No Rudeness Here

So Paris, France. Usually, I hear terrible stories of how rude the French are to the Americans. However, I have discovered the secret... speak French (at least attempt it even with a phrase book if you need to). Most of the time, I would speak French and they would answer me in English. I am pretty sure that this was the key to our successful and rude- free trip. We did run into a couple of people who mistook us for being French and asked us for directions. I thought that was weird, but cool that we looked French and didn't stick out as tourists.