Knowing myself, I will probably not post very regularly. So while I still have momentum... I thought I would put up this picture, that made me immediately think of Priya and Greg:
This was taken in front of Opera Garnier, and shows a very typical street beggar. The sign he has written has some more of the Parisian shorthand. S.V.P. is short for "s'il vous plait", meaning "please". S.D.F. is short for "sans domicile fixe", meaning "homeless". And "Merci-Bocu" is short for "merci beaucoup", meaning "thank you very much"... although I've only seen this homeless person use "bocu". The bundled up puppy and kitten (which I will name Priya and Greg, respectively) gains sympathy from us fellow animal lovers (be it cat or dog lovers). In fact, beggars often use animals or children to try to gain sympathy. Often times, these are quite harmless.
There are, however, some common scams in Paris to be aware of, including children asking you if you speak english to try to engage you in conversation to take your money, children claiming they can't talk or hear with a petition for you to sign to give them money, and guys trying to tie strings on your finger but won't let the string go until you give them money. And of course, the typical housing scams, which is separate topic. You learn quickly here not to fall for the cute eyes of the children or Greg or Priya, and not to give your finger to strangers.
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