I’ve been to the city of light…

Posted by Erik | Filed under Uncategorized

Holy crap. Paris was prety awesome even though I’ve got a couple of blisters on my feet. Damn shoes and the fifteen miles I humped around the heart of that city. Climbed the L’arc de Triomphe something or other, wandered through Notre Dame and Saint Chappelle, walked down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre but didn’t enter it - not in the mood for an extremely short visit. Went to the Eiffel Tower but didn’t ascend.

The Eurostar train that goes through the Channel tunnel is uneventful even at high speed and in the tunnel (it’s pitch black for 20 min for anyone who doesn’t know). Just like any other train but I can say I’ve taken it now. I must say London has a much better Eurostar terminal at Waterloo (though it’ll move to King’s Cross / St. Pancras when the rest of the high-speed line is complete) than Paris does at Gare du Nord. Oh. I sat next to a very interesting gentleman on the return trip who freelances and works all over and also travel all over because he’s a professional paraglider! More on that in the eventual travel log.

Wanted to f?$& the French when I arrived - I had two problems. First was the language barrier. I can handle that, it’s a fun challenge. Second problem was understanding the Euro currency - figuring out what the coins look like. I’ve got British coins down pat, recognizable instanty but not the Euro. Neither problem’s a serious issue except when combined together at one of Paris’ six busy train stations and I’m trying to figure out which coins I need to slip in the machine so I can piss and which Paris Metro line goes where I want to go. I was bombarded with beggars and was spending more time worrying about pickpockets and being a victim rather than sorting things out. So I did say “F?$% the French!” and took a taxi for ?10 to Notre Dame. Once I got to Pont Neuf a bit later I sorted out the subway tickets and map and was all set. Then I saw all the hottie French babes, many of whom apparently shun undergarments and I then said, “I want to f?$% the French!”

Permalink | September 21st, 2004

13 Responses to “I’ve been to the city of light…”

  1. Anonymous Says:
    September 22nd, 2004 at 11:45 am

    But darling, French girl’s don’t shave. ::winks:
    -VespaChickadoodle

Leave a Reply