Between the coughing and the gurgleslurping.....

I have no idea how to arrange this blog. It feels like we've done so much, and I haven't been taking notes, so I don't even remember what order we've done them in. So this blog will be a mishmash of Paris activity......

Best story ever....we were on the Metro platform standing next to this old guy (we now figure all solitary old men are perverts), who was holding a bag over his crotch, and every time we'd move over, he'd scoot closer to us. We were weirded out enough, but when we got on the train, he dropped the bag and revealed a massive erection......I started killing myself laughing, and so did Kim, and it was possibly the most awkward and hilarious moment we've had.

I guess the best part of Paris so far has been the fantastic walks we've been on around Montmarte. It's so Parisian....like Kim says, it's exactly how you'd picture it in your head. Judy has been leading us on crazy shopping expeditions in these little boutiques, where we encourage her to spend waaay too much money to avoid falling into the same trap ourselves. When we're in Rome, we're going to be waiting for a phone call from her yelling at us for letting her spend so much money, demanding that we send her money to make up for it!

But we don't just shop.....we've been stopping pretty frequently for food. It wouldn't be a Kim-holiday if we weren't eating something smothered in nutella every 30 minutes. I, of course, stand by and watch with seething resentment as the girls eat their crepes and pastries, while I sip on my scalding hot, extremely strong, bitter (much like my heart at this point) coffee - which I've come to love.
We've been out to dinner (or drinks and desserts) the last few nights, and our trip has coincided with the release of the new beaujolais, so we've been sampling, and liking! But you know us.....we're nerds at heart, and the other night I was in bed by 7pm. Sad, but true.

Kim and I also took a trip to Les Halles, which is a shopping centre unlike any in Melbourne - it rivals casinos in that it's impossible to escape from. After we finally did escape - after much stress and edgy banter - we headed over to Notre Dame, passing a few hundred police on the way, which was a little unnerving. Kim and I were suitably impressed, but also very, very lazy and tightarsey, so we didn't climb the stairs (we have to climb four flights to get to our hostel room and 92 stairs in the Metro........isn't that enough?). It was pretty drizzly that day, so we wandered for a while, but headed back to the hostel when Kim realised she'd left her passport unguarded in our room. Her passport was fine, and still there when we returned, but a pair of my earrings was not so lucky, and I've resigned myself to the fact that they're gone. Sigh.

Yesterday, we hit the ultimate tourist spot....the Eiffel Tower. The lines were mental, the costs were, well, actually pretty reasonable, but we're tight arses, so we didn't pay. Plus, it just seems that it's almost the least French thing one can do in Paris....we'd both rather walk around Montmarte for a few hours. I feel infinitely more satisfied after a day of that than a day of hardcore sightseeing. That being said, we figured we were so close, we should also mosey down to the Arc de Truimph, which was big and archy, as was expected.

Today Kim and I were a little 'under the weather' having last night shared 3 bottles of cheap wine with Danny and our new two American friends, discussing all manner of things, including sharing some very tasteless dead baby jokes (I only know one really dirty joke (Thank you Jacques), and having told it last night, I will never tell it again), and debating the smog in LA.....the fault of palm trees, or Native Americans? You decide.

Needless to say, after some coffee and chicken nuggets today, I was ready to face the world again....which of course means that I was ready to see a movie and then go to bed at 6pm...which isn't too far away. We went to see Scoop, the new Woody Allen. It was terrific, highly recommend it. Hugh Jackman is possibly the dreamiest man in the world; although if faced with a decision between Hugh and Scarlett J, it'd be a tough choice.

Now we're hanging at the hostel, being lazy. Surprise, surprise.

I'm feeling a little homesick and heartsick today; I think it's the combination of a teeny hangover and the fact that I've hit a little wall having been in Paris for so long (I love that a week is a long time). I'm a baby, I know, but it's my party, and I'll cry if I want to. I'm not a love-em-and-leave-em type person, so this backpacking thing has been a strange experience.

More when we hit Madrid! Ole!

Email me if you want (...........that's code for email me or I'll cry).

Love,

Lis