opening ceremonies causing second thoughts on our vacation

[NCteacherlovescruising]

After watching the opening ceremonies last night, I'm really having a difficult time moving forward with our plans to go to Bordeaux and Paris after our round trip Barcelona cruise.  Would Bordeaux be like Paris?  I don't know if we should just omit Paris or completely start over with our planning and skip France altogether.  

[marazul]

Just now, NCteacherlovescruising said:

After watching the opening ceremonies last night, I'm really having a difficult time moving forward with our plans to go to Bordeaux and Paris after our round trip Barcelona cruise.  Would Bordeaux be like Paris?  I don't know if we should just omit Paris or completely start over with our planning and skip France altogether.  

What made you change your mind about Paris? The crowds? The rain?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 minutes ago, marazul said:

What made you change your mind about Paris? The crowds? The rain?

Neither.  I'd rather not get into anymore details, but after getting a taste of what Paris is like I just don't think it's a place we would enjoy.  As I originally mentioned, it was never on my bucket list to begin with and then I got caught up in the excitement of their beautiful attractions.  It's very disappointing as I found round trip tickets to Paris were much cheaper than round trip Barcelona or multi-city.

Edited July 27 by NCteacherlovescruising

[Harters]

32 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Would Bordeaux be like Paris?

Only in so far as they are both large cities. But, other than that, they are very different in so many aspects. 

[marazul]

17 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Neither.  I'd rather not get into anymore details, but after getting a taste of what Paris is like I just don't think it's a place we would enjoy.  As I originally mentioned, it was never on my bucket list to begin with and then I got caught up in the excitement of their beautiful attractions.  It's very disappointing as I found round trip tickets to Paris were much cheaper than round trip Barcelona or multi-city.

Paris is not like that show. The people of Paris and France are ordinary people just like the people of Charlotte and NC. Do not judge them by one over the top show any more than you would judge CLT by one theater performance.  And I'd rather not get into details either. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

You’re probably right but I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about it. Flights will open in about 3 days so I’d like to know what we’re doing by then. I talked to dh earlier about perhaps staying in Barcelona a day or two post cruise and then heading to Bordeaux for a few days but he didn’t seem thrilled with the idea. Maybe we will discuss more over dinner tonight. I’ve already told him since he catered to me on our last vacation, which was perfect, that he could plan the post cruise this time. By plan, I mean he could select where he wants to go because he doesn’t enjoy the planning process. He leaves that to me and he just approves the budget. However, now that we booked Alaska, which was on his bucket list, he may let me have more say. If I had my choice, I’d choose Italy!

[marazul]

32 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

You’re probably right but I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about it. 

Respectfully, you are overreacting.  Don't change your plans.  This is like saying you would not go to NYC because you wouldn't like one of their Broadway shows. Or don't go into Charlotte because you don't like some of the clubs in NoDa. The people and ambiance of Paris are just "like" in NYC or CLT.

 

And this is the last from me.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

39 minutes ago, marazul said:

Respectfully, you are overreacting.  Don't change your plans.  This is like saying you would not go to NYC because you wouldn't like one of their Broadway shows. Or don't go into Charlotte because you don't like some of the clubs in NoDa. The people and ambiance of Paris are just "like" in NYC or CLT.

 

And this is the last from me.

You’re probably right and dh agrees with you. I just want him to make the decision at this point without any input from me. 

[Harters]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

You’re probably right but I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about it.

This is not worth you losing any more sleep over. Just change your plans. It doesnt really matter what it was that has caused you to be concerned (and I didnt watch the ceremony so have no idea what it might have been). The important thing is that something has caused you to be concerned. Just act on that concern 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

2 hours ago, Harters said:

This is not worth you losing any more sleep over. Just change your plans. It doesnt really matter what it was that has caused you to be concerned (and I didnt watch the ceremony so have no idea what it might have been). The important thing is that something has caused you to be concerned. Just act on that concern 

Dh and I just talked about it. We’re going to just stay in Bordeaux for several days. It sounds like a relaxing way to end our vacation. When we went to Italy I loved the more laid back days the best, like Tuscany and Ravello. If we decide we want to see Versailles, or even go to Paris, we could make a day trip. 

[marazul]

Go back to earlier suggestions and visit the Dordogne/Perigord area, a short distance east of Bordeaux. If you liked Tuscany you will be blown away by this area. (Don't forget, I told you about Ravello.)

