I did the opposite lol.

No, good guess though!

This is all excellent advice, especially regarding France. Where I live, which is only 20 minutes from Geneva, you’d be lucky to find anyone outside larger towns who can speak English confidentially. And forget about it if you have an accent other than very standard British or American.

Europeans in general appreciate the small things in life much more than Americans. Like everyone has already said, try and relax and take it all in, rather than rush from place to place trying to cram as much as possible into your trip. Have that second glass of wine, or that dessert that looks amazing, or even that afternoon nap after a long lunch. Trust me, you remember those moments just as fondly as the big ones.

Lyon is pretty great. Depending on the vibe you’re going for, Marseille is also pretty awesome. I’d avoid it in the middle of the summer, but shoulder season down south is amazing. The weather is great, the people are friendly (if you avoid the worst parts of town, like anywhere) and the food is a nice mix of traditional French and Mediterranean cuisine. And make sure to get a flight of Ricard.

As an Anglophone who lives in France, I agree. Although where I live (east / south-east) English is not very widely spoken, even in bigger cities, but the people are generally very friendly.

Guitar pedals. My collection is fairly modest (20-30 pedals) but I have some neat pieces, like a couple Japanese Boss pedals from the 80’s. They are functional so I don’t feel like it’s a waste of space per se. Also they look cool, so there’s that.

Mildly on topic: I recently moved to France from Canada, I’m not an EU citizen, and google isn’t really sure if I’m on vacation or if I’ve moved permanently.

Every single website now asks me about cookie settings. Most have a reject all button, but occasionally I have to manually uncheck some sliders to protect my data. Time well spent.

My parents back in Canada always think it’s some voodoo magic when Facebook shows them ads about stuff they’ve recently been 'talking about (AKA searching on Google.) Duhhh. Thanks EU!