London
Paris
Brussels
Amsterdam
Berlin
Dresden
Prague
Vienna
Florence
Rome
Athens
Crete
Barcelona
Dublin
London
I haven't had much chance to talk about Paris. It really does feel like a magical place. The look of the city is beautiful and classic. Actually our tour guide said that whenever something is built that doesn't fit the look of the city, the locals get upset. For example, the pyramid within the courtyard of the Louvre. Everyone dresses well. Rarely did we see anyone in shorts, work out clothes, or anything other than nice jeans or slacks, great shoes, and something way more fashionable than my Columbia hiking clothes and Reebok Nanos.
The people weren't as bad as friends had warned. The only hint of rudeness I could sense was when the cashier didn't smile while ringing me up. They probably just were glad to have me out of there and I'm ok with that. I did my best to say bonjour till we realized bon soir was good evening. There's no other telltale sign that someone isn't from around here when they say "good day" late in the evening.
I think I could have spent more time in Paris, weeks maybe. Everywhere there are things to explore whether it was more of the Louvre, which is a labyrinth of art and artifacts, or just walking through town browsing at shops. There are countless bakeries selling the same things but I had to rein myself in not to try every one.
We had a hard time with J's celiacs though. Not enough research. I realized, much later, it is to both our benefit if we research a list of gluten-free places before we get to a city. Most of these places still do regional food, just with options that are safe for her. It's still a win win, I get to try the local cuisine while she feels safe. I forget how important that is for her to feel safe with what she is eating. It brings us both down and ruins our plans for the day if she gets "gluten'd". So while in Paris we attempted to be thrifty by eating cheap lunches of things we collected at the grocery store such as tuna, apples, and cheese and in the evening attempt to go somewhere and try something new. J wasn't so impressed with her options at most places so as an attempt to console her we ate quite a few meals at MexIndiana, a Mexican Indian restaurant close to our AirBnb and whatever Indian place we could find nearby. I love Indian, but I wish I had more chances to try French food but this is the give and take of relationships, I guess. Who knows maybe I'll be back someday.
Mexindiana was interesting. The men running it appeared to be Indian and friendly. Their menus were in French and Spanish so we could recognize what most things were. The guacamole was surprisingly good and came in a tortilla shell bowl. We ate well, it just felt peculiar to be in France and eating guacamole.
As I'm writing this I'm on the flight to Barcelona from Athens. We've loved where we've been and the people have usually been friendly and welcoming. But there's one thing I've learned. Groups of middle aged women are either very rude, loud, or annoying or some mix of all those things. Such as this flight. We have the unfortunate luck to have seats stuck in the middle of a large group of women. They talk a lot, and loudly, and enjoy standing up in the aisles so they can talk to their friends. But if this is my biggest complaint then it's still pretty good.
