smurf 0 Report post Posted May 21, 2007 phuisan...yeha..getting lost is the best part....i used to go on holiday with my parents when i was young...every morning they will give me some money and the hotel address....in case i get lost i can just take the cab back to the hotel....always waited for the opportunity....it never came.... so babysiew...being lost can be fun....maybe you can extend your stay..then you can "roam" around rome on your own.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
babysiew 0 Report post Posted May 21, 2007 ya we tot of tat... we tot of extending our stay and go to Paris ehhe.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chongsw 0 Report post Posted May 21, 2007 The people in Paris changed a lot. It is a total opposite from the comments I read about Parisian, now. They speak English. Signs in English are now everywhere. I love Paris... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mish 0 Report post Posted May 21, 2007 The people in Paris changed a lot. It is a total opposite from the comments I read about Parisian, now. They speak English. Signs in English are now everywhere. I love Paris... Although they can understand English, I find they are more helpful and nicer if you speak a little bit of French to them. :P Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smurf 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2007 Mish...the only French word i know is "merci" and "bonjour" of course... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chongsw 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2007 The people in Paris changed a lot. It is a total opposite from the comments I read about Parisian, now. They speak English. Signs in English are now everywhere. I love Paris... Although they can understand English, I find they are more helpful and nicer if you speak a little bit of French to them. :P My wife and me was in Paris on the 1st week of April, this year. We took train from Brussels to Gare Du Nord train station, Paris. Then, we took a bus to our B&B and stop at the bus stop near our B&B. At the bus stop, we were trying to set our direction right by looking at the map. Then, a lady just came by and asked us if we need any help. She spoke to us in English. That was a pleasant 1st impression about Parisian. Haha... I know very little about French.... "pardon" is another common word used in many other languages i.e. French, Turkish and English. All carries the same meaning.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mish 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2007 Other useful words: bonsoir, excusez-moi & sil vous plait. The first time I went to Paris was 11 years ago. They weren't as friendly as to English speakers then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
babysiew 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2007 i know merde! merci! bonjour! hehe merde means shit! hahaha oui means yes? hehe... got it all from romance novels haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mish 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2007 i know merde! merci! bonjour! hehe merde means shit! hahaha oui means yes? hehe... got it all from romance novels haha You are right, babysiew. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerica_ng 0 Report post Posted June 1, 2007 The people in Paris changed a lot. It is a total opposite from the comments I read about Parisian, now. They speak English. Signs in English are now everywhere. I love Paris... Although they can understand English, I find they are more helpful and nicer if you speak a little bit of French to them. :P I've been to Europe tour via Contiki for my honeymoon. Went to Paris as well. It's a great place to be. I noticed that although some of them do speak English, however, some you will have to ask them to speak English via French. In French, "do u speak English" sounds "Paribu Engle". Try this. It works and they seemed more helpful. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jerica_ng 0 Report post Posted June 1, 2007 i know merde! merci! bonjour! hehe merde means shit! hahaha oui means yes? hehe... got it all from romance novels haha You are right, babysiew. I'm not quite sure if babysiew is right on bonjour. I think, if I'm not mistaken, they use bonjourno..and "si" means yes...Unless I've mistaken French with Italian. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mish 0 Report post Posted June 1, 2007 i know merde! merci! bonjour! hehe merde means shit! hahaha oui means yes? hehe... got it all from romance novels haha You are right, babysiew. I'm not quite sure if babysiew is right on bonjour. I think, if I'm not mistaken, they use bonjourno..and "si" means yes...Unless I've mistaken French with Italian. jerica_ng, Si and boujourno are Italian. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chooz 0 Report post Posted June 2, 2007 If you like cooling. The best time to visit France or Italy is in May. I was in Paris last month, in the begining of April. It is still feeling a little cold. Temperature was between 10C to 20C. My advise is, to go Europe by yourself. I haven't been to Italy. Can't give any comments. You can find a lot of information about Paris in this website: http://en.parisinfo.com/ Public transportation in Paris is so efficient. You don't need to join a tour to go to Europe. My wife and me toured Netherland, Belgium and Paris, France last month, all by ourselves. All the information can be obtained from internet. A tip from my friend who stays in Switzerland told me that. Most expensive - Northern Europe i.e. Scandinavian countries Finland, Denmark and Sweden, UK and etc. Cheaper - Central Europe i.e. Paris, Belgium and etc. Cheapest - Southern and Eastern Europe i.e. Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia and etc. chongsw, I have to totally agree with you that the best time to visit France/Italy is May!! In fact, speaking of this i want to cry already :( Because hb and I had planned from last year to go for our 2nd honeymoon + annivessary trip to Paris/London/Barcelona in May this year ... but in the end the trip had to be cancelled because I got pregnant and started having mornig sickness! :( There goes our trip, I was looking forward so much to it! But luckily before that, I have tagged along hb to Milan & Venice in March, at least I had my europe holiday before getting pregnant, hee hee :P And I have to say that in March, it was still pretty cold in Italy. The temperature could drop to around 5 degrees in the middle of the night. You were right about not having to join tour to go Europe, especially places like France. In fact, in Singapore, it's so hard to find tour agent who has France tour package. If you call up the tour agents here, they would probably just refer to you to the Trafalgar site, and you book online your accomodation & land packages yourself. ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
makeupjunk 0 Report post Posted June 3, 2007 ya lo, i was plannig to go too...luckily dint buy air tic yet...cuz aft i decidd to gv up the trip, the nx thing i know, i am pregnant.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
babysiew 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2007 Going alone??? wow... u r brave... i wouldnt go anywhere without my hubby! glad u enjoyed urself! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brandyz 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2007 if your budget permits, join globus, insight or trafalgar. cosmos usually place you in hotels in the outskirts. so if that night you don't join the optional, u don't get to enjoy the nightlife of the city as you are so way out or after seeing the neighbourhood your hotel is in, you would not want to go out. also, cosmos though cheaper, they have more optional execursions which you have to pay for, which at the end of the day is quite substantial. all this was explained to me by travel agent in UK when i was deciding which tour to go to 6 yrs back. after hearing all these, never tried cosmos. been on insight to eastern europe and trafalgar to central europe and both were fantastic. we going to try globus for eastern USA and Canada next year. also be prepared for this if you join tours- bags out 6 am. departure 6.30, back in bus in 40 mins, etc...errr...not much of a honeymoon in my personal view. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chooz 0 Report post Posted June 5, 2007 also be prepared for this if you join tours- bags out 6 am. departure 6.30, back in bus in 40 mins, etc...errr...not much of a honeymoon in my personal view. Exactly! That is why hb and I have never joined any tours for all our trips :P Spend a bit more but you get to really relax and enjoy your trip ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
babysiew 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2007 I guess diff people have diff views... to us... since we alredi so far away... why wanna sleep until late late and miss all the fun and beauty of Italy? 6am? No problem... we pay for it... we fully utilize the money... well, if at nite, we dont have a place to go, hubby and I can always make italy baby in the room haha... Well, i have a fren who went to Europe using Cosmos and she loves it... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wye_ee 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2007 hi all, need some advice here. anyone made hotel bookings in rome through venere.com? is it reliable how is the expenses in rome? high, moderate or low? i'll be going there this sept on business trip but want to extend 3 days only. budget issue. how much euro should i prepare for 3 days? just to cover some transportation, meals and sightseeing costs. No massive shopping since the currency is so darn expensive. please help! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mish 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2007 hi all, need some advice here. anyone made hotel bookings in rome through venere.com? is it reliable how is the expenses in rome? high, moderate or low? i'll be going there this sept on business trip but want to extend 3 days only. budget issue. how much euro should i prepare for 3 days? just to cover some transportation, meals and sightseeing costs. No massive shopping since the currency is so darn expensive. please help! Hi wye_ee, Yes I have made hotel bookings through venere.com before so it should be OK. I can't really tell you how much euro you will need for 3 days but I can tell you things in Rome are not cheap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wye_ee 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2007 Hi wye_ee, Yes I have made hotel bookings through venere.com before so it should be OK. I can't really tell you how much euro you will need for 3 days but I can tell you things in Rome are not cheap. i expected that things are not cheap too. thanks mish! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wye_ee 0 Report post Posted June 13, 2007 i have another question. is there anyway i can get cheap flights from kl to rome? i'm desperately trying to get FH to join me at rome after my conference. all i found is thai airways for RM2000. my trip is in sept. when's the next matta fair? And is it easy to get local tours in Rome? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wye_ee 0 Report post Posted June 14, 2007 sharonpius, Is Palestrina located near to the historical sites or the metro/train stations? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wye_ee 0 Report post Posted June 14, 2007 Thank you so much for the guide sharonpius! Now the question is, how to get cheap airfare? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wye_ee 0 Report post Posted June 14, 2007 sharon how mich did you get ur tix for? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
