Sunday, 18 September 2011
Now was about getting home. Unfortunately France was in the way hence we had to travel through France. We attended the Fete d’Humanites. It was in deep in Paris suburbs which made me glad that we ultimately returned home because it did not look like that would be possible for an hour of that day. It just showed how useful a compass to find the way home hence I valued that compass more than my moral one. Eventually, I worked out from a map realistically where a festival could be held. The compass then pointed the way (I had to twist the bearings to NorthEast).
This festival was interesting until the point that it became a political rally. I was no expert in french, but Fete d’Humanites translated as Festival of Humanities. It was full of different food, cultures, influences from former french colonies. The food was delicious and the wine was smooth. Towards the end of the day, the atmosphere changed. Clouds gathered and rain started. It became a Communist Political Rally, in french. It was (not really) about to kick off so we got out of there.
There was a free bus offered to go somewhere. This lead to my theory on free buses. It really doesn’t matter where the bus go, (anywhere in french or in any other language) it is impossible to go wrong with a free bus. A free bus will always take you to a better place. For example, I have taken free buses to hotels, free buses as rail replacements, all taking me close to where I wanted to be. This one turned out to go to a metro station. It took me to a better place just like it had in the past. My advice; always take a free bus.
The night sitting in an overnight train took it toll and the night before sleeping in the tent did not help either. There was no time for sleeping with all the travelling. A double expresso delayed the inevitable. I was buzzing. The french hotel owner tried to con cash out of us, well sorry french guy no extra money for you. We were given this barely 2 people’s room and he recommended an upgrade by paying extra. I politely declined. It was a rather cozy double bed but again, it is not gay when there is no touching.
Paris did not impress me as much as She did before. Perhaps the novelty had worn off. It was Jesse’s first time here, so I took him to all the major touristy sites. The Sacred Heart, Arch of Triumphant, the Pompidou Exhibition Centre, Pantheon and Luxembourg Gardens were excellent spots. All being free for 25 or under, which luckily I still qualify for. We were low on cash. Our budget did not account for the surcharges for all of the night trains. We knew we had to pay for some night trains, not all. We could only afford baguettes. We survived on 3 Euros a meal with a baguette sandwich but beer was always budgeted for.
Above is the Centre Georges Pompidou is one of my favourite places in Paris. I liked the modern art and the blend with some exquisite pre-Raphaelite work which really inspired me in a way that would be difficult to describe.
Actually, it was free and I liked some of the installations, thought provoking. My understanding of art was to create an emotional response about the piece.
Adventures of Delboy 