OMG those ****ing scooters are even in Paris

[Recursion]

So, after two weeks of living out of suitcases, we're finally in our new apartment in Paris. But, to my horror, it turns out that those &$%#ing app scooters are here too. There is no escape.

[NJCher]

1. sounds like you need a bumper sticker

to put on your bag: "Hit me, I need the money."

[Sanity Claws]

2. Oui

mais en francais

[Aristus]

3. I don't have a problem with scooters in Paris.

My real problem when I was in Paris was seeing Burger King, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, etc. There's no point in going to Paris if it's just like going to Peoria.

[rownesheck]

4. I remember

taking a trip to London when I was in high school. First place I went to eat was McDonald's! How dumb. Although, British food is notoriously not good. As Bill Hicks put it regarding British cuisine, "you don't boil pizza!".

[cemaphonic]

8. If nothing else, the UK has amazing Indian food.

And a lot of the "British food is bad" stereotype is a consequence of post-WWII scarcity. Modern British food is fine, although they still like to boil the crap out of vegetables, and are inexplicably fond of currants.

As for McDonalds, if you're a cheapskate student visiting Europe, it's still worth knowing where they are, since their bathrooms are usually free and clean. But yeah, I just don't get the people that go to the trouble and expense of traveling, and then want everything to be like it is at home.

[JCMach1]

9. Compared to Dubai the Indian food is mediocre to bad

I have only ever had marginally good meals of any kind in UK usually at extorionate prices.

Note, there is no good reason for this. When I rented a vacation flat I cooked every day. British ingredients are extremely high quality.

[Recursion]

15. UK Indian food is mostly Bengali

It's a very different flavor profile from the rest of the subcontinent.

Also everyone does vinadloo wrong. Indian vindaloo has no potatoes, and is sour rather than hot.

[elleng]

6. YEARS ago, taking family (2 young kids) on trip around France,

our first place to eat at night after TGF from Paris to Bordeaux was McD's across street from our hotel. PLEASED to discover French McD's is different, and better!!!

[JCMach1]

10. When you travel with kids there comes a foreign food

Capitulation point when it becomes McDonald's time.

[elleng]

12. Only needed it first night after travel, for convenience,

didn't go again, but one daughter, age 3 at the time, preferred airline food to that darn FRENCH food; other daughter, 6 at the time, ate all my escargots!!!

[JCMach1]

19. Paris is relatively easy

Good food at good prices with good variety. I can't actual recall going to McDonalds in Paris. UK is another story all together. The Syntagma Square McDonalds in Athens was also welcome after days of Greek food.

[unc70]

7. Paris will never be like Peoria

So there are some mostly-American chain restaurants. Just ignore them if you don't like them. For me, it is no difference from what I do in the US. Maybe something fast food 2-3 times a year.

Paris is still Paris, and you and I don't get to decide what she is like. We can only love her.

[JCMach1]

11. Hard to find mediocre food in Paris

I only count two occasions with average food.

[Recursion]

14. I'm guessing a couple of months in the 5 Guys and Chipotle will be calling to me

Sometimes you want what's familiar even if it's not the best.

Currently I'm absolutely diving into Moroccan and Vietnamese food, which are obviously huge here.

[unc70]

16. I get cravings for Mexican food after a while

I rarely eat a burger of any type, so that is not what I start missing. What I miss first is Mexican, Tex-Mex, etc. when I am in Europe. I may be eating wonderful meals, but something is missing. Just got back Sunday from several weeks in southern Italy and have eaten Mexican twice in three days.

Have a wonderful time in Paris.

[elleng]

5. WOW! I didn't know where your new post was/is!

I guess y'all struck it rich!

BRAVO!

(SORRY about the scooters.)

[Xolodno]

13. I couldn't figure out how SMART Car was still in business...

...but after visiting Paris, didn't take me long figure out.

[LisaM]

17. I hate those scooters. I just called the mayor's office in Seattle becuase they want them here.

They are greenlighting them here, and I basically called - knowing it would be completely futile - and begged them not to have them. I was a tourist in San Diego last year, and those scooters ruined the whole trip.

Years ago, Seattle had a ride-free bus zone in downtown. They discontinued it, but now, at huge expense, are putting together a network of streetcars and trolleys, etc. to get people the mythical "last mile" they need to go once they exit our awful light rail with few convenient stops. Scooters are supposedly part of that last mile bull puckey. Bringing back the ride-free zone would get rid of the need for these scooters, bikes, etc., and would cost billions less than these streetcars, but I think it will never return.

All I can hope is that the scooters are a fad that runs its course. They are a menace for pedestrians, old people, and disabled people. They're an eyesore. There are safety issues. They clutter the sidewalks and entrances to businesses.

And the fact that they're allowed in Paris, such a beautiful place, makes me really sad.

[Initech]

18. South Park had a great episode about this last season.

It was a parody of that movie The Birds, but with scooters. And then Mr. Mackie decides to go full Wile E Coyote and drop a whole bunch of them off a cliff.