Paris

Arriving in Paris was not the pleasant experience it ought to have been. We arrived at Gare du Nord and simply wanted to know where we could go to find a place to stay. We were sent from one person to the next and eventually back to the first again. No one could help. I was utterly lost as I couldn't understand a word of it all. Thank goodness Willow was there to speak french.Eventually we set off down the street in search of a place to stay. We came to a hotel that looked fairly cheap and checked in for the night. After some research at a nearby internet cafe we discovered that we had stumbled on one of the better deals in town. We had our own room with a private bathroom and a balcony. Disregarding the one hundred stairs to our floor and the bugs in the bathroom, it was not bad. This photo shows the view from our balcony. The Basilique du Sacre Coeur was beautiful lit up at night.

We went to what was supposed to be the most picturesque market in Paris (the name escapes me). It turned out to be the only one we went to so I have nothing to compare it with. I took some pictures of the local staples, but bread seems to be missing.

I found myself quite taken with european graffiti. A lot of it is stenciled so it looks neater and it often has a political message. We also noticed that in Paris, more often than not, there would be graffiti on the sidewalks or on vans but not on the walls. We wondered if it was because the buildings are too beautiful to deface.

Here are some examples. You will see more when I get to Italy.