Lonely Planet has a great post up right now about how to go about decoding French and Parisian restaurant lingo and we wanted to share.
The post offers great insight into how you should order, what they might be asking you and how best to reply.
“Je vous écoute”— Your waiter will likely come up and make this statement after you’ve looked at the menu for a moment. Literally, “I’m listening to you.” Don’t be fooled; your waiter is not inviting you to have a heart-to-heart. He simply wants to take your order.
“Ça y est? / Ça a été?”— Finished? How was it? You will most definitely be finished because French waiters are not the type to swoop in and prematurely clear your plate. At this point, you will likely be having a post-meal bliss moment, so just say “Oui, c‘était trés bon,” and you’ll be all set.
Now you should feel a little more at ease ordering in French. Thanks LP!
More than likely the best things you take home after a trip are the memories and the photos. So why not make it a New Year’s resolution in 2010 to take better pics?
Either enroll in a local photography class or get some good books on how to take better travel shots. Either way, it’s time to take your skills to the next level!
BudgetTravel has recently launched a Paris, France page that gives you everything you need to know about traveling the city of love.
From travel photos, to tips, to the best restaurants, their new Paris page is now one of the definitive places on the web for Paris insight.
When travelling, you’ll find you learn from your mistakes as well as get annoyed by those made by fellow travellers, which leads us to the Universal Travel Rules.
- When you’re using those handy dandy moving walkways in the airport, please do us all a favor and stand to the right or if you’re a speed walker, then it’s to the left with you.
- If it takes you almost the whole plane ride to stow your luggage in the overhead bin, maybe you should have packed lighter or checked that bag.
- Listen to your flight attendants, please. If they ask you to stow your tray table in the upright position, don’t make them ask you like a million times.
- Keep PDA at a miniumim, no one wants to see you climb aboard your significant others, really.
- Don’t claim to be an expert, this annoys everyone.
- Try to learn at least a little bit about where you’re travelling to, and maybe even a few key phrases or two if you’re headed somewhere that’s not your first language.
- Be open to change, be flexible. This will make everyone have a much better time.
- Have cash on you, but stowed away. Don’t try and pay for that cab with an American Express.
- Don’t be afraid to ask directions, or just enjoy being lost.
- Keep travelling and being open to new experiences.
Any others you’d like to add?
Well folks, it’s shoulder season and that means that not only have tourists gone home but also that the prices are just right.
Take a peek at the travel destinations below and start planning your perfect September vacation!
- Denali National Park, Alaska
- Cape Cod, Mass.
- Southern Caribbean
- Iceland
- Marrakech
- Cape Town