Je suis arrivé à Paris

---

Today was a slow day as far as sightseeing is concerned. The first half of the day was spent in Oxford, mostly working on my Normandy plan and writing last night's blog. The good news is that I did get the tour I wanted after moving around my itinerary a bit. I still need a place to stay in Bayeux but I have one in mind. It's a bit of a hike outside the city but I should be able to leave my heavy rucksack in Paris for the night.

This afternoon I departed Oxford to head to Paris. I arrived in Paris this evening by way of the Eurostar.

The easiest way to get to the hostel is by the subway. I needed to get a ticket for that and that turned out to be an ordeal. Language-wise I was fine. The station markers and ATMs all had English options. But they were some of the worst machines I've ever used.

At least half of them were broken. The few that worked had long lines. And even those didn't work well as numerous people had trouble with the credit card payment What's worse is that the only cash option available was using change. These people over here love their change. Bills only start at 5 euros/pounds so you're always walking around with a ton of change in your pocket. Most of all I feel bad for the strippers. All that change lying around on the stage has gotta cause injuries.

Anyway, I digressed. Fortunately I had just enough euro change left over from when I was in Dublin. After that I made it without a hitch.

Good news - I managed to purchase food and water by knowing less than 10 French words (the title is courtesy of an online translator). And I didn't offend the merchant.

Tomorrow I start sightseeing in Paris. Tips on your favorite off the beaten path sights and restaurants/cafes would be much appreciated.

---