Some quick, mostly banal impressions after a week spent hanging out with a couple good friends in Paris:
- As a general point about travel, I prefer nature and outdoors to old buildings, churches, and museums. I am in awe when absorbing a tremendous nature scene, whereas being in the presence a church with great historical meaning doesn’t do much for me. But still, it’s hard to complain about Paris as a city. It’s an A-list destination for a reason: beautiful, functional, full of pretty people, and super easy to get around in.
- Everything felt small for my oversized body. The chairs at the cafes, the tables at the cafes, the hotel rooms, the apartments, the cars, the sidewalks.
- The trip was primarily about spending time with two friends. To that end, I arranged few meetings or other commitments, which allowed me to stay on Pacific Time while there — my friend (from New York) and I went to bed at 4 or 5 AM, and woke up at around 12 noon. I experienced basically no jet lag when I came back.
- A highlight was going for runs along the Seine river listening to music on my iPod — so beautiful, so relaxing.
- The Airbnb apartment in the heart of Saint Germaine worked out well. It was my first Airbnb rental as a traveler; I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Bottom Line: Paris in the spring is totally easy. An excellent mini-vacation spending quality time with good friends.
Paris is a great city for visitors. It is like London. It has a tremendous history, loads of great museums, and the people have always been fairly friendly whenever I have been.
Not so great to work their though now from a financial perspective. Their tax rates are insane. The top rate is now 75%. Quite on what planet that is “fair” is honestly beyond me.
Paris itself though is great.