Day 6- 1/14

Went to centre ville at noon today. Only Emily and Lucie were there at the time, since the other girls were running late again. So we went to a nearby café for something warm to drink instead of wait for them in the cold. Once the others got there, we went to an internet café to book our hostel. It took us awhile to find one that worked, and actually I don’t think we even booked a hostel because there were none left that worked for us. I think we’re staying in a 2-star hotel. There was a hostel perfect for us, but it booked up like the second we found it. Then we went to Monoprix where I bought some cups for when we drank our champagne I bought. And I bought a sandwich to go while the other girls went and got kababs. While waiting for them in the mall, I saw Monsieur Un Dent’s friends walk inside. We were sitting at a table a ways away, but I hid behind my big bag.
Instead of walking all the way to the river and up the hillside to get a great view of the town, we took the bus. The view was great, and I wanted to go up to where the statue was but the door was locked to get to the stairs.





While we were up there we ate our food and drank my cheap raspberry and peach champagnes. Apparently there was a school nearby that let out because little elementary-aged kids walked by us and were laughing at us, especially when Emily was taking the cork out of the second bottle and it exploded off the bottle and flew into the air. We took the bus back downtown and went back to the mall where we could sit in the warm without buying anything. Although we did get yelled at for eating my galette. We decided to go to the train station to buy our tickets to Paris tomorrow instead of waiting for tomorrow morning. It was a little more expensive than we anticipated, only by like 12 euros, but it was very last minute. Then I came home and took my computer downstairs to do some internet stuff. Here comes the most fun part of my day (this is a complete and total exaggeration). This guy comes up to me and starts talking to me, gives me his number, etc, etc, wants like 3 pictures with me, and finally leaves. I get a little peace and quiet when this other guy comes up to me and talks to me for about a sold 45 minutes and wont leave me the hell alone, even when I told him I was “engaged” (which I’m not, but I thought at least having a ring on my finger and telling them that would make them leave me alone). This didn’t work whatsoever. He basically was trying to get me to sleep with him for the entire conversation DESPITE BEING “ENGAGED”. They don’t care here obviously. He kept telling me “Ah but you are in France. You gotta live. He is there, you are here” blah blah blah. And how beautiful and unique I was with my blue eyes and blonde hair and how every other guy in the room wanted to be in his place talking to me at that moment. Don’t think that I was lost in translation and getting the wrong idea, because I wasn’t. I couldn’t understand everything he said, but I got the gist of it and I know the intentions of guys like this. It hasn’t been this bad with a white French guy. Not to be racist, but I’ve been told that the immigrant men from North Africa are the worst for this sort of thing. I wanted to scream at him to leave me the alone. In the meantime I was trying to talk to Luke and update my blog, which I’ve had very little time to do. And I wasted all that time because this guy wouldn’t stop talking to me. I finally told him that it was bed time for me, and as I went up to my room I told the nice old guy at the reception desk that if someone comes saying my name and asking for my room number to not tell them. He told me not to worry and that he wouldn’t give out any of my information. Then I came back to my room and just cried. I don’t really know why. Maybe it was because I didn’t feel completely safe, because I wanted to be left alone, because I wanted to just sit there and do my thing without being sexually harassed, because it hasn’t even been a week and already I’m so tired of being approached, but I think most of all is because I miss Luke so much and wish he was here to protect me from all this. I swear I feel like I’m gonna have 1000 restraining orders here before I go home. And for hardly ever being approached at home, I really don’t know how to deal with it, and it doesn’t help that everything is in different language.

On the bright side, tomorrow morning I’m going to Paris with the girls and I’m excited.

more pictures here