Paris

So if you look up slow (and in some cases inept) you will see a group picture of the others we are traveling with. Well, they all aren’t that bad, but they are so slow. So slow in fact that we almost left two of them in London to catch the EuroStar in time because they were still sleeping! Today we got up to head to Paris. After the two and a half hour train ride, we meet Pepe, our bus driver for the remainder of our trip. Getting luggage on and off the train was sluggish, but we finally got on our bus and immediately started the city tour with Nicholas. Chelsey and I have deemed them “drive by and shot” because we just sort of drive past something important and take pictures out the bus. We did get to get out at a couple of spots to take pictures, but we are planning to head back to the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triompe tomorrow to have a little more time to explore after going to Versaille. Tonight we went to Moulin Rough. The show had some really brillant parts, most notably the can-can, and then there were other parts that left you speechless for the talentlessness of them. What is most enjoyable is the audience reaction because we have shows similar to this in Las Vegas, but people from other countries, espically the oriental countries, haven’t seen such glitz and glamour. Before the show we grabbed a bite to eat at Hippopatomous, a restaurant that I would compare to a T.G.I. Fridays, but it was a steak restaurant. It was really exciting to eat beef because it is often hard to find that you can identify with over here.
I haven’t quite figured out hotels over here. They can be four and five star, but they don’t compare to anything in the US. The lobbies can be beautiful and then you make you way to the room, for instance our hotel in Paris, and you find a lovely bathroom with orange tile, an orange countertop with and orange bathtub (ugly in its own right but even more so since I hate Clemson) that looks like the Brady Bunch did interior design on the side. Not to mention this motif doesn’t match the rest of the room which I have no words to explain. At least if you are willing to wander to the lobby, you can get free Internet, which is so hard to come by here.
One thing that has perplexed us through the trip is why they put your flag by the information in your language. I mean, if you can’t read it doesn’t that mean it’s not your language? I don’t see something in Chinese or French and go, “oh, is that English?”