Fun In Paris!

So I got to my hotel room, and the overwhelming urge was to fall on the bed and sleep until morning. I fought that urge reminding myself I only had two days in Paris (until later on in the month) and I should make them worth every minute. So I went sight seeing! My first stop of course was the Eiffel Tower! I started to figure out the metro, and arrived at the Eiffel Tower without any problems. I walked around (it was very warm so I began to get very thirsty). I was very glad I wore sunblock because it was a very bright sunshiny day. Something I’ve discovered about Paris is that everywhere you go there’s history all around you. The buildings are very old, the roads are very old, and monuments are plentiful. I went from the Eiffel Tower to the Arch de Triomphe on foot. Taking pictures all the way. I enjoyed people watching, and went to a café and ate a very good burger… probably one of the best burgers I’ve ever had and it was made by a Frenchman, who would have guessed they can cook a cow just as well as Americans? Their coffee is called a café and it’s a small shot of espresso which they serve with some sugar, but it’s awesome! I love it, the French do coffee tres bon!

Something I’ve noticed about Paris is that everything is esthetically pleasing. The French take art to the next level. The people are extremely fashionable, the architecture (which I love) is a delight to look at. Even the light poles are often pieces of art, have sculptures on them and have detail that just would be impracticable in an American setting. Americans would wonder what the purpose of such detail would be, we are too pragmatic I think. Anyways at the end of the evening I had a kabob (cheap street vendor food) and went to bed and slept very hard. I’m currently in a café, drinking café and enjoying French music and a beautiful décor. Earlier this morning I did have a croissant (delicious), an apple infused croissant (delicious), and a toffee éclair (beyond delicious). The French know their pastry, this is not a place for low carbs! I’m off to head to the Louvre and sightsee some more, au revoir until next time!

Disorientation and Confusion

I was in Paris! I had so much excitement, but the question was… how do I get to my hotel? I got out of the airport with my luggage and immediately a taxi came up to me and asked me [in English] if I needed his services, to which I eagerly said yes. I asked him his fare and it was 2.2 Euro per kilometer. Keep in mind that kilometers are much shorter than the English mile. He plugged my hotel’s address into his gps and figured out how much it was going to cost me… over 100 euro! For those of you unfamiliar with the Euro conversion unit, 1 euro is about 1.3 dollars right now. Plus, there’s about a 3% surcharge for the conversion between the two currencies. 150 Euro is a little less than 200 dollars. I’d be burning nearly 150 bucks just to ride with this taxi to my hotel. No way! My hotel only cost around 60 bucks. So I had him drop me off at the Metro which he told me would get me where I needed to go in the city.

The Metro is a beast. A subway train system under the heart of Paris which can take you nearly anywhere in Paris for really cheap. A ticket to ride only costs about 1.2 Euro. Of course the ticket machine was in French and I’d never used it before so I had to call for assistance. The lady told me in broken English how to operate the ticket machine and there I was off to the Metro. I however had several problems. I for one don’t know the city, I was carrying around heavy luggage (should have packed less) and the subway is completely packed out with people. I like to think of the Metro as meat wagons. You’re pressed up against 5 or 6 people with no room for the American bubble? I like my bubble, and what’s more I like being able to move my arm. There’s also the concern for pickpockets and thieves because you’re up against everybody else, and everybody can tell I’m a tourist because of my luggage.

So I jumped on the subway… not knowing where I was going. Bad move. Fortune however shone on me. I heard right next to me people speaking English! I never heard such a sweet sound in my life. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a place where nobody speaks your language, now Paris is somewhat Americanized, but older people are likely not to know how to speak English and often the younger people don’t use it often enough to be proficient at it. Plus if you’re an American overseas you don’t want to be seen as somebody who has the expectation of requiring people to accommodate them, after all this is their country, and their language. I will never ever have the same attitude towards foreigners in my country. It’s hard going to a place, not knowing the language and being expected to try to communicate in it. I even had three years of French in high school (most of which I forgot) and I was totally unequipped for what awaited me in Paris. Back to the English speakers… there was an Australian couple and an American father and daughter speaking amongst themselves. I said to them, kind of loudly and with great delight… “Oh my gosh, English speakers, I don’t know where I’m going and I need to get to my hotel.” The American father and daughter were first time Paris visitors so they couldn’t help me but the Aussie couple could. They got me a metro map and explained to me how they worked, and set me in the right direction! WooHoo! I am convinced that couple was a gift from God! Otherwise I would have ridden that metro car aimlessly. I finally got to my hotel and I was thrilled!

The Flight

So here I am, I said goodbye to my friends, family, and the love of my life. I'll see them again in about five weeks. I'm disappointed that I couldn't share this journey with my fiancée. Maybe this journey is just something I had to do by myself. I've never been out of the country, and Paris is one of the greatest cities in the world.

I realized that I forgot a few things; a passport photo for the city I am traveling to, a nice pair of slacks, and a belt.

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Arrived in Dallas/Ft. Worth's airport and what do I find but my good friend Matt Meyer and his wife Jessie (Faith). They just got back from Seattle from visiting another good friend Alex Baumgarten and his wife Beth. Just when I felt like the world was so huge I'm reminded that it's nowhere near as big as I thought. I'll probably have to pick up the picture for the tram in france. I reserved a hotel for about $60 U.S. which is amazing.

Now I'm actually in TGIFridays... because this might be one of my last chances to eat real American food. There's nothing like waiting around for a flight. It's incredible how commercialized airports are. This is a full fledged mall for travelers. Now I'm getting curious about how the Charles De Gaulle Airport will look, whether it'll be as commercial or just an airport.

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My flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth was delayed twice, for a delay time of three hours. The first plane had mechanical problems, the next had no air conditioning, and the last one finally worked. There's nothing like flying coach for nearly 1o hours. I began to covet the business class seating. Their chairs actually kind of reclined. I'm generally a light sleeper so any light jerk or rattle will wake me up. This resulted in a night where I could not sleep very much. They also couldn't find the truck to supply the breakfast, but they promised to give us vouchers for real French croissants once we got off the plane. We never got those vouchers. Charles De Gaulle in fact did have some shops, but nowhere close to Dallas/Ft. Worth's shops. There ended my first experience with international travel... and there begins disorientation and confusion.