European Adventure - Day 5

Day 5- Today was a great sleep in day. The city of lights hasn't let me down with sleep yet. We left the hotel around 11. We had accomplished most everything we set out to do in this fair city so far and we still had a day to spare. We decided to visit the Sacre-Coeur church, the white onion dome, byzantine looking church as seen in the movie Amelie. Part of the reason this place is popular is because of its location and setting; on top of a hill with lots of grass and stairs leading up to it. The streets leading up to it were very touristy. All the shops had tons of postcards, nick-knacks, artwork, and stuff like that, good prices too. Both Ryan and I decided that on our way down we would finally start buying stuff for people back home.

As we approached this park area leading up to the church there was an eclectic carousel and an organ grinder, and lots of people hanging out. I think I heard the sounds of a school nearby too, accompanied by the occasional clanking of a tea cup and saucer, or a knife and fork on a plate from the nearby street cafe's. All these were distractions for the real business going on here: Black Market Bracelets. Yes, the infamous friendship bracelet. As you approached the park you had to make your way through crowds of people, but these crowds were mostly made up of pushy salesmen. Although 1 said he was from Jamaica, I couldn't identify all of the different accents I heard. So, one guy would come up to you and ant to talk for a second, then he'd whip out a few strands of thick tread, and try to immediately weave this thing to your wrist. But as push as they were, they wouldn't take NO for an answer, so I had to be forceful to get the point across, like telling them NO in multiple languages, and then "go to hell VooDoo Man".

And just as I was finishing telling one guy NO I would turn my head just to be faced with the same situation. I tried ignoring them but still they tried to tie me down with their 'flaxum' cords by the wrists. then I started folding my arms, so they couldn't really get at my wrists, that only stumped them for a few seconds, then their attacks kept coming. By this point I was sick of them doing that, so I folded my arms, tucked my head and just ran like a running back in football. I ran thru a group of them and up the stairs. Apparently stairs are 'pester-free zones'. But looking back I noticed 4 guys at the top and bottom of each staircase. As well as each possible entrance to the area. While running I left Jeff and Ryan behind and hoped for the best. While running by them I noticed that they noticed what i was doing, so one Jamaican dude got pretty upset. The whole time all three of us were laughing pretty good. Jeff later told me that the guy was all insulted and yelled, saying that I was "treating them like animals". Funny that HE was saying that, they were the sharks in a feeding frenzy. So after that I didn't feel bad about the Voodoo comments, or Black Magic, or the Bob Marley Look alike contest comments. I kind of wish I had heard the guys remarks, cause I would have then argued with them about it, but whatever. While passing lots of these guys they would all try to guilt trip guys into buying stuff for a girls they were with, or just start weaving one on your hand as you walked, and then when you said NO they'd say "come on man, don't be like that!" and act all offended. It was really annoying, but running by them helped.

So after we passed the gauntlet we made it to this nice church. There was a service going on, so they really didn't want me taking pictures, which just made me want to do it more. On the inside it was like most Cathedrals. On the way back down the hill, still in search of 'the perfect souvenir' we came across a quaint little market shop at a lovely intersection. I think it was one of the markets they used in the movie Amelie too. They had posters and post cards from the movie. So we got our lunch at this little market which was a typical French lunch: cheese and Bread. I had bought the baguette in the morning and was just carrying it around with us, just so the frenchies would think I was one of them. Jeff got some sort of Bree cheese. (yest the kind with a thick crust of mold on it... and i still don't like it.) So I had water, Apple juice, and chocolate for lunch, while Jeff ranted about how good cheese was, and Ryan would wonder where every brick came from and "what park was made of". So when we were done eating, or when I thought we should be done, I'd pick up my bag, and start asking where we should go next, what fit our schedule, etc. But as soon as I do this, Jeff decides he needs to start feeding the filthy pidgins with MY baguette! (this was a little irksome cause I hate pigeons, I hate littering, I hate insects, I hate dirty-disgusting creatures, and I hate wasting time, especially while in Paris!) I finally got Ryan to follow me by engaging him in a conversation about how many leaves were on a tree, but Jeff was so attached to these flying rats, It reminded me of when Parents drag their kids out of a toy store without getting anything, He just didn't want to stop feeding the flying menaces who pollute towns, destroy statues and spread disease! So to hold onto this dream, he would leave a bread crumb trail that lead out of this cobblestone park, down some steps and somewhat in our direction. This was exactly like the story of Hansel and Gretel leaving the bread trail in order to find their way home.

