zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: For three weeks in Europe, I visited the
: following cities: Venice, Athens, Virona,
: Florence, Civadiveccia, Rome, Naples, Capri,
: Sorrento, Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes and
: Barcelona.

: The bottom line is, there is no "free
: lunch" in these cities either. All
: upper-end Swiss watches are virtually
: identically priced in Euros to the U.S.
: dollar m.s.r.p. I was looking specifically
: for a Tissot T-Touch. NOT ONE SINGLE DEALER
: WAS PREPARED TO DISCOUNT!!

: You don't pay tax, but big deal. You are much
: better off, buying from an authorized dealer
: who discounts, or a credible internet
: dealer.

: Apart from that, it was a great trip for the
: most part, except for a few notable
: exceptions. 106 degrees in Athens. Trust me!
: Standing on a hilltop staring at the
: Parthenon in 106 degree weather is far from
: enjoyable.

: The French in Cannes and Nice Tourist areas are
: less than hospitable to Anglophones which is
: too bad because Nice was the only city I
: found that had a dealer who sold only Omega.

: The conversation with the clerk went something
: like this.

: Clerk: "Bonjour."
: Me: "Bonjour, parlez vous Anglais?"
: Clerk: "No. You go."
: Me: "Pardon me?"
: Clerk: "You go."
: Me: "I'm sorry, I don't speak French, what
: do you mean?"
: Clerk: "You go, leave here."

: That, I did understand. Discussing this with my
: shipmates later, I learned that I wasn't the
: only one treated rudely. One even went so
: far as to give someone a W.W.II reminder
: about June 6th., 1944. Anyway, I digress.

: Lot's of good people watching on the beaches
: though *wink*

: Regards,

: Dave

I found the French to be very friendly and enjoyable while visiting Paris in May. This was at the beginning of the World Cup so maybe their disposition changed afterwards. I visited Christ Jewelers while in Frankfurt in April and found the staff very helpful, prices approximately 20% lower in Euros, and - at that time - a strong dollar made purchases very attractive. I think they have one or two kiosks in the Frankfurt airport with decent selection including Omegas.