Oh La La
Okay, don’t hate me but I found Paris to be extremely underwhelming! Let me just preface it by saying that Paris has never really been high on my bucket list. For some reason, I’ve never really had much of a desire to go to France; other places in Europe sat higher on my list. The only reason I found myself here was because it was actually cheaper to fly from Prague, stop in Paris for a night, pay for a place to stay and then continue back to Boston than it was to fly directly Prague to Boston. So0o, I guess it worked out well that I saved some money while simultaneously visiting another UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our time here was short, indeed. We checked in to the hostel in the morning, had time to wander around Paris for the day and come morning, we had to be back at the airport. We didn’t have one good meal. We walked around forever and honestly couldn’t really decide on a place that seemed appetizing enough for us to sit down. The service is definitely different in Europe but, I felt, here even more so. I chalked that up to being because the French don’t care for American tourists (from what I hear). I ordered some escargot that was not nearly as good as it was from when I tried it back at home.
I held high standards for the Eiffel Tower.. I pictured these lush, beautiful gardens surrounding it filled with colorful flowers - a true sight to see! But no.. Don’t get me wrong the structure itself was fascinating, but I felt the whole “experience“ of it was a disappointment. The one thing that did not fail us was the champagne. There’s always that! We sat on some shitty grass in front of the Eiffel Tower and watched the sunset behind the trees. We drank red wine out of the bottle, passing it back and forth while I treated myself to french macarons from Ladurée. As it got darker, the tower lit up with sparkly, twinkle lights. The most magical part was that I shared that moment with my best friend.
I won’t ever say I “didn’t like” a place. I won’t ever use the words “I didn’t like it there” — I just put it in a category of “I won’t rush back to visit”. Almost all of the places I’ve been, I’d go back in a heartbeat and I’m sorry but Paris just wasn’t one of them! If I gave it another shot, my next trip to France would be for the Riviera. But I’m curious - Is it just me or did anyone else feel this way about Paris?
