Date 69 - Parlez vous amour?
Bonjour mis amis!
After arriving in Paris this weeked, I went down to Champs Elysee on Saturday and strolled around. Sampled tea and macaroons at a place that a friend recommended. Amazingly delicious. Unbelievably rich flavors: raspberry, toffee, caramel, chocolate.... mmmmmmm!!!!
The weather has been unseasonably warm. After walking around the Champs Elysee all afternoon, I was "glistening" (code for sweaty girl) and ready to get back to my hotel for another shower. I went down to the metro and waited for my train, 10 seconds later a guy plopped down on the seat next to me and started chatting me up. (Mind you, I looked disgusting and smelled even worse. It was a nasty hot day.)
I politely explained that I don't speak French, and asked if he spoke English. Before I knew it he was asking me if I had already eaten dinner and if I would accompany him... So there, ya go. Not even in the country for 12 hours, don't even speak the language and I'm on a date.
I think that's a testimony of how lonely I'm getting on the road that I'm now willing to accept a date from a total stranger in the metro.
At some point it occurred to me that if I turned up dead it would probably take the folks at work back in Austin a few days to notice. I'm scrappy though... I figured if push came to shove I could probablz take him. Overconfidence is clearly a problem for me.
We went down to the left bank and ate a nice little restaurant. Conversation was a bit challenging because of the language barrier, but still interesting. Evidently, I'm perceived as even more "uppity" in France than the US, go figure. Great meal. Nice wine. One of the perks is that bordeaux is not an import here! ;)
We went for a walk after dinner and he took me to see the small replica of the statue of liberty on the Seine. Then the La Tour Eiffel. He was holding my hand and even bought me a rose. Tres romantique. But I honestly didn't feel a thing... it was nice to have company, but the whole thing just made me long for a real boyfriend to be sharing that with.
He saw me back to my hotel after a circuitous walk and rode with me on the metro to get back. Of course, he wanted to spend the night, but I wasn't interested. I think the guy would have humped my leg on the train if I'd let him, and I hadn't even consented to a kiss. It's not like I was encouraging him. :P
I totally understand the Pepe le Peu cartoons from my childhood now... they are NOT exagerating!
Sunday I went out to Versailles.
What a pain in the ass.
The train I needed wasn't running because of some maintenance or something. Of course, not speaking French, this wasn't easily communicated to me. I got there eventually, but it was a huge effort. Lots of transferring at stations. Once I got there and saw the lines to get inside, I opted to just do the gardens instead. Words cannot convey the scale of the place. It's ridiculous. I spent all day and didn't even see all of the gardens! What's really amazing is the fountains... all of it done without pumps or electricity. It's a marvel of engineering.
Yesterday was our first day of work (although I was working on email over the weekend, of course). Boy, do I appreciate being in a Western country. There are numbers on the building, and they're in order! Hooray! Unlike Tokyo, I didn't spend two hours trying to find the place. I just took the metro to this stop... tried to find the right exit (impossible even with help from a kind Parisian), but easily figured things out from street level. We're in a hip and colorful little area, so I'm hoping to get to walk around at some point and explore.
After arriving in Paris this weeked, I went down to Champs Elysee on Saturday and strolled around. Sampled tea and macaroons at a place that a friend recommended. Amazingly delicious. Unbelievably rich flavors: raspberry, toffee, caramel, chocolate.... mmmmmmm!!!!
The weather has been unseasonably warm. After walking around the Champs Elysee all afternoon, I was "glistening" (code for sweaty girl) and ready to get back to my hotel for another shower. I went down to the metro and waited for my train, 10 seconds later a guy plopped down on the seat next to me and started chatting me up. (Mind you, I looked disgusting and smelled even worse. It was a nasty hot day.)
I politely explained that I don't speak French, and asked if he spoke English. Before I knew it he was asking me if I had already eaten dinner and if I would accompany him... So there, ya go. Not even in the country for 12 hours, don't even speak the language and I'm on a date.
I think that's a testimony of how lonely I'm getting on the road that I'm now willing to accept a date from a total stranger in the metro.
At some point it occurred to me that if I turned up dead it would probably take the folks at work back in Austin a few days to notice. I'm scrappy though... I figured if push came to shove I could probablz take him. Overconfidence is clearly a problem for me.
We went down to the left bank and ate a nice little restaurant. Conversation was a bit challenging because of the language barrier, but still interesting. Evidently, I'm perceived as even more "uppity" in France than the US, go figure. Great meal. Nice wine. One of the perks is that bordeaux is not an import here! ;)
We went for a walk after dinner and he took me to see the small replica of the statue of liberty on the Seine. Then the La Tour Eiffel. He was holding my hand and even bought me a rose. Tres romantique. But I honestly didn't feel a thing... it was nice to have company, but the whole thing just made me long for a real boyfriend to be sharing that with.
He saw me back to my hotel after a circuitous walk and rode with me on the metro to get back. Of course, he wanted to spend the night, but I wasn't interested. I think the guy would have humped my leg on the train if I'd let him, and I hadn't even consented to a kiss. It's not like I was encouraging him. :P
I totally understand the Pepe le Peu cartoons from my childhood now... they are NOT exagerating!
Sunday I went out to Versailles.
What a pain in the ass.
The train I needed wasn't running because of some maintenance or something. Of course, not speaking French, this wasn't easily communicated to me. I got there eventually, but it was a huge effort. Lots of transferring at stations. Once I got there and saw the lines to get inside, I opted to just do the gardens instead. Words cannot convey the scale of the place. It's ridiculous. I spent all day and didn't even see all of the gardens! What's really amazing is the fountains... all of it done without pumps or electricity. It's a marvel of engineering.
Yesterday was our first day of work (although I was working on email over the weekend, of course). Boy, do I appreciate being in a Western country. There are numbers on the building, and they're in order! Hooray! Unlike Tokyo, I didn't spend two hours trying to find the place. I just took the metro to this stop... tried to find the right exit (impossible even with help from a kind Parisian), but easily figured things out from street level. We're in a hip and colorful little area, so I'm hoping to get to walk around at some point and explore.
Labels: international relations, jet set, paris, tourist
posted by Master Dater @ 5:43 AM
1 Comments:
At 7:49 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hi MD, Down to the last one before the current posts which i am excitted about :-) I can't believe your job akes you internationally and it is something you love doing, it sounds so fantastic and such a fantastic exciting and adventurous lifestyle.
France sounds so romantic and beautiful.
Regards, A
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