Favourite things about Paris:
– the views of different old style buildings and amazing monuments pretty much everywhere you go, particularly good old effy (great nick name for the Eiffel Tower right?) is very impressive. Sunsets and night time in particular have been stunning here while we have visited….I think we have been very lucky with the weather though! 20C in mid-November seems to be unheard of.
– the metro, ah I love being back in a major city with a crazy efficient metro system!
– food OMNOMNOMNOM FRENCH FOOD IS THE BESTEST! Especially their cheese. The wine as well….fab!
– the fact that right in the centre of Paris (2 min walk from the Eiffel Tower) they were using sheep to keep the grass under control as part of an eco friendly approach. Awesome.
Not-so-good stuff about Paris:
– the service and peoples manners! Gah. Paris staffing and service levels leave a lot to be desired. Especially at the Eiffel Tower, that really put a dampener on our adventure to the top.
– the hordes of tourists everywhere, particularly Chinese tourists, who are rude and pushy. No worries about being a tourist (after all, I’m a tourist!) but there should be some basic courtesies that we as human beings display in crowded situations…I strongly feel this should include things like not blocking walkways so you can chat to the person next to you, sticking your elbows in someone’s face or pushing in to very long lines!
– the scammers and hawkers, this was particularly prevalent on both our trips to the Eiffel Tower sadly and was very frustrating. It happened everywhere we went in Europe but in Paris they travelled in packs. I had not had any warning that the fake petition girls were pickpocket gangs and was glad we worked it out quickly. B took to shouting “pickpocket” when they tried to talk to him which was hilarious and I just gave them vacant stares every time they talked to me. We were also VERY lucky not to have to deal with the African gangs of string men, who by all accounts can be extremely aggressive and scary. I’m glad we managed to avoid that experience!
Mel's Travel Blog 