Arrival, 23:50

• baffled by the Metro ticket kiosk and these green things
• a Francophone helped me buy two green slips of paper for 20 EUR, one got me into Metro, and pointed me to correct train for Chatelet
• more field repairs on watch in Metro
• right outside Metro, once I found my way out, is
• Cybercadric jabber orgfe Paris (phonebookoftheworld.com)
• AccessX ?? 5 hours (less 10), 2-7, (down the street from listed 24hour c-cafe sign: closed 000-07:30)
  • custom gui menu shell on top of Win2K, nice flatscreen boxen
  • first few missions of Warcraft III (in French), gorgeous, amazing, seems a worthy sequel to one of the best video games ever
  • first few steps of RTCW (in French), cool, but hung the box
  • first few steps of Max Payne (in French), kept getting shot
  Walking Tour of Paris
  • Chatelet
  • Notre Dame (Crypt A-- wouldn't open until 10 ;( )
  • Palais Royal??
  • Louvre
  • Egyptian Obelisk, environs
  • breakfast at Cafe Recrument:
    • a real continental breakfast
    • French menu w/ english subtitles
    • crossaint (sp!), jam, buttered bread, cafe, orange juice: 6.60 EUR
    • check price at St. Dominique 85 EUR +
    • Tour Eiffel
    • check price at Hilton (300-230 EUR!!)
    • back to R. St Dominique
    • room, breakfast : 100 EUR
    • lunch Cafe A---: cheese topped ham pizza, lemonade
    • wander about, including grocery store
    • check in at 14, head upstairs
    • fail to lance blister :(
    • crash out to music videos: 14:00 -- nap -- 20:30
    • breakfast is until 10, ask for wake up call at 900
    • look in luggage shop: very nice versatile rolling bag/pack for 55 EUR
    • Arc d'Triumph
    • head south
    • le Tour (sunrise, moon, lit up)
    • frozen yogurt (?) cone: 3.50 EUR (ow)
    • linger under tower, eat melting cone
    • ~ 22:00: pint, chips, peanuts at Irish Pub
    TV:
    • Silk Stalkings, dubbed in French
    • followed by Flipper (1990s version), ibid
    • FX: the Series, dubbed French
    • EuroSport: ,cycling
    • mostly English music videos
    • MTV: Madonna (subbed), Lounge (yowza!)
    Observations:
    • the center (map 2 in my book) is quite small: I crossed it on foot in just a couple hours
    • no trouble with French or their English (save metro tickets)
    • seem to be better understood here than Britain
    • peole here seem to speak American English, rather than British (HRH's) but many guessed or assumed I was from England ??
    • all prices in UK and France include applicable taxes, much better system than U.S.
    • lots of Brits, Yanks, and a few Germans, Russians, et al in Paris
    • more regular exposure to alien languages seems to be helping my language skills, or dredging up memories: I am remembering lots of Spanish and German, and I am getting the sound of French (if still lost on the structure, pronounciation, etc) better through exposure to it
    • (hasty) One does not need to know any French to get by in and enjoy the center of Paris, but if you don't speak English or French it will be tricky