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I have just returned from a week in Paris with a very good friend (whom I thought I knew pretty well) First, I would like to thank everyone on this site for all your help. I copied and passed on countless articles off here about things to do and comments about the differences in our cultures. Evidently, they went unread.
We arrived on Monday at 8 am and by 2 pm I was crying in the bathroom of Altitudes Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower.......she wasn't happy with the size of our small rental apartment (I thought I had prepared her, even giving her the square footage), she was amazed that they "could rent an apartment without air conditioning", she couldn't find a single thing to eat on the menu at Altitudes at the Eiffel Tower that she liked (no kidding, we left the dining room, me so embarrassed that I could have just died and in tears), she didn't like the COLOR of the Eiffel Tower (it should be gold and black), she didn't like the way the French people smell (now I'm not sure how she could tell who was French and who was a tourist....), she didn't like the food menu in ANY of the cafes or restaurants (and pretty much lived on bread and pastry all week), she didn't like the fact that some women didn't shave under their arms, she didn't like the fact that the metro didn't have escalators and the language was difficult, she never adapted to the time difference and was watching CNN until the wee hours of the morning (in that same small apartment while I tried to sleep)......I could go on and on. Not one time did she bother to say bonjour or merci (despite the fact that I had told her that was customary upon entering a store). Talk about the Ugly American....and she was with ME!!!!
It took me about 24 hours to shape up and decide that I was going to enjoy this dream vacation regardless of her and I did--sometimes alone and sometimes with her (reluctantly) in tow. I will post my trip report in the next couple days.
It was a beautiful city -- what could ever be prettier than the Eiffel Tower twinkling every hour in the evening????? I WILL go back -- but most likely alone!!!
So the moral of my story --- good friends don't necessarily make good travelling companions, even when you think you've prepared them!

Hey, BWIC--
Sorry to hear about your friend, and am glad you managed to enjoy your vacation though doing so required greater effort than you expected.
I read your post and kind of felt sorry for you, but felt more sorry for her.
Perhaps next time she should plan on going to Orlando..

what's wrong with that girl? She seems to be too spoilt. Get rid of her.

Don't get back alone, just find another trip companion, a better one

All I can say is that she lacks a sense or better - knowledge of what good manners mean and are.