Savoir-Flair: 211 Tips for Enjoying France and the French

Paperback - February, 2000 - Culture Crossings Limited
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By: Polly Platt, Ande Grchich, Polly Platt and Ande Grchich
ISBN: 0964668416

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Reviews by readers

A "MUST READ" IF YOU ARE GOING TO FRANCE

I just got back from Paris, and I am so glad I read "Savoir Flair!" and "French or Foe." These two books prepared me for my trip and helped to make it even more pleasurable. I loved Paris! In fact, I loved it so much, I'm going back in August, so two trips in a matter of three months!
The people of France were nothing but welcoming. Everyone was so nice. The French people went out of their way to be kind to me. I know for a fact that because of reading these books, I knew what to expect and how to handle myself in their environment. Everyone should read Polly Platt's books and take a few French lessons before they go to France, if they want to get the most out of their time there.

I am now going to reread these books before I go again. I have purchased many books about France, but these were by far the most helpful.

Prepared For Paris

My husband treated me to a romantic trip to Paris a couple of years ago in celebration of our 13th anniversary. In preparation for this fabulous trip we did extensive research on France. The 211 tips contained in this book gave us basic tips for enjoying France and the French.We had a fantastic time and we attribute much of our trip's success to the knowledge obtained in this book. Savoir Flair! holds a special place on our book shelf right next to our fabulous photos of this memorable trip.

Handy and Informative, if a little "Cute"

I bought Savoir Flair! by Polly Platt before I went off for a couple of weeks in Paris. I had never been to France before, but I was familiar with the reputation of the French for being rude -- this coming from Americans, of all people! Platt has lived among the humans of France, like Goodall among the chimps of Gombe, and I thought she might be able to provide some cultural insight.

The book met my expectations, and I can recommend it as reasonable for anyone in a situation similar to mine. The book is organized into intuitive chapters dealing with arrival, hotels, shopping, the prevalence of canine feces, eating out, cafés, etc., and each section contains useful contact information. You'll also find numerous anecdotes of problems other visitors have had, which in some regards will save you from having to learn them the hard way: CDG is a big and confusing airport, lots of hotels in Paris have similar names so make sure you have an address and a map, cabbies begin charging your fare from the moment you call them (not from your door), etc. At the same time, this is France, not the Congo or Afghanistan. After spending a couple days in Paris, I concluded that Polly Platt's tales of tourist and ex-pat frustrations were largely worst-case scenarios. Except for the challenge of most interpersonal interactions going on in French (it is France, after all) and some of the crazy aspects of French culture (e.g., same alphabet, different keyboard), I found the people to be completely pleasant - both polite and easy on the eyes.

Savoir Flair! is touted by the editors as funny and entertaining. Actually, I would say it is more "cute," although readers with no fun or entertainment in their lives may enjoy its style. It is a quick read, and worth the effort if you are on way to France. However, Polly Platt seems to have made her literary career out of writing and updating basically the same book, so check to see if she has something more recent. It is likely to touch all the same bases and will perhaps have even more cute anecdotes.

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