 

 

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Just now, marazul said:

Go back to earlier suggestions and visit the Dordogne/Perigord area, a short distance east of Bordeaux. If you liked Tuscany you will be blown away by this area. (Don't forget, I told you about Ravello.)

 

 

 

I haven’t forgotten. I will look it up. 

[MeHeartCruising]

Lordy.

[John Bull]

No, Bordeaux is nothing like Paris.

 

JB 🙂

[Langoustine]

If you don't see Paris, you will regret it.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 7/27/2024 at 5:40 PM, John Bull said:

No, Bordeaux is nothing like Paris.

 

JB 🙂

I should have asked if the people and culture of Bordeaux are like the people of Paris or is it more like the US where the people in large cities are very different from those of us in the suburbs. 
 

19 hours ago, Langoustine said:

If you don't see Paris, you will regret it.

 

Why do you say that?

 

I’ve been stuck at home with Covid so trying to work on our plans while I’m under quarantine. Guess we brought home one unwanted souvenir from our cruise. 

[marazul]

18 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 I should have asked if the people and culture of Bordeaux are like the people of Paris or is it more like the US where the people in large cities are very different from those of us in the suburbs. 

Honestly?  You are going to be there for three days. What do you expect to see?  What do you expect to happen? You are judging Paris by a totally unrealistic, over the top TV show.  What would you say to a Frenchman who judges the US by only one movie - Deliverance?  Paris is no different from any other cosmopolitan city like London or NYC.  People look the same, act the same and have the same "culture." 

 

And you will regret it because you will miss the beauty of Paris. You will miss the opportunity to learn for yourself how people are more equal than they are different, and to teach your students not to prejudge others.  

 

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

“One must travel to learn.” – Mark Twain

[edinburgher]

On 7/27/2024 at 8:40 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

If we decide we want to see Versailles, or even go to Paris, we could make a day trip.

losing much of that day trip travelling both directions.

 

If your preference is for "laid back in Italy" consider either the Lake Como area or the  Lake Garda area. Both beautiful and laid back to an extent and instead of a cruise ship you explore using small passenger ferries which call into  pretty waterfront villages.  Of the two we slightly preferred Lake Garda, in part as we liked pretty Verona (think Romeo and Juliet)  more than we liked Milan which is probably our least favourite city.

 

 

Edited July 29 by edinburgher

[NCteacherlovescruising]

11 minutes ago, marazul said:

Honestly?  You are going to be there for three days. What do you expect to see?  What do you expect to happen? You are judging Paris by a totally unrealistic, over the top TV show.  What would you say to a Frenchman who judges the US by only one movie - Deliverance?  Paris is no different from any other cosmopolitan city like London or NYC.  People look the same, act the same and have the same "culture." 

 

And you will regret it because you will miss the beauty of Paris. You will miss the opportunity to learn for yourself how people are more equal than they are different, and to teach your students not to prejudge others.  

 

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

“One must travel to learn.” – Mark Twain

I see you don’t understand my feelings about it. I wouldn’t mock others religions, but as a Christian I’m expected to think it’s ok under the guise of entertainment when someone does so with mine. (I’ve already seen the arguments that it wasn’t their intention but it cut like a knife when I watched it and it kept me awake that night.) And as a teacher I feel protective of children. I would put my life on the line for my students. The Olympics should be a family friendly show and that was anything but. Again, I really didn’t want to get into details, as this is not the place. But I wouldn’t compare a movie to something that represents the people of France, or perhaps just Paris. 
 

4 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

losing much of that day trip travelling both directions.

 

 

I was thinking Versailles was the same distance from Paris and Bordeaux. It appears I was mistaken. We may end up doing a night in Paris if it’s cheaper/easier to fly home from there. I know they have direct flights to Charlotte. If so, we could travel to Paris by train early in the morning, see some sites, spend the night and fly home the next day. We will know more in a few days when tickets for our dates are released. 

[marazul]

2 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

But I wouldn’t compare a movie to something that represents the people of France, or perhaps just Paris. 

That is the point. It does not represent the people of France or Paris and it was a disservice to them.  I understand your views. Go see for yourself. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

28 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

losing much of that day trip travelling both directions.

