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Post by goldenmama on Jun 27, 2007 7:17:39 GMT -5
Ray-- I'm so sorry to hear that. Its so sad.
Happygoin--is that intersection near any of the major landmarks that I would likely be visiting?
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aude
Full Member
Posts: 114
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Post by aude on Jun 27, 2007 8:01:20 GMT -5
Goldenmama, the fact that you've asked this question shows that you are cautious and careful, so I bet you won't have any problems at all as a pedestrian. Walking in Paris will be just like in any other major city -- just look both ways and cross in the crosswalks. Along most busy streets there will be lots of other pedestrians so, as someone else suggested, you can just cross with the pack.
Ray, that is awful about your wife's friend. Having been in London recently, I understand completely how that could happen. It's difficult to put aside a life-long habit of looking to the left before crossing the street, because it's just that--a habit-- and I do it without thinking. Many of the sidewalks in tourist areas are even stenciled with reminders to look to the right. I bet this kind of accident is unfortunately not that unusual.
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Post by Truffaut on Jun 27, 2007 18:18:35 GMT -5
I personally think it's worth paying a few bucks on a taxi ride and specifically making sure you go around the Arc de Triomphe at rush hour! It's absolutely exhillerating and much better than anything Disney has come up with!
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Post by mez on Jun 27, 2007 19:36:49 GMT -5
I personally think it's worth paying a few bucks on a taxi ride and specifically making sure you go around the Arc de Triomphe at rush hour! It's absolutely exhillerating and much better than anything Disney has come up with! Haha - I love it!
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Post by Happygoin on Jun 28, 2007 6:23:11 GMT -5
Oh goldenmama, you likely won't have a problem with it. I think my problem is one of bad personal karma with that intersection .
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Post by GitteK on Jul 3, 2007 9:15:07 GMT -5
What can really get my piss boiling (pardonnez mon francais) is that cars do not respect the green light of pedestrians ! In DK we wait until the light turns green and then walk, and THEN we expect the f****king cars to STOP ! Not so à Paris. I yell at them (with lots of Danish bad language included) each time it happens and point to the green light ! If you should overhear tales told at le zinc in the bars around Paris about this really BIG woman in funny looking sandals swearing like a Turque for "no reason at all" (here: imagine French shoulders being shrugged, mouthes cringing in the je-ne-sais-pas angle) - then they are talking about yours truly ! Grrrr.........
(FYI, it is a DK expression "to swear like a Turk". I am not really sure if the Turks are an especially bad languaged people)
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 3, 2007 10:18:29 GMT -5
Hey Gitte -- here, we would say "swear like a truck driver" or "swear like a sailor" (but, who knows, the Vikings were sailors so maybe there's a common thread there!). You'll have to teach us some choice words that we can slip past the censors who speak only English! ;D
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Post by Shoesy on Jul 3, 2007 10:42:01 GMT -5
I cannot picture our dear sweet Gitte swearing at anybody, especially with the cute little accent that I heard and will never forget.
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Post by Happygoin on Jul 3, 2007 10:56:35 GMT -5
Or this one..."swear like a sewer worker on a hot day"...I like that one too. Sometimes, there's nothing like letting it rip and having a go at someone. Gets the poison out, I say.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 3, 2007 11:05:48 GMT -5
Happy, you have joined the elite at the top of the mountain -- who are we to argue? ;D
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Post by Shoesy on Jul 3, 2007 11:07:13 GMT -5
Hey, we're triplets! How exciting! ;D
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 3, 2007 11:09:35 GMT -5
Shoesy - no, it's quads -- Gitte also crossed the magic barrier (thanks to her magical reports on a certain magical city).
Nice going, Gitte -- welcome to the lofty heights!
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Post by Shoesy on Jul 3, 2007 11:14:56 GMT -5
Hurray for Gitte too! ;D
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Post by sandy on Jul 3, 2007 12:09:02 GMT -5
One other thing I noticed, when crossing a street with a sign: "traverser en deux fois", that the light turns green for pedestrians in the second lane first, so if you are looking at that light you start crossing when the light in the first lane is still red. It is really very dangerous, we were almost hit a couple of times, and you can´t say it is because we are not used to heavy traffic.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 3, 2007 14:42:28 GMT -5
Good point, Sandy -- that's a really dangerous aspect of this type of crossing (exactly the opposite of the US, where normally the one closest to you changes first if it's in two stages -- although, I suppose, from the other side of the street that would be the sequence so maybe two stages is just a bad idea, period!).
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Post by goldenmama on Jul 8, 2007 4:55:45 GMT -5
:DWe crossed all of the streets just fine!
We did actually see a car bump a lady out of the crosswalk when she crossed when the light was red. She jumped in the air a bit, shook her fist at him, and was off again!
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