tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post2711910101997277949..comments2023-12-25T11:13:04.495+00:00Comments on Seraphic Singles: The Best CureSeraphichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-76199777249407557692010-03-07T09:17:09.979+00:002010-03-07T09:17:09.979+00:00Besides, it's the mangling that counts. The Fr...Besides, it's the mangling that counts. The French never expect foreigners to speak good French. They expect us to mangle it. They appreciate the effort, though, especially if you are young, thin, blonde and pretty, like Berenike.Seraphichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-11292893675931208572010-03-07T09:15:24.196+00:002010-03-07T09:15:24.196+00:00No, you're not! Reasonably ancient, INDEED.No, you're not! Reasonably ancient, INDEED.Seraphichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-16829850349560874282010-03-07T09:07:12.026+00:002010-03-07T09:07:12.026+00:00Everyone was nice to me in France, the taxi driver...Everyone was nice to me in France, the taxi drivers, the people in shops, the station clerks, ... and I'm reasonably ancient. And can only manage to mangle a couple of French words.berenikehttp://exlaodicea.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-22278885305976028432010-03-06T15:05:29.307+00:002010-03-06T15:05:29.307+00:00"baby-faced girl speaking French." Yes. ..."baby-faced girl speaking French." Yes. That was me, in France. I guess I looked very approachable, because French people were constantly asking me for a cigarette lighter, directions, and other random things.sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-36759141887779585802010-03-06T10:52:24.317+00:002010-03-06T10:52:24.317+00:00Fifi, I love and adore the Whimsy books, but I can...Fifi, I love and adore the Whimsy books, but I can't actually quote them. Thanks for a great quote!<br /><br />Sheila, oh yes indeed. And it seems to have worked for Laurie in "Little Women", too. <br /><br />Lemons, that sounds like great fun! I am not very good at completely solitary travel, it turns out, and the idea of travelling hither and thither with friends appeals to me very much. Tell me if you include Edinburgh in your plans. <br /><br />Sciencegirl, it's all luck of the draw. Some Canadians have "small country syndrome", a term I have just made up. It is shared by the Scots (who take it out on England) and Austrians (who take it out on Germany) and maybe by New Zealanders (if they take it out on Australia). But my dad is American, and he has lived in Canada for almost 50 years, and he says he's never noticed it. So--luck of the draw.<br /><br />Ten years later, I am not at all sorry I went with a group because they provided me with some AWESOME character studies. I'll never forget the loudest of the American boys on the bus, pointing to his newly acquired t-shirt, shouting, "Leaning Tower of Pisa. I was THERE! I was THERE, man! I was THERE!"<br /><br />One travel tip I have is that the best kind of foreigner to be in Paris is a young, baby-faced woman who attempts French. I bet if I went to Paris now, people wouldn't be as nice to me because I am, you know, older and not as cute. So go now, girls! Go now! When I was young and cute in France, absolutely no-one was rude to me. Not in Paris--nowhere. Even the waiters were nice & full of solicitude for my dining enjoyment.Seraphichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-58854675661951795772010-03-06T01:48:28.588+00:002010-03-06T01:48:28.588+00:00Your post makes me even more glad that my visits i...Your post makes me even more glad that my visits in Europe were NOT as part of a group. Ugh. Also, why do I always meet the nice and enjoyable Canadians and Australians abroad, while other people have to put up with rude jerks from there and the USA too? My guardian angel must be looking out for me, because I have favorable first impressions of almost every nationality I've met. The only real boors I've encountered were from a school in Scotland, but they weren't Scots. They were from elsewhere & had lived in several countries, and thought they were ever so cosmopolitan and above it all. Also, they were brash young men who were crabby and jetlagged, so I gave them a bit of a break. <br /><br />People with manners do not insult other people's countries -- even if they secretly hate those countries or those countries' politics -- unless it is a mutual joke among friends. I am always so disgusted when I hear about this sort of behavior. I hope these people never travel to Japan, where criticism is taken even more personally and seriously. Polite people worldwide are raised to compliment other people when visiting their house or their country. If people in a foreign country ask me what I think of their country, I say some nice things, not rude things, even if something really bothers me. And if they don't ask, I don't say anything, because I figure they aren't all that interested in my opinion anyway. When I visited Canada, everyone I encountered was polite, welcoming, friendly and hospitable, and I tried to give back. I hope that Canadians and other tourists visiting my country have the sense to be polite guests, and that they are treated well. No one has ever, in years of accumulated travel, been rude to me about America. Guess I luck out! Well, some have started to go down an uncomfortable path on American politics, but it is so easy to divert. All I have to do is nod sympathetically, say "Yes, politics are so frustrating. And what do you think of <i>your</i> country's president?" Then the rant switches directions and I learn something new about the country I'm visiting.sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-78787850913425055882010-03-05T22:39:22.058+00:002010-03-05T22:39:22.058+00:00Oooh, I love this post. My high school friends and...Oooh, I love this post. My high school friends and I are making serious plans to backpack in Europe next summer. Trying to get a good group of us together to sleep in tents and see as much as possible. Travelling has been something I have dreamt of doing for as long as I can remember, so to have more concrete plans than "someday" is exciting.Lemonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05746617462534570978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-35580002757089733572010-03-05T18:25:11.775+00:002010-03-05T18:25:11.775+00:00"Seeing the Continent" is a very old cur..."Seeing the Continent" is a very old cure for broken hearts. Your trip sounds like it would make an excellent reality show ... one I might actually watch, for the fascinating scenery.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-11720960238711834302010-03-05T12:33:09.950+00:002010-03-05T12:33:09.950+00:00"The best remedy for a bruised heart is not, ..."The best remedy for a bruised heart is not, as so many people seem to think, repose upon a manly bosom. Much more efficacious are honest work, physical activity, and the sudden acquisition of wealth." So wrote Dorothy Sayers, promptly sending her fictional heroine Harriet Vane off on a walking tour of the southwest coast of 1930's Britain. If you (or your readers) have not yet met Harriet, you will love her and the inimitable Lord Peter Whimsey. "Gaudy Night" is the best.fifihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10707768899655106067noreply@blogger.com