Paris

Alright, still a bit behind, so here I am trying to get caught up. Everything's in my Moleskine, so fear not, the rest will come in due time.

Paris was definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far. It was both mine and Emily's first actual Couchsurfing experience (actually surfing, I've hosted before), and it couldn't have gone any better. The couple who accepted our request, on the website were simply called "Pickles and Monkey," and so we didn't even know their names until we got there. Emily and I had to take separate trains to Paris, and so when I arrived first and met Enora (Monkey), I knew that we were in for a fun week. I hung out in Enora's apartment getting to know her a bit while we waited for Jack (Pickles) to get back from work, and Emily's train to get in. Once that was all settled, we all passed the hell out from all the traveling from Belgium to Paris.

Our first day in Paris was filled with something quite unexpected, but turned out to be one of the most fun things we've done anyway. Apparently our first day in Paris happened to be the same day as their Gay Pride parade, and so Jack and Enora recommended that it was something that we couldn't miss. They were right, as it turned out to be a perfect way to do a walking tour of Paris, as well as drinking plenty of beers in the sun, simultaneously. It was also a great opportunity to meet a slew of their friends, and brush up on my French. After a couple croque-monseiurs, we headed out to find Quinn, a friend from high school, at a local bar close to the Pont des Arts. It was pretty fun to be able to see her and catch up a bit, and Emily and I ended up walking back to Jack and Enora's relatively late, admiring Notre Dame on a clear night on our walk back.

The next day we decided to attempt to be more touristy. Emily and I headed down to the Musee d'Orsay, but with the length of the line and timing we had before meeting up with Jack and Enora again, it wouldn't have been worth it to try. Instead we walked around a bit near the Eiffel Tower, and got some ice cream in les Jardins Tuileries. After again meeting up with our Frenchies, we all went out to one of their favorite cheap Chinese food places for dinner. Again walking by to take in Notre Dame, we later grabbed a couple pints at an Irish pub that Jack used to work in, before heading back to their place to pass out.

The next morning I left semi-early with Enora to grab some bagettes, croissants, and pains au chocolat for breakfast. After consuming it all in about 2 minutes, we got ready and left for la Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise... a cemetary where many famous French are buried. We spent a good amount of time there, taking in the graves of Jim Morrison, Chopin, Delacroix, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Seurat, and many more. Jack and Enora then took us to Monmarte, where we got an awesome view of the entire city. It felt great to relax for a bit on top of the city, and had a good time also checking out Pigalle, Paris's red light district. Apres ca, we went to check out L'Arc du Triomphe, as well as the Tour d'Eiffel. We accidentally got to the Eiffel Tower at the perfect time, just able to see it begin to light up for the night. This night was topped by polishing off an impressive amount of French wine at Jack and Enora's, very French indeed.

Attempt number two at seeing the Musee d'Orsay happened the next day, and this time Emily and I were successful. We spent a good amount of time at the museum checking out Van Gogh's, Matisse's, Monet's, etc, and then headed back to meet up with Jack and Enora. For our last night in Paris, we were on a mission to gather as much wine and cheese as possible to indulge in in front of the Eiffel Tower. A large screen was set up in front of the Eiffel Tower, and the Spain v. Portugal World Cup match was played out to several thousand people. After much pandemonium after Portugal's defeat, we walked down to Notre Dame to finish up the remainder of the wine and cheese, and listen to all of the random people playing music there. Emily and Enora tuckered out almost right as we got back, but Jack and I lasted until about 4:30am before giving in to sleep.

After typing this all up, I feel like what I've typed doesn't really give justice to how our time in Paris really was. Jack and Enora were the best hosts we could have hoped for: they hung out with us almost the entire time we were there, and really treated us as if we'd been great friends for years. It was an amazing Couchsurfing experience... strangers opening up their home to you and acting as tour guides to their city was something that Emily and I definitely didn't take for granted. We've hoped that the rest of our Couchsurfing experiences could be more like our time in Paris, and are realizing now that though the majority of people on the site are very generous, we were extremely lucky to have found hosts like them. Anyway, an update on London will be coming very soon... I'm now in Manchester for my last night, and onward to Liverpool in the morning. Check back soon!