Saturday, March 22
vive la France!
so after a beaut day in down town dublin for st paddy's day (with amanda and mojo), twas off to the airport to fly to france. at this stage i didn't know where i'd stay that night, gettin into beauvais (the airport ryanair uses, 70kms out of paris) at 10:15pm.
10:15pm. anyway i got off the plane, went through customs and thought about staying at the airport, rather than in the middle of paris. but i decided to go in (by the shuttle bus) and decide one in. i got off and caught the metro to the station, and, as i expected, the next train was at 8:45am the next day. i roamed about the station for a while and was ready to setlle down when a security guy informed me that if i didn't have a ticket i'd have to comemback in 3 hours as they were closing the station (and the waiting room was for travelling passengers only). as i didn't have a credit card to purchase a ticket in the machines i had to wait till the tills were open to pay cash...at 8 the next morning. the bloke told me there was a all night cafe/bar accross the road, so there i went.
1:15am. i looked at the menu and settled for a "spécialité savoyarde" consisting of grilled cheese and ham on a special toasted bit of bread with salad and extra bread. also got a "chocolat chaud"to wash it down. great meal. the place was fairly empty for a while but as i finished and started reading my book, more and more people started arriving, and byg 2-2:30, the place was fairly packed. people eating, drinking, smoking, talking, getting thrown out (physically and litterally!!).
3:30am, having stayed a couple of hours i thought i'g go to the station and try to get some sleep. i decided to settle near a security guard...if he told me i wasn't allowed i'd get up and move off, if not, i was fairly safe. so i got in my fleece inner and got some sleep on the cold hard floor.
6am, the place is full of people. so i get up (after an uneasy sleep) and go check out the toilets...40cents for a urinal, 1.50 for a toilet and basin: you can shove that!! i'll just hold till i get on the train.
so i go buy a satirical french paper and line up for the tickets. for some reason the tills are open at 6:15 instead of 8:30.
after purchasing the "billet" go buy a warm-out-of-the-oven "vienoise au chocolat" for some brekkie and much on it while walking the dawn streets of paris. a few people around getting ready for work and some setting up for the market. snap a few shots here and there (some great graffittied trucks and vans!!) and head back to the station.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...free toilets on the train!! once in moulins (where mum and dad picked me up) i find out there was a strike and only 1/4 trains are running, so i was glad to have been able to get a ticket that morning by chance(?)...God is good!
facts about France:
-look down when you walk (dog poos R us!!).
-cars drive on the right side (the wrong side??).
-watch out for dog dirt (everywhere).
-people will, wherever and whoever you are, ask you for money.
-the cheapest thing you can get in a bar or a cafe is a glass of wine.
-dogs poo everywhere.
-all foreign films are dubbed.
-at pedestrian crossings you have three options:
1) wait (all day!!) till a break in traffic.
2) when you, can cross in front of slower cars (and get abused).
3) don't use em and cross where safe.
-in general, things cost more except coffee, wine and paté.
so after a beaut day in down town dublin for st paddy's day (with amanda and mojo), twas off to the airport to fly to france. at this stage i didn't know where i'd stay that night, gettin into beauvais (the airport ryanair uses, 70kms out of paris) at 10:15pm.
10:15pm. anyway i got off the plane, went through customs and thought about staying at the airport, rather than in the middle of paris. but i decided to go in (by the shuttle bus) and decide one in. i got off and caught the metro to the station, and, as i expected, the next train was at 8:45am the next day. i roamed about the station for a while and was ready to setlle down when a security guy informed me that if i didn't have a ticket i'd have to comemback in 3 hours as they were closing the station (and the waiting room was for travelling passengers only). as i didn't have a credit card to purchase a ticket in the machines i had to wait till the tills were open to pay cash...at 8 the next morning. the bloke told me there was a all night cafe/bar accross the road, so there i went.
1:15am. i looked at the menu and settled for a "spécialité savoyarde" consisting of grilled cheese and ham on a special toasted bit of bread with salad and extra bread. also got a "chocolat chaud"to wash it down. great meal. the place was fairly empty for a while but as i finished and started reading my book, more and more people started arriving, and byg 2-2:30, the place was fairly packed. people eating, drinking, smoking, talking, getting thrown out (physically and litterally!!).
3:30am, having stayed a couple of hours i thought i'g go to the station and try to get some sleep. i decided to settle near a security guard...if he told me i wasn't allowed i'd get up and move off, if not, i was fairly safe. so i got in my fleece inner and got some sleep on the cold hard floor.
6am, the place is full of people. so i get up (after an uneasy sleep) and go check out the toilets...40cents for a urinal, 1.50 for a toilet and basin: you can shove that!! i'll just hold till i get on the train.
so i go buy a satirical french paper and line up for the tickets. for some reason the tills are open at 6:15 instead of 8:30.
after purchasing the "billet" go buy a warm-out-of-the-oven "vienoise au chocolat" for some brekkie and much on it while walking the dawn streets of paris. a few people around getting ready for work and some setting up for the market. snap a few shots here and there (some great graffittied trucks and vans!!) and head back to the station.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...free toilets on the train!! once in moulins (where mum and dad picked me up) i find out there was a strike and only 1/4 trains are running, so i was glad to have been able to get a ticket that morning by chance(?)...God is good!
facts about France:
-look down when you walk (dog poos R us!!).
-cars drive on the right side (the wrong side??).
-watch out for dog dirt (everywhere).
-people will, wherever and whoever you are, ask you for money.
-the cheapest thing you can get in a bar or a cafe is a glass of wine.
-dogs poo everywhere.
-all foreign films are dubbed.
-at pedestrian crossings you have three options:
1) wait (all day!!) till a break in traffic.
2) when you, can cross in front of slower cars (and get abused).
3) don't use em and cross where safe.
-in general, things cost more except coffee, wine and paté.
