May 19: Paris
My first day off and I need to comment on Paris. It is the fourth or fifth time that I have been to this place and I always tried to understand, why this city is so famous and the top tourist destination in the World but the truth is, I can´t see it.
Its a marvellous city, pretty diverse in many aspects, very international and large so you have a lot of options. But for me a great city always comes together with a great environment which Paris doesn´t have. There is no sea, no mountains, not even some lakes around, as Berlin has for instance. It is surrounded by a vast flatland full of potatoe and cornfields.
And there are almost no views! There is one ridicolous hill of 50 height meters or so, they call Mont Martre from where you have a nice view over the roofs of Paris but man, the view from Vancouver on the Broken Island Group or from Insbruck on the Austrian Alps or from Sugar Loaf Key on Rio de Janeiro is a different story.
I think, if you like this schicky micky Dartagnan style, Paris really is worth a visit to spend some time and money, as in many metropoles on this planet but I personally prefer Venice, Rome or Barcelona!
Having said that, I recognize that my opinion is irrelevant because it continues to be the top tourist destination in the World and that counts.