Bonjour! Well we did all the main attractions - the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre (which incidentally is free on the first Sunday of the month - bonus!) and a museum which promised severed heads but when we got there realised it was very good marketing as they were actually severed statue heads from Notre Dame that had been chopped off, and not real heads at all. Damn. I do have a fascination for the morbid things in life...A fine time was had by all, and we managed to make ourselves understood to all the people we met who curiously had no knowledge of English at all. My other half was very pleased with his souvenir purchase of a lighter that flashes blue, red and white and plays the French national anthem while a green flame burns at the top. Sacre bleu!
As is always the way with trips that I take, we met several people who were away with the fairies. One man in our "local" brasserie/tabac played the national game Rapido which is like the Lottery but a new game runs on tv every 5 minutes. We had a go, as you can play with only 1 euro and win 30 back so the odds are good, but this man was completely obsessed. He had some weird strategy involving grunting and was very cross when he didn't win. All hands in the air whilst cursing with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Very gallic. Then he'd throw his old unwinning slips on the floor with his cigarette stubs and the poor lady who worked there (who was 75 if she was a day and very withered) had to clear it all up whilst frowning pointedly at the ashtrays and dustbins. One evening we were highly entertained in a nice little restaurant by a group of French students sat across from us. They refused to eat until their wine glasses were refilled (rather regularly) and shouted at the sullen waitress until she complied, managed to spill a bottle of red wine everywhere, and smoked between mouthfuls of beef bourgignon. I sometimes think I am way too polite, what do I care what people I'll never see again think of me? Us Brits are way too restrained.
The Olympic 2012 bid completely passed me by, it was only when the tv showed the Champs Elysees full of people in a publicity stunt for the Paris bid that I realised why the Eiffel Tower was so quiet on Sunday. Doh! I don't know who I would prefer to win, London or Paris. The Metro completely stumped me, foolishly I thought that being familiar with the tube I would be ok, but no. It was more luck than logic finding our way round between all the different lines and the double decker trains are scary man!
Next time we go I will be much more confident and there's still loads of things I want to do, we didn't make it to Montmarte or the Moulin Rouge, I want to see Ewan McGregor on an elephant before I die.
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