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• SomeGuy

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• 1983-08-05
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• Male
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• Vancouver, BC
Member Since
• 2003-08-02
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• Writer; Part-Time Hero
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• James

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• Visiting eight different myO friends in person thus far
Anime Fan Since
• Winter 2001
Favorite Anime
• Neon Genesis Evangelion, .hack//SIGN, Naruto, Bleach, Beck, Peacemaker Kurogane, Ranma 1/2 (the guilty pleasure)
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• Visit the myO friends I've missed thus far; complete a cosplay from 300
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• Can recognise most quotes from almost any movie/show on first listen; Can recite the entire 12 days of Christmas by memory




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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

   Paris -> War-tourism
Paris was the final city of the Contiki "European Discovery" tour. Paris was a fun city to be in . . . but first:

  • Re: Beating up Gypsies: None of us actually got to beat up any aggressive gypsies. We were disappointed. The closest we got was when a guy elbowed my brother in the head on the bus while lifting up his armrest (leading to the line, "I'm not a gypsy, damnit!").
  • Re: Jail Hotel: While in Lucerne, we stayed at the Lowengraben Jail Hotel. Essentially, it was built as a prison for over a century until the end of the 20th century. Now all the cells are hotel suites; it's classy like that . . . very unique and cool.
  • Re: The frog eats the grapefruit: In French, "La grenuille mange le pamplemousse." Originally from The Simpsons, it is, according to my brother Jessie, the funniest phrase you can possibly say in French.
  • Re: Language-changing: Sometimes it messed you up . . . but Germany and Austria both speak German, then it was 4 days of Italian, then we went back to German once we hit Lucerne. Ultimately, not so bad. We did often want to say "grazie" in Lucerne now and then, but that was about it.
  • Re: Skateboard-boy (part 2): The tour manager gave us several examples of the gypsies/beggars we could expect to see. Once we saw "skateboard-boy" with his hand out, well . . . it fit the description, so it was a safe bet.
  • Re: Little Michelle's French: she was from Ontario, I think, and was still studying French in school (though in Virginia now). Unfortunately, she was but one person; there were 50 of us on this tour, and we were rarely all together; at the most, groups of 2-5 would be off around town together generally unless we were going out for dinner or drinks. Luckily for me, I hung out with Little Michelle and my brother (whose French was still pretty good). Why we were REALLY worried, though, is that France is notorious for being mean to the English and the Americans; when you're in France, you MUST at least try to speak a little French or else they shall destroy you. Could be worse, I suppose . . .


After Paris, we begin my solo-adventures in Normandy . . . the posts'll probably start getting longer around this point (more time on my hands, you know how it is). And if things seem confusing, tell me what and I'll gladly explain 'em!

Paris (May 27):

  • Mmm . . . sleep is good . . . cough is bad . . .
  • Eiffel Tower, holding the line . . . proposals, real and otherwise . . .
  • Napoleon, war stuff . . . dragging Little Michelle around . . .
  • Rain. Metro. Hotel. Metro. Rain. Walk. Long line. Damn.
  • 5€ umbrella? Non, messieur . . . "blalaagh!"
  • Losers not listening to me re: stops . . . Camera-bitch -> Epiphany-guy!
  • Café de Deux Moulin . . . nice. Awesome waiter.waiter.
  • O'Sullivan's Pub . . . good times, drunkenness . . . coughing . . . . .
  • Not . . . Enough . . . TIME!!!

Paris -> Arras -> Dieppe (May 28):

  • Good-byes . . . aww . . .
  • FINALLY got "Stays in Mexico" playing!
  • Vimy Ridge history lesson . . . Canadians work the site . . .
  • Annnd . . . now I'm scared shitless . . . on my own . . . shit!
  • . . . it was fun to see the shock when I left, though . . .
  • Well . . . so far trains seem to be working . . . (Arras -> Amiens -> Rouen)
  • Evidently, lady at the Rouen train station bakery says I smell. Great. (Like I don't know, right? Strike one, France . . .)
  • Made it to Dieppe!!!!!
  • "C'est la Normandie..."
  • 59€/night . . . ouch. We have to not do this too often . . .
  • . . . people are nice, though . . . Hôtel les Arcades.

Dieppe (Tuesday, May 29):

  • Nice jacket weather here . . .
  • Fresh baguettes = the win.
  • Evidently, museums are closed on Tuesdays . . .
  • AWW! There was a WAY closer laverie!!!
  • Nice view, though . . .
  • And . . . evidently I'm having curry for dinner.
  • Cheap internet - and apparently Starcraft 2 was announced.
  • I also love baguettes now . . .
  • Beer to taste instead of beer to save face is a nice change.
  • Got suckered by "English spoken" sign . . .
  • "Welcome, English Spoken" works really well even though we still speak French . . .


(In other news, last night I stepped on an internet landmine and had to hunt down and destroy an absolutely frightening smitfraud trojan . . . not fun, not fun, not fun . . .)
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