Want the simplified answer? FUCK NO.

Harsh? Maybe…but its the truth.

Here’s why:

 [wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up-2″ wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] Too many people

I don’t care what time of the year it is…from what I was told, summer is peak season. Guess when I went? Late February early March. I guess you would consider that shoulder season. Anyways, it was busy. Too busy for my liking and it wasn’t even “that bad”, or so everyone claimed. With crowds comes congestion and chaos. I don’t like to feel rushed when viewing a site or experiencing a famous landmark, but here it seems like you have to. The crowds also make it very overwhelming…like the things you were hyping up to see, is flooded by nothing but selfie sticks and flashing camera lights. I know this is beginning to be the problem everywhere…but it just made the overall experience very annoying.

[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up-2″ wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] Boring!

Please crucify me if you disagree. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and since this is my blog, then this is MY OPINION. If you have read some of my past posts, I’m sure you gathered that I don’t aspire to be a world historian or lover of art. I have appreciation for those things, but only to an extent. My entire vacation does NOT need to be filled with ancient statues and modern morons. Let me bungee jump from the Eiffel Tower, or eat live escargot…but if you are an adventurer like me…Paris is not the place for you.

Every year for our anniversary (yes only dating my boyfriend anniversary), we go on a big vacation to celebrate. This year I wanted to backpack Europe and thought it would be a great idea to spend a week in Paris. I had researched and read that even a week wasn’t long enough…and that might be true for some, but a week was just way too long.

[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up-2″ wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] Underwhelming and Over rated

The first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, I was so…blah. The weather was chilly but nice; the sky was blue without a cloud in site, IDK it just didn’t give me that WOW factor like I had envisioned. I did’t want to knock it right away, but the 2nd day we went to the Louvre, luckily we had the Paris Pass and got to skip the line. Once we got inside…we searched for the Mona Lisa. I could barely see over the large pack of Asians with their iPads. SO OVER RATED. It’s like you build yourself up to feel a certain way when you finally see something in person, and it isn’t what you expected. Total let down. Maybe it’s my fault for expecting so much…

After siphoning through a crowd, I was finally able to snap a picture

[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up-2″ wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] Not the most romantic

Don’t scrutinize us…we DO know how to be romantic, but it was really hard to ever get wrapped up in one another because of all the commotion around us. We did happen to find a cozy flat in Montemarte for a good price. Way more privacy than some hotel…that made the trip way more enjoyable. We went on a sunset cruise, ate dinner by the Eiffel Tower…again, it was just the whole vibe, everything felt off. We were also bummed out that we couldn’t just say screw Paris and jet off to another country for the remainder of our week together. We would lose out on the Airbnb we paid for and money we spent on the Paris Pass. Let’s just say that would equal well over $800, so that wasn’t an option.

Sure, we kissed by the Eiffel Tower…

And went on a sunset cruise…but we needed more excitement

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Before I go on, let me shoot out some of the good things that Paris has to offer.

[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up” wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] The Food and Pastries

The food IS as good as everyone claims, that I will admit. We went to many upscale restaurants and hole in the wall places.  Occasionally we would go to the supermarket and buy stuff to make in our flat to save money because lets face it, Paris is overpriced. Tried escargot and frogs legs for the first time…both tasted amazing. Who doesn’t love a good croissant in the morning, or macaroon as a late snack? Paris knows how to do sweets. Something for every persons taste.

Not the best quality picture considering we were at a nice restaurant and didn’t want to be THAT GIRL

[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up” wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] The Metro

Every city in the world needs a sophisticated metro system. Atlanta could definitely use one that went out farther than just 10 miles. It was pretty easy to learn and saved us so much time and money. Once again, the Paris Pass came through, so we never had to pay for tickets. Our flat was only a stones throw to the nearest station as well, making it easy to explore without the hassle of an expensive taxi or Uber.

[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up” wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] The People

Contrary to what everyone says, I adored the French! I heard that they were stuck up and set in their ways…well imagine them coming to the US, not learning any English and demanding things. I think the Americans that go to Europe, don’t learn some key words and start demanding is why they seem so rude. I took french in school, but not enough to have conversation. I did however learn the necessities so I could ask for things politely, and always said please and thank you. You might not believe it, but a smile goes a long way. Smug people are in every country…you just have to ignore them and treat the others with respect.

[wp-svg-icons icon=”thumbs-up” wrap=”i” size=”30px” color=”#efb3e3″] Off the beaten path activities

Did you know Paris had a zoo? Me either! No more boring art museums for us. It was cool to see a zoo outside of the US.

Wine is always a good idea. With the Paris Pass, we got a free wine tasting at O’ Chateu which included interactive games, tube taster games and a very knowledgeable staff. AND, you get personalized bottle of wine afterwards for no extra charge! Probably one of the better “free” items included with the pass.

So this one might not be actually in Paris, but we had to get the hell out for a day. Reims, France. Champagne capital. If you have been following along on social media, I claim myself to be a Champagne Connoisseur. It is my absolute favorite beverage (besides Sweet Tea) and I was lucky enough to get accepted to go visit Dom Ruinart. It was the first established House of Champagne dating all the way back to 1792. I bet those people sure knew how to party.

Fun Fact I learned while here: When you see bubbles fizzing from the bottom of your glass, its not necessarily the carbonation. It means that your glass has imperfections. Where those imperfections are is where the bubble will come from. At first I was mind blown. Then about a couple months ago, I was sitting at a nice restaurant drinking champagne and realized they purposely etched 5 dots into the bottom of their glass so the bubble would be in a perfect round sync while floating to the top!

Lastly, it might not be the one in London, but Paris does boast an impressive collection of wax art. Grevin Paris is the wax museum of many accredited athletes, singers and celebrities in general. It’s fun to waste some time here. We went pretty tipsy too, which made it even more fun.

There you have it folks. My experience and opinion on Paris. I know I’ll get some major backlash from this…”you aren’t a real traveler”, “learning about history is what makes a trip so special” and blah blah blah. Congrats on opposing me, but this is how me AND my boyfriend feel, as I’m sure some people also feel the same just too scared to say it. The point of my opinion is give you details about my experiences so you can make your next experience that much better!! We’re all friends here right? 🙂

Have I missed something?? Do you dislike Paris? Maybe you love it and want to toss a flaming ball at my head? Let me know!

xo Bonvoyage Bitches

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