urge for going: to hell with Freedom Fries!

that's me, the flailing tourist idiot.

Paris... my first ever solo destination sans any abilities in the language. "Bonjour, je'suis anana," doesn't get one very far in France, and nor does "Le sange est sur le branch," so this fact, plus all of the negative American propagandist karma I had heard regarding the country, made me uncharacteristically nervous at first. I took a Eurolines bus from Holland to France- about an eight-hour ride in total- and the trip passed smoothly and, surprisingly, relatively quickly. I didn't even have to say more than "Bonjour" to the handsome, young border-control officer as he scrutinized the contents of my increasingly more interesting passport (I LOVE passport stamps!!!). Voila!

view on the bus (it was mostly like this...for miles and miles)

Upon arrival, I found a nifty hostel in the Montmartre neighborhood (Le Village Hostel), directly down the hill from the Sacre Ceur, had a nice little check-in and convo with the lovely deskperson (en Espanol instead of disgusting pseudo-Franglais), embarrassingly walked in on and, consequently, met my half-naked New Zealander roommate (we had an awkward, hilarious, and surprisingly long initial conversation as he tried to hide himself in his sleeping bag), and hit the streets to make the most of my short stay in the city.
I stumbled across and quickly through the Red Light District (after Amsterdam, nothing could phase me really), making note of the Moulin Rouge, of course, and walked around the city for a while. Fact one: Paris is certainly NOT overrated.
Kiwi (he found some clothes, finally) invited me along to climb the zillion and a half stairs up the Sacre Ceur, where a breathtaking nighttime view of Paris awaited us. I could even see the Eiffel Tower glittering behind some trees off to the West. Fact two: Paris is a very low-lying city. The absence of sky-scrapers gives it a quaint, smallish feeling, even though it's geographically quite large. Also, the Metropolitan is winding, sometimes convoluted, yet effective, and really clean (the European cities I've seen make New York blush in this arena).

le moulin rouge (costs 170 euros to go for a show!)

sacre ceur by night

Day two - I met up with Elisa for a rendes-vouz at the Musee Rodin (really beautiful outdoors sculpture garden... it includes 'Le Penseur'), and an insider's guide to the city (aka: Paris in one very ambitious day). We saw the Tour Eiffel by day, then parts of the Latin Quarter (where all the chic etudiantes hang out), went for a 3-course French meal (10 Euro- what a deal!), walked along the Seine, and ate the most delicious gelatto I've ever had next to these amazing yellow-leaved trees by the river. Then, I topped that all off with a self-tour around the Notre Dame (lit some candles - with so many beautiful churches, it has become ritual for me), another walk along the Seine (past all the little souvenir vendors) all the way to the Louvre, then through the Jardin des Tuileries, and back to the Tour Eiffel for a night perspective. No sooner did I arrive at the base of the Tower, the hourly light show began. Completely enchanting. Like a million little fireflies on fast-forward. I decided to suck it up and pay the exorbitant (per my standards) fee for a trip to the top. I mean, who knows when will I be in Paris next? My only complaint is that going to the top of the Eiffel Tower alone is, well, kind of lonely. But check out the photos and, yes, it was well worth it.