steves’ Paris guide for your daughter and MIL. Great info about the city including excellent info on the kind of manners that will result in warm treatment.</p>
<p>“If those are the only French words that one knows, it’s OK to apologetically say the rest in English. Most French people whom one will encounter know English and will speak it if one seems polite and if one has taken the time to give pleasantries in French.”</p>
<p>So very true. My French is rusty, but my attempts were always greeted very nicely. After I tried speaking French, complete with horrible accent, they were always helpful (even finding people who spoke fluent English to help out!). </p>
<p>It seemed as if the French just want you to <strong>try</strong> to speak their language; that is, to acknowledge that you are in France, not America. It is not a cultural phenomenon; I doubt that many Americans would be kind to someone who greeted them with “Hola” and proceeded to speak only in Spanish, without any attempts at all for rudimentary English.</p>
<p>I learned when I was in Paris that while I don’t speak French, I do speak excellent French restaurant. It was amazing how many words I already knew.</p>
<p>The first day I popped down the stairs of my hotel and walked to the corner and across the street to the building with the big sign “Boulangerie”. I walked in, stood dutifully in line, and when it was my turn, pointed to a pastry I wanted and said, "Pan au chocolate, s’il vous pla</p>
<p>A Rick Steves tour should be fun. We’ve used his guide books for years. My wife and daughters lived in Paris for six months when the girls were 11 and 13. It was very safe. They went across town on the metro. I would see their classmates out at 100 in the evening on the Champs Elysee. (These were local kids)
My half sister went on a trip to Alaska with her father when she was about 18 and he was about 70. She had always been a very responsible girl, but I think this was her first experience in taking care of someone else. She benefitted enormously.</p>
<p>Ditto Rick Steve’s. Also, the bus tours around paris are very entertaining and a good way to orient yourself to the lay-out of the city…and of course, there is no walking involved unless you chose to get off at one stop for a period of time.</p>
<p>My first thought though was - is there any chance you and/or your husband could go along also time, money willing - unless that would offend your ML…</p>
<p>Re wheelchairs, Paris is not the greatest in terms of ramps, not even in the museums, as I recall. The trip itself sounds great, but it’s natural to worry, Fredo. They may need to ditch the tour now and then. If it were me I’d be bringing up my concerns – though not in an alarmist way – to my d, so that she could be prepared and maybe have a Plan B and a Plan C.</p>
<p>Fredo,
We live about 4 hours from Paris. We have been several times and have enjoyed the city. I am the French speaking designee in the family with my whole 2 years of French in high school a gazillion years ago. We have gotten along pretty well without speaking the language. The metro is easy to use and well marked so the city is pretty easy to get around in. The sights and museums are wonderful.</p>
<p>I echo some of the cautions from others: the city and many public buidlings are not accessible to wheelchairs; pickpockets are slick and many in tourist spots (Notre Dame cathedral, Eifel tower, etc.); and few hotels and public buildings have air conditioning (today it was in the upper 80s, we are currently enduring a heat wave in France and Germany). </p>
<p>I hope all goes well and they both enjoy their time together in Paris. </p>
<p>Well, she’s already gone and come home and had a fantastic time. It turned out the my MIL got sick two weeks before the trip and had to cancel. She had recently finished chemo and radiation treatment for breast cancer (doing well at the moment on that count) and was working up her stamina for the trip. But the virus completely knocked her out and all the work she did to get ready was for naught.</p>
<p>But we were really lucky and Rick Steves Tours let her substitute a friend of my daughter. So the two 19 year girls went off and had a wonderful time. They saw so much and walked so much. Funny thing about the alcohol: they were so excited to be able to order a drink but it turns out that they couldn’t figure out exactly what to drink. Natty beer and smirnoff ice weren’t exactly on the menu and neither is a big fan of wine. So I think the anticipation of getting legal alcohol was bogged down by the reality that they didn’t really like what they could easily get.</p>
<p>There were a few other teenagers on the tour and they did some stuff with them. On their free time they shopped - bolder than I would have - going into Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dior. She went to an art store and bought a painting for my husband and then negotiated the framing and shipping - all without her being able to speak French, the clerk didn’t speak much English but they all (incl. her friend) spoke some Spanish. She was so proud of herself! </p>
<p>I think she was amazed by Paris - the beauty, the buildings, the grandiosity of the churches and palaces, the art.</p>
<p>It was unfortunate and disappointing for her that her grandmother couldn’t go but she had a fabulous time traveling with her friend.</p>
<p>When we were in Paris, my Ds, 13 and 15 at the time, marched right into all those stores, saying Bonjour to the Bouncers (the men in black), tried things on. Didn’t mind the glares of the staff at some stores, but made friends with staff at others.</p>
<p>I am glad the trip went well…Paris…what can I say</p>
<p>Fredo, glad to hear your daughter not only made out just fine but loved it! What a trip for her!</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear that your mother in law was not able to go, how disappointing for both. I am sure she found joy in sponsoring such a trip for her granddaughter. However, I hope they have a chance in the future to do some sort of travel together, even if just for a weekend and in the US, to make up for this. </p>
<p>Here’s to a healthy recovery for your MIL and also bravo to you for seeing your D through this…she is growing up!</p>
<p>Sounds super! Your D’s shopping adventures remind me of a trip H and I took to Italy many years ago before kids were born. Between French, my rusty Latin and a pocket Italian dictionary, we managed to secure a room “with private shower” and order some fabulous meals in Siena. In Forence, there were more English and French-speaking hotel staff, so there was no need to triangulate and gesticulate quite so hard.</p>
<p>Too bad about your MIL, though. I hope she is feeling better.</p>
<p>Fredo,
I’m sorry to hear that your MIL was ill and unable to accompany your daughter to Paris. I hope your MIL is on her way to better health.</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter. It always impresses me when people of any age, but especially the young, take the plunge and travel and really enjoy it. Its easy to get bogged down in the “what ifs” (e.g., what if no one speaks english?) and become overwhelmed. Let us know if she needs a home base to travel Germany in the future.</p>
<p>I didn’t post prior to the trip because I didn’t want to be a wet blanket, and now I’m glad I didn’t, as everything has turned out so well. My concern was that I went to Europe for 6 weeks when I was 15, with my grandparents, and hated it. We did everything my grandparents wanted to do, which was NOT what I wanted to do. We saw a lot of cemeteries… But I thought your D would escape some of that by actually being with a tour, which we weren’t. (My G’s were visiting “home” and kept forgetting that I didn’t speak Swedish.) I’m sorry your MIL missed the bonding time with your D, but I suspect your D has made memories to last a lifetime. I’m very happy for her.</p>