Dinner was good last night because Dany started asking how to say some things in English and she would tell me how to say them in French. I have a hard time remembering them right now, but familiarization with the language in any form will help. She's so awesome about me being vegetarian and dinner is always so good.
Last night was our first Friday night in Paris. And OHH what a night. It was one of the kids in our groups 21st birthday so a bunch of them were going all out. But, if you know me, you know I'm not really into the HUGE party scene very often. So instead of pregaming with them and then going out to Place Monge, Sasha, Stephen, Kirsten, and I went straight to Place Monge. Too bad Sasha, Stephen, and I were out the wrong exit of the Metro and had to go back around after walking a block or too. Bad night to wear heals to say the least. Finally we found Kirsten and made our way to the bars.
We wandered for a bit but finally found a place that looked pretty busy. We soon found out why once inside. If I've learned anything about bars and such around here it is that they are not what they first appear. Such as this one, you walk in and see a bar in front of you and a couple tables, off to the right is a set of stairs. We went down the stairs to find that it curved around and there was a dance floor with another small bar, and a lounge area even further than that. We stayed in the dance floor area, of course. Sasha and I grabbed a drink and then we danced to the American music they were playing. Funny thing was that it was music we were jammin to in the states at least a year ago. Songs like Toxic and Low. Nonetheless it was a lot of fun. There was a group of clearly gay men singing along to every song at the top of their lungs. They definitely know how to have a good time. The only not so fun part was the creeper in the white button down that decided we were the girls he wants to dance to. Somehow he got behind Kirsten and next thing we knew his arm was in her face. She and I tried not to dance at all to get him away...that was until I felt his hand slide across my back to my hip. That was enough. Sasha told him to get lost. Soon after we were so sweaty from the packed dance floor that we just had to get air.
We wandered down to the student bar where we all split a 25 euro drink. It was definitely worth it and I finally got something shiny in a drink, glow sticks this time. ;) I still have to find a sparkler drink that doesn't cost an arm and a leg before I leave. Kirsten said we'd get one on my 1/4 birthday in March. After a while Sasha's friend...or "friend"...Steve met up with us and then we bumped into a guy named Johnny from Canada. We headed to the Mayflower for one last drink. By this time my feet hurt so bad that ALL I wanted to do was sit down. The others said walking barefoot around the street was not an option. If I had been in Maine or Texas, those shoes would have been history, even if it was freezing out.
This is where the real adventure started. We waited 15 minutes or so to take the night bus home and when it finally pulled up the driver slowed down, looked at us, and TOOK OFF. We were all less than impressed. I mean really...why else would we be standing at the bus stop at 3 in the morning. So we wandered down to another to try to catch the 15 instead....this bus didn't even slow down for us. By that time we were all exhausted and getting a little grouchy so it was about time to call a cab. Kirsten however decided to stay at Stephen's so we were able to FINALLY catch the bus home. Of course my ankle finally gave out and I fell right before getting on the bus. Classic. Crashing into bed never felt so good. I tried messaging online with "someone" for a little while but fell asleep with the computer still next to me.
We slept in a little later then we hoped today but got ready pretty fast to head out. First we went to the Catacombs which was only 10 minutes or so from our apartment. It is definitely the best thing we have done so far, and it was only 4 euros. The experience was also very humbling. There are thousands upon thousands of people buried there and no one will ever be able to put a name to any of them. And more than likely they died miserably. A lot of them died in battles or fro the plague. I would hope families would know there family members are there, but still it's not the same. Sasha and I were a little freaked out walking down the dark corridors at first, but it was an amazing experience. It's not my usual kind of thing but I'm really glad we're finding some things off the beaten path to experience. There were poems and quotes written all over the place that referred to death, and mostly to how inevitable it is. One can take that two distinct ways. Do nothing, because you're going to die anyway. Or do everything and make the most out of the short time you have. It's awesome to be in a place where so much history is so accessible.
The only thing that shocked me was ALL the graffiti on the walls. Even some of the remains had been defaced. On the way out they checked our bags to see if we had taken anything, and the guy had a stack next to him of skulls and bones that people had tried to steal! I mean really...don't change the history, let those poor people rest in peace.
After we took the metro to St Michel to find a bookstore where Sasha's dad used to hang out. It is called Shakespeare & Company. We wandered a bit before finding crepes (that had toooo much cheese) and ended up finding Sasha's cousin, Claire, before finding the bookstore. When we finally did it was amazing. It's an English bookstore and has books stacked EVERYWHERE. I got some really awesome pictures. I'm going to have to go back because I was basically in heaven. There is a whole room with books you can't buy but can just sit and read. It's places like this, not bars or clubs, that will be the reason I love this city. The huge part of our group, basically 80% of the group, has been going out every night getting wasted and some of them are the most unwelcoming people I've met. And really I don't want to remember this semester based on pictures and puzzling together nights. I chose Europe because of the immense amounts of culture here. And I plan on having some awesome late nights out, but I plan on having triple the memories from just discovering parts of this amazing city.
So except for the exhaustion, today has been an awesome day. Dinner is soon and then I'll probably shower, hang out, organize some stuff, read, and PASS OUT. I need some sleep before we hit up the Louvre tomorrow :) I'm SOO excited to see it. And I could use to save some money by not going out tonight. Sorry I wrote so much again, if you make it through it, but I don't want to forget any of the amazing moments here.
Au Revoir my loves <3
"The huge part of our group, basically 80% of the group, has been going out every night getting wasted and some of them are the most unwelcoming people I've met. And really I don't want to remember this semester based on pictures and puzzling together nights. I chose Europe because of the immense amounts of culture here. And I plan on having some awesome late nights out, but I plan on having triple the memories from just discovering parts of this amazing city."
ReplyDeleteAGREED!! I couldn't have said it better myself hahaha :)