I am in love with Paris.  And, for the first time in a long time, I do not even care about how cliché that sounds.  Paris is magical, wonderful, beautiful…I could go on, but instead I will explain why.

This weekend I took a fun adventure and bussed down to the city of love all the way from Bremen.  After arriving at 6 a.m., I figured out the Parisian metro system all by myself (yay) and made it to my hostel without getting lost.  Okay, so maybe I got a little lost, but with the help of my broken French and friendly locals, I finally made it. I wasted no time: I bought a croissant and went to the Louvre, since I figured I might as well begin my first morning in Paris like any good tourist should.  I do have to say that I was very underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa, even though she was still really cool to see in person…5 feet away standing behind a glass case, a rope barricade and hoards of other tourists, that is. Later in the day, I met up with a good friend to see the Notre Dame and walk along the Seine.  I even had a crepe, so I would call it a good first day.

One of my favorite moments, though, was when I met up with two of my cousins the next day.  While we were walking towards the Eiffel Tower at sunset, it suddenly began pouring.  Not only that: it started hailing ice!  So, we made a run for cover and ended up with lots of other people huddled under a bridge by the Seine.  Luckily, we had grabbed some baguettes, marmalade and cheese for dinner, so we had an impromptu picnic right then and there – it was one of my favorite moments while abroad.

I guess if I had to sum up why I love Paris so much, I could name the places, moments and people that made it very special for me.  However, I think the unexpectedness of everything was what caught me most off guard, and ultimately swept me off my feet.   I went expecting to enjoy myself, but also expecting to be disappointed by a city that wouldn’t live up to how great my friends told me it was.  I expected to be treated with contempt by snobby French locals.

I am so happy I was proven wrong.  Paris is one of few larger cities I can name that has tons of tourists but does not feel touristy.  The city itself seems to know its worth and therefore does not have to prove itself or cater to anyone.  And the people I met were not only helpful, but also very friendly.  They understood that I was doing my best to speak their difficult but beautiful language, and we worked together to figure out how they could help me.  I even laughed with them about how silly I sounded when I tried to speak French.  But I could feel how much they loved their city, and that love could not help but rub off on me.  If I learned anything, it was just to forget my generalizations and stereotypes and let the city speak for itself.