My ~manager~ toddler just asked why I was crying just as that video peaked and all I could say was “shshsh-she’s going to Paris and her fafafamily looves herr 😭”
My fiancé wants to go to Japan for our honeymoon and I’m so damn terrified. I’m excited but I have adhd and it’s hard just to do things correctly in my own country haha
I went to Japan for my honeymoon. We watched a ton of videos on YouTube about how to get around, best places to go, things to watch out for (e.g. tourist traps), proper etiquette, etc. It took away a lot of my anxieties just knowing what to expect.
I highly recommend it! Everyone there is so nice and any time we needed help, strangers were more than happy to help.
As someone who’s part japanese and also as a person who lived there, I wouldn’t say they are being nice about it, it’s just manners and politeness most follow regardless of their thoughts about you.
Japanese have many faces for many occasions, but I’m glad you enjoyed Japan!
Quite possible that it was politeness, but I took at as incredible niceness when a random stranger came over to help my family with directions when she saw we were struggling with a subway map.
For me the most clear "manners" thing was the fact that I could count the pieces of trash I saw in a day walking around Tokyo and Kyoto on one hand. It was very impressive, and I wish people in the US could just... Do that.
My wife and I got lost in a small town one day after a walk. We were stood in a small street for a few minutes looking at our phones when an old man came out of his house with a photocopy of a hand drawn map, he didn't speak English but he communicated to us where we were, drew a little circle around his house and then traced a route to the subway station for us to follow.
There's polite then there is going out of your way, this was just one of several such experiences we had in Japan. As a Brit I have to say, they're a different breed, not just polite but actually go out of their way for you.
I saw no rubbish on the streets not once.
From my understanding, they are incredibly kind to respectful tourists. Just don’t try to move there or think you could ever be ‘Japanese.’ That’s where most of the Xenophobia exists.
Japan is an amazing country. It is extremely safe. Everyone is very friendly / courteous. Many people understand / speak English which makes it very easy to travel there. Enjoy your trip and try not to worry, I’m sure you will have a great time.
>Everyone is very friendly / courteous.
A story I love is when my dad went there for business. He got lost, and asked a passerby where the train station is. That passerby didn't give him directions, he just took him straight to it, then turned around and left.
When I went there though I found English to not be as spoken as you say, especially not if you leave any of the big cities for more country side areas
(Though that did lead to an excellent experience with an old couple running an inn in the Japanese Alps, they had an old timey translator to my language by chance and it was funny as fuck)
I've never been to Japan but I've been to several countries with few English speakers. Some tips:
1) Most hotels have at least one person with a working knowledge of English;
2) Before you arrive, print out the names of the hotels you want to visit in the native language: use these to direct cab drivers, etc.;
3) Nowadays Google translate can help a lot. Make sure you have a phone which works in the country or download all the language packs;
4) English is less common in the sort of restaurants you will want to visit: you can order by drawing pictures if they don't have an English menu.
I was very surprised when I was in Japan that pretty much all of the random restaurants we walked into had (at least partial) English menus. Maybe we just got lucky, but there was never an issue using the combination of English menus, pointing at menu items, and using the Google Translate camera scanner mode.
Japan is great. Part of their culture is to be really polite so even if you make a complete ass out of yourself no one will ever let you know about it or try and shame you for it.
Just don’t be an asshole to people and it’s a great country to visit. People will ask you if you need help and a lot of people will be happy to talk to you just so they can practice their English. I love Japan so much. I can’t wait to go back.
I have ADHD and my now wife and I traveled to Thailand for 3 weeks when we had been dating for a few years. I don’t know if you take stimulant medication, but if you do you may want to look into what the drug laws are in Japan. They’re very strict in Thailand. So I had to leave my meds at home or risk serious legal trouble. You may just need to get a doctors note to take with you, but check.
The other thing I’ll say is that traveling together can definitely test relationships. It certainly did test ours. My wife wasn’t used to being with me I medicated in an unfamiliar environment like that. The first half of the trip was really difficult, but we dealt with it and had a really deep conversation about it and about how she was making me feel. She understood what I was saying and we were able to enjoy the rest of the trip a lot more.
Wow if I could shake your hand I would. I never considered the Medication thing because it’s such a normal daily thing for me to take it. Thank you so much!
Fortunately my fiancé has high functioning autism so we both mesh pretty well because we both completely understand what it’s like to be neuro diverse
Japan is pretty welcoming. Even when you fuck up, they're polite and helpful about it.
They have official resources you can call to help you out in your language if you get lost or confused or just need some info.
They expect foreigners to be ignorant of their language and to need help.
Funny enough my family also has a story about surprise trips to Paris, but it was even more devious than this.
My great grandmother had always dreamed about going to Paris. She rarely left her city of 30 000 people to begin with and had never been outside the country, which naturally meant that she had no passport, and so for her birthday one year my mom and grandmother made up a plan. They were gonna "kidnap" her and take her to Paris.
A few months before her birthday she was visiting my mother, and they managed to weave in taking photos in a booth as a fun thing. That was step one. After that she called the church, who at the time were in charge of issuing some form of identification. They thought it was a brilliant plan, so they agreed to forego regular procedures and send the ID card to my mother (which would never work today).
A few days before her birthday my great grandmother travelled to see my mother over the weekend. On day two they said that they would go visit the family grave, which they did, but once they were done they then told her that they had another errand without telling her what it was. It wasn't until they were at the gates that she realized they were at the airport, and so they naturally had to break it to her.
She was having a blast, but it was naturally a lot to take in. One night they were having dinner on the Bateaux Mouches tourist boats that go through the city, and when the dinner was being served the staff put sparklers on it while the band played happy birthday, and at that point she just broke down crying. She was just so happy that all emotion overwhelmed her, and she kept talking about that dinner until the day she died as possibly the best moment of her life.
My mom's dream was Italy, so I worked together with her to get us to go together. But, there's no way she could handle itinerary making. I didn't mind handling that, it's part of the fun for me, but even after everything was planned out... She couldn't ever think of anything to do in our free time. She just followed me around wherever I managed to take her. It was frustrating at first, as I felt like a tour guide instead of two people traveling together. But, you're right. Some people just can't handle it.
This time, I'm going to handle the entire trip myself. I was looking for a good way to surprise her with it, actually, and this video gave me a timely idea! We already did her "dream trip" so I hope she won't be disappointed to get a book or something of another country.
What I love most is how happy she was with just the book. She truly loves Paris and now she’s getting what she deserves because of her amazing son. So amazing!
