PARIS
After class on Wednesday we took the train to Paris. Before we left though we made a pit stop at platform 9 and 3/4. DISAPPOINTING. It wasn’t even between 9 and 10. IT WASN’T EVEN A BRICK WALL. We still got some pictures though. Hogwarts here we come.
The train was a little more Harry Potter-esque. We expected to see the trolley lady but she did not appear. I guess she was busy handing out chocolate frogs to the people who actually had money to spend. So instead we listened to music and slept while Brittany slaved away at crossword puzzles. Megan also lost a very lucrative bet to Edgar. Apparently there IS more land than water in between London and Paris. Who knew.
Once we arrived we immediately we realized that English was not gonna fly in Paris. The metro station was not as easy to navigate as London is and no one stopped to help. Then the attendant gave Megan the evil eye when she asked for a map in English. PARDON MOI. After we left the metro we found our hotel pretty easily. Megan and Glenn went to check in since we were only supposed to have two people in our hotel room. Technicalities. Megan attempted to check in using French and was rudely cut short by the porter even though she is totally fluent. He spoke English.
Our room was decent and most importantly there was no bedbugs. As far as we know. Glenn would not have been able to sleep for fear he would be KILLED by a massive invasion of bedbugs. So we were saved from that particular freak out.
We dropped our bags off then set off to meet the other group in Paris – Lauren, Emily, Evan, Matt and Greg. Never happened. We walked for a while (read: FOR-EV-ER) and then found out that they were leaving to get dinner near the Eiffel Tower. Not a big deal because we forgot about our immense hunger when we arrived at the Seine and saw the Notre Dame. We walked around the ancient church and were amazed that it could have been built in the 11th century. We also found the plaza in front of the church where Esmeralda danced for money from unsuspecting passer-bys. Unfortunately she was not in sight. It’s probably a good thing because otherwise she would have taken money from Edgar.
We walked across the Seine to finally get dinner and turned a corner to find ourselves in Greek-town. There was wine being offered and plates being smashed everywhere. Thank goodness we found a French place to eat. We got French onion soup, mussels, chicken, and crepes. It was pretty good and the soup was excellent. Megan was repeatedly harassed by the waiter
We then ventured out to get a bottle of wine after dinner. We took the metro to the Eiffel Tower and were taken aback to find the Eiffel Tower RIGHT THERE. Glenn and Brittany separated to go find some wine (Glenn was desperate) while Megan and Edgar went to take a closer look at the Eiffel Tower’s light show which actually DOES happen every hour as Megan had been insisting all night. But then something went terribly wrong!
As Megan was busy taking pictures of the beautiful tower, Edgar was approached by a man with less than pure intentions. After insisting that Edgar hold out his hand (really, he had no option) the man proceeded to weave him a bracelet in the classic Rastafarian colors. As he did so, he told Megan and Edgar about his French (or Polish?) wife, how he loved to smoke marijuana, how this bracelet would make Edgar a ‘sex machine,’ and how he’s been giving these lucky bracelets to people for a long time. After finishing up his artwork, the man wanted paid. Apparently 2 Euros was not enough. Nor was 5. The man insisted that Edgar pay him in a big bill (the number 50 was thrown around) and he would give change. Unlikely. Edgar stopped haggling at 5, and this man the man angry. Very angry. He may have turned Green. He then threatened to take everything that Edgar had (Megan was still screaming “Five is enough” at this point) and Edgar knew that this man meant business. Offering a 10 Euro note, the man accepted, snatched the other five, then went on his way. Yep, Edgar was just mugged. At the Eiffel Tower. Glenn and Brittany were summoned, and we got the hell outta there. (As told by Edgar Petras)
After that terrifying incident we booked it back to the hotel. We planned on going out, but the porter gave us a very strange look when we asked what there was to do at 1 am. So we found a place to get two bottles of wine, walked around for a little, then again went back to the hotel after being approached by some very questionable Frenchmen. We concluded that we were in a terrible part of town and ended up playing a long, eventful game of Egyptian Ratscrew, finishing the wine, and going to bed.
