Just finally getting a little down time and thought I would make an attempt at getting caught up on this here blog. Flight from Athens to Paris went smooth, people in Europe were rude, and now we're in New York, best city in the world!
Only kidding with that, well, partly. And NYC being the "best" is definitely open for debate. If the words polite or friendly are being used to describe New Yorkers then you must have spent the last six days in Europe. It may not be fair to stereotype everyone in Paris and London as rude, Paris in particular. Especially coming from two people who are going through so many places in such a short time. We might have a skewed sense of judgement, that may be just as much in the favor of the Europeans as it is against them. I've given all of this a few days to resonate and I still don't know. What brings all of this up is the service, or lack there of, we received in Paris and London. I don't know if it's because they don't work for tips like the rest of the world, but they truly don't give a shit about you or the enjoyment you have while in their establishment, for the most part. There are and were exceptions. Not being able to speak their language almost assuredly is a huge part of it and the beginning of the end in most cases for us. Even if you got a phrase out in French, the would correct your pronunciation, even though they understood you completely. I asked a security guard in a mall "where would I find an ATM?" She replied "it's called a cash dispenser." Oh really? Then how do you even know what I'm talking about? And apparently Carrie and I don't speak "proper" English because we still found ourselves having to repeat everything we said about 5 times before we could get on the same page as the Brits, and THEY SPEAK ENGLISH!
Maybe this is just the way things are and always have been in Europe? Or maybe the majority of Americans that have passed through their doors have laid such an awful foundation for us that we were doomed before we even opened our mouths? Or, maybe that's just Europe? Maybe they just really don't like Americans? I work in the service industry, and always have. Europeans are notoriously poor tippers but that doesn't change the service I give them? There is no simple answer, but I can honestly say that now that I have been to Paris and London, seen the sights (which were truly amazing, Paris in particular), and experienced their culture on the budget of your average traveler, they unfortunately fall very near the bottom of the list of places I will return to.
The higher end restaurants may provide a more positive review, but I've had Guy Savoy's food cooked at my restaurant by Guy Savoy himself, and for the price he charges for it?....it's really just so so. But I found the style of the cuisine to be very simple, which was no surprise. There is a lot of power in simplicity, but little room for error because there is nothing to mask it over, it is what it is, so to say.
The very first spot we wandered into in Paris, Le Petit Maillot, was a very small establishment right around the corner from our hotel, Le Meridienne Etoile(thanks for the hook-up Janice, we LOVE you). This was a very simple place and the bartender/server Alexander was as nice as we found in our short stop in France. Keep in mind our budget was not affording us any Michelin stars, but we were in Paris and expectations were very high especially on the culinary side. We were there at 4:30 for late lunch/early dinner/we were hungry. Alexander, who resembled Ben Harper, made 7 trips to put down our place setting, which was more humorous than anything cause he was a funny and a nice guy all around. Salted herrings(plural of herring in France speak) over greens for her, and local pork pate with cornichon for him. Again I out ordered the wife, so we shared. Local mustard on the table which was so good it made me cry. Pate was loose and chunkier than any I have ever had but the flavors were dynamite. Four glasses of French Chardonnay and welcome to Paris!!! Then we went to the hotel and passed out. Seriously. Jetlag came up and bit us, hard. So no "Paris at night" on day one.
I have a lot more to discuss about Paris/London, and a lot more good than bad. I just had to get that out there. How can you expect people to ever want to come back to your country when you're rude to everyone? You'd better have some amazing history, architecture, huge ancient structures to navigate to the top of, or....wait, they do have all of that. And I plan on delving into ALL of those positive aspects of Europe on my next post. As for now, true to form, I'm going to get some rest. We did NYC all day with Carrie's other BFF Cindy who came down from Boston for the day. And the jet lag is biting me in the face.
Cheers to Paris, even though they're rude as hell, still way better than Russia...and Manila:)
AC
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