Update! July 20th. Currently in Munich. Sorry to anyone who cares that I havent been keeping up with this. It is problematic because whenever I get to a computer I first and foremost have to check my medschool loan crap and make sure thats going. Then I get on news sites and blogs to keep up with whats going on between Lebanon and Israel, waiting to see if WW3 pits the US and Israel vs Hizbullah, Hamas, Iran, and Syria. Lets hope not. Also, the fact that keyboards are slightly different makes typing a lot a hassle.

So I suppose Ill start back a few weeks ago. Paris, France. To some extent, I sympathise with Parisians. After all, they get more tourists than any other place on earth. It has to get annoying to have your city flooded with tourists who mostly dont speak the native language.

That being said, I was absolutely unimpressed by Paris. I went into it with an open mind, at least I tried, not believing any of the stereotypes Ive heard. But let me give my own concise summary of Paris: it is a very superficial city. There is no soul behind it. Its almost hard to put your finger on, but after a while I sortof got the feeling that it was all a big show that meant nothing.

For one, the natives are obnoxious in a really unique way. You will try to be polite as possible. Walk up, smile, and say bonjour in your best French. Then you ask kindly if they speak any English. They will just give you a blank stare, pretend they dont. And the fact of the matter is that 90% of them do, and everyone knows it, and they know that you know it.

They have cafes in the streets with the chairs facing outward. You see, when I go to lunch with a person I sit across from them and focus my attention on them. Parisians at lunch sip wine and watch everyone else and causally chat. Its almost like they think they are this super-elite, and they pass judgement on all those who walk by. Its just such an arrogant, pompous way to sit at a cafe, and Ive never seen it done anywhere else.

When I speak of superficiality, I mean both the city and the people. The people of course are obsessed with fashion, design, etc. Even the men, and its really creepy. You know, as a male I will naturally pay attention to, and size up other males that I may pass in a city...instinct. And everywhere in the world there will be other males that I might think, man it would suck to get in a fight with that guy, cause he looks pretty tough. In Paris, I did not encounter one single male that gave me that impression, and I was there for four days. A few foreigners, maybe. But to be really blunt and uncultured about it, Parisian men are absolute wusses. Which is fine, who needs muscles anyways. Its just an observation. But when they also are seemingly more concerned with their appearances than women, I have to wonder if there isnt something in the water that lowers testosterone levels.

I dont remember if I had been drinking, but I was talking to Heather and Ted when we were in Rome admiring some monuments. And I had this to say. You know when we were little and played sports, and we all got trophies even if our teams sucked? Thats kindof like Parisian monuments. Yes, they are monuments, but what for? The French really only had one good run, and that was with Napoleon, and it ended in some of the worst defeats in military history. So what are all the rest of those monuments commemorating? An empty victory here, a stalemate there? You contrast that with London, which was the capital of the largest empire in land and people in recorded history. A hundred years of global domination. You are gonna have a lot of monuments after that sort of thing. Same thing with Rome. You have an empire that dominates the known world for hundreds of years, that sets the stage for the West and Christianity to follow, and you have a lot of things that you need monuments to commemorate.

So like I said, the city is superficial. Its got a pretty face, but its soul is ugly. You have the tower, the Lourve, some arches, etc; beautiful. But the rest of the city is dirty, the transportation inefficient. Economically Im not sure its a happening place. Parisians arent pleasant, and seem bored with life. They just seem uninspired, like spoiled children almost. And there are a lot of very angry, very unemployed, very unintegrated young Muslim men living in the suburbs. Apparently, even the police dont go out there. That problem will need to be addressed eventually, or it will consume the whole city.

Would I ever go back? Maybe if, in a decade or so, a significant other wanted to. I do think Paris might be more redeeming for couples, especially ones with enough money to do things right. I might not have done Paris right...who knows.

Next we went to Amsterdam. Then to Interlaken. Then to Pamplona where I ran with the bulls. Then Nice, then Rome, then Florence. Now Im in Munich, and soon going to Slovenia. Dublin after, and then back to the USA. I will write about these in more detail later. Dont have the time right now. And if anyone is dying to hear about the running with the bulls, email me at nklemen@indiana.edu and I will respond as soon as I can.

Cheers.