Mauritanian Jazz, Bike Tour, and French Asians

Got back at 1:15 AM in the morning with Marie. We went to a jazz club in the 5th arrondissement in the St.Michel area. It was bustling with young people hanging out. We went to a club called Caveau des Oubliettes, translated to Prisonners Underground. But it wasnt scary like that at all. It was full; Marie and I couldnt find a place to sit where the musicians were. We had to watch them on the tv in the other room. But we snuck peaks. I even took a bit of video. And I got ripped off on my Kronensburg beer - 9.5 euro!! Never again. I'm bringing my own ;-)

Jazz Club!

Band at the Jazz Club

Marie and I

I talked to a few girls sitting by me - Sara, Vanessa, and I forgot the other girl's name. They were from Maurice (island of Mauritius - off the coast of Madagascar!) They, but more so their husbands/boyfriends, definitely looked different. Kind of like a mix of Indian and African, which, I imagine, is the case.Very cool! I have a photo with them!

Mauritanian Gals

First thing in the morning today was kosher shopping. Nearest store is in the 15th arrondissement. Bought fish, pate, cheese, burekas, and, of course, gummy candy.

Then, Danielle dropped me off at the Tour Eiffel to meet Marie for the bike tour we wanted to do together. Except Marie didn't show up. Later, I found out that the metro was unusually slow. I felt so bad because Marie really wanted to do the tour.

The tour ended up being really fun. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. Saidie, the tour guide, is from Pennsylvanie. She's working on a work visa and wants to live in Paris permanently. She did a fantastic job. We saw le Louvre, les Invalides, Napoleon's tomb, le Champ de Mars, l'Esplanade, l'Obelisk, and many other things. Lots of photos and even video!!

Eiffel Tower - bike tour

Arc (not de Triomphe) by the Louvre

Obelisk

Seine

Cles d'Amour

Invalides/Ecole Militaire

Invalides

Arc in front of Louvre

SMART car!

Then, I got Saidi's number so that we can go out sometime. Then, I took the metro back. I sat next to two Chinese guys who were speaking English. Henry, from Texas, is studying to be an international journalist/photographer for 3 months here. Jean Paul, who is actually from Paris but has great English, is a flight attendant on AirFrance. No, he can't get me free tickets :-(

I ended up hanging out with them. We found Henry's school off of Rue Raspline; his classes start tomorrow. Then, we walked to St. Michel, where Marie and I were yeterday at the jazz club. More about that a bit later. Henry and JP got food and we went to sit by the Notre Dame to eat. Just like that. Amazing...

Par my best friend Diana's request, I found a French speaking Chinese guy. I was supposed to take a photo with him. I did one step better. I video-ed him in front of the Notre Dame giving Diana a "tour" of the surroundings. Really, it was n'importe quoi (random ranting), but hey, she won't know the difference. Unless she is reading this right now :-)

Back at Danielle's right now. I just accompanied Marie to the metro - she is leaving back to the states via Munich. She was super sad to go and wished me to take advantage of the time I have in Paris.

Signing off and bonne nuit!

Notre Dame