Pairs! ~ or as they say in french "Paris"

From the 1st through to the night of the 3rd we saw absolutely everything Paris had to offer. With the help of Greg Barker, a family friend who supplied us with a few hidden gems, and a free tour which covered all the big ticket items, we soaked it all in. We saw the Eiffel Tower obviously, and even waited in the two hour line up to get up the thing, the louver, Arc du Triumph, Notre Damn, Sacred Hearts Cathedral, the Latin District and the North end of the city towards Moulin Rouge. We strolled the streets eating crepes and bargaining with street merchants, listened to a harp player on the stairs of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, watched in amazement as figure skaters practiced on Rollerblades and Frisbee pros showed their skills on the lawns of the military museum. Although our hostel room was “compact” in size, the hostel did serve a fantastic breakfast in which I could also make a lunch to take with us.

Story time - The first morning we were there I thought it would be nice to take breakfast back to the room for Lisa who was still catching up on some sleep. So I loaded a tray full of croissants, baguettes, meats, cheese, cereals, milk, coffee and juice. The kitchen is located in the basement and we are staying on the first floor, putting two sets of stairs and two doors between myself with a loaded tray and my end destination... Can you see where this is going? It’s a great morning to be alive, I am traveling, the sun is shinning, breakfast looks great, so I am taking the stairs two at a time with a tune on my lips and jump in my step. Well it might have been that jump in my step or it might have been my over sized feet, but either way on the landing just below the first floor, my flip-flop caught the edge of the stair and ass over teakettle I went. Or in this case, ass of a very full tray of food and drink. Doing everything I could to not knock my teeth out on the stone steps, I let go of the tray which rotated once before coming down in a hurry directly in front of my face, and all over my arms. With one sleeve covered in orange juice and the other in coffee I started to use a whole different version of the French language. I was not a happy person. But none the less the stains came out of the sweatshirt and I was still able to go down and get another breakfast, although that was the last time I attempted breakfast in bed!

Of all the things we saw and did in Paris the most memorable was a naked couple in a box. Nope, no joking. As odd as it sounds, atop one of the museums along the river there was a large glass box. Inside the box was a bedroom completely set as if it where in your very own home. So natural looking in fact, that it included two completely naked people. One man who felt the need to stand against the glass and wave to people on the street below and his female companion who stayed more to the back and took photos. After about 10 minutes these two were accompanied by a few other people who climbed a staircase from the museum roof to the glass bedroom. We didn’t stick around to find out what happened next and we are still not sure exactly what was going on here but we presume it was some sort of art exhibit.

On the 3rd we were headed from Paris to London on the 11:30pm overnight bus due to arrive at 6:45am on the 4th. The reason I give this time so specifically is because it plays into the next 36 hours very carefully. We knew there was going to be a large lineup to check in for the bus so we went a little early. We were checking in around 9:25 and had planned to go and grab something to eat between check-in and departure. Turns out there was a bus leaving at 9:30 and the guy at the ticket booth didn’t even give us the option but instead told us that he had switched us and that we were leaving in 5 minutes from the other end of the bus terminal. Run. I grabbed the luggage, Lisa grabs the carry-ons and off we ran, or sprinted is more accurate. We made the bus, however we did not get anything to eat and were now both tired and hungry. As luck would have it the bus was delayed in departing and we sat in the terminal for nearly three quarters of an hour. Once we were on the road there was nothing but more problems. We made it to Calais, and had to go through UK customs to board the ferry. One of the passengers on our bus was “detained” by authorities which meant our entire bus was detained because he could have stashed something on the bus. So we waited another 35 minutes or so and once we were good to go we sat in the parking lot and watching the ferry leave without us. With all the delays so far, we had missed the ferry. Eventually we did cross the Channel and once we were back in the UK it was smooth sailing. Wait, it was smooth sailing right after we waited for our driver to fix the side door of the bus. The door was stuck open and even after he managed to get it shut, it would not stay shut and as soon as we started rolling forward the door would open again. With the help of some truckers, he tied it shut using a mash of string and wire. By the time we rolled into London, the bus that we were supposed to be on in the first place was parked just ahead of us.