Look at that S car go!

My journey to Paris went off without a hitch and when I arrived I had some worries about a place to stay, but my hostel had a glitch that made it think I was SUPPOSED to check in Friday. So I was golden.

My first thought was to visit the Musee d Orsay or Louvre because Friday afternoons are free to students. But I got caught up in a sea of Parisians who had taken to the street. Being Mayday, I was not sure if this was a celebration or a protest so as much as I wanted to join the mass and scream "Viva la revolution!" I did not. Apparently it was a protest of the president. If it had been gay rights, I would have been all over it.

So then I wandered into a restaurant. Since it was my one month anniversary with Europe, I decided to have a nice, undeniably French dinner. Escargot for course one, lamb and frites (fries) for course two, and chocolate mousse to finish. Hit the spot!

Then I wandered back to my hostel and read myself to sleep. I wanted to go out and party, it was Friday night in PARIS! And a national holiday! But I am a girl alone and my hostel here is not good for meeting people.

The next morning I took the Metro to le Grande Arche (though I meant to go to the Arc de Triomphe, oops), walked to the Arc de Triomphe, then the Place de la Conchorde and on the way I stopped at the original Sephora and prettified myself and Ladurees Cafe for some macaroons. Then on to Rue Cler, which is a pedestrian street mentioned in both my travel book (Rick Steves Europe through the Backdoor) and Almost French, which I had read a couple days earlier. I bought a bagette, two croissants, an apple tart, a rasberry tart, some chocolate wonder, a taster of cheeses, and ham. And a pickle. I then wandered to the Eiffel Tower and had a delightful picnic. But I have to say, the Eiffel Tower during the day is UGLY. Seriously. All day I had been joking to myself (becquse I have no friends, how sad :D) that if I had a cool accent I would pronounce it the Awful Tower and after seeing it in the daylight, I almost decided to start calling it that for keeps.

Went back to my hostel for a nap. For the record, do not stay at Hostel Blue Planet. 25 euro a night and it is clean enough, but my toilette is outside of the bedroom, which has only one key. So in the middle of the night if I have to pee, I have to knock on the door and wake someone up to get in. Or try propping open the door. Internet is 6 euro an hour. Like $9. There really isnt a good kitchen. They claim to serve breakfast but really they give you special coins for a vending machine in the morning and the common area is stuffy, so you dont meet a lot of people. Somehow, I managed to make a friend. Ursula from Peru. She likes Betty Boop. Shes cool. We went to go see the Eiffel Tower at night and it was incredible.

Sometimes when I am walking around, it hits me. !?! Im in PARIS!!! Its an incredible feeling. There is something in the air, this city is just potent with romance.

This morning Ursula and I went to the Louvre and then I broke off and went to the Musee dOrsay. The Louvre was incredible, my favorite part was the Italian paintings. They are so vibrant! In the Musee dOrsay I was most taken by the works of Van Gogh, which surprised me. If I were to make an art museum, I would organize the rooms according to the emotions the pieces evoke instead of the styles they are. Battle scenes just seem out of place on top of lovers embracing and a child suckling his mothers teet.

Men here definitely are different than in the states. Much more forward. Ursula and others say that maybe I seem too available and friendly because I smile and make eye contact with people, but Ive been approached by men I didnt even notice were there. I dont remember if I was smiling.

I think I may go to Versailles tomorrow, but if I do I am changing hostels. I found a place that is 10 euro less a night.