A Day in Paris

Well, I can now rehash the goings on of Wednesday for you.

I got a late start, so I decided to hold off on the museum attending (Louvre and Pompideau) until Thursday. Instead, I hit a few major tourist destinations--the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Cathedral de Notre Dame.

All very impressive:

I was tired after all this (hours and hours of walking and eating chocolate crepes), and I almost headed back to the hotel. I decided, however, that this would be the best chance to hit bookstores. I was further inspired by the thought that if I made enough book purchases, I could write off at least some of the trip on this year's taxes (and yes, that's a strong inspiration).

I will write more about my bookstore finds (and they were plenty, in case you were wondering, IRS) later.

A few general thoughts about Paris:

The people here are generally friendly (much more so than the "stereotype"). This includes the people at my hotel as well as shopkeepers, waiters, etc. I did have one waiter who was a bit "snooty" and who made me wait quite a bit to pay my bill and provide change, but it was a sit-down restaurant, and my lack of command of French was more apparent here than elsewhere. Plus I made a small order.

It is COLD in the winter. I had checked the weather online before coming and since it was similar to Spokane's when I left, I decided to forego gloves, hats, etc. in the interest of saving space and not losing anything. Big mistake. What I wouldn't give for my warm gloves right about now.

The maps are confusing! This includes general fold-out maps as well as the city maps placed at bus stations which even provide a "you are here" symbol. Unfortunately, the maps do not make clear which direction they are oriented, and this is a problem considering I never know where I am at. Inevitably, this requires looking at the map, going in the wrong direction, and then returning to the map with new information with which to orient myself. Have I mentioned I have walked a lot?

Nutella crepes are just as good, if not better, at the crepes stands as in a sit-down restaurant.

That's all until later.

Au revoir.

George Carlin moment

I will write more about this day tomorrow (as long as I wake up early enough). There were many goings on.

For now I will share with you my George Carlin moment, he of the "Why do you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?" joke.

I was confused today as I tried to go to a bibliotheque to buy books:


A bibliotheque, it turns out, is a library.

So, what do they call bookstores in French?

Librairies.

I got zapped a few times by the culture shock today.

More soon.

Au revoir.

Ugly American or just Stupid American?

Well, I made it into Paris and finally to my hotel.

That's the short version.

The longer version is that all my flights (to Seattle, to Copenhagen, to Paris) were delayed. Upon arriving at the airport in Paris, I became initially confused as I did not have to go through customs. I only had carry on luggage, but they didn't even check my passport. Of course, I could have walked the wrong direction. But anybody worried about airport security in the U.S. should take a trip to Paris. It was a mess, and I don't think they knew where anyone was going. Not the safest feeling in the world.

Anyway...although I thought I was prepared on how to leave the airport via public transportation, it was a bit more difficult as I was tired, confused, and ultimately frustrated. So, I walked around the airport for probably an hour, declining polite requests from cabbies to take me directly to the hotel for something like 50 euros. I felt a bit like Tom Hanks in The Terminal. But without the crackers and ketchup. I finally figured out (with the help of a nice airport employee worker) how to get to the shuttle I needed to get to the train station (where I was able to buy a 5 day public transportation pass for less than the one taxi ride would have cost). I then took three trains on three separate lines, crossing through busy, confusing train stations and finally made what I thought was my stop. If you want to visualize this, here's the metro map for Paris: (map). Good luck.

The trains reminded me quite a bit of trains in Chicago. The trains themselves looked similar. The passengers looked similar, and I definitely recognized the run down buildings and graffiti along the route. I suppose all major cities look the same if you take public transportation. Not too romantic, but I guess that's not to be helped.

Anyway, I finally made my stop, only to wander around the streets of Asnieres (a suburb of Paris) until again getting directions (in French) from the woman I bought a baguette from. I found the street I needed and then walked MUCH further than I thought I would have to to get to the hotel. So, basically, I carried two bags while munching on a baguette to my destination--very French. Or something.

So, today then starts the actual trip (in my mind). The sun rises late here (8:43 a.m.), which I am not used to. It makes me want to go back to bed.

I hope to have more uplifting posts soon.

Au revoir.

Cooling my heels...

Just a quick update so that anyone reading out there will realize that I indeed plan on updating this blog (barring unforeseen circumstances).

Right now I'm simply waiting in Sea-Tac airport for my flight to Copenhagen which will continue on to Paris. Interestingly, I currently have a seat for the Copenhagen to Paris portion of the trip but not for the Seattle to Copenhagen part. My flight is "overbooked," which could prove to be more than a simple annoyance if this continues for very much longer. But I have two hours until my flight is scheduled to leave, so I am not panicking yet.

If this flight doesn't happen for me, then the bookstore will be closed for far fewer days than is currently scheduled.

That's all.