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I have fallen in love with a girl. Her name is Paris. I think we will be very happy together. Although she is a bit of a gold digger and so my bank account seems to be draining quickly. Lucky for me VISA is a giant jerkstore so I still have no real access to my account, meaning that shopping is difficult.
Guess where I am? Paris! But for the sake of linear content to my traveling rambles, I will rewind a little and take you back to Germany. The land of drinking with Jessi, cute German men, and German children who think it's hilarious I can't understand what they are saying. I ended up staying in Heidelberg and extra night, so I left on Saturday morning the same day that Jessi left for Italy to meet up with the family. For whatever reason, they loved me. So much so, that they broke their own rules and offered to Jessi that I could stay in the house with her even though they weren't there. Perhaps they did so because I bought them fancy German chocolates--I'm not sure. Either way, sugar does go along way and I took them up on their offer. Our last day together was mostly spent sitting beside the river having a pinic because it was about 28 degrees. I got burned in the oddest way possible. I have like designs on my arm. It's pretty attractive ... right. Then we went shopping. Now I don't actually like shopping--but there were a few things that I needed, and lucky for me there's an H&M in Heidelberg (there's two actually), so what we bought was cheap and it was nice to add a few things to my very spars wardrobe. I only brought one skirt with the intentions of buying one more, i bought a sweater for "nicer" outfits and nights out in warm places, and a scar (which has already been useful), and a shirt. All for about 70 dollars. My bag does feel heavier now, but that's because it's been hot, and my warm clothes are heavy. I also lost my sun glasses yesterday, so now i have to buy new ones.. which I also planned on doing anyway because mine were so scratched it was like looking through foggy shadded windows.
"So Lana," you're asking. "How was your trip from Heidelberg to France?" Why thank you for asking. Let me tell you. When Jessi and I checked online, the train tickets were pretty expensive so she suggested we go to the train station directly to ask because often they can get you a better deal in person. So that morning we got up a little earlier to do so. (Also they have a cereal in h-berg called Chocolate Musli, and I need it in order to go on happily with my life). So we go to the station and waiting in a very long and hot line. We get to the front to find McAngery German woman at the counter. She's not really angry. She's just German. That's how they roll. Angry, like a cactus rolling down a gravel road full of potholls on a hot day. Worst analogy ever. Im very hungry. Let's forget that ever happened. I could delete it, but i refuse. Because that isn't how I roll. I roll like a ... nevermind. I wont' get out of control. Moving along.... So Jessi, her her fluent German way asks about getting me at ticket. She can get me one, and the excellent angry German price of £420 (about $800). Neat. A 3 hour train ride, in second class will cost me my budget for almost a month. When we explain that online there were tickets for about £80, she just gets angry. She asks if we're from America (which always means the states here), Jessi says Canada. She waves us away as if it's the same think. I want to tell her to go back to Austria then--but she's German so I know that saying that will probably lead in some sort of public execution involving German sausage. So I stay quiet. Jessi asks about a eurorail pass, and she says i can get one for and that would save me money. At this point, Jessi has to run to her own train. So I'm left to my own devices. I breathe, and wonder if the words "hound" (dog) or "kinder" (kid) can get me through this situation. I think not. I think about it and decide I will get a rail pass, that it might actually save me money later. I stand in the hot line for another half an hour. There are about 7 people working at the train station. I, of course, end up with McCrankyGermanSausage Lady. I think she hates people. And trains. And possibly fun. No, she really hates fun. I can tell. She did not watch Thomas the Train as a child. In fact, she probably wasn't a child. She's just an angry trainborg sent to charge me too much money. So I politely say that I would like to buy the rail pass. She proceeds to do whatever she has to, and then tells me I can't use a rail pass on that train. Thanks. I contemplate spending the £420. Or throwing my ginormo green (aka GG my backpack) at her, grabby money from the counter and buying my own train and driving it to Paris myself. Instead, I go in search of an internet cafe.
