Is Paris the whole of France?

Hello Frankie 😊

how would you like it if I said I wanted to visit your place for... 2 hours?

Ive been in places for long and short visits. I like both. Sometimes I go back for more visits, when I have more time and if I liked it there. I wouldnt take it personally if somebody visits the city I live in for just 2 hours. If they wanted my advice, I would tell them to spend the entire 2 hours in the old center of the city. Or else choose one museum they like and just go to that. You are right that they would not be able to get to know the whole country and the people here in just 2 hours and they dont have to, to get some value out of the visit.

It takes ages to even get a brief understanding of a place foreign to you.

I dont think everybody is travelling to gain a complete education about places. Some just want to pick and choose what they want to learn, or even just have fun for a while in an exotic place.

As regards Paris, I have been there several times. My first couple of visits were not longer than a few hours. At the time, I just wanted to have a coffee in Paris, before hopping on the night train to get to Marsailles which interested me more at the time. The coffee stop was very enjoyable, and I found those short visits to Paris worthwhile.

As regards learning about a place and its people, I think it is best to flirt around the world, until something educational grabs ones interest. Then it becomes very meaningful. For me, that educational aspect has been to do with human rights. I visit war museums, museums of human rights, prisons... I didnt set out to find these things, but somewhere along the way, I realised I care about them, and that I want to know what is going on with the various aspects of humanity in the various places.

Sorry... I'm just angry to-day

Yeah, I can certainly relate to that. It happens to me too, when others dont care about the things I care about, and even more so when people treat what I am interesed in without the respect that I think the human beings in the situations I describe deserve.

Mel
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Paris is an amazing city that would take a great deal of time to get a good feel. If you have only been to Paris you only have a small glimpse of France.

I understand it making you angry because I get angry when someone spends two days in LA and thinks they have seen the US. LA is not a good representation of the US.

I am glad you shared your thoughts!

I have a friend who lives in Paris for a few months a year and Bali a few months a year. I hope to spend extended time there in the future. Not just in Paris but many other parts of your beautiful country.

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Ist like saying that the french and english don't like each other in Canada.

You can't expect people to understand a country or a city in a small period of time. It takes a lifetime to really understand a place.

From the outside, yes it makes sense. A lot of time you ear of the tension between dutch and french speaker in Belgium. The fact you did not have a proper gouvernment for so long is interesting. Indeed, it doesn't mean you don't like each other, but most of the time people see a situation a complete other way from the outside.

We have to be honest. We are on a travel website and no one have the real description of what traveling is. For me it is to take a big, really big break and just explore a country from a to z, but I did visit some countries for a couple days in the past. That being said, I am not saying that i know any of the countries I visit by heart.

Some people just like to visit one place and that is their choice. Most people that come to canada are visiting Niagara falls, toronto, montreal and quebec city in 6 days on a tour. Good for them if it is making them happy.

We can't be mad at them. They are visiting one heck of a place. I like france. I went to a lot of place, but if I had two weeks vacation a year, I would go anywhere else in France that Paris.

On the other hand. Paris is probably over shadowing the rest of france. It is probably overshadowing most of Europe. It is one of those cities you know....

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Not about Paris but on the topic of "Travelling without trying to get to know a place and the people living there", I found this phrase in a TravelBlog here:
http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Bikaner/blog-35063.html
"Sitting on the roof - with the clean desert wind in my face, passing countless camel carts, and reflecting on my time in the temple - I came to the conclusion that this day epitomised what travelling is all about - going beyond yourself and your personal security boundaries to experience different cultures, people and places - as strange or as peculiar though they may seem."
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If I dont know about that place, Iam sure that I won't come there because it is very dangerous to do it. Nothing to make sure that we will come back after the journey. Reply to this