a companion ain't so bad

Travelling alone is all about discovery, you're not held to commitments or obliged to the wants of somebody else. You do what you want. Well, I've been in the big city now for a while and it gets kind of old, especially in Paris when every other person in line at a museum is a couple and they're making out in front of you. Now, I didn't want someone to make out with, but after a day of touring the city alone, you realize after a while that you haven't spoken English to anyone in a few hours.

Solution? Meagan Aylward. Yay! My companion arrived from NYC yesterday morning, and in perfect timing. I was about to ask the burly Aussie brothers to accompany me in my sightseeing pursuits. I left the Young & Happy hostel on rive gauche and set out for rive droite to my new hostel right beside the Louvre. It's considerably nicer and has a central location. It's a nicer part of town, but it lacks the convenience of young student bars, cheap panini's and crepes, and the funky shops in the student neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day, so to take advantage, Meagan and I went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for a beautiful view of the city. It was a good thing I took advantage of the weather because you can't trust a sunny morning in fickle Europe. By the time we were on the Champs-Elysees it started raining. It didn't bother us, so we just kept going, saw Notre Dame, and Meagan went back to take a nap while I did much needed laundry. I got to the Laverie, and felt like a freshman boy away from his mom a month into a dirty clothes pile. I had to ask for help on what to do, because I've never really done laundry at a laundromat. It cost me almost 10 euros for just one load of laundry.

That night we went to Victor's apartment, to pregame before going to a club. I didn't want to take the risk of being underdressed in a Paris club, so I wore a dress only to find the other brazillians all in jeans. We were running late to get to the club before they charged a cover, so we more or less hauled ass towards the champs-elysees, running across to the arc de triomphe, which is illegal apparantly, because Victor and I were almost across the 8 lanes of circle traffic when we heard, "Monsieur, Madamoiselle!" and turned to find Meagan right in front of two police officers, or "cochons". Oops. She managed to get out of it and not die in the traffic, but here's a hint: don't illegally cross a dangerous road onto the grounds of a national French monument at 12:30 in the morning.

The club was my first real dose of culture shock: the kind that really makes you realize you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. Meagan and I were a bit shocked at the way the French act. First off, they really can't dance. Meagan and I were talking about this when we both said simultaniously in the same sense of shock: "Even the black girls can't dance!" I can't really explain the vibe, it was just very different from an American club, then again, I'm not much of a club person anyways, definitely more for the bars.

We slept in, and I guided around Paris for the afternoon. I got to go to the music museum today which was cool, they had a guitar exhibit which was awesome: guitars from Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Jimmy Page, Ben Harper's slide guitar, Bruce Springsteen, well, I was enthralled. I learned a lot about classical instruments as well. Tonight we went to the Highlander, a bar my family and I frequented when we were here, and I was affectionately referred to as Miss Little, although I explained I'm just a Little niece, and more of a Kouchacji. The guitar exhibit inspired me, and I played open mic night, which was spontaneous, but I really miss my guitar. One of the bartenders, Jeremy, is British and really wants me to play some Sublime with him for next wednesday, so we're getting together on Monday and Tuesday to practice. I'm not gonna lie, he's pretty hot! I have no complaints... Paris is fabulous ;)

bonne annee!

Ahhh, a new year, a new chapter of my life. This was the first New Years I had outside of the country, and I must say it was rather incredible. A bunch of us pitched in some money and had a dinner party at the hostel. It was incredible...definitely worth the 5euros. We had wine, champagne, paté, antipasto dishes, pasta puttanesca, wine, lentils and sausage, champagnesmoked salmon, greek salad, wine and champagne, green beans, carrots, corn, champage, cheese plates, and smoked chicken, oh and bottles and bottles of wine and champagne. We didnt even get to the smoked salmon, salad, and cheese until lunch today for leftovers. A man named Carlos set it all up for us, which was great. Then about 20 of us went to the metro with our various bottles of togo drinks and made a ruckus. We were singing and yelling in all sorts of languages, and the metro was free last night for new years, so it was so crowded. We looked out the window and we were crossing the Seine (the river) and the Eiffel Tower was right in front of us, beautifully lit up. We ended up getting to the hill by the Eiffel Tower with about 20 minutes til midnight, and the energy was just incredible for our group of people (including people from America, Australia, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Finland, Japan, Germany, Ecuador, and India. There were only about 15 of us at that point. Midnight hit and the hundreds of thousands of people burst when the Eiffel Tower sparkled and exploded with fireworks. Then we walked down to the Champs-Elysees, which was even more insane.

