[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Lindsey

Hi Gayle! It sounds like you had an amazing trip!!! Lol, Scott and I still say "Mind the gap" to each other. Our hotel in London also had a talking elevator and it would say "Going up!" "Fourth Floor" "Please mind the door" etc. So whenever Scott and I are on an elevator, we say those things in a British accent lol! We are nerds. Hi Lindsey! We had a talking elevator too, and I Abigail always did the talking too, in a British accent! I know when we are together, we'll be doing it too!

I really wanted to take the train through the chunnel!!! I've watched a bunch of shows about the building of the chunnel and it's something I really want to do someday! Since we were on a bus tour, we just took the ferry between Dover and Calais. I loved the train, but I would also like to go on the ferry!

That is crazy you were the only English speakers in the tour group! Was the tour done in French? We had headphones and you could choose your language. That was good because I speak a tiny bit of french but couldn't have understood a tour

I didn't like Paris as much as London, We didn't like Paris as well as London either - but like you, we didn't have as much time therebut we had more time in London so that might be why. I didn't really get to explore Paris much. I also found the people more rude and pushy. Scott and I know a bit of French so we tried to speak some there when we could, but it didn't really make a difference! We stayed in a Paris apartment owned by an American couple and there was a book with some tips on negotiating Paris. One tip was that the French are not rude, just very formal (I still think they are a bit rude, HA!). The book suggested that whenever you interact with a Parisian, you be VERY polite and begin your conversation with Bonjour Madame/Monsiour, etc, and alway say ci vous plait before and after your request. I do think it helped a bit. We did go to different little towns around the French countryside and people were much nicer there, but of course, did not speak English at all!

I would LOVE to go to the English and French countryside more than we did. If I ever get to go back with my friend who grew up in England, we will do that