Things that surprised me about France

I just returned from my first trip to France. A few random impressions:

- The people were friendly. Even the Parisians. We don’t speak French but made a minor effort and used a translate app. Even without that though the people were welcoming

- The Eiffel Tower is massive. ‘Well duh weagle’, but standing at the base I wasn’t quite prepared for the enormity of it

- The countryside is neat as a pin. Half the trip was in Paris, the other in the country. There is effectively no litter anywhere in the country. Roads are in good shape too

- The amount of graffiti in Paris and Orleans. This was disappointing

- Portion sizes of the food. 2 of us often split entrees because there was so much. Almost like America

- The way they hunt pigeons. I pigeon hunted for (3) days. All of them were out of towers in the woods with live decoys shooting at passing birds with the hope that some would decoy. I was expecting to hunt near fields with grain or food but that isn’t how they do it

- Chambord. We were driving to get our hunting licenses when we took a wrong turn and accidentally ended up at this massive chateau (we later stayed on property which I highly recommend to see the chateau at night)

- Bathrooms (toilettes) in the basements of businesses in Paris

Would I recommend France as a destination? Yes. Would I go back? Yes. Would I go back there instead of going somewhere new? Nah