A picture of the Mona Lisa taken with my camera
If I had to use four words to describe my last day in Paris, I'd say, "I Love Lucy episode."
I woke up late due to the clock in the room being an hour ahead... so, I missed meeting a friend at the Flee Market, North of Paris. When I realized what time it was, I shuffled out of bed and got ready as fast as I could. About an hour later, I got into the taxi and headed over to the North side of Paris only to find out that the shops were closing... So, I walked around the antique shops a bit.
I had heard before that the French were rude... Up until today, I was thinking that it was a false rumor. Everyone here had been so nice and helpful until I, an American, walked into a restaurant at the North side of town. It was noon and I hadn't had anything to eat so I decided to try out a street corner restaurant. As I walked in, there were two women standing in front of the doorway. They looked at me... I looked at them... as I said, "Just one, sivouplay." They just stared back at me... Then, I asked, "Anywhere is okay?" One of the girls answered, "No, just that one..." as she pointed to a table to my right. I said, "Okay, merci." Then she asked, "For lunch?" "Ummm... no lunch, cafe and dessert?" I answered. She looked at me with an annoyed look on her face and said, "ok." I thought, "Ok, then... you must be having a bad day." So, I walked over to the table to sit down. Both girls stood there looking at me like I was about to steal something and run. I was about to pull out the chair to sit on it as one of the girls said, "No, no not that one! This side for lunch, you see? Only this side!" I looked down at the table and there was a small bowl of bread and butter on the other side of the table with silverware next to it. It was one small table... Why was it a big deal which chair I sat in? So, I said, "Ok, ok, sure..." as I directed myself to the other chair. Then, she rolled her eyes and walked away towards the other girl as they started speaking in French. I hadn't sat down yet.. I stood there, looked at them, picked up my bag, and left... I wasn't THAT hungry, anyway.
I sat in a taxi, except I didn't know where I wanted to go, so I just told him to drive by the Eiffel Tower so that I could see it up close. The driver was a Vietnamese, Chinese, French man who was extremely nice about driving me around, since I had no idea where I wanted to go. So, we drove by the Eiffel Tower, then, by the rich (Beverly Hills) area of Paris where I decided to get out and walk. I walked a few blocks down the street and decided that I couldn't miss Mona Lisa if I had come this far. So, I started walking towards the Louvre, back to square one, where my hotel was.
As I was walking down the street, I saw some people huddled around a man. He looked like he was doing some tricks for them, so, I walked up closer to the crowd. After watching his trick for a minute, I couldn't help but laugh. It was the trick where there's a ball under one of 3 cups, the cups get switched around, and you have to figure out which one the ball is in. Ok, I've witnessed this trick before and it's usually done so quickly that you forget which cup the ball was in to begin with... Let's just say this game was in slow motion. The "magician" was an older man with a mustache and as I watched him, he bent over the cups and switched them around, very slowly. He moved the cups so slow that you could easily keep your eye on the cup the ball was under and, let me tell you, he was no magician. It's not like he would make the ball disappear. The funniest part was that the people surrounding him were acting as though they had no idea where the ball was...
It was gambling on the street... you gave him 100 Euros and picked a cup. If the ball was underneath, you'd get 200 Euros back. If not, you'd lose your money. I stood there as he pointed at me to try it out. I had been watching for a couple of minutes, but I wasn't ready to bet 100 Euros on it because there had to be a catch... There was no way these people were not seeing that ball and where it was going. I stepped closer to the game and told him I wasn't giving him any money. I would reveal the ball for free, just to see if I was right. So, he agreed, and, I did. Guess what, the ball was there and I was 100% sure it would be there. I stood back after my turn and this lady came over and gave him 100 Euros. She picked the cup up and revealed the ball, which made her 100 Euros right there. He just handed her the money and moved onto the next person. Another woman standing to the right of me said, "I lost 160 Euros playing this yesterday..." I thought, "Uhhhh, ok...Oh my gosh, you did?" Watching this, I thought, "If this is serious, I should play. They have to be on crack or something... I know exactly where that ball is right now." So, I moved up and tried to take my wallet out of my bag. As I was fumbling through my bag, a man walked up in front of me and stood next to the "magician". He looked like he wanted to play, but it took 5 seconds for the people around me to scram. I stood there wondering where everybody's going... then, I watched them put the "magician's" hands to his back... At that moment, I thought, "Shit, I should walk away right about now. No wonder everybody left..." So, I took my hand out of my bag, turned around, and walked away as though I hadn't even been standing there. I don't think it would've been fun being arrested in Paris... well, according to Lucy.
Then, I made my way toward the Louvre, and in the meantime, got caught in a hail storm, was dripping wet to my socks, and, finally, saw the Mona Lisa...
So, that was the highlight of my adventures here in Paris. The rest of the day, I spent walking... walking... and more walking until I couldn't feel my toes, but it was so worth it...
Tip of the Day: Adventures can happen when you wander sometimes. Sometimes, just wander...
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