Paris, nous nous reverrons

I got on the plane and made my way to my seat. The plane was half empty and I had the full row to myself. I laid back, took of my shoes off, put up legs and slept through the whole flight. After an hour and a half I was in Paris. This would be my second time in the French capital. Last time I was here was back in 2006 with my then girlfriend. So I have already done most of the touristy stuff in the city and was looking forward to random adventures with strangers. I wouldn't regret missing out on seeing the Opera house, Arch de Triumph or any other touristy spot.

I grabbed my backpack and made my way to the Metro. Paris has one of the most expansive and complete metro systems in the world. If you ever visit Paris, that's probably the easiest way to travel. Of course after you get comfortable with the awkward ticket checking gates. After 30 minutes I arrived at Gare du Nord, one of Paris' main metro/train terminals. I got out and wondered for a few minutes, trying to figure out which street led to my hostel. After walking around aimlessly like a typical tourist, I finally managed to find my way around to 73, rue de Dunkerque.

I walked in, it seemed nice, a little too quiet for my liking but I had a good feeling about it. I got my bed sheets and made my way to my room. The room had bunk beds in one corner and a normal bed on the other, nobody else had checked in so I claimed the bed for myself. The washroom looked amazing, with a tall shower and solid water pressure. I was impressed.

I went to the common area of the hostel, scoped the place out and chatted up the only other person in the hall. Thea was a 26 year old, small framed Asian girl who also had been travelling by herself. In the past 30 days she had visited Italy, Germany, France and Spain. We decided to head out and check out the city. We walked through the Moulin Rouge area, went up to Sacré-Coeur and strolled through the artist district.

Thea works as a state prosecutor and had taken a month off to visit Europe. She was clever and pretty quick on her feet. I was also surprised by her formidable command of the English language. Not only was she able to keep up a normal conversation, she was also able to understand most of my subtle sarcastic and obscure references that are exclusively 'amusing' to North Americans. We wondered around for a bit longer and head back to the hostel. She was heading back home tomorrow so I grabbed her Email and decided to keep in touch.

I was pretty tired so I head back to my room, a mother and daughter from Germany had checked in while I was gone. They had claimed the bunk beds and seemed very friendly. Their names escapes me, but I know the girl was in city to do an interview for a position at a kindergarten. And like any other Germans I've met so far, they were lovely people.

I was tired, so I passed out pretty quickly.