Why americans are so attracted by Paris ? (not Paris Hilton of course!)

Discussion in 'Food & Travel' started by gerby, Apr 24, 2013.

  1. nicephoras

    nicephoras A very stable genius

    Fucklechester Rangers
    Jul 22, 2001
    Eastern Seaboard of Yo! Semite

    If that's your view of Americans, a lot of things must astound you. Like electricity and these flat paper things with all the pretty pictures!
    We'll want to "crawl up the arse" of the Aussies when your greatest cultural exports are something other than Crocodile Dundee, vegemite and the didgeridoo.
     
  2. NoRightFoot

    NoRightFoot Member

    May 18, 2006
    Melbourne, at times.
    Club:
    Malmo FF
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    Point proven. Although vegemite with a slice of cheese on a crumpet isn't the worst thing in the world. In fact I had it this morning.
     
  3. NoRightFoot

    NoRightFoot Member

    May 18, 2006
    Melbourne, at times.
    Club:
    Malmo FF
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    I'm just humouring you because you're obviously a bit of a wank so I'm just going with it.
     
  4. Friedel'sAccent

    Friedel'sAccent Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Providence, RI
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, this is absurd. But, then again, I'm just basing it on the fact that studying in France, living in France, working in France, and writing about France is what I do for a living.
     
  5. yossarian

    yossarian Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jun 16, 1999
    Big City Blinking
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Panama City? Ugh. However, there are some really nice beaches around the Destin area that aren't nearly as cheesy as PCB, but I don't know how easy they'd be for you to get there. Are there many flights from LaGuardia to Fort Walton? That being said, I haven't been to any of those beaches in over 10 years.....St. John is much better.
    :cool:
    :p
     
  6. nicephoras

    nicephoras A very stable genius

    Fucklechester Rangers
    Jul 22, 2001
    Eastern Seaboard of Yo! Semite
    The way to reach us was obviously by reference to the Ashes. Fine work!

    Oh, I'm sure they're nice. My sister married a guy who's from that area, and he has very nice things to say. I'm sure I'll visit at some point, but it's a bit hard to justify getting to Destin when I can get direct flights to the Carribean from NYC.......
     
  7. usscouse

    usscouse BigSoccer Supporter

    May 3, 2002
    Orygun coast
    I just love strong, negative, preconceived ideas about people and countries. Especially from people who have never visited.

    Couple of years back my wife and I took a trip in France. A week in an Apartment in Paris and 4 weeks driving the length and breadth, from Normandy to the Med. We were treated with warmth and kindness wherever we went. We did our own thing and kept the costs down. I only came across one rude older woman and it was so odd it's still remembered.

    Along the way one has to go the "tourist" places, there's a reason why they become tourist places. Fun seeing different tour groups as we passed by. English, took things in and thought things over. Americans asked interesting questions and wanted to know more. Ausies usually pissed and moaned about the food, the places, the people or the prices. But all seemed to have a good time. :)
     
  8. NoRightFoot

    NoRightFoot Member

    May 18, 2006
    Melbourne, at times.
    Club:
    Malmo FF
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    And the British?
     
  9. Friedel'sAccent

    Friedel'sAccent Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Providence, RI
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I used to live in the UK. To say the Brits "couldn't give a rats arse" about Americans seems to me, well, silly. But you're just a wind-up, so I don't know why I'm bothering to respond.
     
  10. NoRightFoot

    NoRightFoot Member

    May 18, 2006
    Melbourne, at times.
    Club:
    Malmo FF
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    I spent 11 years there on and off and I agree.
     
  11. NoRightFoot

    NoRightFoot Member

    May 18, 2006
    Melbourne, at times.
    Club:
    Malmo FF
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    Not really.
     
  12. NoRightFoot

    NoRightFoot Member

    May 18, 2006
    Melbourne, at times.
    Club:
    Malmo FF
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    I wasn't being deliberately critical.
     
  13. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    You're forgetting Yahoo Serious, Foster's "beer," and, since the didgeridoo was there when the convicts arrived, Air Supply.
     
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  14. Friedel'sAccent

    Friedel'sAccent Member+

    Jul 7, 2006
    Providence, RI
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My girlfriend's Australian, so I tend not to poke too much fun at the likes of Paul Hogan (and I love the country), but she is, dare I say, "suspiciously" proud of being of exclusive convict descent.
     
  15. yossarian

    yossarian Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jun 16, 1999
    Big City Blinking
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Does "Making love out of nothing at all" mean what I think it means?
    :eek:
     
  16. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    As you inferred, I meant "convicts" in the good way.
     
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  17. guignol

    guignol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 28, 2005
    mermoz-les-boss
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    you forgot throwing up on other people's shoes.

    and you forgot rolf harris.
     
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  18. usscouse

    usscouse BigSoccer Supporter

    May 3, 2002
    Orygun coast
    To para phrase George Carlin, one should try the left hand now and then.
     
  19. The_Dude

    The_Dude Member+

    Aug 21, 2004
    Before I did my study abroad in France, a number of people said to me, "Why are you going to France? They hate Americans!" I gave it a little thought and decided that it was highly unlikely that I would go somewhere and people would give me a hard time based on my country of origin. I don't do that, nor does anyone I know do that.

    It turned out I was right and not only did I find French people to be extremely welcoming, I have a close circle of friends there (having turned my study abroad into a 7 year stay). I think that as long as you are polite, reserved and ask "do you speak English?" (even better if it's in the native tongue) before launching into in tourist related query, you'll find people all over the world to be generally welcoming and friendly.

