French people

The summer after my senior year of high school, my best friends and I did the inevitable: We went on a Eurotrip.

I went into the trip with high expectations for the following: Italian food, Italian men and Italian people. I went into the trip with low expectations for the following: British food and French people.

I was 4/5.

The French, much like the Canadians, get a really bad rep. In my experience, it is completely unfounded.

Let's just say I was impressed with their impeccable looks and perfect fashion sense. But the clincher was this - THEY WERE INCREDIBLY NICE!

In Paris, whether we were lunching in a tiny street bistro or wandering through the Louvre, the French people I encountered greeted with me a glowing smile and that oh-so-charming lilted English.

In Ecuador two summers ago, when I was in a canoe going down the Amazon River, my best friends were a couple from Paris who were simply celebrating being in love. While the French are often criticized for their upturned noses, I spent half the trip in dirty clothes eating spaghetti with ketchup with Francoise and Patrice.

Going back further, during high school, my family hosted a foreign exchange student from France for two years in a row. I still consider him mon frere, or my brother in French, simply because we were kindred spirits on so many different levels

I love the French, and I think you should too.. for there really is no city in the world that makes you feel quite like Paris does. It's the people.