Erin McElvaney

Photo Gallery for Day 1- Paris.

     In Paris, we had some adventures in the airport--I used French already to purchase our first phone cards. It's harder to understand/be understood than I expected! After a lot of confusion at the pay phones, I finally called Gen (no answer) and many hostels. Most were booked. Le Village let us stay for 2 nights so we rushed over..."rushed." We had more adventures @ Ch. de Gaulle! A few ppl tried to tell us where to find the train. Most were wrong. We finally located the RER & the Billeterie (auto ticket vendor) was en panne (broke). We waited in a real long line to buy our 7є 50 ticket to Paris. We got off @ Gare du Nord, took a metro 1 stop, and walked to the hostel. Finally! 12 pm.

     Checked in, left our bags, and I changed$200 for 150є @ the desk. .75 x-rate iffy. We found a girl @ the hostel terrace (room lockout is 11 am -- 4pm) who told us where to get cheap water & food & we did that.

Lunch: 2є50 for a demi baguette w/ muenster cheese, water, and 2 nectarines. We ate on the terrace looking out up to the Sacre-Coeur.

Then we headed up the hill to the Basillica. Beautiful! The paintings on the altar ceilings were incredible. We sat at the pews for a moment. No pics allowed inside.

     We continued to wander the streets of Montmartre. There were many street artists and it was quite touristy. We stopped in a couple galleries, and also browsed the gift shops of the Musee de Montmartre (in the oldest house in Montmartre) and the gift shop of the Salvador Dali museum. I bought a postcard there for Matt, and one of the Sacre Coeur for Mme King (HS French teacher). Everything is expensive it seems--most of all, drinks. We stopped at an outdoor cafe/crepes place for a bit. I had a lemon and sugar crepe, 3є50.

     When we made it back to le Village Hostel, our room was ready. We checked in & are sharing a room in a 6-bed (spacious, though) dorm. Alex & David are our first roommates. Ironically both are American, and David is from Baltimore! Even crazier, he knows people in Monkton and Hereford! Freaking small world! I wasn't able to contact Gen yet but I left a msg. We sweated all day long in cramped, hot whatever conditions. Hopefully I can sleep tonight.

     We got showered and dressed here, and all is well and clean. Our room has its own bathroom & shower. Not bad for 45є for 2 nights. The '15-second shower' that I was afraid of is really just the kind that you push a handle in, and it gradually falls out until the water stops. However, you can hold it in or just keep pressing it. So it's annoying but ok.

     No problems yet w/ pickpockets, thankfully! Knock on wood.

After showers, we got "dinner." -- More bread & cheese, & a delicious coffee at a cafe outdoors looking up at the Sacre-Coeur (3є50). We got a bottle of red wine for 1.50є, then chatted with a New Zealand & a Canadian girl about their travels @ our hostel. They both traveled mostly alone, and for a month or more! Wow. We drank wine on the steps at the Sacre-Coeur along with a million others, watching the sun set on the city. It was beautiful. You can see the whole city from there! (The Sacre-Coeur is located at the highest point of the city of Paris so it has a great view, and apparently it is the popular thing to do to drink and sit up there at night). I went down to find a bathroom and I ended up ordering a draft "1664" at a bar that played French jazz. It was really neat, and the waitress spoke only French to me :)

     Later, we tried to find a jazz bar w/ 2 guys (roommates). Wasted our metro money and I killed my feet running through the city in heels. Long walk by Notre Dame & the Seine. Ouch! Shoes killed. I had to pop my first blisters on my 2^nd day in Europe. :) Nice!