Paris, the city of love. Or just a French London?

I can’t quite decide how I feel about Paris. Would I visit again? Probably not. Was it beautiful and charming? Yes. However, I can't help but feel slightly underwhelmed. I expected a chic, elegant city full of people wandering around in beautiful Parisian clothes. When in reality, I looked around and I saw London with a lot more red wine.

I wanted berets and bikes. Fashionable women flouncing down roads. I wanted to see the fashion capital in all its glory. Maybe I’ve seen too many films, Ratatouille is a favourite of mine. It’s not even as though I had a bad time, although I don’t think I’ll be rushing back anytime soon.

Paris has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit. I liked the idea of working there and having a beautiful apartment with big glass windows overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Before we left for Paris, I ordered a ridiculous amount of clothes, so I could look as chic as possible for my trip. Lol, I still cringe at myself now. Many of the nights I changed my outfit plans as I was so overdressed it was embarrassing. I expected women to be dressed to the nines in Chanel and Prada. I wanted to be in awe of the clothes and the style and I didn’t get that vibe at all.

Imagine a London street in Soho but with little tables and chairs outside cafes and restaurants. The same expensive prices, long queues and miserable rain but just across the English Channel. There was definitely romantic aspects to the city though. There were quaint little coffee shops and old cobbled streets. One aspect of Paris I particularly enjoyed was the art. The Louvre was pretty impressive. The art was elegant and delicate. We went to a light exhibition just outside of central Paris and it was incredible. The way the artist had used lights and projections to create a story was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, I could have sat there all day.

After coming back to the UK, I’ve concluded that I was expecting too much. What I wanted was a culture shock, I wanted Paris to be so different to home. Europe is so contemporary now that I feel a loss of eccentricity. Paris is a lot like London and today many of Europe’s capital cities are very similar because of how many cultures have merged. My trip to Paris was lovely but maybe I need to stop basing my expectations of cities on films I've watched. God forbid I ever go to New York, my expectation is exceptionally high!