A Day and Night in Paris
No Comments This tale begins with a World Cup ticket. I was in Madrid at the time auntie confirmed that I was able to go, so very very happy I was. And at that point, I began to plan my return to get to Luxembourg via Antibes and Provence in France. If I’ve ever done any spamming, besides the adolecent email bombs in highschool, it was now as I tried to find places last minute through that part of South France.
However, there were factors that killed my planning and directed me to a June 4th Paris arrival: No couches available and the overnight train from Lisbon would dump me on the west coast of France, not the east where Antibes is located. So I ended up spending 21 hours on two trains to get into Paris where I rushed off to a Paris Picnic on the Seinne river under the other Statue of Liberty. 
From 4pm to 11pm, the event grew from a small picnic to a large party. I just wished my camera didn’t break down before I got the chance to take many more pictures. But the camcorder and other couch surfer cameras caught more that evening:
Two of the above pictures are washed out because of poor camera settings. But they first show the small group that showed up at first. We even invited the, currently homeless, traveller from the Czech Republic (the fatish guy) to eat with us. He had given Pierre a few lollipops as gifts, even refusing to take the money offered to him, before everyone showed up for food. I even ended up playing a couple games of chess on his tiny travel board, which (ahem, couch, cough) I beat him both times. He has some great stories about the Czech Republic and his journey from there to Paris via hitchhiking.
At this point, I haven’t showered for at least 32 hours (and wouldn’t until my 48th hour since I last showered, yuck) and was feeling an odd travellers high. First, I was in a psuedo panic because I didn’t have a couch for the night (but later confirmed last minute with Jean that I could crash his couch for a night, Jean totally rocks) while totally enjoying the day with a mild buzz concocted by glasses of chapagne and wine.
The pictures above show quite a few people, but for a while it was just me, Pierre (Blue Italia Shirt) and two others (unpictured) sitting on the bank of that island under a warm lawy sun. It’s a feeling that equates to a peaceful calm, not drowsy. The feeling was just total awareness about every breath I was taking in the world, every breath in that place and time.
Pierre did a great job organizing the event as we see him in a picture with Jose, Elisavet and Marifily. Ricardo, in the green shirt, is a huge soccer fan in Mexico and will be travelling Germany during the World Cup as well. We exchanged great stories about travelling and expectations of partying in Germany.
The night was filled with great picnic food (sunset after 9pm), followed by great conversation. I even got great footage for the video project. I just wish I got more pictures, but Elisavet got them so I’ll have to grab them later.
But the adventure doesn’t end there. I ended up running back at 11pm to the train station to pick up my backpack from the lockers. Unfortunately they were closed by the time I got there, its closing time differed from the Gare du Nord cosigne closing time. 
I ended up taking a full hour and a half running through the Paris metro that night: from the picnic to the Montparnasse station, to Gare du Nord, to Gagney. I then waited another 45 minutes, without a jacket, at half past midnight for my host to get back. I didn’t care, the night was too good to bring me down and I was greatful that he could let me crash just for a night. This just adds to the adventure.
So after a quick night’s slumber, I sit in a net cafe (by the Pantheon) typing up all my stories; a booked hostel for the night ready in waiting; and ready to get to the Luxembourg after hanging out with friends tonight.
A day to remember.
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