Smaller text Larger text

Destination: Paris

Posted on

Eyewitness Report: The Media’s Painting a Distorted Picture of Europe

We travelers know that the media can make faraway places seem chaotic or unsafe. One of our lead tour guides, Sarah Murdoch, shares her take on things from a smart, solo-woman traveler’s perspective in a wonderfully insightful blog titled “Adventures with Sarah.” In her latest post, she analyzes media-shaped images with her on-the-ground experiences in Rome (Jubilee Year mob scenes), Athens (refugee concerns), Paris (security issues), and London (after the Brexit vote). Sarah’s take is candid, fascinating, and answers questions that many of us logically have…and that’s why I’m sharing it here. Enjoy!

img_9943
Posted on

Season 8 Bloopers: France and Italy

This week, we’re giving you a peek into some of the fun we had filming Season 8 of Rick Steves’ Europe. Hopefully watching all of my on-camera screw-ups will brighten your day just a little bit.

We’re starting off today with a series of clips from France and Italy. You’ll see how much fun it is to travel with Steve Smith, how we sometimes have to beat up our sidekicks a bit to get just the right soundbite (“in the Cinque Terre, when you know the weather…you don’t need no weatherman”), and how the enthusiasm can bubble over into giggles. You’ll see how — when there are too many gawkers (as in the shot from Versailles) — we sometimes just invite everyone in to help out on camera. And you’ll see how, when a drunk wants to sing as you’re trying to explain grappa, sometimes you just have to play along. By the way, I posted a photo of the crazy student searching for an American girlfriend here on my Facebook page…and it actually worked.

Watching all of these, I can’t help but smile. I’m so thankful for how Simon Griffith (our producer/director) and Karel Bauer and Peter Rummel (our cameramen) make it both gratifying and enjoyable to bring home the wonders of Europe. I can’t wait to join them again later this month to continue filming Season 9. Thank you for traveling — and laughing — along with us.

Posted on

Floodlit Paris Uber Tour Lets the Party Roll On

(Sorry, I’m a little tipsy again…but Europe is just too much fun!)

I’m all about providing travel tips, and this video clip shows you one of my all-time favorites: hire a taxi after dinner for your own private, tailor-made tour of a floodlit Paris. In our Paris guidebook we include a hit list of the great floodlit monuments and a rip-out map for your cabbie to follow. Now, in the age of Uber, the whole party just got a lot more fun and about 50 percent less expensive.

Jump in the Uber car with us for a peek at the good time we had. It was a great little gig for our driver — who really got into the fun (and kept the map as a souvenir). We hopped out at each stop to shoot goofy selfies and celebrate the magnificent floodlit monuments — so emblematic of the “City of Light.” A highlight was singing the Champs-Elysées song with our driver (even without most of the lyrics) as we approached the Paris Ferris Wheel, all lit up fancy. What a fine way to cap the day — and especially fun after a tasty dinner and another bottle of Haut-Médoc. (Thanks to Trish Feaster for editing this together.) The price for our Uber ride: €36 for a 75-minute party all over Paris — for 3 people that’s about $15 each. Uber doesn’t work in much of Europe, but where it does, it’s great. Stay thirsty my friends.

This is Day 41 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.

Posted on

Parisians Refuse to Be Terrorized

Wrapping up three carefree days in Paris, it occurred to me that many Americans are not traveling here because they think it’s dangerous or tense. While security is good — as it should be these days — I felt no tension here.

By the way, isn’t it true that if we overreact emotionally and illogically to the threat of terrorism, we are in effect “aiding and abetting the enemy?” People who overreact are unwittingly rewarding the terrorists, making them more powerful than they actually are. Today, Parisians have a new phrase for going out: “going to a terrace.” Back in November 2015, terrorists shot up a restaurant’s terrace, but the French refuse to cede that territory to the enemy. Bravo!

In this clip, I share my impromptu thoughts during rush hour at the St. Lazare train station as I’m on my way to the French countryside.

This is Day 35 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.

Posted on

Chillin’ in a Rue Cler Wine Shop

One-stop shopping is not a priority on Paris’ delightful Rue Cler. My favorite neighborhood in Paris is essentially a traffic-free market street where locals enjoy the inconvenience of “many-stop shopping” when putting together their evening meals. It’s just a different way of living here in France. Pop with me into a Rue Cler wine shop for a peek at the scene and to meet “le wine chiller.”

This is Day 34 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and beyond. Find more at blog.ricksteves.com.