Paris, Rome and London?

MVF

MVF

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I will be taking what will probably be a once in a lifetime trip to Europe next week. We will be spending almost three weeks seeing Paris, London and Rome. I may post this in General as well, but since I spend most of my time here, can anyone recommend any knife shops in these cities? I'm guessing London will be a non-starter considering their laws, but would love to be wrong.

Just so you don't get the wrong impression, this trip is the result of lots of saving, some credit card "miles" and some deposited timeshare weeks (anyone want a timeshare at Lake Havasu?). Also, I spent most of my "knife budget" on a trip (my first) to BLADE this year, so funds are pretty limited. Even so, I would love to bring back a sharp souvenir from each of these cities.

The reason for all the splurging is that I hope to be retiring soon to start a non-profit dedicated to improving education, so this year kind of turned into a last hurrah for one life in preparation for the start of a new one. Any help and advice of any kind would also be appreciated- travel tips, restaurants, whatever. I'll be taking a laptop so hopefully I will be keeping in touch.

TIA, Mike
 
I cannot think of any good knifeshops in the London area. (I am in the UK about 2-3 months a year) but be sure to see the Wallace Collection, in the West End behind Oxford St.
One of the best collections of Arms and Armour I have ever seen. Near Bond Street Tube Station and entrance is free.

Have a wonderful trip and be sure to post pics on your return:)
All the best....Steven
 
Congrats on the trip! Sounds like a blast:thumbup: I don't have any advice as far as knives, or your specific destinations, but I've done a lot of traveling and I can say this: HAVE FUN!!! Traveling can be tiring, and a PITA sometimes, but make sure you've got plenty to do planned out, fill up your days while you're there, and enjoy it! You can sleep when you get back;)

Have a fun and safe trip!
 
If you come to Paris, don't miss this shop : Courty et Fils. You can have a nice preview on their website : http://www.couteaux-courty.com/

Their shop is between Paris Opera and Le Louvre :
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hi,one of the best shops in Rome and " coltelleria" Paolo Dolcimascolo, street Gallia,next to the church of S.Giovanni,it always has a good exposure of custom knives typical Italian and foreigners and many others-it is also a very honest person-www.dolcimascolo.com
Ciao
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armes bastille and courty et fils are both amazing shops and they both have tons of customs.
 
I agree on both Courty and Armes Bastilles... same owner ! You should stay until oct 2. and attend the Paris Knife Show.
 
Thank you all! I am looking forward to this trip even more now! (My wife may not be- I can just hear it- "I didn't come all the way to Paris to watch you look in knife shops!")

Just spent most of the day packing, printing maps and adding bookmarks to my laptop and getting the house ready. Now for dinner and a few last minute-type things and we're off early tomorrow. I'll post back as I am able.
 
Well I am finally able to post again. I made the mistake of not pre-running my equipment and ended up with a currency converter that wouldn't accept the 3-prong plug on my laptop cord. Of course I didn't find this out until my battery was pretty dead, so I was without internet access for a few days and spent most of a day chasing around Paris to find a cord. There are surprisingly few computer places here.

France started out a bit challenging- contrary to what I was repeatedly told everyone does NOT speak English- and my little French-English phrase book turned out to be a real POS, but it was kind of fun too. The Metro (subway) system is great! I'm from So Cal and have no experience with mass transit, so this has been an eye opener, although I don't see it working for most of the U.S., just too much space.

It turns out the usual tourist destinations are popular for a reason- the Louvre and the Eiffel tower were amazing and well worth the expense. Speaking of expense, I don't see how anyone affords to live here! We are staying on the outskirts of Paris (Issy les Moulineaux) and still everything is expensive. A 3 bedroom condo lists for the equivalent of $650,000, an average dinner for two (no alcohol) has been running about $45.

I did get to Armes Bastille yesterday- what a great shop! Huge selection with lots of things you wouldn't expect- Busses, Rangers, a Jerry Fisk and much more. I just bought "souvenir" knives-a couple of "sets" of Douk-Douks and a middle grade Laguille. I'm hoping to get to Courty in the next day or two.

Got to run- seems the dryer doesn't work so all our clothes are wet!
 
Mike, good to hear you're having a great time.

We are staying on the outskirts of Paris (Issy les Moulineaux) and still everything is expensive. A 3 bedroom condo lists for the equivalent of $650,000, an average dinner for two (no alcohol) has been running about $45.
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You wanna know expensive;) How about a Chevy Camaro MRSP $23.000 in the US........overhere about €73.000 ($95.000):mad::grumpy:

Have fun on the rest of your trip.

Marcel
 
MVF said:
France started out a bit challenging- contrary to what I was repeatedly told everyone does NOT speak English- and my little French-English phrase book turned out to be a real POS, but it was kind of fun too.
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Welcome in Paris... Let me know if you need anything !
 
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