One Night in Paris, A New Friend & An Old Friend

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I guess there’s never really enough time in Paris.

Last time I was here in 2013, I spent about four days trying to see a few of the sights, but of course I hardly scratched the surface.

This visit is super rushed because I know I gotta try to get right across Europe in three weeks. Perhaps I could spend a couple more days here, but my road trip to India has barely begun and I want to get some miles done so I won’t feel too rushed later.

I’ll come back here again one day.

I haven’t got much time in Paris but it has been fun.

 
Mon:

I visit my friends at Innis & Gunn to collect a slab of beer, then navigate my way to the home of my couch surfing host, Pietro.

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Pietro lives in a beautiful, historic neighbourhood, right off the Boulevard Poissonnière.
The laneways around his building are lined with little boutique fashion stores selling every kind of amazing looking stuff, decorated with feathers, beads and sequins.
There’s beautiful street art everywhere, which I love to see. A city without graffiti just doesn’t feel right.

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This is Paris, so of course the architecture is amazing. Every street is full of insanely intricate stone work, florid iron lamp posts and sculpture.

The great thing about a city like this is you don’t have to go anywhere in particular to be amazed.
Paris is the ultimate city to get lost and wander around in. It feels like there is a new wonder around every corner.

 
Risotto.

Pietro opens his front door with a smile, and I collapse onto his couch.
The hitch from London to Paris went very well, but I have only slept about 2 hours in the last 24.
When my butt hits Pietro’s couch, it feels like the most comfortable thing ever.

Pietro puts a cup of hot coffee in my hand, dark and rich like it should be.
I put the beer in the fridge.
We cut up vegetables and three different punget, delicious cheeses and Pietro makes us a a risotto.

Paris, hot shower, comfy couch, risotto, new friend… life is good. We crack a couple of cold beers, and the satisfaction dial pings in the red.

 
Tue:

I gotta hustle on east.

Before I zoom out of Paris though, I ring up my dear friend Karine.

She’s been living in Paris for years and Karine and I haven’t seen each other since we were both still living in Sydney Australia.

We meet up outside the Louvre, which is just round the corner from where she works.
It’s so good to see K’s face after all these years.
She has to get back to work and I have to hustle down the road, but we crack a beer, right there by the pyramid, and chat for an hour like we just saw each other yesterday.
My friendship with Karine has always been like that. Even when we lived in the same city, sometimes we would hardly see each other for months, and then we’d get together, and it was like no time had passed at all.

I love you K. It was so great to hug you and laugh together.
Makes me realise how much I missed you.

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East.

Well, now I’m in a service station in the French countryside thumbing for a ride.

Next target destination is Czech Republic!

 

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