Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Kilts = nothing else

Today was the first day of classes, and actually turned into a really event packed day. Classes only last for about 2 hours, and end around noon which works out well since the whole day is still available for travel and tourism. I really wanted to visit the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore that is located right next to Notre Dame. So in one day, I was able to see both, and it was only about a short 15 minute walk or so from St. John's. Shakespeare and Co. is full of books in English, stacked from floor to ceiling. They have two levels as well, the first being books for sale and the second floor containing a sitting area and piano where you could sit and read all of the very old books they have on display. Unfortunately you can't purchase the books on the second floor, but it is very neat to see them and think of the types of struggling writers that used to pass through this area. After purchasing a book that questioned who really wrote Shakespeare's works and getting it stamped with the store's seal, we headed to Notre Dame. We didn't enter the crypt, towers, or treasury since it did cost some Euros, but it is on my list for things to do before I leave. We headed back, not getting lost again fortunately, and then headed to dinner that ISA had arranged for us. It included salad, Coke (which is very good here), wine, chicken/rice, and some sort of pudding. It was very good (and free for us!). After, we all headed to search for the bars and pubs in the Notre Dame/Louvre area. We ended up finding one, which immediately started playing Britney Spears when we entered. The drinks here are so expensive. I told one person there that we paid $1 a drink in Athens, and he laughed in my face. A liquor drink was 5 Euros, which would equal about $7.50 in America, and that was the Monday special. The bar continued to play American music, and then 4 guys from a Rugby team came in. They had small saucers around their necks, and they told me they had just completed a 42-bar red wine shot "marathon". They also went to show me that they didn't wear underwear under their long kilts. Onewas so nice as to take a pic with me and prove it. There were two English men, one from Scotland, and another from Ireland. After leaving the bar, we started using the map to navigate our way back. We still wanted to dance though, so we ran into another club with no cover that we saw. When we walked in it was completely dark, and looked somewhat like a strip club with green laser light dots going crazy. We tried to find the "toilets" and they were 5 stories up. The waitress there was not too excited with us, so we headed back out trying to find our way around Paris at 1 am. We also found a Rue de Christine on the way back. I have NEVER seen anything with my name on it, so that was pretty neat and rare for me. After finally making it home, we got ready to crash, but not until photos from the night were up and Jason HAD to show us "Kendall on racist field trip" video on youtube. If you haven't watched it, I strongly recommend doing so. We were laughing so loudly that the security guard ran up and started yelling at us in French. Whoops. Tomorrow has a lot to live up to.

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