Paris, Day 1
Alors, Paris, comme je t'aime encore.

Right now, I'm post-morning shower. I got in around 7am, and I had the included breakfast before getting a shower in. I may go back for more coffee.

It's raining today, so I'm not sure how much I will get done, but I feel refreshed. I had trouble falling asleep on the plane (I had a 5-hr allergy attack), so I was pretty dead yesterday. It was a bit of a task, getting from the airport to the hostel, but I'm happy with the find. It's the Centre International de Paris-Paris Louvre, recommended by my handy-dandy Let's Go: Paris. It's in the 1er arrondisement, about a block from the Louvre. Aside from its proximity to tourist attractions, it's also close to le Marais, which is the gay district, located in the 4ème arrondisement. So I can go to the clubs and return at any hour, since there's no curfew or lockout time. And it's only 25€! Which is expensive for a hostel, but not for a hostel in Paris. And it's definitely one of the nicer hostels I've stayed in.

After I arrived yesterday, I mostly walked around the 1er & 2ème arrondisements. I hit the Jardin du Palais Royal, where the number of sunbathers was surprising. it seemed like a place where Parisiens might take their lunch break, and here were sunbathers and kids in a sandbox. Bizarre.

I also visited some Galeries or Passages, which are little covered alleyways with nice shops. A lot of things were closed, as August is a popular month for the French to take their vacations. After that, I came back to the hostel to check into the room. And it was nowhere near the time to go meet Mosh for dinner (we set a time before I left for Paris). I was exhausted, but I couldn't take a nap, having forgotten to pack either a watch or alarm clock. So I tried to walk leisurely to the Metro station. It's normally a transfer to go from here to Mosh's stop, so I reasoned that walking over to her Metro line might kill some time.

Everything's a lot closer than the map makes it seem. I walked through the Louvre's courtyard to reach the Jardin des Tuileries. Qu'est-ce que c'est une "tuilerie"? Anyway, I walked through it unappreciatively to reach the Place de la Concorde, where the 12th century BC Egyptian obelisk sits. It's sort of out of place-looking.

When I arrived at our meeting place, a rose garden with a playground, I tried very hard not to lie down on the bench. No one else was, and I didn't want to be "that guy." So I kept awkwardly propping my arm up on the back of the bench, dozing off. I would pretty much wake up whenever the breeze was suddenly cool, or any kind of noise was made, so I woke up pretty immediately when Mosh started kicking dirt at me.

We went to the St-Michel area, in the Quartier Latin, I believe. It was crawling with people, and it felt very familiar and strange, as a lot of the city has been doing to me. We ate at a bistro, where I had some turkey. It was pretty good, but not magnificent. In related news, my budget isn't doing so hot. But I am trying.

We walked around a bit after dinner and when we parted, I came back to the hostel. I was asleep by 10, but some noise from the street rustled me awake around 4:30. I got changed, and headed to a club, Le Dépôt. It's kind of a dance blub/sex club hybrid. And without saying which is which, it's more of a 60/40 split between the two. While, in general, the Europeans have been nice to look at, the club wasn't very special. It was a good club (even I almost started dancing), but the pickin's were slim. I guess it was crowded for a Friday morning. I can't imagine what Saturday night will be like. The guys weren't more attractive than those in American clubs (and they were worse danseurs), so I was getting ready to leave. I'd rejected a number of advances, which was nice, but disappointing. Before I left, I was feeling impulsive, and I figured "what the hell," and I boinked some guy. I have no idea what his name was, but he spoke French and was kind of pretty. In other news, one of my dormmates is an Aussie hottie named Justin. So I'm going to go join him in the breakfast room and get another bowl of café noir, and then I'll plan out what to do on this rainy, rainy day.
- posted by roger @ 8:30 AM