days 4-7 Paris

I am going to try to keep this short and if possible show less vain than the last message...

 

I went to the Eiffel tower but it is even more exceptional at night when it lights up into a thousand points.  "Do you speak English" a pretty girl asks.  What am I supposed to reply, even if I say "non" it meant I understood her right.  Anyway, it is a con for money for some family in Bolivia.  She is isn't the only one and the competition between other "do you speak englishers" is quite fierce.  After I while I started to just not reply.  The Picasso Museum was highly interesting as well as the Orsay (which is the general art museum for everything ala Louve from 1850-1920 approx.

 

I did try to get hammered in France.  The lonely planet suggests two discos.  One was on a boat which wasn't a happening place, even though there was a french pirate themed place that was more interesting and had a London tour bus as a crepe stand.  The crepe master thought I was with the band because there was someone from London with the band.  I lost my discount by admitting I was from Canada, where the guy was shocked in disbelief by my lack of french communication skills.  Then I told him I took Latin in High school in California.  Thank god he didn't try to magesiter that language on me by reciting original Homer.  Anyway I had my crepe and my Heineken and then toured the various tables next to the boat.  All the while I have my anglo-dar on (something like radar) where I am listening for any conversations in English that i can infiltrate.  Anglo-dar negative.  

 

I decide to move on to the second place (in all of Paris) that lonely planet recommends.  You see there is some logic in these places because there is likely to be other people who are traveling by themselves and speak English, right???  The second place i arrive around midnight.  There is a 5 Euro cover, I say no problem.   I go in the disco?  to find no one on the dance stage and only a few people around.   I then go to the bar and order a Corona beer.  In Arizona that would be 2 US dollars, so I took out a 5 euro bill.  Then the attendant told me it was 7,50 euro.  (I guess it includes tip?)  So I bought the little Mexican souvienier with a green citrus top.  I then walked around we are talking a relatively small area with the anglodar on.  Finally I hear two girls talking and I bravely go up to them and say, "I hear you speak the only language I understand, how are you doing today?"  They were nice one was from Maryland the other was from Porto Rico.  After some more idle chit-chat where I told them about how i traveled to Maryland to do research and how I recently went to PR to see the Bacardi plant.  I moved on.  I have to get it through my head that people want people to talk more about themselves then finding out how I relate to almost ever single person on the planet geographically or otherwise.  I'll work on it!   

 

I then sat down at the tiny table with my Mexican beer and the waitress says what are you ordering.  I said nothing politely but then she said that if you sit down you will be served.  Well there was no one else around etc etc. So I went to the barren dance stage finished my beer and left. I have a letter to write to lonely planet!

 

I got trapped in the subways in the sense that they all close at around 12:30 in the morning and I got about half way to my destination but only from a metro station perspective from a walking perspective I was actually farther away.  And then the line to "le defense" was closed.  Now this was a funny site because it showed who stayed didn't know what the hell was going on.  

 

Here I bumped into Clayton from Utah State University.  He was working on a Red cross internship in Switzerland and didn't speak any other languages.  In short we had a few beers at one place where two waiters were almost fighting, went on a long walk through Paris, tried to get into two other discos/clubs on the way only to be rebutted.  Finally we found an excellent African theme cafe which served a giraffe, which is a 3 liter one meter tall pony keg with a spout.  Any way it was a fun night, got to bed around 5am woke up around 3PM  and went to some other fun places where I spent a little too much for the service.  

Tip of the day: when in Paris buy your own food or go to the crepe/ panini stand if you are on a budget.     

 

I have also am working on my downstream trip (I have reservations in Prague for hostel) as well I might book a contiki greek island trip.  We shall see.

 

Au reviour,

 

Greg