PARIS - does it need a title?

I have to dearly apologize to all the cities I’ve visited in the past that I love. I love you, I do. I just have a new favourite city in the whole world. Nothing personal.

So, Paris, Paris, Paris. LOVED it. Loved it beyond words. (Doesn’t mean that this will be a short blog by any means, though…) It was a lot of firsts for me – my first time going on a vacation all by my lonesome, the first train trip, my first time in Paris… I absolutely cannot wait until the next time I go. And strangely, I loved travelling alone. I could do whatever I wanted at my own pace, I could change my plans, and I could meet people to do things with if I so desired. I was a bit worried at first, but Paris was such a safe-feeling city I had no worries once I was there. I actually feel like I had a lot better time BECAUSE I went alone… no offense to any of my dear friends. This has just assured me that any further solo trips will be excellent as well. (Though note that I wouldn’t want to live here… that would spoil a lot of the magicalness.)

Day 1. My train left at seven-thirty, and I was there in plenty of time. Someone had told me that the TGV, the high-speed train, was the only way to travel, and I didn’t believe her. I now do. It’s easy: you can buy a ticket on the spot or beforehand, you get on the train (no security or lines), they check your ticket on the train. You get off, you leave. It was spectacular, and quiet, and peaceful, and safe-feeling. And three hours isn’t a bad time at all… admittedly, I slept this time. I got to Paris, nearly fangasmed when I first saw the Eiffel Tower, and somehow made it to my hostel, about a kilometer and a half walk, using the wonderful guide that Sammy got me for my birthday. I then went everywhere… Eiffel Tower, Arc du Triumph, Champs-Elysees, Place de la Concorde, and then up the Tower at night. Interesting stories… People aren’t kidding about the gypsies around Paris. They’re everywhere, begging for money… What they had was a piece of paper (each the same one, with different names – in Paris, no money, baby, mother dead, whatnot) and go around asking if you speak English. Pretty typical. Driving in Paris is something I never, ever want to do. It’s like a Dodgers’ Stadium parking lot after a game against the Giants, except all the time. CRAZY. Don’t do it. I spent a lot of my relaxing time taking pictures for people… it’s just fun, making people’s vacations just a little bit better with a picture of both of them. I guess I looked pretty legit, though, people kept asking me directions and questions… admittedly, I knew the answers to most, so it was pretty cool. Other interesting people story: while standing in line to get up in the Tower (about an hour overall, forty-five minutes at the bottom and fifteen in the middle to get to the summit) I was talking to an older British couple in front of me, very interesting. Behind me, a French couple was busy loudly sucking face and bumping into me. Standing in line later to get to the summit, I was in front of this middle-aged, balding, fat Italian guy (maybe German, but I’m pretty sure he was Italian) who didn’t understand the idea of personal space. He was constantly standing too close, with at least his gut (a couple times his full body) pressed into me, and he didn’t understand “ne me touche pas” nor “please don’t touch me.” So I ended up moving back in line to get him away from me… I don’t think he was doing it to be creepy, he just needed to be as far up in line as possible or something.

Day 2. Had a terrible night of sleep – three of my roommates were constantly coming in between midnight and three, talking loudly, turning the lights off and on… Then the other two roommates left at five in the morning. Not a happy night. Got up and walked around, Montparesse Cemetery, Opera Garnier, hung around the Louvre, Notre Dame, Bastille. (For pictures of this trip, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113885&id=605917964&l=490004510b if you’re not already friends with me on Facebook…) My first metro trip – the system’s quite nice, I have to admit. I prefer Bordeaux’s system, it feels safer and easier, but this was still really cool, especially when you have musicians popping in and out of trains, and all over the connections. Which leads me to my absolute favourite part of the trip: Near the Louvre, I found a little string orchestra, and just sat and listened for an hour. Truly talented kids, just getting together in a plaza to play. There’s a lot of street music in Bordeaux, but these guys really stood out. I took plenty of video, so I’ll have to show people, especially I think my music friends, when I get home. Hm… I didn’t go into Notre Dame, since the line was fairly long and I only have a limited amount of time, but I have to say I kind of preferred St. Andrès Cathedral. Maybe it’s just me. I saw Irv and Julie, Sammy’s parents, which was great… they were coincidentally in Paris for one night while I was there, so they were kind and took me out for dinner, and I had fun being a sort of translator there. (It was a little awkward when the waiter handed me the check, though…) Another cool thing – we saw some kids in the Champs de Mars dancing to Michael Jackson videos, and dancing well. It was pretty cool.

Day 3 – the final one. This one I definitely took it easy, after having walked so much… I bought a metro pass and saw things that were a little far out, such as Sacre-Coeur. I planned to go to the Louvre and spend a couple hours there, but both time and money didn’t agree, since I had spent so much time just wandering. I did go to a bookstore, however, and I bought some Shakespeare in French, along with the Hunchback of Notre Dame by Hugo. Really excited to start those, though they’ll be challenging. This day does bring me to a rant, though… Paris has no bathrooms. None. I wandered around for two hours having to pee like a mofo before I found a public bathroom that worked. I can kind of understand why people pee in alleys here. The day itself was alright. The night, however, made it. In my room, I had made friends with a German girl, a Dutch girl, and two guys from Seattle, though one was some other nationality that I’m blanking on right now… (Later remembered to be Hungarian, I believe?) Anyway, a cool bunch of people. Around nine (after all of us had taken hour-long naps) we grabbed a bunch of wine and went out to Sacre-Coeur, and just sat there. Had a good time, drank, talked, laughed. Meandering out, we ran into a very, very drunk British woman, and we went on a very difficult mission to get her back to her hotel. We succeeded, we went to the Moulin Rouge, we went home. We sat around in our room until maybe two, three, four? I don’t even remember anymore. Late. We just sat around in a circle, one girl was a travelling musical therapist so she played music… it was amazing. Overall, I liked the hostel experience. It’s something I’ll have to try again.

So needless to say, it was an incredible adventure, an amazing trip. It has thoroughly encouraged me to spend lots of money to go on other amazing trips, even if it is on my own. I’ll meet people, it’ll all be good. Other than that trip, life has been fine. School is tiring and slightly frustrating still. Student life is fine, calming down but still busy enough. It’s funny, I’m watching all of my friends and roommates be a little stircrazy, needing to get out of Bordeaux, and I’m just laughing. I love laughing, it’s amazing.