I've been on the computer for a long time now...but I figured I would write one more entry, then take a study break :) I'm off to Paris...
1/4
I got off the train in Paris at Gare du Nord. This place is very ghetto and not what I am used to (quite different from Berlin Hbf)...I found the tourist information place and got a free map of the city. I trucked along and made my way to Sacre Coeur in Montmarte, a more hilly part of Paris. I started walking up the hill to the Cathedral and I see a guy in the middle of the path. From where I am, he looks kind of formal and I thought maybe a ticket collector (there was a booth at the bottom that COULD have been for tickets...) or a security guard. I walk up to him and he puts a string on my finger and starts weaving a bracelet on my finger. At first I was like, oh...well this is kind of neat. He is talking to me in broken English and saying he is from South Africa and telling me hakuna matata..."you know, like the Lion King!" When he is done, he ties it on my wrist and tells me "10 euro" and at first, I asked him if he was going to give me 10 euro and he tells me..."no, you give me 10 euro, usually 20 euro but for you, you get discount...only 10 euro", I go on to tell him I don't have 10 euro a couple times and finally just pay him so I can leave. Gosh...a lame start to Paris. If I would have known he was just selling stuff, I would have passed him up quick. Anyway...I made my way to Sacre Coeur. I took some pictures outside but they were not allowed inside at all. After leaving Sacre Coeur, I walked around Montmarte and somehow just kind of stumbled upon my hostel. I went inside and asked if I could check in, which I could not, but I was able to leave my bag there until I could check in, a mere 4 hours later. I looked at my map and by the looks of it, l'arc de triomphe was probably the closest thing to me. I have no experience with the metro, and it doesn't look that far away...I can walk there! So I did...except it ended up being 3 miles to get there. I finally made it there and could not find how to get across the road to get to the actual arc. I walked around the arc to the right and eventually found the underground passage to the arc, inspiringly, right next to where I started and if I had walked left instead of right, I would have found it instantly. Oh well, I found it anyway! After the arc, I started walking down Champ d'Elysses, which I know from the Tour de France. I made it about halfway down before I got tired and decided to walk back to my hostel via Rue Franklin D Roosevelt. I stopped at Starbucks on the way because I desperately needed to sit down and have a break and not sleeping much at all the night before (thank you young Berliners) needed caffeine. I walked the 3 miles to my hostel and checked in and took a shower. When I was about to take a nap, an Asian man walked in my room and introduced himself. His name was, oddly, Frank, from Taiwan. I then laid down and took a nice nap. After my nap, I checked my email and waited for Molly to come and meet me at the hostel. She did and it was nice to see a familiar face from Ripon and home! She took me on the metro and we got some food at WokBar, where I got penne carbonera. Mmm...food. It was getting dark by now and we hopped back on the metro and Molly took me to the Eiffel Tower at night! The tower sparkles on the hour for ten minutes and is really beautiful. We talked for awhile and then had to head home. I had to venture on the metro alone...but it really wasn't hard at all! I made it, and slept for the night.
1/4
I got off the train in Paris at Gare du Nord. This place is very ghetto and not what I am used to (quite different from Berlin Hbf)...I found the tourist information place and got a free map of the city. I trucked along and made my way to Sacre Coeur in Montmarte, a more hilly part of Paris. I started walking up the hill to the Cathedral and I see a guy in the middle of the path. From where I am, he looks kind of formal and I thought maybe a ticket collector (there was a booth at the bottom that COULD have been for tickets...) or a security guard. I walk up to him and he puts a string on my finger and starts weaving a bracelet on my finger. At first I was like, oh...well this is kind of neat. He is talking to me in broken English and saying he is from South Africa and telling me hakuna matata..."you know, like the Lion King!" When he is done, he ties it on my wrist and tells me "10 euro" and at first, I asked him if he was going to give me 10 euro and he tells me..."no, you give me 10 euro, usually 20 euro but for you, you get discount...only 10 euro", I go on to tell him I don't have 10 euro a couple times and finally just pay him so I can leave. Gosh...a lame start to Paris. If I would have known he was just selling stuff, I would have passed him up quick. Anyway...I made my way to Sacre Coeur. I took some pictures outside but they were not allowed inside at all. After leaving Sacre Coeur, I walked around Montmarte and somehow just kind of stumbled upon my hostel. I went inside and asked if I could check in, which I could not, but I was able to leave my bag there until I could check in, a mere 4 hours later. I looked at my map and by the looks of it, l'arc de triomphe was probably the closest thing to me. I have no experience with the metro, and it doesn't look that far away...I can walk there! So I did...except it ended up being 3 miles to get there. I finally made it there and could not find how to get across the road to get to the actual arc. I walked around the arc to the right and eventually found the underground passage to the arc, inspiringly, right next to where I started and if I had walked left instead of right, I would have found it instantly. Oh well, I found it anyway! After the arc, I started walking down Champ d'Elysses, which I know from the Tour de France. I made it about halfway down before I got tired and decided to walk back to my hostel via Rue Franklin D Roosevelt. I stopped at Starbucks on the way because I desperately needed to sit down and have a break and not sleeping much at all the night before (thank you young Berliners) needed caffeine. I walked the 3 miles to my hostel and checked in and took a shower. When I was about to take a nap, an Asian man walked in my room and introduced himself. His name was, oddly, Frank, from Taiwan. I then laid down and took a nice nap. After my nap, I checked my email and waited for Molly to come and meet me at the hostel. She did and it was nice to see a familiar face from Ripon and home! She took me on the metro and we got some food at WokBar, where I got penne carbonera. Mmm...food. It was getting dark by now and we hopped back on the metro and Molly took me to the Eiffel Tower at night! The tower sparkles on the hour for ten minutes and is really beautiful. We talked for awhile and then had to head home. I had to venture on the metro alone...but it really wasn't hard at all! I made it, and slept for the night.
1 comment:
Lame bitchass tying shit to your finger...you should reigned the pain with your three semesters of french skills! Too bad we never learned how to effectively swear!
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