PaRoMad: Reflecting with Lists for Three European Cities

I've been asked many times about my favorite places and my favorite parts of each place I've been. While sometimes it was hard to think of a definitive thing that stood out above the others, I definitely had a list ready of why each place would hold a special place in my heart. And, because no city is perfect, I also had a running list of things that I just wasn't crazy about for each city. In an attempt to organize my thoughts before returning home and facing the stampede of questions and requests for stories of my time abroad, I decided to create little lists.

THINGS I LOVED ABOUT:

Paris:

- Montmartre. I LOVED the feel of being in an artistic part of the city. From Moulin Rouge to the Sacre-Coeur, this diverse neighborhood stood out from the rest.

- Crêpes (still dreaming of a breakfast crêpe I had the first weekend)

- The French language

- The Seine and the paths that ran beside it (well, when they weren't flooded)

- French architecture (Haussmann knew what he was doing!)

Rome:

- The ballet at the Baths of Caracalla

- The weather (sunny all the time. The fluffy, dreamlike clouds were the best part!)

- Rich cultural history

- Gelato

- Ultra friendly Italian people

- I'm putting cultural history on here twice. Thousands of years and these monuments and buildings are still standing!!

Madrid:

- Siestas and the pace of life in general. Late lunches, late dinners, no rush anywhere.

- Greenery and parks everywhere

- Pisto (a beautiful, wonderful Spanish meal. Look it up, but beware - you'll become obsessed like me)

- The least touristic city we've been to. A little difference, but it makes Madrid stand out from the other two cities.

- Sangria. Sangria everywhere.

THINGS I WASN'T TOO CRAZY ABOUT:

Paris:

- The Métro was a little too hectic and crazy for my tastes. I just couldn't imagine having to take that everywhere, everyday.

- The rain. It was no one's fault, but the gloomy weather made it a little harder to want to explore on my own time.

- Judgy Parisians. 95% of the people I came in contact with were kind and open, but that 5% got under my skin.

Rome:

- Humidity. Yes the weather was beautiful but that river makes the air thick, sticky, and unpleasant sometimes.

- Seagulls. They're up at 4 A.M. and talking, so therefore, so are you.

- Public Transport. There are only two metro lines, a mess of bus routes, and it seemed as if every taxi that passed us was already occupied. Good thing the city was beautiful because we ended up walking a lot of places.

Madrid:

- Heat. 90 degrees everyday. Whew!

- Connecting with locals. Since Madrid isn't a huge tourist city, there's not an overwhelming pressure for people to know English. It's egotistical to me to think everyone should know English, seeing as I'm the foreigner who should know Spanish, but this language barrier has made making Spanish friends a bit of a challenge.

- Abundance of seafood. This is just a personal preference of mine. I'm not a seafood eater so having to avoid about 50% of the meals here has been a bit difficult.