3rd internet cafe in the last 24 hours.
Our emotions are like a Pirate Ship at a fair. We decide one moment to embrace a forced stay in London, with faith in our insurance company that accomodation, transport and food will be reimbursed, then penduluming to the next extreme of worry and homesickness as we realise it could be a whole week before anything happens.
But what better time than to update on our adventure. And I feel Paris is an appropriate city to write about right now.
The first night we were in Paris, Millie and I, and 7 other people from all over the world (2 guys from Scottland, another Aussie girl, an Irish girl, someone from India and 2 American girls with annoying accents) sat on our bunks and couch. I muttered to Millie " I always thought that my first night in Paris would be with my lover in a boutique hotel on the Champs Elysee". Everyone else heard of course since there was barely any room to even breathe. Some rolled their eyes, other agreed.
The fact of the matter was, we had booked our hostel months ago, paid a small fee and gotten a great deal. We could see the Eiffel Tower from our window and had a kitchen (which is a luxury when on the go all the time). Millie, Amanda (the occa Aussie) and I had gone out for a Parisian dinner at a resturant complete with crepes and French Red Wine, only to return to find out room of 6 packed with 9 people. Not to mention the couple who were in the private room. There had been a 'glitch' in the system and we were cramming a group of foreigners together for a cozy night in the 'most romantic city in the world'.
The bed I had claimed (with a view) had been claimed by a new girl, the Irish girl with a lazy eye. She had placed my journal, camera and jewelery carelessly on the fold out sofa and decided that she would get the bed and Millie and I would sleep on the most comfortable 'bed' of our lives.
A month in Africa and I had not experienced this level of discomfort. I went to bed at 12:30 hoping the 6 people sitting up talking crap would take the hint and do the same. An airoplane eye mask and my Drift music drowned out some of the conversation which mulled around travel experiences and know-it-alls trying to out do each other. Millie and I slept for about 2 hours, falling into the middle of the mattress and waking up with remarkable back pains.
We spent the day wandering through the Louvre. It was magical. The Mona Lisa had to be seen however fighting for a good photo was like trying to get the front of a John Mayer concert. The Japanese were the worst offenders for pushing and shoving.
We walked through the wings and marvelled more at the rooves and oppulance than the paintings. Napoleans appartment took my breath away. Gold lined walls and chandeliers lined the ceilings.
We made our way to Notre Dame to climb it and received a call from the lady who ran the hostel informing us we wouldn't be getting out own beds. Another night like the night before and I would officially hate Paris. Wotif.com saved us and we booked in for a HOTEL! (a novelty on this trip) in Montmare, down the road from the Moulin Rouge and once the centre of all Bohemian activity.
We found out later that the Scottish guys had been staying a few extra nights longer, and not paid and had done a runner that morning when they realised the situation. Lovely how 2 guys could knowingly sleep in our beds while we suffered on the couch. Well we had our refund and were staying in a room with bright pink and green walls. A truly chic boutique hotel.
That night we went to the Eiffel tower. Seeing it for the first time took our breath away (we have a video). We climbed it, had dinner watching the sunset over it and took more photos as it glistened in the night. It truly is amazing.
The next day we saw Paris. From Sacre Coure to the cafe Amelie was filmed in. We walked through Musee d Orsay (favourite gallery ever!) and climbed Notre Dame, pretending to be Esmerelda and Quasimodo. We had a picnic in a park on the Champs Elysee and walked in the spring shower as the sunset over Arch d Triomph. Finally back at Montmare we found a gorgeous wine bar full of artists and professors and 2 guys playing guitar. We shared a bottle of French red and celebrated our last night on this adventure together (or so we thought).
Paris was amazing. Scary in the metro, dirty in most places, but when the sun set over the city and fell upon those beautiful stone walls, you understood why it was the city of love.
Paris, je t'iame.
(If you can speak French don't judge my spelling). x
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