Paris in a Day

It's been a little while since I updated my blog, so I apologize!  But, I want to update you on my time in France! Our ship was ported in this tiny town called LeHavre, so for my first day in France, I headed to Paris with a Semester at Sea trip! After taking 5 years of French and hearing how great Paris was, I was pretty excited to explore French's capital.  However, after spending the day there, I honestly have to say that Paris is not that great.  Now, I'm not saying that I didn't have a great time, but the city certainly did not live up to my expectations. Here's why:

1) Paris is first and foremost, a city. It's big, crowded, and dirty.  Most of the people there are tourists, so the city is geared toward tourists.  It was almost impossible to get to know locals because the only people around were tourists!

2) The city is expensive!  Restaurant and shop owners know that their customers will mainly be tourists, so prices are jacked up even more. 

3) A good majority of the shops are chintzy little tourist shops selling souvenirs that lose their charm an hour after buying them.  However, it did look like there are some awesome clothing stores around, but since I was there on a Sunday, none of them were open.  Great planning, Semester at Sea. 

However, there were still many aspects of Paris that I loved!  Here they are:

1) The Eiffel Tower.  I mean, how could I not love it?!  It's this beautiful, romantic monument that every single girl loves!  One of the girls on Semester at Sea even took someone's engagement photos in front on the Eiffel Tower.  How cool is that?!

2) The crepes.  I ordered mine off a street vendor with just sugar on it, and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever tried.  I definitely do not regret my small stomach ache after finishing the whole thing.  You haven't lived until you've tried a French crepe. 

3) The lock bridge!   If you haven't heard of a lock bridge, this is a bridge where couples write their names/initials on a lock, put it on the bridge, and then throw away the key (usually in the water), signifying their love will never die and that they will always be together.  I think this is just the cutest thing, so it was fun to see all the couples putting their locks on the beautiful, sparkling bridge!  However, it's got to be pretty awkward when some of these couples break up and they think back to the fact that they and their ex have a lock on a bridge in one of the most romantic cities in the world!

So overall, while Paris may not have lived up to my expectations, I still enjoyed the short amount of time I had in the city!