London Vs. Paris
Trip Start
Aug 30, 2006
1
58
76
Trip End
Dec 17, 2006
Where I stayed
National des Invalides
Sevilla, Spain
Monday, October 23, 2006
Throughout your life, the cities of London and Paris are constantly mentioned, and there are references everywhere you look. I could be specific about this, but I know that I don't have to because it is virtually impossible not to instantly think of a movie, a product or a custom that came from both of these cities. There is a reason why they are both so famous, and although I tried, I don't think that I even began to express how extraordinary they are in my entries. I know that there are so many other places throughout the world that are filled with history and culture and passion and education and God and everything else that matters in life, but from my tiny window of experience, these places will enrich and empower ever human being who visits them.
With that being said, I would like to note that both London and Paris offer completely different things, which I would like to note:
The "elements" that make up Paris are better than those that comprise London. By "elements," I am referring to the art museums with the best and most famous works, the religious buildings that hold actual relics from Jesus and his crucifixion, the monuments like the Eiffel Tower, etcetera. By no means am I claiming that London doesn't have its own absolutely amazing "elements," but it is my personal opinion that those in Paris are better. On the other hand, the city of London has much more of a regal atmosphere, there is so much more patriotism and pride, the people are more educated and respectable, they take much better care of their "elements," and their city as a whole is much prettier. For instance, outside of Buckingham Palace, every blade of grass is cut to the same height, the sidewalks are free of cracks and garbage, gardens and decorative fences are similar are used to "connect" everything (like other palaces and statues) together, and everything that can be clean is spotless. The same goes for any other monument or place of public interest; everything is taken care of almost in excess (if that's possible), making every spot in London picturesque.
This actually makes me feel sad because Paris has so much more potential than it lives up to! Outside of the absolutely breathtaking Hotel National des Invalides, which is basically Napoleon's legacy, there is a disgusting dirt parking lot, and the grass that is present is just covered in weeds! Also, no matter how close some of the places of interest are, they remain separate entities; I don't understand why the Musee de Orsay and the Musee du Louvre are completely disconnected even though they are literally directly across the river from each other. Somehow I find it hard to believe that if these museums were in London, there wouldn't be some sort of unified organization that would govern the museums as a team.
So, I guess the only thing that I'm trying to get at here is that London is still the second best place in the world (can you guess the first?), and there is no amount of money or "treasures" that could make Paris surpass it unless they revamped their entire city concept.
