Paris

Paris is an absolutely grand city. There is definitely a character about the place. My conclusion is that if you go there with someone, you will fall in love with them. If you go there alone, you will fall in love with the city. I know I did! First, The Eiffel Tower - It's a long way up! The glorious Siene at night, It certainly is the City of Lights.

One of the sets of Ken's film, Treasure of the Templars--er wait... well TECHNICALLY it's Notre Dame Cathedral but it serves both purposes well!

The famous Mona Lisa. Crowds gathered to see this legendary painting, all asking the same immortal question: "Why is she smiling?". I think, and this is just a guess, it's because she's happy, but apparently she needs a better reason then that!

This one is very National Geographic, isn't it? That's the Seine from the River, I was doing a boat tour.

I should tell a story of later this night. I was returning from the bank taking out my Euro for the next few days, when a guy stopped me on the street and said "Ten Euro, free show and a drink!" Keep in mind, I'm from a small town with 3 bars, out nearest city is a 6 hour drive, so I thought "Great, Live music!" And in I went. I had my drink, and this rather pretty girl sat next to me. It wasn't very crowded, and it was dark, all in all a strange place for a) music and b) a gorgeous girl to sit next to me, but I thought: Make hay while the sun shines! So, we chatted and I bought her a few drinks, and then the show started.

Live music it wasn't! The strippers came out and I decided it wasn't my scene, and went to leave when the owner produced the bill. Without looking, I handed him 50 euro, thinking that was enough. He laughed a bit, then pushed the bill towards me: 500 EURO! That's 900 DOLLARS! Apparently, that nice young lady taking interest in me is employed by the strip club and you pay for the company as well as the drinks. You can understand I wasn't to impressed, so I said "I respectfully decline to pay this bill" (My exact words were a bit stronger, but that's the gist of it). So, in came the bouncers and worked me over for a few minutes. I figured it was better to pay then to have a broken rib, so I paid up after about 10 minutes. Essentially, I got mugged--legally--in a Paris Strip club. Depressing, huh? But, read the next story! It'll cheer you up!

Now THIS guy has a great story. His name is Nick, he's from Melbourne Australia. I was feeling rather low this night for a reason I will describe below, so I went into the "Australian Bar" near my hotel, hoping for someone to talk to who spoke English. Sure enough, I met Nick. After finding I was a canuck, the first drink was on the house. He was a really interesting guy to chat to, and on my second drink I handed him a 50 Euro bill. He came back with 2 20's and a 10. Third drink, I gave him a 20, he came back with 2 10's, etc. I never paid for a drink all night. But that's not what was really cool about this guy, his reason for being in Paris made my day.

It goes like this. He was on vacation on the west coast of Australia, and had rented a bike for the morning. He was pedaling along and passed this girl on another bike on the boardwalk. They made eyes, and there was a clear connection, but Nick just kept on pedaling. As soon as he passed her he was kicking himself: "Damnit! I should have talked to her!". But, he dismissed it as another missed opportunity. Then, at 12:00, he went to return his bike to find the rental shop closed until one. So, he started riding away, and again he passed this same girl. He managed to stammer out "The shop's closed till 1:00". She replied "thanks" and again, Nick rode off, kicking himself for the second time for missing another chance. He was determined to make a go of it the third time, and made sure he was back at the bike rental place at 1:00 sharp, hoping to catch her. And that he did: She was leaning against the side of the building reading a book, apparently waiting for HIM! So he asked her to lunch, and the spent all day together, then dinner, and all night together just hanging out! However, the next day she had to go back to Paris, but before she left she told him he should come visit her in Paris in his way to the UK (he was going there to work) for a few days. So, that's exactly what he did, and he's been staying with her in Paris ever since--it's been 4 months, and at last conversation he was saving up for a wedding ring! His smile was ten miles wide telling this story. It's great to hear about people falling in love, ain't it?!

The next day, it was off to where East meets West: Prague, in the Czech Republic. On to Prague!