Paris

Right after I posted that last post I met a really nice guy named Nathaniel from Stockholm. He told me about this great little place outside Canterbury called Harbeldon and offered to take me there. So we traveled there the next day and had a drink at a pub overlooking the town. Unforunately he had to get to London that day, but it was nice traveling around with someone.

Well the Nick Drake tribute concert was really great. It was a great way to end my stay in Canterbury. It as good that I got to relax, because the next day was quite busy.

On the 23rd I did the following:

-Took a bus from Canterbury to Dover
-Took a ferry from Dover to Calais, France
-Took a train from Calais to Lille
-Changed stations and took a train from Lille to Paris
-Took the metro from Gare D'Nord to Charles De Gaulle station
-Found my way to the Brocketts hotel

At the ferry I met a nice guy from Scotland named Daniel. He played the accordion and he was carrying it with him. I don't know how he could take it but he assured me that it wasn't too bad. He was headed to Berlin but we both had to get to Paris first so he became my temporary travel companion until we reached Paris. On the train from Lille we met three people, one of whom was playing guitar. So we ended up playing accordion and guitar together the entire trip. So my first encounter with the French has been a good one.

The Metro in France confused the hell out of me at first and for a about twenty minutes I wondered around until it finally clicked and I got on the right train. French is really hard to pronounce but If you start out asking them if they speak English (in French of course) they will try to help you out. Muttering and mispronouncing French will not offend them as much as begining in English will.

Once I found the Brocketts we were both excited to see eachother. It was somewhat strange meeting in Paris. We went to the Eiffel Tower after I told them about my trip. The tower is beautiful at night.

They let me sleep on the floor, but it wasn't that bad considering I got a free breakfast and a nice shower and bathroom. The whole time I was there we had to keep sneaking around so they wouldn't catch on to our little plan.

Yesterday we went to the Museè dè Orsay, a great museum filled with mostly Impressionist art, but it had different kinds as well. We also went to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, but it was packed and everyone shuffled through like cattle, so that wasn't that great. The window was nice, though. The Brocketts took me out to dinner at the Planet Hollywood (it was their last day in Euope and they were craving some American food) and then I did some laundry in the sink and went to bed. They left early this morning (1 AM your time) and I snuck out undetected from the hotel. Well, actually I walked out the front door with them but never got in the taxi (sometimes the most inconspicuous way of doing something is doing the most obvious). But I did manage to grab a few croissants before I left and stick them in my bag for later.

By the way, I found a couple from Rockville in Paris. I think the UMD hat gave it away...

I found my hostel and will be spending a few more days here seeing the Louvre, Napoleon's grave, a cemetary where Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Chopin are buried and maybe even the Musuem of Erotic Art (sounds pretty out there).

My next update may not be for a while because this update is costing me fifteen dollars (edit: I was mistaken - only 4 dollars)and they keyboards are different here, so I am much slower typing.

Au revoir!