"Paris, at the top of my list of favorite... " a Paris Travel Page by lkdahl

Paris is at the top of my list of places I've visited so far. Why, because it has so much to offer. It's a large and very populated city. The architecture is stunning. There are many world class museums and monuments. It has a long and storied past that I am very familiar with, so that might be another huge reason I'm so partial.

Ever since I can remember I've wanted to visit Paris. The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Bastille, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and of course the Louvre were all places I wanted to see. To walk along the Seine river and see the artisans selling there craft and the stands selling old books and record albums.

I've never experienced any problems in France or for that matter in any country I've visited from the locals. The only negative experience I had was in Amsterdam, when one guy in a group of what looked like drunk "football hooligans" said something not nice to me in German. I would guess it wasn't nice from the expression he had on his face.

As for the French, I've always been treated great. But here is a good example of were not looking "Amercian" can come in handy. :))

Once I was in the Louvre and one of the museum employee's began speaking to me in Japanese. I looked at him blankly and told him I was American and didn't speak Japanese. He had a look of idignation and disappointment on his face. It was one of those priceless moments. I did have to applaud the effort he was making and did feel bad for him, because he was trying very hard to be helpfull.

I think it's fiction. I think in France and in any other country they don't like "ugly Americans". The "America is first", "America is right" or "America is best" type of people. Infact I don't like "ugly Americans" and I think they give the vast majority of other Americans a bad name.

Traffic around the Arc de Triomphe: (above left)

These cars are not parked, they are all moving every which way. It's very amusing to watch the traffic circle the Arc de Triomphe. You know that some unlucky souls have probably been caught in the inside lane and had to circle several times before getting out.