Saturday, January 23, 2010

What are my thoughts on Paris?


Gosh, so I never finished posting about France. A lot of times I think, "Wow, I should really do that," but as one can see, that hasn't happened. Time to give a concise answer to the question, "What did you think of France?"

First, the weather was amazing. Although my sinuses suffered a little from it, I loved the snow and the 35F and below temperatures (around 1C).
Second, the sights and lights are gorgeous at night, especially because it was the Christmas season. I suppose there's a reason for calling it the City of Lights.
Third, the food (and coffee, because that's its own food group) was delightful. I was particularly fond of fresh French baguettes, Camembert cheese, Chardonnay, and cured ham. And, that's solely what I ate for breakfast and dinner one day, minus the wine.
Fourth, the public transportation is cheap, clean, and easy to navigate, albeit fairly crowded at night.
Finally, the city's architecture has an aesthetically pleasing blend of medieval and modern styles, due to the rich history and preservation of many areas.

All and all, it's a place worth going at least once. Because it's Western Europe, the cost factor comes into play when thinking about a vacation there. It's certainly not the cheapest place to travel, but for a week in a nice (for Paris) hotel, visiting most of the tourist spots, transportation, food, and splurging on a few gift items, I spent less than 300Euros (not including airfare). All that to say, I loved it!

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