Observations from the Trip

I just wanted to jot down some things I noticed while I was traveling:
1) In terms of ages of each of the cities I visited, I feel that Rome is the oldest, Paris is in the middle and Madrid is the youngest. Rome feeling the oldest probably has something to do with all of its ancient architecture/history prominently on display, maybe because they also have only 2 metro lines. (Someone told me that they try to dig for more lines, but they keep discovering more ruins, so they have to stop. I don't know if this is true and/or how often this occurs.) Madrid might have felt so young since I seemed to be in the trendy/cosmopolitan area.
2) Rome didn't seem quite real to me. It's difficult to explain what I mean. I guess I mean that it didn't seem like there are any actual inhabitants in the city. It's all boutiques, pasta/pizza places, and fantastic architecture. I don't know, just go there and see if you see what I mean.
3) Rome also seems "sleepier" than Paris, maybe because Paris is quite a bit bigger and seems to have more inhabitants. This might also be because the colors of the Roman buildings are all these muted pastels, and/or the abundant foliage.
4) For some reason, I noticed a lot more damage to the architecture in Rome than I did in Madrid and currently do in Paris. I don't know if this is because it's older or what, but it did look like there had been a lot of acid rain damage over the years.
5) When talking and listening to people in both cities, I felt that, given some time, I would be able to pick up Italian easier than Spanish. This was a surprise to me, since I thought the reverse would be true. I've never before had exposure to Italian, but I felt I could get the gist of what people were saying. I had to go to get some antibiotique gel, and when a lady tried to help me, I said that I didn't speak Italian, and explained in French what I needed.
I was also noticing similarities between French and Italian. Anything that had "ph" in French had "f" in Italian. Anything with "ie" in French became "ia" in Italian. Both of these principles are demonstrated in the French and Italian words for "pharmacy": "pharmacie" and "farmacia", respectively. Also, the double "s" is replaced with a double "c", like "patisserie" becomes "paticceria"
6) I also loved that in Rome, there were regularly nuns and friars (I guess that's the correct term) walking around, and it's normal. (I sometimes think that in the U.S., a religious calling is looked on as...well, not a bad thing, but maybe less than desirable.) You see them taking the morning bus, drinking coffee in a cafe, and nobody says anything. I took one picture of a nun talking with a young guy about my age in a shoe store, because I just really liked the contrast.
For me, in terms of vibrant cities, in descending order:
1) Madrid
2) Paris
3) Rome
In terms of places I'd visit again, though, Rome is definitely above Madrid. I'm glad I went to Madrid to see it, but the only thing I wanted to do there was visit the Prado, and that's done.
OK, I think that's about it for that. That's just what I found interesting.