I arrived in Paris Sunday evening which meant there was no time for sightseeing; only enough time for getting right down to business. The hostel room I was staying in was shared with a San Jose resident, Adam (and others but I never met them), who is funding his summer travels via the returns on his legal grow-op.
A view of Paris from the hostel balcony
We went out for dinner to a couscous place (called Couscous, I think) a few blocks away and shared a bottle of Bordeaux. On the way back to the hostel, we picked up two more bottles of red. With a mix of impatience and amazement at liberal drinking laws (you can drink in public), Adam started in on his while we walked back. As we entered the hostel lobby, we were greeted by the noise of likeminded hostellers. I quickly made for our room to uncork my bottle and returned to the group. I must blame the lateness of the night (surely it couldn’t be the alcohol that was imbibed) but I remember the names of only a few people met that night. And the only reason I remember their names is that I spent the next day with them. There was Gabriel and Tom from Montreal whose European trip was drawing to a close in a few days, Naomi from Berkley Nor-Cal who is spending her summer at a children’s camp in Brittany, and a German, Henni. The majority of the night was spent trading travelling stories and playing poker. We were shushed by the staff at two, quiet hour, and finally headed off to bed around three.
Adam hydrating for the next day
The next morning, the people mentioned before and two others from Quebec City, Valerie and Genevieve, took a walk around Left Bank, Paris. Gabriel had been to Paris before, so appointed himself tour guide. He claimed that all museums are closed on Mondays, so we would visit parks mainly that day and could go to the museums the next day.
The first stop was the gigantic University Hospital which had an art show in its chapel. From the hospital, we headed over to the closest parks, Jardins des Plantes and Place Jussieu. By the time we were leaving there, it was after 12 and seemed an ideal time to pick up supplies at the closest convenience store. I had woken late that day and had yet to eat anything, so embarrassingly, I only purchased fruit, expecting to stop again in another hour or two. The others (or maybe only Tom and Gabriel) had other plans and stocked up on lunch supplies (including two bottles of wine and some beer). We parked our asses overlooking the Seine, watched tour boats ferry people around, and enjoyed our “lunch”.
Art show in the chapel
The next area we wanted to loiter in was Jardin du Luxembourg which has the magnificent looking Palais du Luxembourg complete with bored looking guards to protect it from the menacing tourists. We had finished one of the bottles of wine by now and on our way to the next spot I felt I should contribute to the cause, so I purchased another bottle of Bordeaux.
Palais du Luxembourg
The walk to Hotel des Invalides was the longest walk of the day but surely was worth it to see the guards shoo Adam and Gabriel off the lawn when they tried to take a seat (the Parisians are adamant about keeping to the path). A bottle of wine was killed here and then we off to our last spot, Champ de Mars and, touring above, the Eiffel Tower.
The crew (Naomi, Henni, Tom, Gabriel, Adam, Genevieve and Valerie is taking a photo beside me) outside L'hotel des Invalides
Lounging at Champ de Mars, gazing at the tower, we downed the last bottle and then the group broke apart. Adam, Henni, and Naomi wanted to go up the tower. I couldn’t be bothered to wait in line or pay the eight euros, so I returned to the hostel with the Quebeckers.
It has to be said that this was my fifth day straight of getting drunk* and I’m not as strong as I once was. When we got back, I went straight to the room and had a “nap”. Around midnight, Adam and Gabriel tried to convince me to join the party but I had no energy in me for it. It’s a shame because from the stories regaled the next day, it was better than the previous night.
It was such a good party that I didn’t see anybody the next morning, so I headed off for Notre Dame and Louvre on my own. I figured I would stop at anything that seemed interesting en route. This turned out to be a very good plan because I ventured upon a free museum dedicated to the history of Paris. I would find out later that this was to be the only museum I would enter that day as the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays (lesson learned: don’t trust Gabriel’s tour guide skills). I didn’t intend on waiting in line or paying to see inside Notre Dame, so I contented myself to walk the perimeters of there and Louvre, appreciating the beauty from the outside.
A view of Notre Dame
In the evening, I enjoyed a solitary dinner at an organic, vegetarian restaurant and got a small lesson in the French dining culture. I finished my meal and was offered dessert and coffee by the waiter. I declined both and waited for the bill to arrive. Over the next ten minutes or more, he passed me by multiple times to receive new diners, take orders, and deliver food. We even made eye contact a couple times. Unfortunately, I don’t know the word for bill, so, hoping that there is an open wifi signal nearby, I pull out my iPod. Luckily, there was. I ended up at a page that informs me the word for bill is “l’addition” and that, in France, the bill only comes once the diner has requested it. Ohh!
That night a fraction of the group from the first night ventured out to a bar, picking up a couple students on our way. Disappointingly, it was a much more subdued night compared to the two previous. I suppose that is good though because I was able to get a decent sleep and was refreshed for my journey to La Besnardiere, my next WWOOF stop.
Happy Impending Canada Day,
Kasza
*Thu: prepared for the weekend’s Solstice party by getting drunk and raiding grocery skips
Fri: Solstice night 1
Sat: Solstice night 2; up until 5am
Sun: Paris hostel night
Mon: Paris by day
Extra Photos
Solistice Party
Lily getting in the spirit
Amy-Jane enjoying a joke behind the bar
Dress up and dance!
Feeling the drain after a day of festivities
Remnents of Solstice dinner
Henry ready for action the next day
Le Fete de Music in Bauge last Saturday
Don't know this name of the band but they were pretty good. Click on the pics to enlarge
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