Next stop, Paris...

unloading in the underground station reeked of trash, graffiti and urine. after an all-night ride, finding a restroom was on top of the to-do list. under the toilette sign was a cashier who stopped us to charge a euro each. i don't understand why you would need money to relieve yourself, its ridiculous, no wonder it smelled like piss outside. we emerged from the underground station into another realm. the same sun shun bright that morning yet i didn't understand anyone, or anything. i felt so lost, what were these people saying to me? miguel saved the day by speaking conversational french, him and his fancy college education. our next step was predictable, whats the first thing you would want to see in Paris? map says champ de mars stop for the Eiffel tower. the liberal french just happen to be on strike that day, stopping most trains from running as scheduled. in theory this was awesome, citizens fighting to be heard, but in reality, it wasnt at all convenient. we bumped into commuters until the crammed train choferd us to our stop. and there it was, le torre eiffel, hadnt moved an inch since 1889.

I settled in and stood guard of our belongings at the park. my homie, miguel, went off with his laptop and no extra weight to figure out a plan. i still hadn't had any rest or food and lugging the 45 lb backpack everywhere i went didn't help any. fatigue set in and sleep took over, but i managed to keep my face covered while the sun baked the rest of my body. Miguel eventually came back bearing bad news of technical difficulties. part of our equipment, was his early model mac book which hadn't been used in some time and needed major software updating. we gave up searching for a host and found ourselves another hostel, where we met a group of cute Spaniard girls . this one was 26 euros per night, even the wireless internet the hostel offered was pricey but we didn't have any other choice. still desperate for food I found a sandwich stand and had me a 14 inch baguette, probably the best I've ever had (fuck those five-dollar foot longs). returning to our hostel, we befriend our roommates, Ali and Mike couple of guys from LA and Sean from New York City. downstairs a group of cute spanish girls invited us to tag along with a few australians teenagers for a casual drink. now things were looking up, enough reason to splurge on a couple of 2 euro bottles of wine. altogether we walked to a riverside spot by notre dame. the atmosphere was calm and welcoming, hundreds of youths in their cliques all along the river. deep in conversation, sharing several kinds of food, drink and smoke under the radiant city lights. there was even fireworks reflecting off the river passing by. this group of girls made it from basque country, a region of Spain, to enjoy a quick vacation before starting a new semester. luckily for Miguel and I, Mexican Spanish was our native tongue, while the English speaking Australians failed at keeping up conversation. they also spoke vasque, but they reserved it for secrets amongst themselves. sweet wine was flowing through our veins and romance started filling in the air. i ended coupling up with maddi, half drunk kissing on a sidewalk until five in the morning. dirty blonde, sparkling eyes, amazing smile with a sexy accent and only two inches taller. the next day we slept in so late we were awaken by a cleaning lady yelling in french. we must've been tired because we mindlessly paid another night and went straight back to bed. It was Sunday which meant most museums were free but by the time we got to the Louvre it was almost closing time. merde! still wandering, we found ourselves a store specializing in general outdoors and bought a couple of sleeping bags. we already had a tent, so now we were free from having to stay in hostels any longer. when we returned the girls were packed and ready to go but before they departed, i managed to spent some more time with maddi. though i resisted, i walked them to the train station, and kissed her goodbye.

since we didn't have much money, part of our plan was to sell pictures from a portable printer for extra cash. we found a canon store that would carry a portable battery we needed, but wouldn't be open for another day. the laptop was now up and running, Miguel had even found us a host in Dijon. there was a mini market close by and we returned from it with a loaf of bread, pasta, a few cans of beans and nutela (our European substitute for peanut butter). by no means was this fine cuisine, but for some reason i couldn't help but enjoy it. the next morning we redeemed ourselves with the staff by waking up early and checking out. there was a big day ahead of us, we needed our free breakfast and a head start. not wanting to spend anymore on the subway, we walked to the canon store with no luck. not only did they not carry the battery, we'd have to order it online. hearing the news, we had to evacuate immediately, no more wasting time in Paris. a few locals directed us to a highway, and we were off to it. we walked and walked and reached a point we thought would be good for hitch hiking. a few minutes later i was done making a sign with "Dijon" on it and our thumbs in the air. people smiled, laughed and even waved but didn't stop. hours passed and the sun crossed the the sky almost setting. paying yet another hostel was out of the question. still the first week and we each had spent a third of the total trip money, around 200 euros. how the hell were we going to survive almost four more months?

i was in need of a break so i sat on the concrete and sparked a cigarette. my legs oozed lifeless relief. i exhaled smoke and heard Miguel screaming for me. he ran for his bag and then back into traffic and jumped in the back seat of a Peugeot. i sprung to my feet ran to the sedan and jumped in the front seat. bonjour monsieur, merci merci beaucoup! our first foreign hitch! he offered to take us as far as Auxerre wherever that was...

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
-Robert Louis Stevenson