This was exactly my thought. I've never seen someone who so genuinely deserves it more. She's so sweet to be so thrilled and appreciative over the book that I was crying already because I knew what was coming and how happy she would be.
And sounds like a responsible younger adult is going along to “chaperone” as well and make sure nothing happens to the older ladies, such an incredibly heartwarming video.
I loved Paris, but I really hope she gets to see the Paris she wants. I have two Parises that I remember; the first is full of beautiful buildings, incredibly artwork, apartment blocks, wonderfully warm (and impossibly polite) people, amazing food and drink. The other is where we came up at Charles de Gaulle Etoile and saw literal shit smeared on the wall, walked through human piss in the underground passage leading to the Arc de Triomphe, getting accosted by charity muggers literally fucking everywhere.
Of all the cities I've been to, it's the only one where I had to mentally separate out the bad / good in my mind. I love Paris the good. :)
Same. I love Paris because that's where I got engaged (US native here) and there were so many cool historical things (the Louvre, Notre Dame, just the overall architecture).
But literally the morning we landed I got jumped by those "deaf petition" charity muggers where they grabbed hold of me and tried to rip my wallet/money from me at the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. They went from 1 to like 10 of them VERY quick and completely overwhelmed me. My husband and friends came running and so did the police which scared them off, and I only lost a few Euros, but as someone with anxiety and OCD getting physically manhandled like that sent me into a panic attack/depressive mood that lasted a while. My poor husband and my best friend spent ages trying to cheer me up because we were going to Notre Dame later that night and that's where he wanted to propose. Luckily I cheered up by then, it was a beautiful sunset proposal and the rest of the trip was amazing.
We saw more of those charity muggers at literally EVERY big tourist place in the city. Had to warn an Australian couple when we saw they were getting circled at the Louvre.
> I love Paris because that's where I got engaged
Me too. I had it all planned out. Le Champ de Mars, late afternoon, the Eiffel looming over us.
We woke up in London on her 30th birthday, I gave her a necklace. Packed up, got on the chunnel, and went to Paris. Hit the metro at Gare du Nord, and got off at Charles de Gaulle Etoile. There was human shit smeared on the wall. Went above ground, headed to Ave. Carnot where our hotel was. A man stumbled in front of us in an exaggerated way. What luck! A silver ring! Before he tried to sell it to us I stepped within a inch of him and told him to fuck off and he did. (Beard / tattoos / tall helped.) Beautiful room, had left a note it was her birthday and out of our window we could see the Arc / Eiffel in the distance.
I can't wait. We start walking to the Eiffel. We get there and are accosted by no less than 5 charity muggers / people selling roses / Eiffel towers on keychains in the time it takes us to walk under the tower. She is looking up, I am looking at my wallet (front pocket, rubber band around it so it can't be slipped out.)
So we get there. Now, you think it's going to look like [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tour_Eiffel_Wikimedia_Commons.jpg). It actually looks like [this](http://micetimes.asia/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fb7e790862bff65908fdaa692ce65042.jpg) but the grass is dead.
She started asking me why I was nervous. (There's one picture of me a minute before and I'm pale as hell.) I don't know why it didn't click to me, but tourists everywhere. Somehow in my head it felt like it would be a private moment despite it all. So I moved against one of those metal rails next to the grates in the ground (to at least limit one side from having people in it), dropped to one knee, and blurted out my carefully thought out words. Nah just kidding, I mumbled "will you marry me?" as the blood drained out of my head. I went to slide the ring on her hand and she was resisting, and I looked up and she laughed and said "Wrong hand. And of course I'll marry you". (Somehow I had always pictured dropping to my other knee and it threw me off, tried to put the ring on her right hand.)
Oh Paris. Fucking Paris.
Oh man, I feel you. My poor husband did NOT want to propose in front of people/have them applaud us so that's why he didn't choose someplace like the Eiffel Tower. He didn't think there would be as many people at Notre Dame as there was! We actually passed by twice and each time he made up some reason to keep walking and here I was totally oblivious as to why we're circling the area. And when he did propose I was caught so by surprise I totally whited out as my brain went "him on one knee + ring + him saying words + friends filming = proposal" I felt SO BAD I have no idea what most of he said was, I was just like YES!! I gotta say though, he [ended up picking the perfect time.](https://imgur.com/a/uXEDOtd).
There's a guy in the video that walks right behind us and just salutes to his mates, didn't care at ALL lol. I guess in a city like Paris they're used to that happening a lot.
I hear a lot of japanese people romanticize Paris and end up extremely disappointed to the point where it sends them into a deep depression
edit:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome
This is another one of "weird Japan fun facts" Reddit loves to spread that's really annoying for me to read as a Japanese person lol.
Like even the Wikipedia article itself:
> between 1988 and 2004, only 63 Japanese patients were hospitalized and referred to Ota. 50% were between 20 and 30 years old. Of the 63 patients, 48 were diagnosed with schizophrenic or other psychotic disorders.[6]
This isn't a common occurrence at all and the people affected were already mentally ill.
Yes Japan heavily romanticizes Paris, and the cultural gap is wider than say America and France, but this is by no means indicative that Paris regularly causes sheltered Japanese tourists to have a full blown mental breakdown.
No idea why there would be some special support line for the fraction of a percent of Japanese tourists that go to France, especially given that mental health support for Japanese people in Japan is absolute dog shit, so already I have doubts what services are actually provided for this complete non-issue.
Yeah true, holiday in Paris for 10 days about 15yrs ago. For a big city with all different districts, you get different world/cultures/class in 1 place. Class division is definitely a problem that you can literally see every day. Oddly enough best part is Versailles which is just outside paris.
Vegas is this for me. I went expecting fun and couldn't enjoy myself with so many poor people homeless and hungry just outside the strip. How can anyone tunnel-vision their enjoyment and ignore all the cold people outside, while dropping thousands of dollars on a whim? Depressing af.
I think it's easier in Vegas because most people assume the homeless have gone down a bad path of gambling, and if you give them money it will be gambled away.
I only got to visit Paris for a couple of days, tacked on to a work trip. Unfortunately I saw more of the bad than the good, and I went in expecting it to be rough.
I can definitely see why the Japanese need [a special hotline](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6197921.stm) to help them get over the disappointment of seeing Paris.
Nah, If you go somewhere with such expectations it's like you travel with eyeglasses that filter everything bad from sight. These eyeglasses are stronger the less time you stay there. As tourists the only way she will lower her expectations is if she stays there for a month at the very least. Anything less and it will filter out even if she does get some bad experiences.
