Big News!

You won't believe this, but I actually forgot to post yesterday.

Ya wanna know why?

[in my best schoolyard sing-song voice]

Cause I'm goin' to Paris. I'm goin' to Paris.

Big Daddy is taking me to Paris for my birthday-not-to-be-named.

I spent the day booking flights, looking at hotels and downloading "The French Phrase Book" to my ipod. Due to the potential exponential Bubba-factor, I may get crazy and post a vlog of me practicing French. My goal is to be able to read a menu, order food, ask directions, read metro signs, and exchange pleasantries. And generally not embarrass myself doing it.

I don't want to get that "Dirty American" look. That would just kill me. When we went to Greece, I brushed up on the basics that I would need to shop and generally greet people. I asked our English-speaking driver to correct my dialect. He gave me some tips that helped.....like the generally accepted greeting was "Yassous" for all times of the day. It worked out well. I think natives of any country appreciate when you make the effort to converse in their language on the most basic level. I must have assimilated pretty well because, over the course of the week, I was stopped by several Greek people in the train station asking for directions. That freaked me out a little bit......I stammered, "I don't speak Greek" in English, of course. Yeah, that works. Thankfully there was always an Athenian standing by to quickly jump in and give directions, to which I could respond "Efharisto" (thank you in Greek). Each time my rescuer would respond in perfect English, "You're welcome."

Dirty American.

I bought a Frommer's book, but it appears that I will need to get Rick Steve's Paris for all the real nifty info. Ya gotta love Rick Steve. He loves to dish out the inside info.

Have you ever been to Paris? Any tips? Hints? Tricks? Do you know Rick Steve?