In the past couple of days I've noticed that it gets kind of noticeable when either Jeff or Ryan gets hungry. Jeff starts checking all the outdoor menu's of every single cafe/restaurant that we'd walk by, then follow up by suggesting we go back there "if we wanted to", or "when YOU GUYS get hungry". I first confirmed this suspicion when we walked by 4 cafe's right in a row, and yes, after every one we got the same spiel. Ryan on the other hand is much more obvious. He just starts blabbing about how much he doesn't care about anything else at the moment other than food. Then after anything that Jeff or I would say, he'd snap a response back by asking "only if they had food there", or if a person "would know where to get food", and so on, but in a more belligerent and pestering manner. Then there's me. I don't have any quirks like that, I just kept water and snacks in my day-pack so I didn't resort to those tactics. But if I did, you'd probably have to read their blogs to hear about it :)

So any way, we're walking around again, looking for the Artists district that me and my brother stumbled across so many years ago. I asked some lady (who apparently wasn't local) and she said she didn't know of Anything in this area (but I was sure it was there) Then Jeff asks if she knew where such a district could be (because he was being helpful and she was kind of 'Euro-cute'). So he's taking detailed notes and getting streets and metro stops from her, discussing every move he/we should make to get to where ever she was thinking of, and went on and on about this distant (expensive) art district/gallery area that I'd never go to; and I only wanted a helpful conformation of this nearby area! So finally they separate and Jeff is glad to know where some new weird place was that I had NO intentions of visiting. But we pressed on. We ended up really close to the Moulin Rouge area, so we decided to stop by.

[Reluctantly I should say, a few days earlier Ryan said he wanted to visit the area (he said this at night time). I had to scold him for wanting to go to the Porn/Red light District. He had never heard of such a thing. He kept repeating in shock "the movie wasn't like that at all!" Good thing, he sort of has a sheltered sense of reality, however Hollywood (or Utah) portrays it. (similar to the Da Vinci Code)]

But it was during the day so we thought we were safe. It wasn't that exciting. Nothing there except bars and nudie shops. There were a few video stores, cinemas and 'shows' that Jeff kept wanted to investigate. On one theater he saw the word Cinema, which he's interested in, but he didn't see the bright neon sign above that reading 'Girls Girls Girls". He didn't think a 'video' store in this area would be bad and kept wanting to go and look at "French" films. I kept having to remind him what district we were in. There was one 'classical' theater he kept trying to go in. He was trying to get a detailed look at what kind of 'theater' it was, but Ryan and I saw from across the street that it was a place of ill repute, with large posters above eye level that labeled what went on there. He kept wandering around in front of this place as if he had lost his wallet, but eventually gave up. Jeff must have missed those que. We did find a store in the area that would sell me a new memory card though.

After that we hiked back up to the artists district. I had seen a postcard which informed us of its location. It was a pretty cool little area, lots of artists in one little plaza area selling their paintings and drawing caricature's of people.

We made our way back to the Opera House with hopes of getting in to see the Theater room. When we were there a few days earlier it was closed. But with all the metro stops and switches (and hunger) we got there only 10 minutes late. So we wandered over to the neighboring department store. Ryan wanted to get some 'hip and fashionable' jeans. As we started wondering around I feared that he was going to try to shop all day, just like he wanders around museums. And I was correct. He stopped to investigate every single item as if he was tenderly pondering taking it home, and rescuing it from its current prison; just like adopting a puppy from the pound. I got sick of it after 2 minutes and told them I'd meet up with them later. Jeff got really nervous with this idea, fearing that we would never be able to find each other again. So I made Ryan promise no more than 30 minutes, max. So I just sat down somewhere to rest as I made fun of all the shoppers.

From there we were just in wandering mood. So we just started going from place to place. The map we had listed the touristy buildings and places in bright yellow, so it wasn't that hard to do. We saw a church (Saint Madeline's),the fashion district, Concord plaza (where Marie Antoinette was beheaded), and the Louvre Gardens (they were just OK).

At that point we had a lull in our schedule, so I suggested we go see the Pompidu Center which is interesting Architecturally. The visit lasted 10 minutes cause someone said it was in the Gay District. I just needed to take 2 pictures.

And just as the clock turns we all got hungry very quickly. we went to our hotel and got a recommendation for a place 1 block from there which was pretty good. Very local and acceptable to eat at.

Earlier in the day I told some kids not to fight in public. We were at a metro stop and they were loud, so I felt compelled to tell them off.

A day or two ago I got eaten by bugs. Mostly on my right side arm and hand. It itched like crazy! Some fingers have 2 bites on them. I hope /assume it was at Versailles where I got eaten. Giving the hotel cleanliness the benefit of the doubt.

Also, at night some retard with a pint size scooter started popping wheelies near us. I tried to convince Plewe that the dude was trying to impress him.