Paris-City of Blights

Last week we bumbled onto our first European train ride of the trip. We had the good fortune of sitting across from a friendly American couple who were closing out their trip. The woman gave us her two cents on Portugal, saying Lisbon was a nice city for other people but it just hadn't treated her right so she had a bad impression of it. Immediately afterwards she passed out over her nearly empty bottle of dramamine and I didn't get a chance to ask her what she meant. I think now we know. For us this trip to Paris was more obstacle course than leisurely stroll.

Arthur surfed (or tried to) in Spain which was lovely until Paris when he developed a consistent fever of 38 degrees. (102 F). This lasted for 2 days, and the symptoms were very unpleasant for him.

When he finally saw straight again, he suggested we go out for lunch. We dusted off our unworn shoes and packed our little backpack with money and a camera and closed the door behind us. With the key inside. I won't even go into the madness that followed for the next 7 hours until we got back in.

And then today, our day of plans foiled again by the Parisian Metro System on Strike. We stood in line for hours to book our train ticket for next week and it took two hours to find our way back from L'Arc de Triomphe this evening. Another Paris day drifted past us (thank goodness) and hopefully as we board our Amsterdam bound train tomorrow our change of scenery will include a change of luck.