Remember in Germany when I was placed into a girl’s room by accident? After I mentioned it to the front desk they were a bit embarrassed and then transferred me to a male room. Paris is a bit different than all that. Even some of the bathrooms in the hostel are multi-stall co-ed bathrooms. They are just a little more progressive then other places I have been.
As I said, I have had difficulties communicating in Paris with the French people. This of course was not a terribly big surprise to me. On the first day as I was setting up my room with the three other guys in there I noticed a girl was frequenting our space. I believe she was with one of the two guys traveling together. This is of course fine with me, I am not so prudish that I think they should sleep separately. Then she came back and had a key to the room along with another girl and they moved their stuff in. At least this time it was the girls joining the guys and not the other way around.
I asked at the front desk if the rooms were co-ed and I never really received an answer I could fully understand. I believe the message was if they are old enough and there are beds available, then girls or guys traveling together can join each other’s room. I think she also said if there are no empty beds in an all-girl or all-guy room and someone needs a place to sleep, then they will make the rooms co-ed. This must have been the case quite often in my room as every time I went to sleep, more women joined my room. I woke this morning to find two guys (including myself) and six girls all sound asleep in the room.
I could not keep track of the women nor did I really care to. There was one down side though to having a room full of women. Well for me it was a downside because none of them were Heather. Remember when I said this place was kind of a dump. Well this includes a toilet door that will not close and no door into the shower. I could have handled the shower issue if only there were a curtain on the shower. Basically; if you wanted to take a shower you were pretty much just standing there naked exposed to half the room. My bed was on the other half of the room to afford some privacy to those who needed to shower. The women seemed nonplussed about this and apparently showered as their wet towels were hung beside their bed, and their hair was wet. I on the other hand am shy enough around guys (ask Lee and Roy about that) there was no way I could shower with the possibility of some strange girl coming into the room to chat with me. This all boils down to I have been in Paris for three days and I really need a shower.
I was able to wash all of my clothes there in the hostel at least my clothes do not smell so bad. I am now on a high-speed train headed to the south of France to a city called Biarritz. There is nothing like five hours on a train to catch up on your blogging and video editing. I have heard good things about this place from Matt and he suggested I go there if at all possible. They are supposed to have a climate similar to San Diego, CA and some really good surfing spots. This will mark the conclusion of my random travels as the rest of my trip is well planned out. Not really an end, but more a beginning of a middle that is fast approaching the end of a journey.
I will spend the next 4 days in Biarritz. This will be the longest I have stayed in any one place except for Matt’s place, during this trip. This is also the only place I have come to that I do not have a place to stay before I arrived. I sent an email to the hostel and received no response. I called them today and they looked up my name and had no reservation. I asked to make a reservation and he said they are full tonight. I asked if they had beds tomorrow night until the 4th. He said they did. I asked if I may reserve those rooms. He said no he cannot make reservations over the phone. I informed him again that I had sent in an email for a reservation and had not received a reply. He said he does not answer the email, that is someone else. I asked how I can get a bed there for tomorrow? He said you have to make the reservation in person only. Are you getting a little frustrated at the flow of the conversation? I was too.
Just to break it down for you; I am going to Biarritz now. I know they do not have a bed tonight for me. The only way I can make a reservation is to be there in person according to this guy on the phone. I think my plan may be to sleep on the beach or camp out at the local campgrounds. I have a bivy sac and sleeping bag if I need it. I would rather be in a hostel. In case you have not put it together, this may mean yet another day without a shower. Wow, it really sucks to be the guy next to me.
Well, the video is done importing so I will get to work on that. I have a few different segments to get done. I hope I have enough time on this train to complete them.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment