Paris (Part One)

I feel all warm inside just writing about this amazing city. I think of all the places I've visited in the past months, Paris is the only place I could live. It really is beautiful. I stayed with a CouchSurfer named Freddy for a few days. Another great CouchSurfing experience.

I got in late from Brussels. At the station, there was an old african woman trying to lug a 200lb bag up the steps. So being the gentleman I am, I helped her carry it up the steps...then dragged it for about a 5min walk to the next set of steps, then illicited the help of some shady bus stop characters who thought they were gonna get a tip...ALL WHILE THE LADY WALKED 50FT IN FRONT OF ME, NOT EVEN HELPING. Bitch. But she did let me use her cell phone afterwards to call Freddy.

The next morning, I decided to start off big- Eiffel Tower. I got an all day metro pass, and I took the next subway to the famous flagpole. And I wasn't let down- the tower was huge. The Eiffel Tower totally dominates everything else around it. And the parks and the river adjacent to the tower are beautiful.

I walked down the hill and stood on the bridge in front of the tower and looked up in awe. It was surrreal. What made it even MORE amazing were the two blazing hot chicks in front of me making out for the entirety of the five minutes I stood there. I tried reeeeeeaaaaaaalllllly hard to get them in one of my pics, but I failed. Damn it. Ahhhhhhh, the city of love.

I was starving, so I started walking towards the Arc de Triomphe and found a market close by. I bought a huge chicken leg, some bread, and a pastry for dessert. I sat there in front of a museum and just people-watched (I have no idea why I've started to enjoy just watching strangers...weird). As I walked towards the Arc, some man pulled his car over and tried to sell me some designer suits. He literally shook my hand and then pulled me in the window. I laughed at him and said, "Dude, look at what I'm wearing right now. I have an old t-shirt, shorts, and crocs on. Do you really think I'm gonna buy your suits." He swore at me and drove off, lol.

The Arc de Triomphe was cool. It stood smack dab in the center of a HUGE roundabout. You had to take an underground walkway to get to the middle. I've seen alot of arcs on this trip, so this one didn't seem as special. Except for the fact that you could see the arc in front of the Louvre (many kilometers away), and the arc in the La Defense area of town (many miles away), and all three were in a straight line. Pretty cool city planning if you ask me...