First Night in Paris

I'll spare the usual travel disaster stories (including soap dispensers that like to bruise thumbs in Houston, discovering that my deodorant was failing me into the 7th of 10 hours on my flight from Houston to Paris, my debit card not working at the train station, etc.)

After some hearty napping, a comically uncomfortable shower (it's built for gnomes, I swear), and psyching myself up, I decided to venture out. Psyching myself up was required because thus far no one speaks English and my French is elementary at best. It's intimidating and overwhelming to be in a city that I've spent years dreaming about only to feel totally inefficient and isolated.

However, once I ventured out the first thing I came across was a comic shop around the corner from the hotel. This I took as a good sign. I got fairly lost but managed to find a brasserie that served something other than steak tartar and beef soup and some beef mayonnaise (you'd think I'd be kidding but it appears that the French LOVE their beef). I sidestepped the restaurants that catered to the tourists (meaning English menus) and headed for the most smoky, scary place I could find. It worked - I found an authentic French eatery.

I had to had gesture and mistakingly pour some of my kir sauvignon into my water to truly prove to the fellow eaters that I am a dumb American, but I got to eat. After 24 hours of airport food I was stoked.

Afterwards I decided to wander around and somehow crossed the Seine and found myself at the foot of the Notre Dame. I'm glad I saw it in all it's lit glory rather than swarmed with tourists. Though I told myself beforehand I wouldn't be the tourist to take shots of all the predictable locations, I was moved to. I blame it on the chiming bells on my approach.

I think that my taking a photo was invitation enough for some swarmy Frenchman to approach me, tell me I was beautiful, and that we needed to have a drink. It took nice persistence, but I finally shook the strange man who tried to convince me my name in French is Sarah and that Seattle and Washington D.C. are really close to each other.

And now I will relax with my first bottle of cheap French wine bought in Paris and play some Final Fantasy III on my DS.

Oh, I don't know if I'll be able to blog again. The adapter I bought doesn't work. So long ipod, DS and laptop charging.