Paris 9/12

I don't know how many of you are receiving all my emails, I think I press different names each time i send one out *sheepish*. I hope everyone is doing well. Paris is still good although its getting quite cold here now - everyday I've got to take my big coat, scarf, gloves and beret. And I've been here long enough to have seen/heard/smelt some pretty bad things about this city now. I personally have not stepped in dog poo but other members of my group have. It seems that the richer the area, the more likely you're going to be dancing in the streets not only due to the sheer opulence of the houses and how much you want to live in them *cough*, but because richer ppl can afford to have kawaii little dogs and thus let them poo everywhere when they take them for walks.

Secondly, for all those ppl like myself who loved the movie Amelie, I'm not sure if I said this in the last email, but the place where they set/filmed the movie (Montmartre), is really quite dangerous. At that big white church (Sacré Coeur) on top of the hill, we got hassled by people who'd swarm up to you, tie a piece of ribbon around your wrist and then yell out really loudly that you'd robbed them if you refused to pay you for that ribbon. I managed to get away by yelling out *non! non!* and barging through them, but others weren't so lucky. Montmartre IS really cute with lots of funny small alleys and buildings and is one of the few places in Paris where you can get a garden, but it also kinda smells like rotten roses/plant life because there's lots of cobblestones that catch the water which then sits there and becomes stagnant.

I've waxed lyrical about the joys of Paris Metro system before, and I still love the short waiting time, but it can be quite crowded and there is a tendency for ppl to use the stations as a public urinal. Also, on the way back from a night lecture at the Louvre, me and 2 other girls got separated from the main group and a busker helpfully warned us that there were pick-pockets around us and 2 ppl tried to pick-pocket one of the mature-aged students. They didn't get anything, but broke his watch. Stations can also be the hangout of pretty seedy characters. Lots of drunks, homeless ppl and beggars that come onto the train and start yelling about how they have x number of children and they need money.

And getting a taxi on a Saturday night/sunday morning while wearing 10cm heels is hell on earth. We walked around for 30 mins on cobblestones in breath-visible weather before we got a taxi. A car backed into me, but luckily it was only my right arm and I'd had enough to drink to wave it off and they werent going too fast because there was a major traffic jam around Place de La Bastille. We've nearly been hit by cars so many times because they tend not to stop at pedestrian crossings even when the green man is on unless a huge group of ppl cross. Traffic in the centre of the city has gotten worse since we've been here because its getting close to Christmas - the other day I saw police doing that guiding thing on a street at the main entrance to the Galeries Lafayette carpark.

That said, I still love this city and I've still been having a good time. With the exception of the guide at the Musee d'Orsay (Impressionism), our lecturers have been really good. The person who gave the night lecture at the Louvre was your typical artist guy - he swept in, declared he was tired and then proceded to march around the Louvre for nearly 2 hours pointing out what was good and what was *crap*. We've also had this lovely old professor from the Sorbonne who gave a walking tour of historical architecture who was 2 metres tall and surely enough was named "Georges Grand". Actually our tours are pretty funny because we pick up all these other ppl on the way, we probably look pretty funny - the group is comprised of 19 girls, a pregnant woman, and a fat man. We get a lot of old ppl following us around.

For everyone who's asking why The Plan isnt going well, there is little opportunity between classes to meet ppl, its pretty much limited to when we're on the metro or walking between places. And even then its hard to tell who's straight and who's gay. Everyone here is dressed and groomed really well. The other day I was at the bus stop and saw 2 hot guys talking to each other. The bus pulled up and they stopped their conversation and kissed each other on the cheek. You know, c'est ça la france. Then they kissed on the mouth... I'll leave it at that.