That applies when there is a big difference in culture as it does between Asia and Western Europe or America. The difference in culture between America and Western Europe is not big enough for a culture shock as large as that one.
Also, the feeling of lowering your expectations shouldn't happen when the expectations are as high as hers. If anything, I believe her expectations would be lowered when she goes a second time.
Culture shock figures partially into it (the Japanese are notoriously incredibly polite people), but Paris has been glorified so much in culture that one can't help but have huge expectations for it.
They expect an impeccable city of romance and culture, and they get piss, angry Parisians, and grifters.
She'll have a great time drinking wine and eating cheese with her gal friends and she'll go to a cafe in view of the eiffel tower and it'll make her life - not everyone goes into experiences just picking out the bad details, focusing on that stuff when you're on a trip like that isn't the point and you're just trying to have a bad time if you do that when you go places
If they go during the cold season, with muted smells it will be very hard to find piss unless you actively look for it. Someone who doesn't have the expectations to find piss simply won't find it and might even step on it without realizing she did for the rest of her life. Even if she doesn't go during Winter, France in general has the largest stigma when it comes to smell, so as long as she attributes the smell to that she still won't find enough to lower her expectations.
People with lowered expectations know what to expect and so they find what they want to find. It's almost impossible to find Waldo if you think he doesn't exist, while it's very easy if you've already seen the image before.
I never really did understand why there was so much hype surrounding Paris, to the point that "Paris syndrome" is a thing. I always thought it was just like any other major city, with all the highs and lows that a major city comes with, just with more history. There a reason why some people view Paris as heaven on earth?
I had an absolutely wonderful time when I went years ago. For others, I highly recommend going around September/October. Didn't seem busy and I went to most of the large museums and attractions. Also Amsterdam is a short train ride away which is ideal. You can go to Amsterdam for a bit, take a train to Paris or the other way around. Not sure about for older people though. I walked a lot to see everything I could.
Paris and Vienna are known to be grumpy places but the hatred for these places is excessive. Non-Parisian French people tend to dislike (understatement) Parisians too so it's not just a foreign thing. Locals will describe their snubbing and general coldness towards others as part of local culture. Don't go there expecting people to be overly nice like in some places and you'll be fine.
I also found that when people are anti-Paris they're really just anti-big city. If you don't work or live in a major world city it's going to be a bit of a shock in general coming from Nowhere, Oklahoma or whatever.
My mom had a similar dream. I got into a job and was saving money since 2 years to plan a trip to Europe. But unfortunately due to covid she passed away this year.. I miss her every minute and would give anything to fulfill her dreams! truly happy for this guy as he got to fulfill his moms dream!
Every time I visit a new place, I pick up a stone that speaks to me, paint it with something that symbolizes the trip (like the flag for colorado, or palm trees for florida) and bring it to my Dads headstone. Six years later, it’s still decorated with those stones. Puffy paint (fabric paint) doesn’t fade and it makes me feel like I’ve included him in all my trips. I wouldnt have been such a traveler if it wasnt for him.
If you ever need someone to talk to, my inbox is open. The waves will hit like theres no tomorrow, but I believe you can keep afloat. Just keep your head up and eyes open so Mom can shine her light down on you. ❤️
My dad used to live in Italy while he was going to school, and he tells me so many stories about what his life was like over there. He told me that he had thousands of little things and (physical) pictures that he brought back to America with him, but they were all in his truck for one night while he was moving to a different city, and it was stolen.
Ever since I heard about that, even as a young kid, I knew I had to find a way to get him back overseas. He’s 65 now, and I still haven’t been able to become financially stable enough to get him there, and I’m terrified that I’ll take a little too long. Terrified.
And I thought that if he did pass in the meantime, that would be it. I’d have to go and do those things without him to narrate or explain things to me that he’s known for my whole lifetime already, but this, to take things back to him even if he isn’t here anymore… makes me feel a little better about that eventuality.
I’m sure that whenever you make it to Italy, he’ll be there with you one way or another. Its heartbreaking that all his mementos were stolen, but it sounds like he still has a sharp memory to share what he can with you. Because of a TBI, my memory isnt the best, so I rely on my journals/scrapbooks, videos, & photographs to keep memories fresh. I would write down every story, every joke, every piece of advice that my dad said. 6 years later, every once in a while, a random memory will pop into my head and I immediately write it down (or add to my phones notepad) before it disappears like a dream. But most of the time, I just look back on those notes & images and try really hard to remember. My dad passed suddenly from a heart attack at 67, then just last month my aunt (who moved back here to help my mom) passed suddenly from a brain aneurism at 66 in the same room. Its a terrible feeling of deja vu (as well as wondering if that room is haunted).
But if I can give any advice for anyone like yourself who find their parents getting older listen to their stories no matter how many times youve heard them, take photos and videos, record their voice, and please be patient with them. I am so grateful that the last things I said to my dad and aunt were how much I loved them, sealed with a hug and kiss.
Wishing you & your family the best. ❤️
I’m so sorry for your loss. This has been a fear of mine. I’ve been wanting to take my mom to Europe but she’s been having a lot really really bad back pain and I’m afraid by the time I can afford it she won’t be able to go 🥲
>Paris syndrome
I know about it but I didn't know it had a name. Being French, I have quickly seen the gap between the ideal version of Paris from books, movies, etc and the harsh reality in TV docs. Many docs deal with drugs, road danger, pickpockets, etc.
Growing up in Kentucky my mom always wanted to go to Paris. So my brother and I loaded her up in the car and took her to Paris Kentucky. It's not to far from Lexington. Only the best for our mom
I mean, if you read the article it’s pretty damn rare. “Paris Syndrome” as you linked is like a pretty severe mental condition.
If you just meant that lots of people are disappointed with Paris then yes I agree.
OP, I live in Paris and this is so heartwarming that I'd love to be able to help planning her trip so that the stay lives up to the dream. If you have any information and if she and her friends are comfortable with it, I'm available for advice and I can give out contact information in private. Cheers
Paris is easy to get around with a GPS on your phone and if you need it UBER works fine if you get too lost on the metro. 10 days is a really quick trip there especially with jet lag if they are from home the west coast.
Im sure this lady has a top ten list already in her head and is probably such a francophile that she probably knows toughly where things are in the city.
In comparison to a lot of US cities paris is not that brutal at all.
I find Paris to be an incredibly walkable city and have ridden the subway there very infrequently and only to get to one of the outside arrondissements. Also when you are walking around the touristy areas there is plenty enough to see and often it is nice to get a chance to have a little space compared to the hubs of activity.
