street food is the best food

so after days and days of fancy french foods, i decided it was time for some simpler stylings... especially when it takes an average of 2 hours to complete any proper meal.

i had a fucking fantastic hot dog last night. they take a baggette and slice the tip off (making it jewish?) and then hollow out a place down the length for the condiments and the dog! really, why the hell do we cut the bun longwise?

this morning i had the french version of bacon egg and cheese sandwich... loved it, but why does everything need mayo (ok, not your reg bland mayo)?

drag my feet around

that is the way my tour guide from paris greeters phrased it. well my feet have been dragged all over and i am exhusted so here are some pictures... i'll write later.

Finally Here!

just a note before I start. this keyboard is completely confusing and french spell check thinks i'm stupid, so there will be many many typos... deal!

After a full out FUBAR w the airline and what seemed like days & days, I made it to Paris.

I had planned on taking the bus and the metro to my hotel, but after my travel time got extended I decided to cab it. The travel over wasn't all bad. A nice man on the flight to DC got me in to the Red Carpet Lounge since we were both screwed by UselessAir (his term for United.. which was on the money). After much stress, I was finally confirmed on a flight... TO GERMANY. Yes my route to Paris was Philly --> DC --> Frankford --> Paris. See why a taxi sounded better than a bus?

It was a smooth trip (as in no issues - plenty of turbulance) to Germany & relatively painless going thru "passport control" & then finding my gate. At the gate I noticed a older woman waiting for the same flight - Jeanne-Claude... the wife of Christo, they do the huge instilation pieces. There was no way I could think of to approach her without looking like a dork so I left her undistubed. I passed the time on the flight with the 2 Aussie hotties seated next to me.

In no time we touched down in Paris. That's a pretty wacky airport. I was tired and probably smelt a lil bad at this point. I didn't see any coustomes to go thru (maybe that is what "passport control" in Germany took care of. I didn't have the strength or abilty to haggle so I hopped in the first taxi offered. He was a plesant guy who liked to play this game - he'd have me shut my eyes and then open then when we'd be headed towards a major site. It was fun... though i was so exhusted "got your nose would have probably entertained me too!

So far I have managed to find my way around pretty good. Found the major train station (on the other side ofthe city) and alredy bought my TGV ticket to Nice.

You know what this is... just a few blocks from the hotel

Street performers at the Rue de Clar Market, at the corner from the hotel

Fresh fruit at the market... next time i am rent an apt so i can buy all these wonderful foods!

Does france have critcal mass? on my way over the bridge to go to the train station I caught this... hundreds of people roller blading across the bridge.

At the train station. I love the mix of old and new. the clock tower of the station reflected in a new modern building.

So I'm getting hungry and tired of looking at a computer screen... on to the next adventure... THE METRO!

This is what kind of nerd I am

Yes those are color coded tabs. And I made the cover for the binder... and it is indexed.

DON'T JUDGE ME!

Count down to Paris

This trip seems to have come up so quickly... it was in June that I decided if I didn't just make the reservations I would never actually go. I decided at that moment to buy myself my 30something birthday present - 2 weeks in France. I leave US soil on Friday 14 November (I'm practicing the euro formatting) and land in Paris at the crack of dawn Saturday morning.

I am starting (been) freaking out about traveling alone. I am excited and this trip will be great, but until I am actually there and checked into my hotel I will be on edge.

I've really been working on streamlining the trip & create a solid frame work to let myself relax and enjoy the day to day adventures. Originally my trip included a few days in Lyon. Well after a few failed attempts at finding accommodations in Lyon I nixed it from the itinerary. This just means I'll return to France for a trip devoted to Lyon - maybe with someone who loves & is familar with Lyon like Psydde (ah the debauchery that would ensue!) .

Half my trip will be exploring Paris. Then I'll hop on a morning TVG train to Nice for the second half of my trip. I've rent a flat in Villefranche with a balcony over looking the Mediterranean. It is possible the second half of my trip will consist of sitting on that balcony eating fresh market goodies and bottles of wine.

I'll be hitting internet cafes along the way to post up-dates and photos, so check back.

Chapter 2 - ACG is Back (sort of)

So some of you are carry-overs from my previous blog: The (mis)Adventures of Anonymous City Girl. For those new comers, that was a blog that chronicled the last 3 or 4 years I have been living in Philly. It covered the good, the bad, & the ugly... the ugly usually being the most amusing.

Well that blog has been closed (for now) and we're onto this new blog about my up-coming travels. I have recently made a promise to myself to travel more & if you are so inclined you can follow along right here.