Paris, France

I am going to type as fast as my little fingers can, on a French keyboard.

I am loving Paris, I just wish I had an extra day or so here, although I don't think my pocket book could withstand the blow. I got in LATE on Saturday and went straight to the hostel. By the time I got to the hostel, St Christopher's, I was ready for a good nights sleep and an antacid, make that two antacids.

The next morning I got up, well rested, had a bit of breakfast, and decided to start my time in Paris at the Arch de Triomphe. Not totally centrally located, but a pretty good starting place. Then I walked to the Eiffel Tower which is currently lit blue at night and has six stars on the side in honor of the fact the France is the current home to the President of the European Union. The blue lighting only lasts from July to January, so it was fun to be here and see it lit up like a Disney castle. On my way to the Eiffel Tower, I was stopped by a gentleman in a car who I assumed needed directions. My normal reply to such a questioning is to say "what" and hold my arms up in a dramatic shrug. But this guy spoke English. It turned out, after several minutes and him "offering" me some "Louis Vuitton" jackets, that he just wanted money. I regretted to inform him that I was by no means a wealthy American. He persisted to ask me for money, so after I returned to him the bag filled with the coats, I opened my wallet for him, and I kid you not, moths flew out. Finally I just walked away as he was asking me to go to an ATM.

I have to admit that panhandling in Paris has become an artful menagerie of cons. A very similar thing occurred to me at the Eiffel Tower. This time it was a young boy put a ring in my hand that he had just picked up off the ground and told me it was good luck and I should keep it. So I took it and as I walked away he asked for a couple of Euros so he could get a cafe. The kid looked about 10 years old and I am not familiar with all French customs, but I wanted to say to him, "You are too young to drink coffee." When I forcefully put the ring back in him palm and said I had no money, he proceeded to tell me to "F*** off" and spit at my feet. I have no idea, but being told by a ten year old to "F*** off" put a really big smile on my face. I guess I just thought it was funny, but I was so impressed at how creative he was at making a couple of extra bucks from a rich tourist. Unfortunately for him, I just wasn't a rich tourist, although I am an easier target because I am alone. It just taught me that NOTHING in Paris is free.

After my visit to the Eiffel Tower, I decided to go on a free (except for the tip at the end) walking tour of Paris. There is a company called "New Europe Tours" (neweuropetours.eu) that has started doing free walking tours all over the continent. I had heard good things so I thought it would be a fun way to see some sights, get some history, and meet some people. My own problem with Paris is its lack of Tourist Information offices so I also thought the tour might be a good way for me to get some more info on other things I was trying to do. The tour was great, I met some nice people, and got all the info I wanted. My main question being "Where are the catacombs?"

I REALLY wanted to do the Catacombs of Paris, so once I had the information that I needed, I headed straight to the metro stop in order to at least find out the Catacombs hours. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time Sauv, the South African kid I was hanging out with after the tour, and I got there. We noted the hours of operation, 10am to 5pm, and decided to meet back there in the morning right at 10. I spent the rest of the evening walking to the Sacre Coure, all 264 steps (yes I counted), hanging out in the artists square observing the really good and the unfortunately not so good artists doing portraits of anyone willing to sit still for 20 minutes. It reminded me of the last time I was in Paris six years ago. Then I walked to the Moulin Rouge and marveled at all of the topless and bottomless bars around the red light district of Paris.

Today when I got to the Catacombs, I was a few minutes late, and unfortunately Sauv and I had neglected to note that they were closed on Monday, so I missed the Catacombs and due to my tardiness, I missed Sauv. So instead I went to the Louvre for several hours, the Pompeidu and did a bit more walking around the city. Now I am doing a bit of planning on how to get to London tomorrow.

On a HILARIOUS note, I just (as in 2 minutes ago, as I was typing this e-mail) ran into Andrew, who I hung out with in Vienna and randomly ran into on the streets of Prague, again, in Paris. That makes two random run ins to him. That is a record for me.