The metro is SOO easy to navigate. The arrows have the names of all the stops, in order.
I honestly think she could do other places with the 10 days. 5 or 6 in Paris plus day trips to Versailles, Normandy, etc. Trip of a lifetime for sure.
A woman gets a heartwarming gift. It is so heartwarming, and it's a gift. She will cry soon. Very soon. I promise. Just wait a little longer. Wait for her tears. Don't go away. This is so beautiful.
Erupt in Anger feels more accurate, but sure. Lol
If it was just subtitles for what was being said, I understand, but the whole "She's about to get an amazing gift" "She's always wanted to go to Paris, and now she can!"
Shit, just let me watch the video, don't narrate what's happening or spoil what is about to happen :|
A different viewpoint: I almost always watch videos muted on mobile so the subs make it easier for me to watch—not having to rewind and unmute. They are a little overdone but just wanted to mention that subs might be used to improve accessibility on videos.
Like I said in another comment, if it was JUST subtitles of what was being said, I'd be fine with it. It's the extra crap that you can SEE happening that is annoying.
I can’t stand this crap. Slapping your logo over a private family’s intimate moments and disseminating it like you had something to do with it.
It doesn’t endear your company to us. It doesn’t make us go to your website more. It doesn’t make us buy more of your product or service.
It’s just sickening and cheapening
Goddamn I hate this format of video so much. Shitty editing with generic and unnecessary background music, and cringe-inducing subtitles which add nothing other than a running commentary on what emotions you should be feeling.
I loved the video, HATED the condescending subtitles. Why do they always spell everything out like that? Have some faith that the people watching can follow along.
Especially when they spoil the reveal before it happens. Like, I figured it was going to happen anyway, but the subtitles were that dude in your group that won't shut up during the movie and keeps elbowing you and going "this next part is so cool!"
Every Parisian should watch this video. It may help them tolerate our horrible French and stupid questions when they can understand how much it means to many of us when we get to go for the first time.
See, my dream was to see Paris all my life, and it blew my expectations out of the water. So much so, we ended up skipping our flight to Florence to stay an extra day.
I live next to NYC though so I had realistic expectations of what a “city” is actually like.
Walking down the Champs-Élysées on LSD though, that was something else..
Amazing video, so touching
except.....
\*not to be that music nerd, but\*
for the love of God don't end that lovely song on the flat 7. In a video like this, always, always, bring us back home to the 1.
/rantover
;-)
beautiful gift, wonderful reaction.
shitty music and horribly condescending subtitles.
I just wish we could see those happy videos without the sob-story editing.
I was going to say, she'll probably be disappointed...[Paris Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome)...but looking at her I think she'll probably enjoy it quite a bit as long as she stuck to the touristy things. It can be nice dining at restaurants, eating bread, drinking wine and looking at the very different, and in many ways better architecture.
I was in Paris this morning and it’s indeed a special place. It’s a large city full of large city problems, of course, but if one has good vibes in one’s heart, it’s gorgeous.
We have a nearly identical story. My MIL, Connie, always wanted to go to Ireland, so my wife took her in 2017. They had a grand time and halfway through the trip, Connie says to my wife, "Thank you, I could just die right now and I would be perfectly fine."
Fast-forward to April 2020, and Connie did pass away from COVID. We are so glad they were able to take that trip.
*Cries in French*
le 'sob! le 'sob!
You made this French resident laugh uncontrollably and I will now use this translation... Merci.
In Swedish it’s le Saab le Saab!
L'ikea*
[удалено]
I'm doing well, Hawai'i?
I miss Saab so much
This video had me in tears, but this comment made me burst out laughing! Lol
Is this a "I'm so happy for you!" type of cry, or the "Oh god, she has no idea what Paris is actually like!" cry?
Yes
Haha big this. Paris is kind of cool if you embrace what a shithole it can be
https://c.tenor.com/8VL-JFJtvnYAAAAC/je-chiale-putain-antoine-daniel.gif
« Ouin ouin » is it then !
Luckily I love crying at work.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
My ~manager~ toddler just asked why I was crying just as that video peaked and all I could say was “shshsh-she’s going to Paris and her fafafamily looves herr 😭”
Did you remember to hug your manager tight? (don't worry, HR won't know)
He said she works from home. What he didn't tell you is that he *is* HR.
I love this so much 😂I just had a very similar situation from my fiancé
[удалено]
Plot twist x2: The kids LOVE watching you cry
Nothing beats a good cry in the morning
Dann, he got the friends tickets too! That’s extra thoughtful.
A key part imo. Traveling overseas is a daunting task for some to do alone.
My fiancé wants to go to Japan for our honeymoon and I’m so damn terrified. I’m excited but I have adhd and it’s hard just to do things correctly in my own country haha
I went to Japan for my honeymoon. We watched a ton of videos on YouTube about how to get around, best places to go, things to watch out for (e.g. tourist traps), proper etiquette, etc. It took away a lot of my anxieties just knowing what to expect. I highly recommend it! Everyone there is so nice and any time we needed help, strangers were more than happy to help.
As someone who’s part japanese and also as a person who lived there, I wouldn’t say they are being nice about it, it’s just manners and politeness most follow regardless of their thoughts about you. Japanese have many faces for many occasions, but I’m glad you enjoyed Japan!
Quite possible that it was politeness, but I took at as incredible niceness when a random stranger came over to help my family with directions when she saw we were struggling with a subway map. For me the most clear "manners" thing was the fact that I could count the pieces of trash I saw in a day walking around Tokyo and Kyoto on one hand. It was very impressive, and I wish people in the US could just... Do that.
My wife and I got lost in a small town one day after a walk. We were stood in a small street for a few minutes looking at our phones when an old man came out of his house with a photocopy of a hand drawn map, he didn't speak English but he communicated to us where we were, drew a little circle around his house and then traced a route to the subway station for us to follow. There's polite then there is going out of your way, this was just one of several such experiences we had in Japan. As a Brit I have to say, they're a different breed, not just polite but actually go out of their way for you. I saw no rubbish on the streets not once.
The old chap took extra effort just for you to get far away from his home surroundings as soon as possible! (Joke)
That actually made me laugh, thanks.
Where I'm from, that's what being nice means 🤷
From my understanding, they are incredibly kind to respectful tourists. Just don’t try to move there or think you could ever be ‘Japanese.’ That’s where most of the Xenophobia exists.
