An American in Paris

We spent the first hour or so looking for a English/French dictionary (some Parisians are entirely unwilling to speak English). Emily walked into a bookstore and asked the retailer for a French book. He got this smart-aleck look on his face, gestured to the whole store, and curtly said,"French book."

Fortunately, there are also some very nice people in Paris. The night before we left we realized that we didn't know how to catch the bus back to the airport. We couldn't use the phone in our hotel room (a long, but very funny story), we had no Internet, and the people at our hotel were completely unhelpful. It was pretty late, so most places were closed. I suggested asking the receptionist at the nice hotel down the street. Even though we weren't guests, the man behind the desk answered all of our questions, treated us to hot chocolate, and spent more than an hour telling us about his experience as a Cameroon immigrant in Paris. Very personable. So if you're ever in Paris, I recommend staying at Jardin de Paris Republique.