 

If your preference is for "laid back in Italy" consider either the Lake Como area or the  Lake Garda area. Both beautiful and laid back to an extent and instead of a cruise ship you explore using small passenger ferries which call into  pretty waterfront villages.  Of the two we slightly preferred Lake Garda, in part as we liked pretty Verona (think Romeo and Juliet)  more than we liked Milan which is probably our least favourite city.

 

 

I wanted to go back to Italy but my husband wanted to go “somewhere else” since we were just there. It was my first choice. I mentioned Florence, Puglia, Lake Como and Milan. I understand these areas would be quite different than the places we just visited, but he has it in his mind that he wants something different. He mentioned other parts of Spain, Portugal or France and seemed more interested in France. He let me pretty much plan our entire vacation we recently returned from and I told him he could choose what we do next year post cruise. Our friends were just in those areas after our cruise that ended in Venice. They loved it and shared some amazing photos!  

[John Bull]

57 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I should have asked if the people and culture of Bordeaux are like the people of Paris or is it more like the US where the people in large cities are very different from those of us in the suburbs. 
 

 

Ask French provincials which nationality they like least, and they might say "Parisians".😀

That's much the same in other countries - I expect there's a city or two in the States that you dislike (don't name names, you don't want another Civil War 😉)

 

Paris is a great city to visit, worthy of several days. Its beauty far outshines its warts.

But I wouldn't want to like there, or in a number of UK & US cities - but then I'm a country yokel.

 

It's been decades since I was last in Bordeaux but I loved it.

In the meantime it has doubtless grown, probably got its own traffic snarl-ups etc, but it's a historic little city & the centre has hardly changed over the past couple of centuries.

I also remember wine caves cut into the rock on main roads into the city.

 

The lakes of northern Italy are beautiful, particularly Lago Di Garda.

And from the lakes you can head up into the Alps - use the "old"  roads & mountain passes, they give you the solitude and the views because through- traffic sticks to the autoroutes & tunnels, leaving those mountain passes empty for the locals and some tourists.

 

If you have your hearts set on western France, consider the Loire Valley - broadly from Angers to Orleans. Sweeping river, village names that appear on white wine bottles, more chateaux than you can throw a stick at. And Orleans is only an hour from Fontainebleau or 90 minutes from Paris   

 

JB 🙂

[marazul]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-13681737/amp/Paris-2024-organiser-apologises-Olympic-opening-ceremony-featuring-drag-queens-offended-Christians.html?ico=amp_related_replace

[NCteacherlovescruising]

5 minutes ago, John Bull said:

Ask French provincials which nationality they like least, and they might say "Parisians".😀

That's much the same in other countries - I expect there's a city or two in the States that you dislike (don't name names, you don't want another Civil War 😉)

 

I hadn't thought about that.  lol Yes, there are several cities in the US that I dislike quite a bit.  😝 

5 minutes ago, John Bull said:

Paris is a great city to visit, worthy of several days. Its beauty far outshines its warts.

But I wouldn't want to like there, or in a number of UK & US cities - but then I'm a country yokel.

 

After researching a bit, I was looking forward to visiting. I will wait and see what airports are the best deal before making anymore decisions.  

 

5 minutes ago, John Bull said:

It's been decades since I was last in Bordeaux but I loved it.

In the meantime it has doubtless grown, probably got its own traffic snarl-ups etc, but it's a historic little city & the centre has hardly changed over the past couple of centuries.

I also remember wine caves cut into the rock on main roads into the city.

 

The lakes of northern Italy are beautiful, particularly Lago Di Garda.

And from the lakes you can head up into the Alps - use the "old"  roads & mountain passes, they give you the solitude and the views because through- traffic sticks to the autoroutes & tunnels, leaving those mountain passes empty for the locals and some tourists.

 

If you have your hearts set on western France, consider the Loire Valley - broadly from Angers to Orleans. Sweeping river, village names that appear on white wine bottles, more chateaux than you can throw a stick at. And Orleans is only an hour from Fontainebleau or 90 minutes from Paris   

 

JB 🙂

Marazul had mentioned the Loire Valley and the castles as well.  While we thought it looked cool, it was something we put on the back burner for a potential future visit just because we have limited time and so much to see and do.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

6 minutes ago, marazul said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-13681737/amp/Paris-2024-organiser-apologises-Olympic-opening-ceremony-featuring-drag-queens-offended-Christians.html?ico=amp_related_replace

I saw that.