I think there is always a place you want to visit more than anywhere else. For me it has always been Greece. I love history and would love to be in that beautiful land. To be among all those old things. Not to mention all the beauty. But I digress - this is about a place I have visited and never thought I would want to be there. Oops - turns out it is a magical place and one I would love to go back to see. This time for a longer period of time. Paris.
Yeah, I know it's a cliche. Everybody want to go to Paris. I never really had it high on my list. Most things you hear about Paris deals with spending money. Shopping, fashion shows, expensive restaurants and so forth. Not my thing. I have no problem eating good food but the stuff that seems to be "in style" is strange and not much of it. I like to taste good food and then be full afterwards. Not look at a quarter sized entree that cost a fortune and go away hungry. Not for me, ok?
Eons ago I was lucky enough to have a chance to go on a five country tour with a school group. Amsterdam, Netherlands (another story), Germany, Belgium, France and England. While there were parts of the other countries that I liked they did not speak to me like Paris and Versailles.
It turns out that the two world wars took a big toll on all the ancient stuff in Europe. Of course I knew this before going over there which may be why Europe hasn't been higher on my list of cool places to go. I got to Paris and while all the stuff I expected was there I was thrilled to find lots of history that hadn't been destroyed. I could walk in places and know that history was surrounding me. It turns out the officer that was supposed to destroy Paris as the Germans left thought it was a bad idea. He disobeyed the order that Hitler had issued. GO DUDE!! When we got to London I was saddened to see that most of London is from after WWII. There is still a lot in Great Britain that is part of history but so much was bombed by the Germans. That nasty little man was responsible for the deaths of so many people, he destroyed homes and families and buildings that could still be there had he not been such a mean little man.
So would I go back to Paris? In a heartbeat. Belgium and Germany? Not so much. Not because of nasty little man but because it just didn't impress me like Paris. I'd go to England again and I would love to go to Ireland and Scotland. Italy, yes. But put me on a plane to Greece and I'd gladly give up the rest. Since none of this is ever going to happen it doesn't make any difference. But at least I wrote something on the blog for the one or two that look here occasionally. Love you guys.
For a list of towns with Paris in the name in the US go to:
http://hubpages.com/hub/UnitedStatesParis
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