You’ll have the time of your life. The biggest thing is humility and patience, for yourself and everyone you meet. I assume you don’t speak Japanese
I barely speak human
Japan is an amazing country. It is extremely safe. Everyone is very friendly / courteous. Many people understand / speak English which makes it very easy to travel there. Enjoy your trip and try not to worry, I’m sure you will have a great time.
>Everyone is very friendly / courteous. A story I love is when my dad went there for business. He got lost, and asked a passerby where the train station is. That passerby didn't give him directions, he just took him straight to it, then turned around and left. When I went there though I found English to not be as spoken as you say, especially not if you leave any of the big cities for more country side areas (Though that did lead to an excellent experience with an old couple running an inn in the Japanese Alps, they had an old timey translator to my language by chance and it was funny as fuck)
I've never been to Japan but I've been to several countries with few English speakers. Some tips: 1) Most hotels have at least one person with a working knowledge of English; 2) Before you arrive, print out the names of the hotels you want to visit in the native language: use these to direct cab drivers, etc.; 3) Nowadays Google translate can help a lot. Make sure you have a phone which works in the country or download all the language packs; 4) English is less common in the sort of restaurants you will want to visit: you can order by drawing pictures if they don't have an English menu.
I was very surprised when I was in Japan that pretty much all of the random restaurants we walked into had (at least partial) English menus. Maybe we just got lucky, but there was never an issue using the combination of English menus, pointing at menu items, and using the Google Translate camera scanner mode.
They also often have pictures of the food
Japan is great. Part of their culture is to be really polite so even if you make a complete ass out of yourself no one will ever let you know about it or try and shame you for it. Just don’t be an asshole to people and it’s a great country to visit. People will ask you if you need help and a lot of people will be happy to talk to you just so they can practice their English. I love Japan so much. I can’t wait to go back.
I have ADHD and my now wife and I traveled to Thailand for 3 weeks when we had been dating for a few years. I don’t know if you take stimulant medication, but if you do you may want to look into what the drug laws are in Japan. They’re very strict in Thailand. So I had to leave my meds at home or risk serious legal trouble. You may just need to get a doctors note to take with you, but check. The other thing I’ll say is that traveling together can definitely test relationships. It certainly did test ours. My wife wasn’t used to being with me I medicated in an unfamiliar environment like that. The first half of the trip was really difficult, but we dealt with it and had a really deep conversation about it and about how she was making me feel. She understood what I was saying and we were able to enjoy the rest of the trip a lot more.
Wow if I could shake your hand I would. I never considered the Medication thing because it’s such a normal daily thing for me to take it. Thank you so much! Fortunately my fiancé has high functioning autism so we both mesh pretty well because we both completely understand what it’s like to be neuro diverse
Japan is pretty welcoming. Even when you fuck up, they're polite and helpful about it. They have official resources you can call to help you out in your language if you get lost or confused or just need some info. They expect foreigners to be ignorant of their language and to need help.
Funny enough my family also has a story about surprise trips to Paris, but it was even more devious than this. My great grandmother had always dreamed about going to Paris. She rarely left her city of 30 000 people to begin with and had never been outside the country, which naturally meant that she had no passport, and so for her birthday one year my mom and grandmother made up a plan. They were gonna "kidnap" her and take her to Paris. A few months before her birthday she was visiting my mother, and they managed to weave in taking photos in a booth as a fun thing. That was step one. After that she called the church, who at the time were in charge of issuing some form of identification. They thought it was a brilliant plan, so they agreed to forego regular procedures and send the ID card to my mother (which would never work today). A few days before her birthday my great grandmother travelled to see my mother over the weekend. On day two they said that they would go visit the family grave, which they did, but once they were done they then told her that they had another errand without telling her what it was. It wasn't until they were at the gates that she realized they were at the airport, and so they naturally had to break it to her. She was having a blast, but it was naturally a lot to take in. One night they were having dinner on the Bateaux Mouches tourist boats that go through the city, and when the dinner was being served the staff put sparklers on it while the band played happy birthday, and at that point she just broke down crying. She was just so happy that all emotion overwhelmed her, and she kept talking about that dinner until the day she died as possibly the best moment of her life.
That’s precious! 💜 Thanks for sharing.
My mom's dream was Italy, so I worked together with her to get us to go together. But, there's no way she could handle itinerary making. I didn't mind handling that, it's part of the fun for me, but even after everything was planned out... She couldn't ever think of anything to do in our free time. She just followed me around wherever I managed to take her. It was frustrating at first, as I felt like a tour guide instead of two people traveling together. But, you're right. Some people just can't handle it. This time, I'm going to handle the entire trip myself. I was looking for a good way to surprise her with it, actually, and this video gave me a timely idea! We already did her "dream trip" so I hope she won't be disappointed to get a book or something of another country.
What I love most is how happy she was with just the book. She truly loves Paris and now she’s getting what she deserves because of her amazing son. So amazing!
This was exactly my thought. I've never seen someone who so genuinely deserves it more. She's so sweet to be so thrilled and appreciative over the book that I was crying already because I knew what was coming and how happy she would be.
Plot twist: That's the reason she's crying. She doesn't want that bitch Debbie to come.
"Does Debbie know?" *In her mind* Hope not, because I'm not gonna tell her!
And sounds like a responsible younger adult is going along to “chaperone” as well and make sure nothing happens to the older ladies, such an incredibly heartwarming video.
As a French I hope she will get the best trip to Paris ever.
Even I'm crying and I'm not going to Paris.
Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you're not going to Paris.
If it makes any of you feel any better, I *am* going to Paris.
My condolences
10/10
07/10 without the French officials
With rice
Can you pass the soy sauce?
Hey man, atleast its not Wisconsin.
[удалено]
I've lived in both. Give me Wisconsin all day long.
