NYCSorcerer

I love San Francisco. It’s the greatest!

J.

It’s all about hospitality and food in Natchez. The people are so incredibly friendly and the food is unsurpassed.

It has the best Bar-B-Que in the world. The food… oh man… the food!

I’m going! I bought my ticket! Can’t wait!

It’s a lovely city known as the Athens of the South (probably because of the magnificent almost full size replica of the Parthenon located in Centennial Park). The country music industry dominates much of the city, however, Nashville also has a professional Opera, Ballet and Symphony who regularly sell out of tickets for their performances. Nashville is a treasure for football fans, being the home of the Tennessee Titans with a brand new state of the art football stadium. Also, there are regular rodeos in the surrounding countryside because the area still has a great love for horses and horesback-riding. It is the home of the Tennessee walking horse. The food is excellent. Most people are very hospitable and welcoming to outsiders. This city strives to be an international destination but has not quite yet hit the popularity of Memphis or Atlanta.

I spent about 10 days in Paris in 2002 as a tourist on vacation. There was so much to do that I feel I only touched the surface. In order to really see everything you need several months of nothing but sightseeing. My favorites include the Eiffel Tower (Le Tour Eiffel), Montmartre- esp Sacre Cour, Notre Dame, and the Louvre. A nice and easy day trip via train out of the city is the palace of Versaille, home of Marie Antoinette. Look out for gypsies trying to rob you next to the furniculaire in Montmartre. My friend pulled some of the pickpockets off of an old German lady tourist who were trying to steal her purse. Other than that little adventure Paris was mainly a positive experience.

The food is excellent. The city is beautiful. The view from Notre Dame de la Mere at the top of the hill looking over the city out to the Mediterranean is breathtaking. I highly recommend taking the tour of the famed Chateau d’If which is on an island about two miles out in the sea. Also worth noting is the opera house where they perform world-class operas with singers from around the world. The Roman ruins and the Museum are fabulous with a 2000 year old ship. The ruins are inhabited by many cats that idle lazily in the sun while watching the tourists wander by. The locals are avid soccer fans and speak with a slightly different accent than the French that you will hear in Paris. It takes some adjusting to if you speak the language. Not many people speak English and they are not as used to seeing Americans since most Americans go to Paris. Also, at night the city can be a little bit dangerous due to a drug trade that comes across on the ferry from Africa. Be cautious and try to blend in. As long as you are careful and don’t go anywhere alone you should be fine.