Paris, France

This is our first look at the Eiffel Tower. The bus stop was a few blocks away so we had to walk a bit to get there. On the way, we ran into some of those famous Paris scammers. They approached us and wanted to to sign a petition for some reason. We had both read about this common sort of scam. Here's how the scam works:
As you're walking along, a gang of youths (usually teen-age girls or young women) will approach  you, asking you to sign a petition on a clipboard. Not wanting to appear rude, you take the proffered ballpoint pen or pencil and sign  your name on the phony petition. After  you've signed, the petition-bearer asks for money to benefit a charity or political cause. (In reality, the criminal gang will keep the money.) You can say "Non," but the petition-bearer and her friends will be extremely persistent, and you'll probably end up handing over some coins or a five-euro note just to make the annoying scammers go away.
But wait, there's more!
Often, the petition gangs include pickpockets. While you're signing a petition for Girl Un,  Girl Deux may be extracting a wallet or phone from your pocket or purse. Since we knew what this group was up to, we just stayed away from them. Encountering these con artists left me with a bad feeling about Paris but I'm happy that we didn't lose any money to them. I think that, being from New York, we're more streetwise then most other people. It definitely helped us today!Read more