I find the lovely info desk at the train station. I politely (using 4 of the 10 german words I know) ask the man if he speaks English. To put this into context, everyone has said "Just a little" and by that they mean "Yes, we do and rather fluently and you should feel bad about yourself for only knowing how to say child dog". But when I ask him this, he angry waves his hand at me and shakes his head. That's right, the man who is supposed to help people doesn't even speak enough english to point me in the direction of an internet cafe. He also hates fun. He is the borg husband of the borg lady. Together they have a factory that makes anger. They spread it throughout germany while people are sleeping and make extra portions for Christian Fundamentalists in the united states who also hate fun.
Lucky for me I see a sign that says internet cafe. So GG and I take the short walk into the cafe. Guess what? The internet is down. The guy, who is very nice, tries to fix it for me. No dice. He suggests I go and find one a few blocks away. So I eventually do find one, and managed to book a train ticket for £87. That's right, only about £310 than the one the McAngeryBorg was trying to sell me. Thanks for the help. I hope you enjoy your angry German day.
So I get my first train easily, it's only a 15 minute ride into Mannheim, where I'm catching the super fast train to le Paris. I get on the train to Paris, only to discover, they REALLY over book these seats. As in, there is a large majority of us sitting on the floor, inbetween lugage. Wouldn't it have been extra special to sit on the floor for 3 hours and pay £420 to do so? I think so. On the last stop in Germany, the train empties out and I manage to get a seat beside a man who works for the USA space agency. In fact, I'm surrounded by people who work in space! Well no, they don't work in space, but they do something involving space and the government and I don't know why they're on a train when they probably have the technology to do some Harry Potter style apparating. Anyway, the other men in the group made fun of this man (and said he owed them all drinks) because he got to sit with me. Because I'm cute! Anyway--it was a nice ride, he'd traveled a lot, and was a nice American. And his smart friends and he invited me to go on their trip with them---this came after my explanation of the Irish bender/German bender. There was a group of 18 rich people. I should have accepted.
Then after a 4 hour train ride, 3 hours of which were on the floor.. I was in... Paris! I found my hostel fairly easily. It's really fancy. My first room was like a palace. It was a 10 bed mixed dorm, but it faced a beautiful canal that the hostel is on. There are curtains on the beds. It's super new, clean and modern. The only problem is that the rooms are hot... But it's great.
I really love it here. I've actually extended my stay quiet a bit. I was supposed to leave here on Tuesday and go somewhere else, but my 9 day tour of France has turned into an 8 day stay in Paris. I've booked the hostel that far anyway.. but I can always cancel. I wanted to go down south to Nice, but it's really expensive, and I have to be in Munich to meet several friends by the 19th... and that's an expensive trip, and a long one too. I'd rather spend more time there. Plus there is so much to do here.
My first day I basically got up and ran to Monmartre (after having to change rooms, to a smaller and less scenic mixed 6 bed dorm). It's my absolute favorite neighborhood in Paris (so far). It's the artist district basically. The film Amelie was filmed there, so I spend the afternoon pretending to be her really. It's a beautiful neighborhood. Van Gogh lived there, and many other famous artists. The Lapin Agile is there... and there are parts of it which are very very quiet compared to other areas in the city. After that I met a guy from Brazil in my room and we had dinner and just walked around. The next day I got up and did a free walking tour of Paris which was awesome. We hit up a bunch of sites and it lasted almost 5 hours. Our tour guide was texan and cute, and really was passionate about the city and happened to be a walking history book. From that tour, my Paris posse was born. I've basically spent the last 2 days with many of those people. That night I did another walking tour---this time of Monmartre. This seems exessive.. BUT i didn't actually know what I was looking at the first time. So this time he actually took us to the real cafe used in the film Amelie, and the fruit stand and a few other locations from the film. To Van Gogh's house, and the cabaret Lapin Agile.. and lots of other things. We had the same tour guide. After that we walked around and had dinner together and drinks. It was nice. It's been nice to have a large group of people to do things with. After I managed to convince them to come to the eifle tower with me, because i wanted to see it at night with all the fancy lights.. It was totally worth it. There's a fancy light show on it at 11pm every night (it costs £4000 euros each day)... it was great.
