The first time I visited Paris was in August 1986, when I was still a student. It was my first time out of Indonesia, and Paris was truly amazing. I love Paris for its beauty, history, culture and most of all its architecture. I just love the old buildings around Paris, full of weight and amazing structures.
Due to the short distance from Paris to London and the easy access via Euro Star rail, Paris has become more of regular short breaks for us. The annual visit to Paris is becoming a norm, but for me Paris will always be very special, although lately I found it rather unpleasantly dirty and smelly, particularly around the underground (the metro) area.
Years back I remember Parisians were rather arrogant and hard to communicate with if you didn’t speak French, but now I find them generally pleasant and willing to communicate in English.
Many visits to Paris were during the cold season, we have spent 2 new years here in a row and a few spring visits. Paris and London have many similarities in weather, but generally London has more rain than Paris. I love Paris in the evenings, the impressive design of the Eiffel Tower and the night lights of Paris is always magnificent to Photograph at night.
There are so many things to do and see in Paris, just make sure you don’t do the same thing over and over again. On this visit (New Year 2010) we spent a lot of our time walking around the city and to visit the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery. A Visit to a cemetery doesn’t usually associate with a romantic stroll – but a visit to Pere-Lachaise portrays exactly that. Countless great figures have their resting place here, including Chopin, Proust, Colette, and Jim Morrison.
