Paris!

I am in Paris, France!

My plane landed at 5:15pm (an hour difference in time from UK, so I am now 6 hours difference from east coast USA). I met a nice Australian who has been traveling since MARCH! He slept the whole flight but when we were approaching Paris he woke up and we talked. He flew in from Italy yesterday and instead of paying a fortune for a room in London, he 'slept' at the airport. His brother lives in Paris and so he was desperately looking forward to a bed and shower.

Turns out he (Jeremy) was heading the same direction as me and so he helped me along the train routes in Paris to get me to my new home. The Hotel de Nevers. Its not Hilton or even a Days Inn, but its cheap, it has wireless and its in a good location. So it will do.


Once I got settled in a bit, I took off for a short walk in my new neighborhood. I stopped at a restaurant and got some pasta and two beers (total cost 21 Euros or about $30US). Looks like food is expensive here too. I also got a tasty almond cookie!

I have spoken some French. I can really only say hello and 'can you speak english'... thats about it. I had a begger on the street say something to me. Turns out he speaks fluent English and asked for change. All I had at the time was a British Pound and I told him this. When I handed it to him he seemed upset. But not upset enough to give it back. :) Ultimately, I need to work on my French.

I am booked here at the Hotel de Nevers until Friday but my Australian friend just shook his head and said "not enough time for Paris". He recommended I stay a bit longer, so I am considering rebooking my room until Monday of next week, which will give me 6 days in Paris instead of 3. Jeremy also recommended walking... everywhere. He said some of the best finds in Paris will be found by just walking, turning a corner, and there is something amazing you didn't expect. Not to mention it is cheaper then the Metro.

I am also considering, after I leave Paris (whenever that might be), taking a train or bus to the country in France. I can go north and check out Normandy or south and check out the villages there. Might save some money and see some beautiful country. So this is what I am thinking. Course, I could still see what cheap flights are available and get one of those. Some cheap destinations I have found from Paris - Madrid, Rome and Brussels.

Today I was efficient! I got up early, repacked all my clothes (which I got to wash all of them last night!), wrote down everything I needed on one piece of paper and left early for the trains to the airport. Amazing how much better things can go for you when you do a little planning. Hmm, I might have to try this again! :)

Everything went smooth. I wrote this at the airport waiting for my plane:

The train ride was nice though as I got to see some beautiful UK countryside along the way. Luton is a town north of London. I am down to about 30 pounds cash and I figure I can just hold onto that until I get back in mid December. I will probably end up spending a couple days in London at Renee's before I leave. The price is right!

Airports are a bit different here. You check in, thats about the same. Then you go through security, which is similar but often does not require you to take off your shoes. Then you sit in a 'Lounge' and watch the video boards. They prefer that you do not go to your gate until the boards tell you that your plane is boarding, then the board will say 'Proceed to gate 5'. So far I have flown on British Airways, Ryanair and Aerlingus and notice that on the smaller flights within Europe, the space between the seats are about as tight as I have ever seen. The flight back from Ireland on Ryanair was so tight that none of the seats would recline.

I had probably one of my best breakfasts on my trip this morning at the Luton Airport. It was 2 sausages (bigger then US), 2 eggs sunny side up, bakes beans (common item for breakfast) and chips (french fries, also common for breakfast). It was a big plate for 5.99 pounds (over $12 US).

Bacon in Europe is not the same as bacon in the US. Its more like a fatty ham. Also peanut butter is different and most Americans will bring it back with them from the states. Apparently Ranch dressing is hard to come by.

Tomorrow, The Eiffel Tower!