Ça fait chier, ce temps!

Paris. First destination in Western Europe after London. It sounds kinda sad doesnt it? Been in London for over 2 months now, but this is actually my first time venturing into another eu country. I could only afford the bus, so got myself a euroline return ticket for £38, which was quite alright i think. I like taking euroline buses. The fun part was the ferry from Dover across the English Channel to Calais, then on the way back, taking the ultra long train which probably fits at least 50 vehicles in it via the channel tunnel back to UK. Neva seen anything quite like it before.

Met up with Pascal, who was kind enough to provide accommodation. His 'lover' (it's a french thing...and they never say 'fuck', it's always 'making love' even tho they're fucking a ho) wasn't please at all. She decided to show her presence and mark her territory by staying over at his place and waking up to my arrival. Then, at breakfast at a cafe, she couldnt stop smooching him. Like hello, I get it! As tho I'm interested in your man. Talk about jealousy. I was just after the free accommodation for crying out loud!

Pascal could qualify as an awesome tour guide. With his excellent time management skill, we did Galleries Lafayette, Printemps, Opera, Musee du Parfum-Fragonard, Madeleine, Place Vendome, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Tour Eiffel, Trocadero, Musee de Louvre all in the first day!!!! If you think that's crazy, wait till you see what we did on the 2nd day: Les Halles, a morning marche, Hotel de ville (which actually isnt a hotel!!), Bastille, the Solidarite parade, Ile St Louis, Ile la cite, Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, Palais de Justice, Place St Michel, Saint Germain, Montparnasse etc etc etc.... It kinda reminded me of the Beijing tour I went on with my family ages ago...lotsa shopping, lotsa sightseeings but 'you've got 5 mins here'. We walked almost everywhere, and I enjoyed the walking part best.

It's so typical of me to spend nothing on accommodation, shopping, entrance fees and transportation, but to spend a bomb on eating out. I love eating. Being deprived of French cuisine for the past 25 years, I went mad in Paris, spending probably 2/3 of my total expenditure on food!! Then again, French food doesnt come cheap... One thing I dont understand is how French are able to stay slim and fit when you get national dishes like foie gras with almost 100% fat, magret du canard with a layer of fat 2cm thick (but so much yummier than peking duck), fondue, raclette, tarticlette all involving tonnes n tonnes of fromage, n dessert/pastries like chocolat eclair, pain au chocolat, creme brulee, brioche with loads of full fat butter and sugar. Once for dinner, I ordered warm cow's cheese on bread as a start, then triple cheese fondue for mains, and cottage cheese with miel for dessert (just because the restaurant specialises in cheese). After the mains, I couldnt handle it anymore and had to swap the dessert for something else. It's just so sickening. How do they do it? I think I'm off fondue for the rest of my life.

Paris' weather is weirder than anywhere I've been to. The wind was constantly strong. It would rain for 10 mins, sunny for 10 mins, rain again for another 10 mins, and keeps on going in cycles. The most annoying bit was that it'd be sunny when we're inside a museum/church or whatever, then as soon as we step out, it'd start pouring like mad. So we eventually had to synchronize our musee visiting time with the weather.

With Pascal around, it's a real pity I didnt get to find out for myself how rude and proud French can be. It'd be fun with my non-existent French. But overall, the French whom I've had minimal contact with seemed really friendly and helpful, even polite... And the bit where everyone thinks Paris is full with doggie's poo....NOT TRUE !!!

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