It's definitely not safe to be a female walking around the streets of paris alone, especially on New Years Eve. One time last week when my family was around I had a guy come up to me at like 2am and offer me 100euros to touch my breasts. Not what you want to hear when you're slightly drunk and on your way home. On New Years, one of the customs in France is for strangers to kiss strangers. Guys will go up to girls and guys, say "Bonne Annee!" and try to make out with you. Luckily for me I had a few guys around me, but when I wasn't right next to them touching, people would approach me in a very scary way. The group ended up getting all split up as the night went on, but i was with my Australian friend Paul, which was great. We drunkenly danced our way across Paris, while he made sure I was safe from creepy French guys. The metro ran all night long last night, but it wouldn't stop at every stop. We were waiting for a train on line 7 for like 20 minutes until someone came on to say that the line stopped. I was so exhausted that I thought I was just going to pass out in the streets walking home, but Paul kept me going. Finally we arrived home to leftover Greek Salad, but I just wanted to go to bed. A great New Years, full with culture, good people, and crazy, big city fun.

Meagan comes tomorrow! I talked to her a few hours ago, she should be on the plane now. I hope I'll show her a good time. Though she studied abroad in Sevilla last year, she's never been to Paris, so we should have a ton of fun in the next few days. One of the guys that works at the hostel is named Victor, a really hot Brazillian model in France working on some jobs. He had to work last night which sucked for him, but I told him I'd come back and give him a new year's kiss and drink some champagne with him. Well, I wasn't up for it, even though he said he saved me champagne even though I was way too tired to stay up. Stupid me! He's invited me to go to the club with him and his friends tomorrow night, so Meagan and I are going to go to his house to pregame, and then head down to one of the elite clubs on the Champs-Ellysées named Duplex. I'm psyched, I haven't been anywhere nice to dance yet. Plus, Victor's hot. Really excited about it...

Hope everyone else's new year's festivities were as magical as mine!

thoughts on america

So after a day of doing nothing, I decided that I was going to quit being a hermit. I got off the phone with Abby and no more than five minutes later I met a few people from Fort Collins, Colorado, where Abby goes to school. Crazy world. It's amazing the kind of people I've met. In breakfast yesterday, in a room no bigger than an average American kitchen, there were around 15 people, all speaking different languages in the hostel. Of the people I spoke with, I met people from France, Germany, Catalon (spain), Ecuador, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain. Last night a bunch of us played cards and then decided to go to a bar. The majority of the people we were with were speaking Spanish, but most spoke English. I spent a long time talking to a German guy about laws and cultures of our countries. He's from East Germany and said there are a lot of people in small towns that are still pretty neo-Nazi and have strong feelings against Jews. I was able to relate easily with him and my experience of many people from the small towns in the south. Some things will never change.

I've realized that Americans are really hard on themselves. We spend a lot of time blaming ourselves for our media and its influence on young people. Today I went to Montmartre, and passed by the Moulin Rouge and similar sex shops, which solicit customers in the middle of a Sunday. Having spoken with a lot of people, the real critique of American legislature is our attempt to keep our citizens safe from potentially dangerous experiences. At 18 Americans can drive, buy cigarettes, own guns, buy fireworks, die for their country, vote, yet they can't drink? You can buy beers here at fastfood restaurants, and the beer is much cheaper than sodas and bottled water. I have yet to see anyone fall down drunk (although tonight is New Years Eve, it may be different). I think we need to trust the intuition of young people and know that they'll learn how to deal with potentially dangerous things like drinking, sex, and drugs instead of glorifying them to a point where the law attempts to make them untouchable. Anyways, I have more on that topic, but any of my friends most likely agree.

