Paris in the spring time (well...early summer anyway)

Photos here: Paris

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Most of this trip had been purely for the sake of travel, but now it was time to do some work.  I was in Paris, which many consider to be the greatest city in the world.  I've always found Paris a bit lacking, and joked that the city wouldn't be so bad if it weren't populated with French people and if they served Italian food.

I spent about a week in Paris, attending a conference and taking some meetings.  That still gave me plenty of time to play tourist, which I had never actually done.  Sure, I had done a bit here and there in the past, squeezed in between a hectic meeting schedule, but not in any focused fashion or with an abundance of time.  So in between a more leisurely itinerary of meetings and a couple free days, I played Typical American Tourist and went to see Notre Dame, the Seine, Eiffel Tower, and all the rest.

As a photographer, I kept recalling what a friend of mine had said: "Whether you actually like Paris, it is the most picturesque with opportunities on every corner."  After a week, I had to agree.  While the weather wasn't always ideal, I left captivated by the city's beauty.  My friend was right; I found something to photograph on almost every corner of the city.

As for the food, I find French food is way overrated, but I did manage to find some quite good places.  Food connoisseurs consider Paris the world capital for fine dining.  I disagree, but food is a matter of personal taste (pun very much intended).

I agree with the consensus on one thing: the wine is awesome.  I would return to France later in my journey to tour wine country, but for now, drinking in Paris for a week made me slowly warm up to the City of Lights.

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Photos here: Paris