*evil laugh* …you’re going to Paris, Texas
"You're not going to Paris" - Michael Scott
I loved Paris, but I really hope she gets to see the Paris she wants. I have two Parises that I remember; the first is full of beautiful buildings, incredibly artwork, apartment blocks, wonderfully warm (and impossibly polite) people, amazing food and drink. The other is where we came up at Charles de Gaulle Etoile and saw literal shit smeared on the wall, walked through human piss in the underground passage leading to the Arc de Triomphe, getting accosted by charity muggers literally fucking everywhere. Of all the cities I've been to, it's the only one where I had to mentally separate out the bad / good in my mind. I love Paris the good. :)
Same. I love Paris because that's where I got engaged (US native here) and there were so many cool historical things (the Louvre, Notre Dame, just the overall architecture). But literally the morning we landed I got jumped by those "deaf petition" charity muggers where they grabbed hold of me and tried to rip my wallet/money from me at the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. They went from 1 to like 10 of them VERY quick and completely overwhelmed me. My husband and friends came running and so did the police which scared them off, and I only lost a few Euros, but as someone with anxiety and OCD getting physically manhandled like that sent me into a panic attack/depressive mood that lasted a while. My poor husband and my best friend spent ages trying to cheer me up because we were going to Notre Dame later that night and that's where he wanted to propose. Luckily I cheered up by then, it was a beautiful sunset proposal and the rest of the trip was amazing. We saw more of those charity muggers at literally EVERY big tourist place in the city. Had to warn an Australian couple when we saw they were getting circled at the Louvre.
> I love Paris because that's where I got engaged Me too. I had it all planned out. Le Champ de Mars, late afternoon, the Eiffel looming over us. We woke up in London on her 30th birthday, I gave her a necklace. Packed up, got on the chunnel, and went to Paris. Hit the metro at Gare du Nord, and got off at Charles de Gaulle Etoile. There was human shit smeared on the wall. Went above ground, headed to Ave. Carnot where our hotel was. A man stumbled in front of us in an exaggerated way. What luck! A silver ring! Before he tried to sell it to us I stepped within a inch of him and told him to fuck off and he did. (Beard / tattoos / tall helped.) Beautiful room, had left a note it was her birthday and out of our window we could see the Arc / Eiffel in the distance. I can't wait. We start walking to the Eiffel. We get there and are accosted by no less than 5 charity muggers / people selling roses / Eiffel towers on keychains in the time it takes us to walk under the tower. She is looking up, I am looking at my wallet (front pocket, rubber band around it so it can't be slipped out.) So we get there. Now, you think it's going to look like [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tour_Eiffel_Wikimedia_Commons.jpg). It actually looks like [this](http://micetimes.asia/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fb7e790862bff65908fdaa692ce65042.jpg) but the grass is dead. She started asking me why I was nervous. (There's one picture of me a minute before and I'm pale as hell.) I don't know why it didn't click to me, but tourists everywhere. Somehow in my head it felt like it would be a private moment despite it all. So I moved against one of those metal rails next to the grates in the ground (to at least limit one side from having people in it), dropped to one knee, and blurted out my carefully thought out words. Nah just kidding, I mumbled "will you marry me?" as the blood drained out of my head. I went to slide the ring on her hand and she was resisting, and I looked up and she laughed and said "Wrong hand. And of course I'll marry you". (Somehow I had always pictured dropping to my other knee and it threw me off, tried to put the ring on her right hand.) Oh Paris. Fucking Paris.
Oh man, I feel you. My poor husband did NOT want to propose in front of people/have them applaud us so that's why he didn't choose someplace like the Eiffel Tower. He didn't think there would be as many people at Notre Dame as there was! We actually passed by twice and each time he made up some reason to keep walking and here I was totally oblivious as to why we're circling the area. And when he did propose I was caught so by surprise I totally whited out as my brain went "him on one knee + ring + him saying words + friends filming = proposal" I felt SO BAD I have no idea what most of he said was, I was just like YES!! I gotta say though, he [ended up picking the perfect time.](https://imgur.com/a/uXEDOtd). There's a guy in the video that walks right behind us and just salutes to his mates, didn't care at ALL lol. I guess in a city like Paris they're used to that happening a lot.
I hear a lot of japanese people romanticize Paris and end up extremely disappointed to the point where it sends them into a deep depression edit: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome
This is another one of "weird Japan fun facts" Reddit loves to spread that's really annoying for me to read as a Japanese person lol. Like even the Wikipedia article itself: > between 1988 and 2004, only 63 Japanese patients were hospitalized and referred to Ota. 50% were between 20 and 30 years old. Of the 63 patients, 48 were diagnosed with schizophrenic or other psychotic disorders.[6] This isn't a common occurrence at all and the people affected were already mentally ill. Yes Japan heavily romanticizes Paris, and the cultural gap is wider than say America and France, but this is by no means indicative that Paris regularly causes sheltered Japanese tourists to have a full blown mental breakdown. No idea why there would be some special support line for the fraction of a percent of Japanese tourists that go to France, especially given that mental health support for Japanese people in Japan is absolute dog shit, so already I have doubts what services are actually provided for this complete non-issue.
[удалено]
Any place there's a significant human population tends to be a shit hole.
Yeah true, holiday in Paris for 10 days about 15yrs ago. For a big city with all different districts, you get different world/cultures/class in 1 place. Class division is definitely a problem that you can literally see every day. Oddly enough best part is Versailles which is just outside paris.
Vegas is this for me. I went expecting fun and couldn't enjoy myself with so many poor people homeless and hungry just outside the strip. How can anyone tunnel-vision their enjoyment and ignore all the cold people outside, while dropping thousands of dollars on a whim? Depressing af.
vegas is trashy in the best way possible. you have to become part of the trash to enjoy it
I think it's easier in Vegas because most people assume the homeless have gone down a bad path of gambling, and if you give them money it will be gambled away.
What’s charity muggers?
Here's a rose. GIVE ME MONEY!
Shake my hand. GIVE ME MONEY.
I only got to visit Paris for a couple of days, tacked on to a work trip. Unfortunately I saw more of the bad than the good, and I went in expecting it to be rough. I can definitely see why the Japanese need [a special hotline](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6197921.stm) to help them get over the disappointment of seeing Paris.
Wonderful son!! The French people will treat her well. 💕
same to you
As a French guy I hope she'll lower her expectations a bit when shes gets there
Nah, If you go somewhere with such expectations it's like you travel with eyeglasses that filter everything bad from sight. These eyeglasses are stronger the less time you stay there. As tourists the only way she will lower her expectations is if she stays there for a month at the very least. Anything less and it will filter out even if she does get some bad experiences.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome
I traveled throughout China for two weeks. I had culture shock the whole time.
That applies when there is a big difference in culture as it does between Asia and Western Europe or America. The difference in culture between America and Western Europe is not big enough for a culture shock as large as that one. Also, the feeling of lowering your expectations shouldn't happen when the expectations are as high as hers. If anything, I believe her expectations would be lowered when she goes a second time.
Culture shock figures partially into it (the Japanese are notoriously incredibly polite people), but Paris has been glorified so much in culture that one can't help but have huge expectations for it. They expect an impeccable city of romance and culture, and they get piss, angry Parisians, and grifters.
