Does it live up to the hype? Yes and No... Yes -- it is absolutely gorgeous... the buildings almost seem fake they are so ornamented and over the top. No -- because the rude Parisians really can ruin it for you... We actually had a sales lady (in a store that we were shopping at) make some odd noise and flick her finger at us when we asked her where something was... Now to be fair, we weren't speaking French, but even when you try the basics... it seems to offend them... And, this was a tourist spot we were at and many different languages were being spoken. I do have to say as a side note how amazed we were by how many people from other countries did speak English... Our driver in Holland spoke something like 4-5 languages. But, they do teach them this in school... Our kids are lucky if they learn Spanish in school... I did find that most Americans expected the locals to speak English, which is very presumptuous and arrogant in itself. A little tip -- try to learn at least the basics of the language in the country you are visiting... i.e., "hello," "goodbye," "thank you," "excuse me," you will find that most people you meet really do appreciate it. Not so much in Paris though... ;-)
The only analogy I can give you is this -- Paris is like a beautiful woman who is very conscious of her beauty and it defines her...
Whereas, a place like Bruge is like a beautiful woman who is unaware of how beautiful she is and carries on like everyone else...
Our port was Le Havre and the ride (by bus) into Paris was almost 3 hours... Our guide was from outside Paris and she was very sweet... she tried to explain the arrogance of the Parisians, but you have to see it to believe it... She also assured us that all Parisians are not this way and most French people do not have this attitude either... We only went to Paris, so we cannot confirm or deny this.
Now, the city itself is probably one of the prettiest I have ever seen... and they know this. They pride themselves on being the most beautiful city in the world. Now, I haven't been close to seeing every city in the world, but it is difficult to believe there is a prettier one out there... The food, the Louvre, the Eiffel tower, the shopping, the Arc de Triomphe, the museums... all of this is hard to argue with...
But, when we are traveling with our girls -- the locals and their personalities define a place more than the beauty we see... Anyway, we did see some amazing architecture and historical sites and I am so glad we went... Would we go back to Paris? Maybe without the kids... maybe not...
Now, I would like to explore some of the towns outside of Paris someday, but it did drop down on our list of places we have to see after this visit...
Copyright 2008
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