June 29, 2005
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What does it take to build a distinctive identity that will attract tourist? Toronto is currently struggling to answer this question, but Paris has all the answers it seems.
Who doesn't recognize Montmartre and Sacre Coeur?
Perhaps Napoleon's bridge over the Seine.
Now where on earth is this big glass pyramid?
Didn't Dan Brown paint this picture in Toronto?
Crepes of London?
HMMM... Where could this palace be located?
Where, oh where...
A cathedral is a cathedral, is....Notre Dame
I mean Paris or what?
When all is said and done, it is the people that matter most.
Who would not be impress by someone who brings out flowers, wine and a baguette
before he will let us take his picture?
Toronto does not have the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Mona Lisa, or any number of other Parisian Landmarks, but Toronto does have people who are capable of making visitors feel welcome, Who are capable of being friendly and helpful and knowledgeable about their city. So lets get with the program Toronto!!!
June 27, 2005
Rude French people? I think they all took the week off when we were in Paris. This was our waiter at a cafe near the Eiffel Tower. He was friendly and happy to pose for a picture.
Another happy, friendly, welcoming French restauranteur. He even gave us a special French dessert made of chesnuts, sugar and whipped cream (chantilly). He tolerated our poor French with a smile and some kindly help.
Can we take your picture? Non! That is, not without the flowers, the baguette and a bottle of wine.
This unfriendly waiter invited himself to be in our picture.
And this is Phillipe, father of a friend of our niece, a true Parisian. He took time out of his busy life to take us around Paris in his car for an afternoon. He spoke so-so English, we spoke 'francais terrible', but we communicated and had a good time. Thank you Phillipe.
From the airport to the shuttle drivers, from the hotel staff to the waiters, store clerks, Metro ticket agents, to the people on the street, we encountered friendly, hospitable, polite, helpful people. Smiles were met with smiles, and our efforts to speak French seemed to be appreciated. We approached the Parisian history and culture with respect and interest and were rewarded with a great experience. Thank you to the Parisians we encountered.
June 25, 2005
The Citadines Apart'Hotel at 53 ter Quai des Grands Augustins,in Saint-Germain-des Pres, was a perfect place to stay, for our first visit to Paris. The Seine is right across the street, it is very close to Pont Neuf and Notre Dame, it is right across from Ile de la Cite, the Louvre is just across the river, as is Musee d'Orsay. There is a Metro/RER station very close-by. Did I say it is a very modern apartment hotel on the inside, it was perfect. We booked this as part of an AirTransat Vacations package for 4 people. It was about the same cost, per person, as a hotel, but we had a modern, well equipped kitchen. The package included a cruise on the Seine, and shuttle service from and to the airport. The shuttle service was worth its weight.., and some of the hotel packages do not include this service.
The 'flying buttresses' of Notre Dame were just down the street.
The Louvre was just across the Seine( Inside the glass pyramid on the way out. We had to climb the stairs so we could get our picture taken.
Pont Neuf ( the new bridge) is the oldest bridge in Paris. They are doing some renovation work on it at present. Our hotel was just off the bridge on the right side of the picture.
The Metro and the RER are great to use, and it seems that you are never far from a station.
June 24, 2005
Paris, the city of light and second hand smoke. I never realized how much smoking has ceased to be a part of our environment until I visited Paris. Smokers in bistros and cafes and subway stations, smokers everywhere. But ..... according to Phillipe, a Parisian acquaintance, France, also, will begin reducing the public places where people may smoke. This is a picture of our waiter at a cafe near the eiffel Tour -having a smoke break behind the bar.
We have to walk away up there to get back to the station? Walking at Versaille is like walking along the Trans Canada Highway in Saskatchewan. It goes on and on and on, but it sure is more impressive than Sask. The "Sun King", Louis XIV didn't like Paris so Versaille was the result. It is being slowly restored to its former glory. Most of the original furniture was lost during the revolution. Some of it has been traced and returned to Versaille, but much has been destroyed or lost track off after it was carried away by looters( citoyens )
Mind-bending is the experience of standing in front of this painting of Napoleon, I believe by David, and thinking that the "Great Napoleon" did the same think about 200 years earlier.
June 22, 2005
Hmmm, Is this thing really going to fly? All the way to Paris? Let me think.
