TravisWall.net

It’s raining in Paris. Actually, it’s been quite dreary since I arrived. I’m not really complaining since I’d much rather have cool rain than scorching heat, though I haven’t done quite as much exploring on foot as I would otherwise. The city is very beautiful and a kind of interesting comparison to London as they’re both very unique cities. There’s a bit more style here, a bit more attitude. It has a slightly grungier aesthetic in regard to the buildings and streets, but nothing overly notable. I enjoy the lack of giant grocery stores and the availability of bakeries/butcher shops/cafés/etc every few feet. The food is definitely very fresh and much less prepackaged. I’ve been living mainly on bread, cheese, wine and fruit for the past couple of days.

I think I learned more French in the first couple days here than I did in several years of school. The city is fairly walkable and the Metro is easy to get around in, perhaps only slightly less so than London’s. The Louvre was a definite highlight. Trés magnifique! I’m heading back there today to see a bit more. I’ll be heading to Spain in a few days (either Madrid or Barcelona, I can’t remember which one first–I’ve been too busy with Paris). I’ll see if I can muddle through some Spanish. It’s my birthday soon and I kind of feel like I should do something though I’m really not sure what. I’ll probably end up wandering through the streets until I decide to head in.

Hostelling is interesting; the hostels vary considerably and it’s strange having neither privacy nor companionship, though you still meet nice people now and then.

I’ll have to keep this short, partly due to the bane of my existence: french keyboards. That anyone would employ the use of a different style of keyboard than the one I happen to be familiar with is unconscionable! Well, maybe not….but it takes forever to type anything and my internet access is limited.