It has also been hot here. Around 30 degrees each day. My burn is even stranger still. I've even made friends with an irish guy who works at our hostel. Tip of the day: make friends with the hostel staff so you can make free phone calls, and check out when you want (for real).
Yesterday, in the spicey hot weather, a group of us took the train out to Versaille. It was pretty amazing. Huge. The garden was miles and miles long. There were a bazillion tourists though, even though we left at 9am. So it was frustrating, so for that reason we wandered through all the rooms fairly quickly. Then we did the ultra tourist activity of renting two boats and rowing up and down the huge pond. But now I get to say I was in a boat at Versaille. It was beautiful. I made a video.. so you too can experience it. On one of the sides of Versaille is Marie Antoinettes sort of private area, but functioned mostly as a huge play town for her. It was awesome. My camera batteries died so I didn't get as many phones as i liked (but that's what my new facebook friends are for). We even had a lovely pinic in a secluded portion of her fields. I spent much of the trip trying to figure out what living there must have been like, but I really couldn't conceptualize it because it was just too big. After that we were so tired that we all copped out of the pub crawl we were going to go out, and bought a bunch of bottles of cheap french while, some food and sat close to the canal and had our own little party. I've met a lot of Canadians here... more than anywhere else. Two of the girls in the passe are from Niagra, and yesterday I made a joke and yelled Alberta rather loudly, only to have two girls yell across a park, we're from Alberta! In that second, I was the annoying tourist. They were from Calgary. I suggested a rumble in the canal. They agreed.
Today I've been slacking. Looking into theatre shows online, booking my hostel in Munich. Chatting with my Irish-hostel-worker friend (who said I can come stay with him in Ireland. He did so after I insulted his mom. Good times..) Later I'm going to hit up a museum I think, and I have to go to the train station and figure out how I'm getting to Munich.
Here is my bit of serendipity. (For those of you who don't know this happens to be my favorite word/event. It's a happy accident, usually involving a bit of fate/desitiny.) While on my first walking tour, I asked the guide about where I could get info on theatre in the city. He told me I should ask another girl in the tour, so I did. Turns out she's studying with Phillippe Gaulier. (He's the man who teaches Bouffon which is what the workshop I went to in Calgary was based on). I do believe when she said that I hit her really hard in excitment. Then I asked her 298 questions. What's the chances really? I had thought of going there at some point, or just taking a workshop with him. So I'm going to ask some people some questions and see. She suggested I go downt here and check it out---so i've written them and email to see what they say. It was a pretty strange coincidence that's for sure. It seems like a perfectly good excuse to live here. Paris and theatre at the same time---sort of seems like a little too good to be true really. So I'm curious to see if I can make it work somehow. This may put yet another pause on my potential grad school plans--which I have sort of been re-thinking anyway due to recent workshop events.
So I'll probably be in Paris until the 19th now. Although I have seen things like the Louvre and Notre Dame from the outside (on the walking tour) I haven't actually been in them, plus going to the school and such.. it won't be hard to fill up the next 4 days at all. I can take a day trip to Normandy (or someone said I could)--and I think, on my last day/night here, I'm going to treat myself to a coffee in Amelie's cafe--because that just seems like the right thing to do.
A bientot mes amies. Paris, je t'aime.
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Aunty Dar
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Ah Paris.....
Lana, You really do have the gift for writing and entertaining as you give us your observations and thoughts. I soooo envy you being in Paris and loving it. With French in your heritage, and carpe diem in your spirit, what about grad school in this most lovely of cities? We'll all work on your Dad if you give us the word! And Versailles, a magical place....truly. So glad to hear about your travels and especially glad to hear the excitement and enticement in your words. Enjoy!