Does Paris Live Up to the Hype?

I was blessed with the opportunity to take a little European excursion recently.  On this trip, I, along with my homegirl Alix, were able to set our feet in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rome, Naples, and a few cities along the Almafi Coast.  If it’s already sounding like it was lit, that’s because it was. First up is Paris.

I was talking about my vacation with an acquaintance a few days back and she asked me if Paris lived up to the hype.  Honestly, yes and no.  I would say it depends on who is hyping it but generally, yes, it’s that amazing.  I definitely enjoyed Paris and intend to grace the city with my presence again at some point(s) in the future.  When I think of places I could see myself living in outside of the US, Paris has been officially been added to the list.

The first thing I enjoyed about the city was its diversity.  Now, I don’t go everywhere expecting to find different types of people.  I just enjoy the culture of that place for what it is.  However, for Paris to be such a major city with the history that it has, variety is expected.  When deciding if I could live somewhere or not, diversity is an important factor because I’m not trying to be nobodies only black person (or only non-white person) in town. Hard pass!

We stayed in an Airbnb in the 9^th arrondissement (kind of like a neighborhood).  For those of you who don’t know, Paris is made up of 16 arrondissements that start in the middle and spiral out like that of a snail’s shell.  The Airbnb,a Zen apartment, was so comfortable, so cute, and had an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower that could be seen from both the living room and bedroom.

Our first night in town we went to Oktoberfest which is a traditional German beer fest.  People were in full traditional German Oktoberfest costumes and they was in there TURNT.  Everyone was turninggggg up and it was so much of fun to see and experience.  There was drinking, dancing, and various performances and competitions.  Our table was a little on the crowded side so we were all sitting very close and English was minimally spoken from everyone else but we made it work!  Communicating with folks who don’t speak English can be frustrating at times but when you’re in someone else’s home, finding other ways to communicate is part of the fun (and survival).  Hands down, the best part about the night was the chicken (#blackmomentoftheday).  Thiiiiis chicken was so flavorful and so juicy and the skin was so crispy *tears*.  If that’s how they are getting down in Germany, sign me up!