An Opinion Piece and Love Letter for Paris

This goes against my typical type of content, but hear me out. Paris is one of the world’s most popular destinations and welcomes over 40 million tourists per year. Three of the top ten tourist destinations in the world are in the French capital: the Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre. I’ve technically now been twice, so I don’t feel like I can speak on all that Paris has to offer. Plus, there are so many talented content creators that do Paris justice. Instead, I’ve decided to write this blog post from a place of gratitude and love, rather than present an itinerary to one of the world’s most famous cities.

Let’s start with a young girl’s dream to visit Paris.

The dream started when I was told in Grade 4 that if I went to French Immersion, I would be invited on a trip to Paris when I was in high school. I immediately went home and told my mom that I’ll be joining French Immersion in Grade 5, and going to Paris when I was older. My mom doesn’t speak French, and the only person in my life who spoke French at the time was a dear family friend. However, my mom decided to enroll me in French Immersion and see how it would go. (Spoiler: it went well for me.)

Fast forward to Grade 9, and I was accepted in the France Exchange program. My family would host a girl from France for two weeks in the fall and I would be hosted in France for two weeks the following spring. We stayed with families in Strasbourg, and we had one day planned in Paris. Unfortunately, my experience was so poor (as were a few other students), that my high school changed the sister school in France that they would partner with in the future. In addition, the only day we spent in Paris was on a bus tour and I was so sick I slept the entire day on the bus except when we had to get off for various sightseeing adventures, of which I have no memory except standing on the Trocadero Platform and getting a picture with the Eiffel Tower in the background (see baby me below!)

Unfortunate Negativity when describing my Dream

So, while I technically visited Paris for the first time in 2006, Paris was still my number 1 destination in the world. I think we’ve all been here: we tell someone a dream we have, and instead of being supportive we are bombarded with negativity and realism for why the other person doesn’t recommend that dream. Maybe that person went somewhere with high expectations that were not met. Or, some people have a bit of a more negative view on places than others! It’s all part of being human. Many people told me that Paris was dirty, not as romantic as the movies, it smelled bad, it was overhyped, the French are rude, etc. It seems that Paris is very polarizing: you either love it or hate it. I do think it dimmed the light a bit on Paris for me; but maybe it was a good thing that my expectations were not high when I went! I also wanted to make sure I could visit Paris when I could fully enjoy the city and not feel like I was on such a strict budget or in a rush. I’ve had a few tentative plans over the years to go, but for one reason or another those plans fell through and other trips happened instead.

Planning for a UK Tour in 2024

June 2023: my friend and I secured tickets to see The Eras Tour in Cardiff, Wales. Knowing we had to be in Cardiff for June 18, 2024, I booked a one-way ticket to London so we could figure out the rest of the trip. We had thought about heading to Norway or Sweden, or doing a Euro trip, but couldn’t decide. In March or so, we finally settled on doing a trip around the UK, with Paris being our final destination. London and Paris are two of the cheapest airports to fly in/out of for me, so here we are: heading to Paris June 29-July 2, 2024. My friend and I were very busy with life and work that the only planning for this trip we did was book accommodations and a flight from Edinburgh to Dublin, and then Dublin to Paris. We had no expectations and took most of the trip day by day.

And honestly? I think that’s where the magic happened for me.

As a little girl, my dream was to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower. That’s all I wanted out of Paris. Turns out, Paris had so much more than that for me.

We had two set plans/reservations in the city. The rest of the time we just set aside to explore and enjoy the city. We had booked a hotel in Montmartre unknowingly (it had good reviews and was a decent price when we booked). So, we started our first evening exploring Montmartre and having dinner near our restaurant. We stumbled across Moulin Rouge, wandered Parisian streets, stopped for macarons, and tired ourselves walking around. Already, my heart was full. The architecture in Paris is gorgeous. The streets are lined with beautiful limestone buildings, the balconies are more than your basic black railing, and the sun was shining for us.

The next day, we woke up without an alarm, went for lunch at a little café, and then wandered south toward the Seine River. We ended up stumbling upon the Palais Royale by seeing a green space on Google Maps. The iconic black and white striped “Deux Plateaux” is located at the Palace. I’m sure you’ve seen it on social media! There’s also a lovely park, and a café to grab some food and enjoy the park. We wandered to the Louvre, walked through the Jardin des Tuileries, and then walked up Champs-Élysées. There was a lot of Summer Olympic preparation happening in the city while we were there, so there were a few things blocked off. But it honestly didn’t bother me as we explored. We made our way up to see the Arc de Triomphe (we didn’t go up it), and then stopped at a café for dinner. We sat down, ordered a bottle of Champagne and a charcuterie and cheese board, and just sat hanging out for a while. I think that’s part of the Paris charm for me: you’re surrounded by beautiful architecture and iconic landmarks, but it’s a city you love to sit at a café and enjoy the company you’re with. We stopped for a sweet treat on the way back to the hotel.

On our last night, we made our way down to the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkle at 11 PM. I sobbed from joy and gratitude. It was such a surreal moment for me: this dream I’ve had forever had manifested itself in the best way possible. All the therapy I’ve been doing to heal trauma, the work I’ve put into my company and the life I’ve built for myself has brought me to that moment. I will forever be grateful for these opportunities, especially because I know what it’s like to hope for something like this and not think it would come true.

As a child who grew up with a single parent and living below the poverty line, this trip means more to me than I can express in a blog post. It’s just an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for everything I’ve overcome, and putting myself first over the years.

I will note one thing that didn’t bother me, because I knew what to expect. In North America especially, our service industry is based on tipping. So, I find that wait staff are overly friendly, take orders quickly, and you are typically in and out of a restaurant in less than an hour. If you aren’t served water in the first few minutes, we’re trained to believe that the service is poor. After travelling to a number of countries in Europe, this is not the case in most places. I was advised by a tour guide in the Czech Republic that if the wait staff are nice, it’s not a good place and you should go somewhere else where you almost feel ignored. I find this to be similar in Paris. For the most part, you sit down at a restaurant and you’ll receive a menu in 5-10 minutes. It’ll take another 10+ minutes to get your order taken. Then, you’re basically left alone with your food and drinks until you ask the waiter for the bill. You could easily sit 3+ hours at a café, and not be bothered or rushed. And I think that’s part of the magic of Paris. Sit and enjoy the city, rather than rush through everything it has to offer. I promise you’ll enjoy it more!