The Problem with Paris

On December 27, we took the Eurostar train from London St. Pancras Station through the Channel Tunnel to Paris. Our timing was great since service had been restored to near-normal after snow nine days earlier brought London's airports and ground transportation to a screeching halt.

So off we went to Paris. We checked in to the apartment we'd rented and had our first view of the Eiffel Tower from the apartment's balcony. Where we stayed wasn't the problem with Paris. The weather was cloudy and we often couldn't see the top of the Tower. The weather wasn't the problem with Paris.

We spent almost a week exploring as many major sights as we could--Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre, Musée D'Orsay, Les Invalides, Sacre Coeur, Versailles, Champs Elysees, the Statue of Liberty and the Centre Pompidou. Finding things to do wasn't the problem with Paris.

We criss-crossed the city by Metro and on foot. Took a day trip to Versailles by commuter train. Finding our way around wasn't the problem with Paris.

We ate street food and restaurant food and bakery food and cafe food. Found a delightful candy shop I'd read about on the internet that had wonderful treats from all over France. Georges, the proprietor, searches the country for the finest sweets to sell. Finding something tasty to eat wasn't the problem with Paris.

Tourist areas, particularly the area under and around the Eiffel Tower, were crowded with vendors hawking souvenirs. We wondered if there was really such a market for so many people selling so very many Eiffel Tower keychains at a price of 5 or 6 for a Euro (about $1.35). We wondered where they all came from, both the sellers (Africa, mostly) and the goods (China, probably). We wondered if one could really support himself (they were exclusively male) or even a family peddling miniature light-up Eiffel Towers. Finding a memento was not the problem with Paris.

As we re-visited places we'd been before, we thought of those we'd been there with years ago. When we go back someday, we'll think of this visit. Memories were not a problem with Paris.

We weren't the only ones enjoying Paris the week between Christmas and New Year's. There were long lines many places. We had bought Eiffel Tower tickets online and had a guidebook that was worth the price I paid for it just for the tip about the entrance to the Louvre with no line. Not even the lines were the problem with Paris.

With all those people came trash. Paris was dirty; dirtier than London and much dirtier than Barcelona. We did see a street sweeper the morning we left; maybe they'd been taking a break for Christmas and were just getting back on schedule. The litter wasn't the problem with Paris.

The French, and Parisians in particular, are famously snobbish about their language and rude to those who don't speak it. I can't remember anyone being anything but nice to us. The lovely Italian lady at the restaurant where we ate our New Year's Eve dinner can't count since she wasn't French. But I think the waiter in the cafe who suggested we move to a larger table was French. The French weren't the problem with Paris.

The problem with Paris? There's just too much of it. It's too delicious and wonderful to soak up. We crammed in as much as we could and finished each day exhausted. Sometimes when you visit a place, you reach a point when you're done. You've seen what you came to see, and while perhaps you could stay awhile longer and experience more, you're satisfied. The problem with Paris is I was still hungry for more when it was time to leave.