An American in Paris

As cliche as this update's title is, it is the truth! I've made it to what some call the most romantic city in the world, and my what a city it is. Before I get to that, though, I'm going to finish up telling the tale of my Brussels stint.

After the post I headed back to the hostel, and on the way I picked up some dinner at that street vendor place again, but this time I went for a more Belgian treat- a baguette filled with pork, cheese, sauce, and French fries. It was strange and messy, but it was delicious! Once back at the Hostel, I ran into my Japanese roommate, Humi, again and met a new arrival, Pedro, who was from Brazil and had been travelling, starting in North Africa, for 6 months! He was really cool and spoke great English, unlike Humi. After our introductions, we went down to the hostel bar and drank Stella Artois, a Belgian brew, while watching Greece and Spain and Russia and Sweden battle it out for the semifinals of the Euro cup.

While this was going on, we met a guy from Nigeria who was here doing volunteer work. After we chatted for a while I realized that we had 4 continents represented on a 5th one. I thought it was interesting, but if we had had someone from Austria and Antarctica, it would have really been a party. I went to bed before the games finished.

After falling asleep, I learned a very hard lesson, and that was that snoring can be epic. I learned this from Pedro's bone-shattering snoring and Portuguese sleep talking combo. It was insane. Luckily, I had my earplugs with me, so all was good.

This morning, I woke up at 7, showered, scarfed down breakfast, and walked to the train station in time for my trip to Paris. It was a pretty uneventful 1.5 hours, but I got a good look at the scenery. Once we arrived, I got my Metro card and took it to north Paris where my hostel is. It looks like a lot more of a backpackers hostel, and I'm in another 4 person room, though I haven't met any of my roommates.

After checking in I got back on the subway and went downtown, to the Notre Dam! I thought that would be an appropriate first stop. The following are pictures from my 6 hour walk around Paris:

The Luxembourg Gardens

A Not-So-Excellent Picture of Yours Truly

The Arch du Triumph (didn't even try the French spelling)
I met these two Romanian girls outside the Louvre asking for a picture.
The Louvre

After walking for what seemed like hundreds of miles, I had seen most of the monumental sights of Paris. I was going to go to the Musee D'Orsey, but the line was too long and I was feeling poor. All these places, even Notre Dam, are like 5 euros to visit! So I've had to settle for just looking. I figure I'll come back when I'm wealthier and see all the museums. Tomorrow night, though, the Louvre is free if you're under 26! Score! I'm thinking I'll go to Reims and do the Champagne tours and then come back for the Louvre at night.

For lunch, I went ubercheap and got a .90 Euro baguette and a 3.50 euro chunk of Brie-like cheese, which will last for two lunches. I'm really excited about that. Haha

Until Next Time, You Stay Classy!