    Paris is a place where you might have to just try extra hard to be the more friendly person. It is THE most visited city in the world so Parisiens deal almost daily with a large number of tourists, obviously in the tourist friendly spots. If you go, and the same goes for Rome, Florence, etc...try to frequent the places that aren't tourist traps. Go down that street, take a left, then a right and find the restaurant that has French people sitting in it. You might be surprised after all how friendly people can be.
     
  20. The_Dude

    The_Dude Member+

    Aug 21, 2004
    There's a burger restaurant NE DC - The Big Board - that writes the temperatures and their definitions on the menu for people who think incorrectly, like you, that medium rare means warm and pink. (think about it, it is ONE step up from rare which is a cold, red center.) Somewhere along the line, the general public got to thinking that MR is warm and pink in the middle and should serve as the baseline for all other cuissons.

    rare - cold red center
    medium rare - warm red center
    medium - hot red center
    medium well - hot pink center
    well done - order chicken
    Again, this is YOUR preference and not one that is generally accepted in the culinary world. For meaty fish like Salmon and Tuna, you can generally also ask for a temperature. I suggest, in the finer restaurants that you visit, you simply explain how you like your food to be prepared as opposed to hoping they bring it out to you in the way you think it should be cooked.
     
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  21. BocaFan

    BocaFan Member+

    Aug 18, 2003
    Queens, NY
    Well, isn't that what I basically wrote? "warm" - medium, "cold" - rare.

    For tuna, sure. Salmon? Not so much. Cold salmon means sushi.

    Anyway, I had more luck in my latest trip to Paris a couple of weeks ago. My fish was cooked and my steak was warm. :)
     
  22. The_Dude

    The_Dude Member+

    Aug 21, 2004
    Not exactly.

    Warm red = medium rare (130° - 140°)
    Hot Red = Medium (140° - 150°)
    Hot pink = medium well (150° - 155)°

    They can be subtle differences but they are distinct and even a hamburger can be cooked that way.

    Once again, this is not what chefs will think in the kitchen. Salmon that is seared but cold in the center is not sushi. Sushi or sashimi is completely raw and you are confusing what you have understood to be the way fish is cooked and the way the professionals in the kitchen have been trained.

    Honestly, just trying to help you have a better dining experience. There are certainly chefs who might use your definitions of cooking temperatures though the ones that I have listed are the industry standard. Your best bet is to ask your server or bartender what their definitions are and go from there instead of just ordering and crossing your fingers hoping that you and the kitchen are on the same page.
    Glad to hear it!
     
  23. guignol

    guignol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 28, 2005
    mermoz-les-boss
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    much better to describe instead of just denote! the cuissons in french are also descriptive:

    bleu is the rarest and it means the center will be so red it looks blue. but this is also done over the highest heat, so the outside should be WELL seared. next is saignant, cooked enough that the center starts to liberate its juices but still red. then à point, right at the point where none of it looks raw anymore, and last bien cuit, meaning no longer reddish anywhere. there are only four ways to have it, and i'd say they kind of fit right in the spaces between the five above.

    i agree that salmon can stand more cooking than most fish, i even sometimes poach it in court-bouillon to almost crumbly and then have it cold with mayonnaise. but as with most fish it's best when cooked just enough for the muscle fibers to separate with a touch of the fork but still not be "flaky". this is especially important for white fleshed fish which is overcooked at least 95% of the time (for me anyway).

    as for tuna i like to cook it on one side just until the first blobs of whatever it is appear on the top; that way it's got all the levels of doneness at the same time, from blackened to almost raw.
     
  24. Boogie_Down

    Boogie_Down Member+

    Jul 7, 2010
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've been to the Louvre a few times. The last time I went it was raining and it was on the day other museums are closed but the Louvre is open. So it was a mad house. The line was backed up nearly to the Metro station. I was able to scam my way through what felt like a mile long line. Where they do the security check near the food court, there's a money exchange to the left of the security scan right next to a large pillar. There's a huge gap for people exiting the Louvre. There's also at least one security guard there to turn people back. As he tried to turn me back I gestured that I needed to exchange money and he motioned me on. Once you pass the pillar you can easily keep walking down the hall and on to the Louvre entrance. It probably saved me at least two hours on my day.
     
  25. Smurfquake

    Smurfquake Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 8, 2000
    San Carlos, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    OK, currently in Paris with my wife and seven year old. My wife wants to do everything. Today we walked from our apartment near the Centre Pompidou, to the St Eustache church near Les Halles, down to the Louvre (closed on Tuesdays so we did not go in), to the Jardin des Tuileries, a brief lunch in a cafe in the garden there, across to the Musee d'Orsay (not closed on Tuesdays) -- we did not have advance tickets but the line was not so bad -- then wandered about the 7th arrondissement looking for a patisserie to have a coffee at, then back to the Jardin des Tuileries where there was a playground for the child and a bunch of rides, on to the Metro to head back towards Les Halles, to a restaurant for dinner where I had a pig foot, and walked back to our apartment.

    Holy cow, that was a lot of walking. I got five day metro cards but we only took one brief ride (four stops, from Concorde to Les Halles). My kid is awesome -- he put up with all that walking, and I got cranky before he did.

    Tomorrow we will visit the Pompidou and then see what else. My wife wants to visit the Louvre, I think it's a bad idea, the kid did OK in the Musee d'Orsay (there were several breaks where he would sit and play a game on my phone while one or the other of us would see some art) but there's only so many museums he can handle at his age. He thinks the Pompidou looks cool (we're like half a block away from it) so he wants to go to there, but I'm not sure how much Louvre he can take.
     
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