When we were in Paris I didn't find the French unfriendly, just more formal than typical Americans. Neither of us speaks French, but we had a phrase book and listened to tapes in the car to learn a bit of the language before we left.

No one was rude to us other than a taxi driver and maybe that should be expected anywhere .

Oddly enough the French didn't spot me as an American... the way I looked or dressed... go figure. I had locals approaching me speaking French.

We were on the grounds of the Lourve and one beggar lady did spot me as an American and spoke English begging for me money. I couldn't have obliged even if I wanted as my husband had all our money in a pouch he was carrying.

We found Zurich much more formal than we did Paris.

I developed sort of a hobby in Switzerland... I tried to find one clock that was incorrect... couldn't be done... all were perfect no matter how remote the location.

We then flew from Zurich to Manchester and stayed at the Victoria and Albert (I'd highly recommend it if you're on an expense account).

We checked in, unpacked and went into the pub for a pint. I finally found a clock that was not correctly set, but had to go to the UK to find one . The Swiss are perfectionists!

In Zurich we were waiting to take a boat ride around Lake Zurich and saw an Oriental couple struggling with their camera timer to take a picture of the two of them. My husband offered to take the picture for them (common American offer) and the Oriental gentleman acted like my husband was trying to steal their camera. Guess we made an error.

Chris in Pearland, TX