City of Love

Ahhh PARIS, the city of love.

Every girl's fantasy city.

The Chanel bags, the Eiffel Tower, the baguettes, what's not to love?

The rain sure didn't stop the tourists from wanting to get their portraits done from local Parisian Artists.

The crowd enjoying a little musical entertainment while overlooking the city of Paris.

Arrived in Paris on the day of their National holiday. I patiently waited for the annual fireworks to start. This was as close as I got....

A little taste of the French National Holiday Fireworks......

View of the Eiffel Tower from my river cruise....

Shopping on the famous Champs-Élysées. I passed by Louis Vuitton, and wow! look at the line up!

Paris was definitely a fascinating city, great views, beautiful architecture, and even yummier food. However, as a first time visitor to Paris, I did not feel very welcomed by its people. Some Parisians were genuinely nice, however many were not very friendly. Many refused to speak English and were very snobby. Perhaps it's my fault, I should have remembered most of my French from high school ( big regret!).

Tourists can easily be taken advantage of by cab drivers too. One too many shopping bags, and you become an easy target on the streets or in the cab. If we did not have a local traveling with us, we would have been scammed easily by one cab driver who insisted on over charging our cab fare because of our extra "luggages" (our shopping bags). However, another cab driver we later met was more than friendly, and when we offered extra for his services, he even refused! We took comfort in knowing that there were still nice people around.

I don't know if it was generally over crowded during summer months, because of the national holiday, but the city was extremely dirty when I was visiting. Everything looked so beautiful above eye level, but when you looked down, there was always garbage everywhere. There were also no public washrooms in Paris, so many times walking through the subway or the streets it would reek of pee. Not exactly a Paris delight.

All in all it was quite an unforgettable experience. I would still love to revisit France and explore the country more. There is always so much to see and too little time/or too little money! lol