Well I am in the third month of my stay in Barcelona and it sure has been great. How many times in life do you get to say you visited several different countries in a matter of months? During my stay here I couldn't have asked for more. I know for sure that I was meant to be here. Just the mere feeling of expanding my world 10 times over has been abundant. My cup runneth over, but that's a good thing.One of my experiences that stand out in my mind is my trip to Paris France. The only word I can use to describe the trip is phenomenal. I have dreamed of going to this place for years and my visit there was a dream becoming reality. It is so great because it was last minute and worked out great. I had a great traveling companion that enhanced an already great experience. I only had the opportunity to stay for a weekend but in that time I had a chance to examine an abundance of things.When I landed in Paris right away I felt vulnerable like never before. This was not like Spain. I know approximately 10 words and French and I was so nervous at the time that I could not recall them when I needed to. I had planned on my travel companion's knowledge of French but I quickly came to learn that his beginning French would not get us as far as I hoped it would. I didn't know how to tell the taxi driver where to go or how to understand the total for the ride. Even something as simple as ordering dinner seemed to be a difficult task. My first instinct told me to speak Spanish. For some reason I felt better showing the French that I was an American that knew a language other than English. At those moments I realized the value of my Spanish and started to appreciate it even more.
Even though I did not speak French I noticed that most of the French were considerate enough to speak English to me. I was very appreciative for this. More of the French were willing to speak English to me than the Spanish spoke to me in Spain yet the French still did not seem as warm as the Spanish. The way the French accommodated me quickly led me to question the whole French rudeness stereotype. Maybe I was not there long enough to truly put it to the test, but I thought they were very nice considering I didn't speak the language. As I traveled throughout Paris rude was definitely not the word that came to mind. As I spoke and mingled with the French the first word that came to my mind was pride. I would say the French represent their culture and nationality with pride. They seemed to be very sophisticated and at the same time their physical appearance was stunning. The people there looked very exotic and moved at a fast pace.Overall the city was beautiful. I automatically fell in love. I like to travel but seeing sights is not something I can usually do for hours at a time without getting bored. This was not at all the case in Paris. It was breathtaking. I will never forget the moment my friend and I saw the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing and stunning all at once. We both agreed as we approached this awesome site that this structure seemed to have a personality. Somehow we were both caught by surprise when we looked at saw it boldly standing not very far from us. Somehow it was very humbling for the both of us. This site made us realize how small we are compared to so much in this world. The site was even better was even better at night to our surprise. We managed to walk through so much of the city that we made a complete circle without even realizing it during our journey to the perfect dinner spot.
So once again I will say phenomenal. This is the word that I will use to describe my dream trip to Paris. The city, the culture, the sites, the food, the people, the beauty, my traveling companion, my growth, the entire experience truly phenomenal!!!
Even though I did not speak French I noticed that most of the French were considerate enough to speak English to me. I was very appreciative for this. More of the French were willing to speak English to me than the Spanish spoke to me in Spain yet the French still did not seem as warm as the Spanish. The way the French accommodated me quickly led me to question the whole French rudeness stereotype. Maybe I was not there long enough to truly put it to the test, but I thought they were very nice considering I didn't speak the language. As I traveled throughout Paris rude was definitely not the word that came to mind. As I spoke and mingled with the French the first word that came to my mind was pride. I would say the French represent their culture and nationality with pride. They seemed to be very sophisticated and at the same time their physical appearance was stunning. The people there looked very exotic and moved at a fast pace.Overall the city was beautiful. I automatically fell in love. I like to travel but seeing sights is not something I can usually do for hours at a time without getting bored. This was not at all the case in Paris. It was breathtaking. I will never forget the moment my friend and I saw the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing and stunning all at once. We both agreed as we approached this awesome site that this structure seemed to have a personality. Somehow we were both caught by surprise when we looked at saw it boldly standing not very far from us. Somehow it was very humbling for the both of us. This site made us realize how small we are compared to so much in this world. The site was even better was even better at night to our surprise. We managed to walk through so much of the city that we made a complete circle without even realizing it during our journey to the perfect dinner spot.
So once again I will say phenomenal. This is the word that I will use to describe my dream trip to Paris. The city, the culture, the sites, the food, the people, the beauty, my traveling companion, my growth, the entire experience truly phenomenal!!!
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