Around and out of Paris (late post)

(So we actually left paris a few days ago, but the Internet situation makes things a bit difficult, so here's what we wrote while there)

Our time here in Paris was short and a bit hectic, but we managed to see quite a bit of the central area, including a few of the required Paris sights. Of course, we visited the Eiffel Tower, which is amazing not only because of its size, but the elegance of the metalwork. We also went past the Arc de Triomphe. Granted, it's very interesting in and of itself, but what we were more entertained by was the traffic circling the Arc. We have found during our time here that traffic in Paris borders on chaos, and near the arch there are hundreds of cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles entering and leaving with no apparent lane markings or signalling. One just pushes their way into the crowd and is quick on the brake (and gas) pedals. Remarkably, there is not as much horn-honking as one might expect, and I haven't yet seen any fender benders, although we have heard plenty of sirens.



Down the road a little ways, we entered the garden that greets the Louvre, and proceeded to amuse a waiter at a small outdoor cafe by ordering a single Perrier to share (to our defense, we had four litres of water in our camelbaks, so we didn't need any more water). We also shared a savory crepe (with ham, cheese and mushrooms) and ganache (chocolate and toasted almonds) which were both delicious. Exploration of the Louvre itself will wait until our second pass through Paris, with Meghan's mom in September.

The highlight of Paris, for us, came Thursday night when we met up with Marie, who is the girlfriend of Zach's brother, Jacob. The other night when we were unable to find a hostel online, Marie came through and found us a spot in a small hotel for about the same price as a shared room in a hostel. (about 50 Euros per night) (Marie is the Best!) Although we could not stay with her, because she had other guests at the time, we were able to have dinner together at a brasserie, which is a like a bar/cafe that serves simple French cuisine. Meghan ate confit du canard, which is duck, and Will ate calamar, which looked like onion rings, but had some sort of seafood in the center. It was a delicious and wonderful evening, sitting on the terrace, talking about traveling, language, food, and laughing at our pathetic attempts at French pronounciation.

We will get to see Marie again, when we return to Paris in September at the end of our trip.