10 days in Paris

Date: 4 June 2013 -15 June 2013
Location: Paris, France
Remarks: 10 days in Paris

Having impulsively booked a my flight to Paris, I was in Paris for 10 days!! It was June, and the weather was perfect (for the first week). It was warm, with blue sky, ample of sunshine and wind breeze.

There has been preconceptions that Paris being romantic but dangerous, with pickpocketing all over the places, and the French being unhelpful and reluctant in speaking English. Well, that was not what I have experienced over there, but I did have a few interesting observations:

Yes, You would find couples kissing all around the place - on the bus, in the metro, on the streets, in the parks... basically you would see it everywhere.

There were music everywhere, with street buskers everywhere. You could find them on the streets for sure, especially in the tourist spots, but also on the metro and the train. Having taking metro everyday during my stay in Paris, I met them everyday. They just jumped on the train/metro, performed one to two songs, and then walked around the car for a buck for two from the passengers, then get into another car, performed the same songs, did the same thing again and again. 

And yes, some of the French may not speak English but most of them do. They may not speak very good English, but it was communicable, and that is all we need right? Most of them would try them best in helping you when you approached them, with smiles on their faces. It was good enough for me already.

Parisians really love sunbathing in the park. There were a lot of parks in Paris, and there were lawns in each and every park. I was in a park in the afternoon of a weekday. It was another sunny day with the perfect weather. The park was amazingly packed with people!! You could see the Parisians sitting on the chairs/ on the lawns in the park, alone or with friends, enjoying the sun. Especially on the lawns, it was so packed that you could indeed hardly move. I guess for a 1 square meter there were up to 8-10 people. Amazing!!

With regard to the safety issue, it was not as scary as it was in the rumors. You know, the news about the robbery and pickpocketing in Paris are overwhelming. But at least, for my days in Paris, I found it fine. It was just like another city: stay low key, be careful of your personal belongings, zip your bags and don't leave your bags unattended.