Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: $Revision: 1.6.2.14 $; site siemens.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!siemens!bhs
From: bhs@siemens.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.travel
Subject: Re: France in early Fall
Message-ID: <33900006@siemens.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 27-Jun-85 10:20:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: siemens.33900006
Posted: Thu Jun 27 10:20:00 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 28-Jun-85 02:13:44 EDT
References: <1269@eagle.UUCP>
Lines: 41
Nf-ID: #R:eagle:-126900:siemens:33900006:000:2310
Nf-From: siemens!bhs    Jun 27 10:20:00 1985




peoplethinkthatthislineiseatenbutitisnot,isit?youcanseeitafterall,canyounot?



Fall is actually one of the best times of the year to see Europe.
If you think about it, there are really only two prime reasons for the
discerning traveler to go to a foreign country: to see the natives being
native, and to see the different scenery, including museums, car factories,
vineyards, or what have you.
If you agree with either or both of the above premises, it is easy to see that
the summer is the worst time to go to France, whereas the fall (and also late
spring) is the best time to go.
In fall, the temperatures are beginning to become reasonable again (Paris can
be surprisingly hot in August). The large tourist population decreases and is
replaced by the native population. The merchants, hoteliers, and waiters, who by
virtue of their occupation had to deal with the ever-increasing hordes of
unruly foreigners (imagine how rude: they do not even bother to speak French!),
become noticeably more friendly and helpful, prices on luxury items like coffee
and beer actually drop a little in the touristy cafes and bars. Suddenly, there
are much shorter lines when trying to enter the various museums and other sites
(a not-so-secret tip: the collection of impressionist paintings at the Musee du
Jeu des Paumes).
What if you merely want to travel through France? Well, instead of following
endless processions of vacationing french families, you now have much lower
traffic densities around the various scenic areas. For example: the treck from
Cannes (at the Riviera) to the airport at Nice can take 45 minutes, even if one
knows the various little short cuts if one drives in August. However, the same
stretch, driven in mid September can be accomplished in 30 minutes of easy
driving. And the water is still very warm in September.
The only thing you can not do in fall is watch the masses vacation, which is
actually quite an amusing thing site if you are a people watcher. On vacation,
Europeans, as also Americans do, will modify their behaviour to an extent.
However, people watching is not exactly out either, it is only moved from the
vacation sites to the places where people live, such as Paris discos and cafes
where true parisians or students meet.

Bernard H. Schwab
Siemens RTL, Princeton, NJ