Rating: 
Summary: A must read before you travel to France
Review: After reading this book and using it's suggestions my wife and I experienced the trip of a lifetime. We had a beautiful honeymoon traveling throughout France. We experienced not the steriotypical rude French, but a wonderful and friendly people. Just try to speak French and remember to be patient and let the salespeople show you their goods and you'll endear yourself the French. They will bend over backwards for you - Bravo Polly Platt!!! P.S. To the person who reviewed this as a racist book: My wife was followed for several blocks and nearly accosted by a man in the Arab Quarter (fortunately she found a police man) It may not happen every day - but it definately happens! The rest of Paris was wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: savoir -flair by polly platt
Review: Become French for a few days or much longer. Savoir Flair by Polly Platt has been written to enchant,entice,and entreat the reader into a French "State of Mind".Conversational prose refreshingly replaces the stereotypical format of most travel books. There are so many amusing, interesting and insightful suggestions offered to the novice or multi-traveled reader. The object of Ms. Platt's book is to immerse oneself into the French Culture; to be French for the length of one's journey. Savoir-Flair is to be savored in an a-la-mode way in an a-la-mode land.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book before traveling in France
Review: Before you travel to France: buy this book. Before leading a group of students to France: have them read this book. This book removes many of the mysteries of the French. I have traveled to France several times and find this book one of the most enjoyable. It is not a guide book for restaurants and hotels, rather, it is a guide book for the culture of France.
Rating:
Summary: My new best friend!
Review: Francophiles of the world, listen up! Want to go to France for any reason, for any length of time and not feel awkward and anxious and like your savoir faire is at toddler level? For many travelers not knowing how to negotiate the small things (catching a bus, using the subway, knowing how to work the security code plaque at someone's front door) can seriously diminish the pleasure of being abroad. Help is at hand in the form of Polly Platt's Savoir Flair; 211 Tips for Enjoying France and the French. This book has more truly useful information packed into one paragraph than any two popular guidebooks combined--- and I say this as a person who already owns the standard guidebooks. I can't say enough about this jewel. Polly Platt has thought through every conceivable situation the traveler might face, from the moment of arrival at Charles de Gaulle or Orly Airport to what to do if you drop your keys down a sidewalk grate. With utmost patience, specificity, knowledge and humor she tells you everything you need to know (including things you didn't even know to wonder about!) for a smooth and happy experience in France. Platt is an American who has lived in Paris since 1967, so she knows whereof she speaks. She is the founder and director of Culture Crossings, a training organization for corporate employees and their families who have been transferred to France. She has written an earlier book French or Foe aimed more at the latter audience, though helpul for the traveler. Still, there is nothing like Savoir Flair anywhere. I pity people going to Rome or Turkey or Berlin or Sri Lanka who have to make do with standard guidebooks. (As far as I know, Polly Platt has not been cloned in other languages and cultures!) This book is my new best friend. Buy Savoir Flair and you will see what I mean.
Rating:
Summary: My new best friend!
Review: Francophiles of the world, listen up. Want to go to France for any reason, for any length of time and not feel awkward and anxious and like your savoir faire is about at toddler level? For many travelers not knowing how to negotiate the small things (catching a bus, using the subway, knowing how to use the security code plaque at someone's front door) can seriously diminish the pleasure of being abroad. Help is at hand in the form of Polly Platt's Savoir Flair; 211 Tips for Enjoying France and the French. This book has more incredible and truly useful information packed into one paragraph than any two popular guidebooks combined. I can't say enough about this jewel. Polly Platt has thought through every conceivable situation the traveler might face, from the moment of landing at Charles de Gaulle or Orly airport to what to do if you drop your keys down a grate in the sidewalk. With utmost patience, specificity, knowledge and humor she tells you everything you need to know (including things you didn't even know to wonder about!) for a smooth and happy experience in France. Platt is an American who has lived in Paris since 1967 so she knows exactly whereof she speaks. She is the founder and director of Culture Crossings, a training organization for corporate employees and their families who have been transferred to France. She has written an earlier book, French or Foe, aimed more at the latter audience, though I read it and found it helpful for the traveler.Still, there is nothing like Savoir Flair anywhere. I pity people going to Rome or Turkey or Berlin or Sri Lanka who have to make do with standard quidebooks. (As far as I know Polly Platt has not been cloned in other languages and cultures!) This book is my new best friend. Buy it and you will see what I mean!
Rating:
Summary: Save Yourself from the "Ugly American" Tag
Review: I am a huge fan of both of Polly Platt's books. They have had a huge impact on my travels and my comfort level abroad-- and not just in France. They start you thinking about the different mindset of the Europeans in a way that makes it easy (with minor adjustments for each country) to get along practically everywhere. I've lived in Geneva, Florence, London and Rome since reading French or Foe and Savoir Flair, as well as traveled to Paris and other parts of France, and cannot tell you the number of times her tips have gotten me out of sticky situations or helped me understand the undercurrent of a conversation in a way that others who have not read
them do not. They should be required reading for anyone traveling to France and would be especially good gifts for college students studying abroad who want to get an exclusive look at the way the French really live and intertact with each other.
Rating:
Summary: Save Yourself from the "Ugly American" Tag
Review: I am a huge fan of both of Polly Platt's books. They have had a huge impact on my travels and my comfort level abroad-- and not just in France. They start you thinking about the different mindset of the Europeans in a way that makes it easy (with minor adjustments for each country) to get along practically everywhere. I've lived in Geneva, Florence, London and Rome since reading French or Foe and Savoir Flair, as well as traveled to Paris and other parts of France, and cannot tell you the number of times her tips have gotten me out of sticky situations or helped me understand the undercurrent of a conversation in a way that others who have not read
them do not. They should be required reading for anyone traveling to France and would be especially good gifts for college students studying abroad who want to get an exclusive look at the way the French really live and intertact with each other.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic help for travelers
Review: I bought this book in Paris, and it certainly explained some things! Polly Potter's relaxed writing style is entertaining, and her insights very, very helpful. Reading the book made my stay that much more enjoyable--and enlightening. Separated into logical chapters (arriving, hotel, speaking French, etc), Savoir Flair is easy to navigate, and fun to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for me
Review: I bought this book in preparation for a recent trip to Paris. I'm an experienced traveler, but I hadn't been to France in many years. For some reason I allowed myself to get sucked into the whole French "mystique" and felt that I needed more advance work than I normally put in before a trip. This book was part of that effort. IMHO, the book had some useful tips, but what I disliked most was the feeling that I was being talked down to. I will acknowledge some differences in style also - I'm not a backpacker, but I'm generally more of a Lonely Planet kinda girl.
Rating:
Summary: Not for me
Review: I bought this book in preparation for a recent trip to Paris. I'm an experienced traveler, but I hadn't been to France in many years. For some reason I allowed myself to get sucked into the whole French "mystique" and felt that I needed more advance work than I normally put in before a trip. This book was part of that effort. IMHO, the book had some useful tips, but what I disliked most was the feeling that I was being talked down to. I will acknowledge some differences in style also - I'm not a backpacker, but I'm generally more of a Lonely Planet kinda girl.
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