So tonight a bunch of us that are staying at the hostel have decided to go ahead and buy some food and champagne and just have a big party before going down the the Champs-Elysees and Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. Too bad the metro closes at 1, I'm not walking home in heels...looks like the Birks will just have to be my party shoes tonight ;)

Meillures Voeux, Bonne Annee!

getting into the swing of things

Here I am at another cafe, much closer to the hostel where I'm staying. It's raining outside but I'm at a cafe watching people promenade in the Place de la Contrescarpe on Rue Mouffetard. It's been less than 24 hours and I'm already feeling like I could get away with this whole France thing. I certainly wish my hostel were better. I'm sharing a room with 3 other men, not even boys cloe to my age. Two burly Australians came in and introduced themselves as brothers: Douglas and Bear. Bear snored like a grizzly, and I have barely slept a wink. It definitely sucks to not have privacy, especially since the men kindof creep me out. They arrived yesterday and said they had no plans but were willing to do whatever. There was a bar that I wanted to go to and I made the mistake of saying, "you all can come if you want" followed by a jump out of the bed-get-your-coat-on movement. What's worse is that only one of the brothers wanted to come. Oh well, it was a nice companion on the metro, and an even better companion on the walk home through afterhours-Paris. (side note:: it has just started pouring down raining just as my hot french onion soup arrived... ahh.) Earlier that evening I went to the Louvre for the under-26 free admission on Friday nights. There's only so much walking around you can do. I've never understood the facination with the Mona Lisa...really, there are so many more incredible paintings by DaVinci and his fellow Italian artists. After many naked classical Greek sculptures, I decided to go to a bar that I read about that I never convinced my cousins to go to with me. It's described as a chill, mellow place with fake grass on the upstairs bar and a free jam session Sunday-Thursday and free concerts Friday and Saturday downstairs. We got there and I realized it was just another tiny bar, and it wasn't really that crowded until 10:00 when the show started. Luckily I was there early enough to get a seat but people were lining the stairs, stage, it was really cool, yet the size of a tiny bar. I sat with these two french guys about my age and the burly austrailian and they all ordered absinthe. Never had the stuff, don't think I ever will, especially since the real absinthe with wormwood is illegal in France, but they have a nice substitute that smells like licorice. it came with the flaming sugar cube on top and everything. I ended up spending the majority of the night with one of the French guys named Thibaut who was really friendly and rather handsome. He lives in Reims (Champagne country) and asked if I wanted to go with him tomorrow just for the evening. I was all for it, packed and everything, but I found out that they dont have tours of the Champagne caves on the weekends, plus I already paid for tonight's stay in the hostel. Another time, I guess I'll just wait for Meagan to come, when we aren't booked for rooms in advance. It's only been one night and I've already met a hot French guy. Vive la France!

alone in france...

And so the adventure begins. I've spent the last eight days in Paris with my family and various significant others. We've had an incredible time as ex-patriots for a week, extravagant meals, four apartments, fabulous shopping, wine, beer, spirits. The family left me today, and it's starting to sink in that the extravagant meals and unlimited alcohol will not be feasable from my measly account. I went across Paris with a huge suitcase that I dropped off at a hostel I'm staying at later, and walked the other direction with my backpack to the hostel I'm staying at for the next few nights, which doesn't happen to open until 16h. So I found myself a brasserie with free wifi and got a caraffe of wine and a green salad. Paris is so expensive...I think I'm going to eat lettuce all week long on account that it's all that I should be spending my money on. The hostels cost 21-29 euros a night...so much for a cheap backpacking trip! As of now, I have no idea what I'm going to be doing all day by myself. It's going to be weird to not have my 4 cousins, 2 of their boyfriends, my aunt, uncle, and mom to entertain me all day. I've already seen most of Paris anyway...I guess I'll just find a nice book, right? I'll be spending the next two days trying to figure out where the party's at for new years.

No pictures quite yet, it seems I've left my USB cord in the US and won't get it until my mom gets time to ship it to me. Oops. I'll be sure to get some up soon!

<3 gabby