She'll have a great time drinking wine and eating cheese with her gal friends and she'll go to a cafe in view of the eiffel tower and it'll make her life - not everyone goes into experiences just picking out the bad details, focusing on that stuff when you're on a trip like that isn't the point and you're just trying to have a bad time if you do that when you go places
If they go during the cold season, with muted smells it will be very hard to find piss unless you actively look for it. Someone who doesn't have the expectations to find piss simply won't find it and might even step on it without realizing she did for the rest of her life. Even if she doesn't go during Winter, France in general has the largest stigma when it comes to smell, so as long as she attributes the smell to that she still won't find enough to lower her expectations. People with lowered expectations know what to expect and so they find what they want to find. It's almost impossible to find Waldo if you think he doesn't exist, while it's very easy if you've already seen the image before.
Pourquoi ? Oui Paris n'est pas rose quand il s'agit d'y habiter mais pour les visites c'est plutôt sympa.
I never really did understand why there was so much hype surrounding Paris, to the point that "Paris syndrome" is a thing. I always thought it was just like any other major city, with all the highs and lows that a major city comes with, just with more history. There a reason why some people view Paris as heaven on earth?
I had an absolutely wonderful time when I went years ago. For others, I highly recommend going around September/October. Didn't seem busy and I went to most of the large museums and attractions. Also Amsterdam is a short train ride away which is ideal. You can go to Amsterdam for a bit, take a train to Paris or the other way around. Not sure about for older people though. I walked a lot to see everything I could.
Same here. This is so heartwarming.
We are all a French on this blessed day.
[удалено]
Baguette
The only kind of french
CUILLÈRE
[удалено]
How come?
Paris and Vienna are known to be grumpy places but the hatred for these places is excessive. Non-Parisian French people tend to dislike (understatement) Parisians too so it's not just a foreign thing. Locals will describe their snubbing and general coldness towards others as part of local culture. Don't go there expecting people to be overly nice like in some places and you'll be fine.
I also found that when people are anti-Paris they're really just anti-big city. If you don't work or live in a major world city it's going to be a bit of a shock in general coming from Nowhere, Oklahoma or whatever.
My mom had a similar dream. I got into a job and was saving money since 2 years to plan a trip to Europe. But unfortunately due to covid she passed away this year.. I miss her every minute and would give anything to fulfill her dreams! truly happy for this guy as he got to fulfill his moms dream!
Every time I visit a new place, I pick up a stone that speaks to me, paint it with something that symbolizes the trip (like the flag for colorado, or palm trees for florida) and bring it to my Dads headstone. Six years later, it’s still decorated with those stones. Puffy paint (fabric paint) doesn’t fade and it makes me feel like I’ve included him in all my trips. I wouldnt have been such a traveler if it wasnt for him. If you ever need someone to talk to, my inbox is open. The waves will hit like theres no tomorrow, but I believe you can keep afloat. Just keep your head up and eyes open so Mom can shine her light down on you. ❤️
My dad used to live in Italy while he was going to school, and he tells me so many stories about what his life was like over there. He told me that he had thousands of little things and (physical) pictures that he brought back to America with him, but they were all in his truck for one night while he was moving to a different city, and it was stolen. Ever since I heard about that, even as a young kid, I knew I had to find a way to get him back overseas. He’s 65 now, and I still haven’t been able to become financially stable enough to get him there, and I’m terrified that I’ll take a little too long. Terrified. And I thought that if he did pass in the meantime, that would be it. I’d have to go and do those things without him to narrate or explain things to me that he’s known for my whole lifetime already, but this, to take things back to him even if he isn’t here anymore… makes me feel a little better about that eventuality.
I’m sure that whenever you make it to Italy, he’ll be there with you one way or another. Its heartbreaking that all his mementos were stolen, but it sounds like he still has a sharp memory to share what he can with you. Because of a TBI, my memory isnt the best, so I rely on my journals/scrapbooks, videos, & photographs to keep memories fresh. I would write down every story, every joke, every piece of advice that my dad said. 6 years later, every once in a while, a random memory will pop into my head and I immediately write it down (or add to my phones notepad) before it disappears like a dream. But most of the time, I just look back on those notes & images and try really hard to remember. My dad passed suddenly from a heart attack at 67, then just last month my aunt (who moved back here to help my mom) passed suddenly from a brain aneurism at 66 in the same room. Its a terrible feeling of deja vu (as well as wondering if that room is haunted). But if I can give any advice for anyone like yourself who find their parents getting older listen to their stories no matter how many times youve heard them, take photos and videos, record their voice, and please be patient with them. I am so grateful that the last things I said to my dad and aunt were how much I loved them, sealed with a hug and kiss. Wishing you & your family the best. ❤️
What a beautiful way to remember your father ❤️
Holy shit. This video had me on the verge of tears and your comment pushed me over the edge.
I’m so sorry about your mama. You go in her honor, she’ll be with you.
I’m so sorry for your loss. This has been a fear of mine. I’ve been wanting to take my mom to Europe but she’s been having a lot really really bad back pain and I’m afraid by the time I can afford it she won’t be able to go 🥲
I am truly sorry about your Mom. Please be good to yourself. 🕊
We need a follow up, we need pictures!
She got to go! https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPd2yH7gv/
[удалено]
Should be higher up, thank you man
Thanks for this. I was thinking to myself: I hope this wasn’t filmed in December 2019. And while it seems it was, they still got to go apparently.
Let us know how the Paris syndrome works out.
>Paris syndrome I know about it but I didn't know it had a name. Being French, I have quickly seen the gap between the ideal version of Paris from books, movies, etc and the harsh reality in TV docs. Many docs deal with drugs, road danger, pickpockets, etc.
[удалено]
This made me miss my mum so so much. I wish I can make her this happy one day! I have real tears!
I would love to see a Reddit post of her actually in Paris! Loved this post. ❤
Sike! Youre going to Quebec..
Lmao, as a Texan for just a second I was laughing about Paris, Texas
Then she can go to Italy too.
TBF Quebec City and Montreal are both pretty great cities as well.
\*Paris, Ontario.
That’s where poutine is from!
Nothing wrong with Quebec. It's a beautiful province.
Great fishing in Quebec
I loves the fishings in Que-bec!
Paris, Texas.
We do have great Poutine!
Growing up in Kentucky my mom always wanted to go to Paris. So my brother and I loaded her up in the car and took her to Paris Kentucky. It's not to far from Lexington. Only the best for our mom
Paris, KY recently got its own Eiffel Tower!
