more from Paris

It's been just more than a week since I arrived in Paris, and I feel like I have been here for months. But yesterday was really the first organized foray into touristy activities. The group trucked it out to Versille for the afternoon, which due to the circumstances is a trip I could have lived without.

Here are the highlights. Easter Sunday (and now Easter Monday) here means that everything, except for cafes and of course Versille, is closed, meaning everyone in Europe had the same idea we had. We waited in line for an hour for 20 euro tickets, waited in line for 15 minutes to pay 50 cents to pee, then waited again for maybe 20 minutes to pay another 4 euro to get on a train to tour the gardens. (Here is where I say the gardens and the rooms of the castle were truly amazing, but being herded through like cattle - seriously shoulder to shoulder - left little time and energy for admiration of the ornate decor and finely groomed hedges.) Had I not been with a hysterical group of girls that enjoys laughing as much as I do (and who now also call it Ver-sucks), I think it would have been a miserable day.

By 8:30 p.m. we were back in Paris eating falafel at a place known to be frequented by Lenny Kravitz. Probably the best meal I have had in Paris (with a beer - not red wine! ah! And I think if I eat one more panini poulet I will turn into one). So Lenny's picture was on the wall, and we considered telling the cute waiters that I was starring in a WB spin-off of Dawson's Creek called Dawson's River so they would pose with me and put my picture on the wall. Not sure if they would have bought that though....

The highlight of the weekend was Lauren (a BFF for those of you reading that don't know her) coming into town for the day. She flew in from a business trip/vacation in Africa on her way to a brief stint in the southern France for a few days before heading back to the 'Ham. She came in early and we spent the day together shopping and laying around laughing and talking. We first hit a flea market and both bought shoes (I think I need a second suitcase for the shoes I have and plan to purchase here) and then on to Rue du Rivoli for the requisite H&M trip (spent way too many euros). We ate crepes and I sent her on her way back to the airport. It was a blast seeing her and it reminded me how badly I wish I lived in the same city as my best friends. And if that city happened to be Paris, that would be pretty awesome.

Now time for more musings on Paris: People here love their dogs more than their children, taking them on trains and in to restaurants. But what they don't do is pick up their poo. Rumor has it a law was passed a few years ago imposing a huge fine for not scooping poo, but the police here feel like it's beneath them to enforce such a law. Therefore, the sidewalks are littered with smeared poo - kind of a hazard. And they play American songs on French radio here, but they don't bleep out words or have clean versions (maybe because they don't have the FCC breathing down their necks or maybe because much fewer people know what they songs are saying). So for example now in the Internet cafe, they are playing a Snoop song complete with offensive language and derogatory terms. (I never knew that song said THAT) Interesting.

And here are a couple things I miss, and will likely continue to miss during the next two and a half months:
1. coffee. I mean not these tiny ass espresso deals that I could dog in one gulp, but an f-ing cup of steaming hot, weak-ass coffee. Seriously folks.
2. being able to understand people when they talk to you. It gets old feeling like an American asshole that doesn't know if the announcer on the train is telling you they found a dirty bomb and must evacuate immediately or just that the next stop is closed for construction.
(I am sure I will think of more later...)

As we enter our last week here, I am making a list of the last few things I want to do (including walking around my neighborhood today to see the Moulin Rouge and some bar where Toulouse-Lautrec used to hang out). And I am thinking of the Medill folks heading to D.C. for the quarter, my friends who just returned from a week in Cuba, and everyone at home and elsewhere having adventures of their own.