My partner and I just got back from paris. We were there for four days and three nights. Not enough, especially when I was sick for one of the days. We caught the train from Berlin, which, believe me, is an effort. Thirteen hours on the way there and twelve on the way back. One thing I got from that part of our adventure (other than, I am never doing this again, I am catching a plane next time!) was the French country side is AMAZING! I think if I head that way again, I want to stay in the country side for a while.. So beautiful..
Paris: Apart from the appropriate misadventure here and there, we did manage to see almost everything I wanted to see for such a short stay. As much as the city is beautiful, I found it very crowded and stressful at times. But I keep forgetting it is summer here, and this is the peak time for tourism. (I guess because I came to Europe in winter, I have been a bit spoilt in enjoying sites in the cities I have visited, to myself)
We saw the Notre Dame, Hôtel National des Invalides, the eiffel tower, The Louvre (I will blog about that separately) , Musee d’Orsay (Which was my favorite, it was so pretty and so nice to walk around in) and other cathedrals and buildings of great beauty that I couldn’t even begin to remember the names of.
But I don’t think I got to take in much. I had no brush with any art community or contemporary galleries, which I am a little disappointed in, but that can be something I aim for next time. It was just nice to experience Paris. (The metro was so easy to navigate, very clever!)
I did notice more beggars and more people doing and selling strange things for money than I have here in Berlin. I guess Paris is one of those cities that has more wealth and there’s a larger disparity between the classes. That got a bit overwhelming too.
Anyway, my next stop is London, and then I am onto Wales. I have never been to Wales, but it looks beautiful and I have two very close friends there, so I do look forward to it. But something tells me I will never love a city like I do Berlin.

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