Hey, those clouds are below me. That must mean it flies!!
Wow! That sign says Paris and this looks like a traffic jam so we must have made it. Amazing!!!
Something is wrong. I think we still must be in Toronto because that sign says IKEA.
YESSS!! That is La Tour Eiffel. This is Paris.
June 10, 2005
Mark Bittman discovers there are plenty of bistros left in Paris where you can get a great, reasonably priced meal.http://www.smh.com.au/news/France/In-search-of-a-classic-bistro/2005/05/27/1117129892709.html
Finding the perfect French restaurant
Ditch Parisian gastro-temples for rural France, where the food can have richer flavours and the service less attitude. Bon appetit! more ( from the sydney morning herald)
June 09, 2005
While it may seem to some that I don't practice what I preach re- Canada, I don't feel the least bit unpatriotic as we have travelled widely in Canada over the years and have never visited Paris. While there is much of Canada that we have not explored, Paris is one of the great tourist attractions of the World, and I, for one, want to visit.We're off to Paris in 3 days. The weather appears to be considerably cooler than here in SW Ontario. The forecasts is for temps around 60deg.F during the day- cool if its sunny, but cold if it rains. We are prepared for lots of walking and sightseeing. Will post pics upon our return.
http://www.transatholidays.com/Search/Ulysse/default.asp?langID=EN&REFWHATID=100&DESTINATIONID=33&
June 05, 2005
In a recent post I expressed so criticism of The Canadian Tourism Commission's new strategy for tourism that was based on an article in the Toronto Star, Canada gets a `Bland' new tourism vision . A anonymous commenter suggested I look at an article in the Globe and Mail,A brand new Canada
It seems that there is more to our new Branding than was suggested in the Star. Keith McArthur, of the Globe, suggests that the strategy involves a move from supply-side to demand-side marketing, a move which makes much sense when is is fully explained.
Appealing to what people want to do and see makes more sense, in a competitive tourism market place, than saying "this is what we have, take it or leave it".
This new approach will require more effort in that someone has to find out what people want to see and do, and who the people are who want to see and do whatever.
So I tentatively retract my criticsm which was based on incomplete information ( sometime called knee-jerk) and await the full implementation of the new strategy.
Thanks to the anonymous commenter for drawing my attention to this more explicit article.
June 04, 2005
Hey, Where else could you do this but in Canada?Grizzlies bear it all in B.C.
Jun. 4, 2005. 01:00 AMSMITH INLET, B.C.—There are seven of us sitting in a yellow school bus in the wilds of British Columbia watching in silent bewilderment as a huge grizzly bear clambers from the river to the shoreline, shaking itself and sniffing the air as it lumbers along. [Full Story]
I fully expect to see Canada back on this list in 2005. CANADA IS A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT BECAUSE:
1. WE ARE FRIENDLY AND WELCOMING PEOPLE.
2. OUR DOLLAR IS CHEAP COMPARED TO THE POUND, EURO, AND US DOLLAR.
3. OUR TOURIST FACILITIES ARE WORLD CLASS.
4. OUR INTERNAL TRANSPORTATION IS EXCELLENT.
5. OUR MEDICAL FACILITIES ARE GREAT.
6. THERE ARE A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCES TO BE HAD IN ALL SEASON.
7. WE HAVE A VERY CLEAN COUNTRY.
8. TOURISTS ARE SELDOM THE TARGET OF CRIME.
9. WE ARE A MULTI-CULTURAL SOCIETY.
10. WE VALUE THE WORLD.
Canada drops off Top 10 list of popular destinations
June. 4, 2005. 01:00 AM
It wasn't totally unexpected but, still, not seeing Canada on the list of Top 10 world travel destinations in 2004 came as a shock. [Full Story]
No Fair! The week before we are going to Paris, to see the site of the Da Vinci Code, they change the Mona Lisa.
The Mona Lisa code
Jun. 4, 2005. 09:33 AM
PARIS—France may have rejected the European Union constitution this week, but the country remains Euro-sensitive enough to lavish attention on its young, plump Italian matron — Mona Lisa, by name — who keeps the heaps of tourist euros flowing its way. Peter Goddard reports. [Full Story]
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