Hi Wonderers,
It’s been awhile, but I am finally on vacation again and I absolutely need it. My friend, husband and I are taking a little city tour between Paris and Madrid. As with my trips of late, I did some research, but I did not set up a single itinerary. I’m living that c’est la vie life.
I have been to Paris before when I was about 12 years old. However, I got severe food poisoning from some German sausages. I was miserable during my whole trip in Paris and there was a lot of vomiting. I left my signature (more like DNA) in Paris.
I came to Paris with zero German sausages in mind. Just my luck though, I caught a cold the second day. At first, I thought it was allergies, but it was a cold. One thing I noticed here is French people do not cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough. I got coughed on a couple of times, and I think it was due to that.
I took an at-home COVID test to be safe and everything was negative. I felt stuffy and my nose was running like a fontaine. I would have loved to stay indoors and lounge around for the entire day. However, I trudged on, because when will I be back in Paris? It could be another 20 years.
I made sure to learn a couple of phrases in French and I tried my best to order in French. Even if my accent was bad, I would still try. I know the French people appreciate any effort. I was really surprise at the French’s friendliness, because of what I’ve heard. Also, many of them switched to English; It was very obvious we were Americans (the trainers).
Paris is not what I remembered. I revisited a couple of the attractions like the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. I saw Paris from a new perspective. Paris is very beautiful. Everything about it is petite and cute. I also noticed the diversity in the city. This could be tourists, but I believe there is a local diversity too.
I was in Paris for 3.5 days. For the amount of activities we did in a day, I feel it was more than enough. If it is your first time and lounging around is more your speed, I would extend your trip 2 more days, so you can fully enjoy Paris’s attractions.
I do plan on visiting Paris again. As I was eating French dishes like escargot or foie gras, I thought of my parents. Vietnam has a lot of French influences, so we have similar dishes. I really want to bring them back here to just enjoy and take the easy life.
I love you, Paris. You have stolen my heart.
Ciao,
Amy
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