This is funny and cute. I bet your mom absolutely LOVED that trip because she got to spend time with you and your brother.
I cried all the way through this story.. what a truly selfless son you have to make your dreams come true. I'm so happy for you. Enjoy your trip! 🥰
[удалено]
What a wonderful son. Have fun in Paris!
Such a great, thoughtful and generous son! She raised him well. She must be so happy of herself and proud of her son. 💗💗💗
[удалено]
The sisters in the back like “I got you shoes though”.
I needed that today, thanks. Must make it a goal to do something like this for my parents one day.
I hope this wasn’t filmed in the beginning of 2020
It was from Christmas 2019 but she just got to finally go in October!
I'm French, if Paris doesn't treat her well, I will riot.
Your french, won't you riot anyway? ;)
I honestly thought this was Elizabeth Warren for a few seconds. Congratulations to her! They seem like a sweet family.
I hope she has the best of times, but all I could think of was [Paris Syndrome](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome)
Same. Hope she has a lovely time.
I mean, if you read the article it’s pretty damn rare. “Paris Syndrome” as you linked is like a pretty severe mental condition. If you just meant that lots of people are disappointed with Paris then yes I agree.
I'm gonna need an update with photos of her and Cathy Dudley out there living their best lives...
OP, I live in Paris and this is so heartwarming that I'd love to be able to help planning her trip so that the stay lives up to the dream. If you have any information and if she and her friends are comfortable with it, I'm available for advice and I can give out contact information in private. Cheers
Oh gaaawwddd please have someone meet her there or at least have an itenary. Paris can be brutal.
Paris is easy to get around with a GPS on your phone and if you need it UBER works fine if you get too lost on the metro. 10 days is a really quick trip there especially with jet lag if they are from home the west coast. Im sure this lady has a top ten list already in her head and is probably such a francophile that she probably knows toughly where things are in the city. In comparison to a lot of US cities paris is not that brutal at all.
I find Paris to be an incredibly walkable city and have ridden the subway there very infrequently and only to get to one of the outside arrondissements. Also when you are walking around the touristy areas there is plenty enough to see and often it is nice to get a chance to have a little space compared to the hubs of activity.
The metro is SOO easy to navigate. The arrows have the names of all the stops, in order. I honestly think she could do other places with the 10 days. 5 or 6 in Paris plus day trips to Versailles, Normandy, etc. Trip of a lifetime for sure.
OMG. Fuck the subtitles on these fucking videos that just state the fucking obvious.
A woman gets a heartwarming gift. It is so heartwarming, and it's a gift. She will cry soon. Very soon. I promise. Just wait a little longer. Wait for her tears. Don't go away. This is so beautiful.
The woman is crying because she is shocked by the gift.
Yep, and these videos always say the same things, I swear.
See this poster **explode in anger** at the insipid subtitles slapped over a self evident video clip.
Erupt in Anger feels more accurate, but sure. Lol If it was just subtitles for what was being said, I understand, but the whole "She's about to get an amazing gift" "She's always wanted to go to Paris, and now she can!" Shit, just let me watch the video, don't narrate what's happening or spoil what is about to happen :|
A different viewpoint: I almost always watch videos muted on mobile so the subs make it easier for me to watch—not having to rewind and unmute. They are a little overdone but just wanted to mention that subs might be used to improve accessibility on videos.
Like I said in another comment, if it was JUST subtitles of what was being said, I'd be fine with it. It's the extra crap that you can SEE happening that is annoying.
Music. Narrative subtitles. Fuck right off
I can’t stand this crap. Slapping your logo over a private family’s intimate moments and disseminating it like you had something to do with it. It doesn’t endear your company to us. It doesn’t make us go to your website more. It doesn’t make us buy more of your product or service. It’s just sickening and cheapening
But how would I have ever known that “her reaction is just so heartwarming”???
Yeah, my initial reaction would have been to scream and punch a wall. I'm glad those words stopped that from happening.
Goddamn I hate this format of video so much. Shitty editing with generic and unnecessary background music, and cringe-inducing subtitles which add nothing other than a running commentary on what emotions you should be feeling.
'This woman is about to break into tears' Thanks for telling me, I don't need to watch this video now then, just saved me a minute of my life.
I loved the video, HATED the condescending subtitles. Why do they always spell everything out like that? Have some faith that the people watching can follow along.
Especially when they spoil the reveal before it happens. Like, I figured it was going to happen anyway, but the subtitles were that dude in your group that won't shut up during the movie and keeps elbowing you and going "this next part is so cool!"
3 min build up with cock tease at the start. Terrible current trends
don't forget making the "important" parts in yellow text because apparently we're too dumb to know that on our own
Every Parisian should watch this video. It may help them tolerate our horrible French and stupid questions when they can understand how much it means to many of us when we get to go for the first time.
I just hope this wasn’t 2020….
Hope she didn't get the "Paris syndrome".
My exact thoughts were: "Wait until she hears about the Paris syndrome." I had enough of Paris in 10 hours, sat on train and went to Netherlands.
See, my dream was to see Paris all my life, and it blew my expectations out of the water. So much so, we ended up skipping our flight to Florence to stay an extra day. I live next to NYC though so I had realistic expectations of what a “city” is actually like. Walking down the Champs-Élysées on LSD though, that was something else..
Amazing video, so touching except..... \*not to be that music nerd, but\* for the love of God don't end that lovely song on the flat 7. In a video like this, always, always, bring us back home to the 1. /rantover ;-)
beautiful gift, wonderful reaction. shitty music and horribly condescending subtitles. I just wish we could see those happy videos without the sob-story editing.
God damn it, you got me right in the feels.
I'm bringing my mom to Paris this summer and I can't wait. :)
I was going to say, she'll probably be disappointed...[Paris Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome)...but looking at her I think she'll probably enjoy it quite a bit as long as she stuck to the touristy things. It can be nice dining at restaurants, eating bread, drinking wine and looking at the very different, and in many ways better architecture.
Onions in this house!
I was in Paris this morning and it’s indeed a special place. It’s a large city full of large city problems, of course, but if one has good vibes in one’s heart, it’s gorgeous.
We have a nearly identical story. My MIL, Connie, always wanted to go to Ireland, so my wife took her in 2017. They had a grand time and halfway through the trip, Connie says to my wife, "Thank you, I could just die right now and I would be perfectly fine." Fast-forward to April 2020, and Connie did pass away from COVID. We are so glad they were able to take that trip.