Paris - The CIty of Lights (Fortunately...)

So, I arrived in Paris on Friday, and that went more or less smoothly. Getting of the train at Austerlitz, I got a couple of day passes for the weekend metro and headed to Villejuif (Louis Aragon), the closest metro station to my hotel/hostel (which is more than 30 bucks a night) in Vitry-sur-Seine.

Got off the metro in Villejuif and discovered that there were two exits from the station, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but I'm trying to follow some directions given to me by the host. Oh, wait, but you're missing an important detail there: I forgot to copy down directions, and my laptop had no battery left, leaving me in a bit of a pickle.

Fortunately a nice Chinese couple (of people?) running a cafe just outside the metro station let me plug in at their place and look up directions. The gentleman was also very helpful, walking around to consult one of those bulletin-board maps with me. And, of course, I bought a cup of coffee, too, because, well, I like coffee and they were very kind and helpful.

Too shy (still) to try a conversation in Chinese (though we did learn how to ask directions in class), all I did was throw out a "xiexie, nimen" on my way out the door. Headed down the road a bit to discover that it quickly merged with another, so I darted across and doubled back until I found the little alley to lead me home.

The little alley wasn't all that helpful, though, because there were four or five roads to follow on my way there, and I didn't copy down which way I was turning. Nor did the host tell me that I was supposed to walk behind an apartment complex and through a little gate in the alley to arrive at his place. Quickish resolution came in the form of a nice couple with a GPS in their car who'd been chatting with some friends in the street and a nice guy from the hood. The ten minute walk took 20 or 30, but at least I made it ^^

Fête de la Musique
Saturday I ended up heading out about 10am (I think) and took the metro to the Opera, where I wandered around and took some photos for a while. If anyone's heard of any reason a bunch of teenage girls would be hanging around this part of Paris yesterday, please let me know, because they were blocking sidewalk traffic in three gigantic clumps.

After that I decided to head to the Louvre for a while, though I can't remember just now whether or not I walked there. Picked up a pocket map of Paris in the genre of Practical Paris. Spent hours at the Louvre. I left when I realised I wasn't paying as much attention to each piece of art anymore. Considered having food there, but it was pretty pricey. Discovered that they were having a concert at 9 30 for the Fete de la Musique, but headed out at about 5 45 and didn't make it back.

Walked from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, getting a little confused by my map from time to time but enjoying being in Paris anyway. Saw a sign somewhere along the way that said there'd be a young talent concert at Trocadero in the evening, so I kinda figured I'd wander over there. Grabbed a Sprite and some Fries under the Eiffel Tower and headed across to Trocadero.

The concert didn't really grab my interest right away, but some of the later groups got me moving. Discovered Asa and Minivan, which I intend to find out more about, and heard the John Merrick Experiment and others. Enjoyed being at a concert in front of the Eiffel Tower and watching people play in the fountain. Also grabbed an ice cream cone and a bottle of water before the night was over.

Speaking of the night being over, at about midnight is when the story takes a turn for the worse/more interesting. I started wandering around, looking to fill up my water bottle and thinking about getting out of there. So I headed over to the Trocadero metro station to get a train, because various signs had said that the metro would be open all night, or at least that lines 1, 2, 4, and 6 (and maybe another) would.

No such luck. The metro was already closed, so I headed back in the direction of the Tour Eiffel, hoping that one of the other metro stations along my way to the hotel would be open. Happily, my pocket map of Paris had Rue Dalou (the location of my hostel) in it, so I felt pretty secure in that choice.

Heard some pulsing techno, though, so I got sidetracked and headed towards the light. And lost some of my faith in humanity. As I tried to dance in this crowd, I noticed that swarms of guys my age and younger were harassing any female who dared to get near them in the crowd. These guys were not even grinding so much as humping any woman near them. I tried to stay in one place, more or less, so they couldn't swarm as much, but to no avail. I'd danced with a few small groups of guys and girls, groups of friends, without really being invited, but because I was keeping to myself this wasn't a problem. Every one of these groups was driven off by this mad crush of people. Eventually there was one guy who wouldn't take no for an answer from this girl, so I told him to leave her be (in French). When he and his friends started bothering me (in the trying-to-pick-a-fight variety of harassment), I decided it was time to leave.

Wandering in the direction of the Seine, remembering that my hotel was near-ish to the Seine, I found a small rave on the lawn near the bridge in front of Invalides. This was nifty and I danced (as only I can dance) for a little while before moving on.

My nifty map guided me down Boulevard des Invalides towards my hostel, and there were plenty of people on the streets still (at about 2 in the morning) so I felt fairly secure. Until I got to Rue Dalou--an alleyway in the city of Paris and not at all the street I was expecting. Apparently Villejuif is just beyond the perimeter, so my map didn't have the right street in it and, it turns out, I wasn't clever enough to notice sooner.

Tried the Pasteur and Sevres-Lecourbe metro stations, which both serve line six, and found them both closed. Found a little park with enough people around hanging out (presumably all night until the trains started up again?) to lie down but was disturbed when some prick kicked the slide I was lying on, laughing about it with his friends. Not wanting any trouble, I got up and moved on.

A little further down the road, tired as all hell, I found a bench that looked comfortable and safe enough to lie down on for a while and took a break. This lasted from about 3 20 until 5 20, with intermittent interuptions of people singing back and forth ("We're not tired!" "You-all are tired!") or police or ambulance passing by.

By 5 20 I was shivering too much to stay there (that whole core-temperature-drops-when-you-sleep thing), so I headed back toward the train station, hoping the metro lines would be open ridiculously early. Happily, it was, and after waiting around for a while I made it on the metro and got back safely to the hostel. After heading to the bathroom and getting some water, I managed to crawl into bed just before 7 am.

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So that's my stay in Paris so far. Hope you enjoyed reading and hope I find out soon how late the metro stays open on a normal night.

Ja ne.