Playing Hookey the Parisien Way

I did something bad today. Very bad.
I skipped class and played hookey all day. But needless to say, it was one of the best things I've done in Paris so far. (!)
So, just a quick a word of advice for the folk out there who want to explore a new city, especially Paris : GET ON THE BUS (no, I don't mean that figuratively, but literally). One of the best ways to get a (cheap) tour of a city is not by some crappy tourguide company charging you up the wazoo or to take the metro from one end to another...but the bus. That's right. Buttttt the only thing is deciphering the bus map. At some major intersections, such as La Bastille or La République, there are so many buses lines crossing in one spot that it looks like a tarantula map. But I reluctantly bought myself a handy little fold-up to see where I'm going (discreetly that is; I find it quite embarrassing to pull out a map in public....why don't you just scream " I'M A TOURISTTTT, ALRIGHT?!?!?!")
Although, this day I wouldn't need a map.
It began with my field trip for my Econ class; plan was to meet at Trocadéro metro at 9h30 Wednesday morning...except that I slept late and forgot this metro station was closed on the 6 line. So once I get there, and don't find the group, I ask some extremely unhelpful people where I could possibly find L'Union Europeen de L'Europe Occidentale - it even sounds like a big building, but of course, NO one knows where it is. Merci, buddy. Welcome to Paris, where everyone is as unhelpful as they come.
I find the building and once I get through the coatcheck, I ask where I can find the Boston University group that just walked through here. After thoroughly looking me up and down, the pretentious snob of a woman at the front desk of this marble palace kindly reminds me this is the European Union of Western Europe, not Boston University. Thanks lady, got it. I then try to explain that I'm here for my economics class and we're here for a field trip ( thinking, "Shit, how do you say 'field trip' in French?!) and again, she kindly reminds me this is the European Union of Western Europe. For freak's sake, I got it. "Big group? Came this way? 10 minutes ago? Hello in there?!" She clearly doesn't understand.
Finally, the light bulb goes off in her head and she recalls there was quite a large group of loud Americans that came rumbling through here about 15 min ago, naturally, but they're in the next building. Right. I've just about had enough of this, and am getting so fed up with pretentious unhelpful snobs, and en plus I'm now half an hour late for this goddamned field trip...Putain!

As I'm walking outside, I realize I don't even care about going in the first place and realize how utterly uneventful this whole thing is gonna be, so I...hop on a bus!!! Yup, that's right. Hop on a bus, didn't even wait at the stop but just got on a random one and saw where it took me.

This was the start of a very good day I decided- I found myself a little place to stand on the packed bus and leaned against the window to take in all the sights. There was an open-air market selling fresh fruits, old wrinkled women walking their springy dogs (both wearing Chanel), a worker standing outside for a refreshing cigarette, and newspaper stands with papers predicting the worst for tomorrow ("C'EST LA CRISE! PIRE CHAQUE JOUR! LA GREVE! GETTING WORSE EVERYDAY, EXPERTS PREDICT").
I'm like a little kid on the bus; wishing I had two sets of eyes so I could look out both sides at once. My favorite this about riding all around the city is that the Eiffel Tower is always there, gleaming in the distance. And, of course, the Amélie soundtrack is blasting from my Ipod because the music just brings out all the flavors and sights of Paris; it magnifies the light, intensity and sound of the city and describes it in notes, not words. It's the soundtrack of my life here. It even glorifies the metro- if I'm listening to the beautiful piano or accordion in the songs, even the metro seems ultra-Parisien and therefore glamorous.
One thing I noticed about the particular bus I was on is that I seemed particularly young. Oh yes, quite young. Oh wait, everyone on this bus is OLD! Where are all the young people? Apparently, like bats, they only emerge at night, ready to drink until dawn and terrorize the streets in a belligerent states. But during the day, this city is old-people land. At least in my quartier. Seriously, I think I saw maybe 3 young folks on the street during my little bus tour to Odéon. Otherwise, little old ladies hunched over a cane, a fur coat that weighs more than they do and far too much makeup roam the streets. Most of them have little pooches (yes, the little shits that are determined to cover every inch of this city in merde) and a caddy in tow with a baguette poking out.

We wind through the 15th, my 'hood, past the old restaurants and brasseries, up through St. Germain Ave and the quartier where Seb and I got quite tipsy one afternoon off Trappistes Belgian beer, past all the wonderful shops and markets and boutiques selling haute couture, past the Louvre and old men selling magazines from the 60s on the sidewalk, over Le Pont Neuf that crosses La Seine. Did you know that Le Pont Neuf (The New Bridge) is actually one of the oldest bridges in Paris? I realized that this city is filled with ways to spend money- that's why I'm so goddamned broke! Because that's all there is to do around here! Where's the good, quality-time FREE stuff to do? (besides riding the bus around..) Remember that? Helloooo it's called a PARC and a FRISBEE! Nope, apparently Frenchies don't do this. Just spend loads of money partout and complain about government.

Another wonderful thing about riding the bus in Paris is that out of nowhere, a famous monument will pop up. We'll ride and roll and jerk and stop and plow through the tiny streets of Paris and then Op! Notre Dame will appear out of nowhere, just like "Oh heyyyy girlfriend, remember me, y'all?" and then Op! there's the Pantheon, but like, no big deal.

So my bus tour comes to an end at St. Germain-Odéon, which I briefly recognize because I had been to a cinema around here before...the street is Maubert-Mutualité, a quartier near to the Latin Quarter, which I've been dying to discover and explore. I walk and walk and walk, down this street, up this street, until I find by intuition Rue de la Sorbonne- I think I smell the Latin Quarter. Oh wait, that's the nerdy students I smell. The windy, cobblestone streets house some of this city's oldest bookstores and quirky cinemas. I was on a mission to find one of these and see myself an old, weird-ass movie. Well, I discover three or four down this old road that I'll probably never find again, and they're all playing horror films from the 60s and Lolita and old scandalous movies from back in the day. Parfait. Unfortunately, none are playing until 14h and I have like 3 hours to kill...
I stumble upon Le Panthéon at the top of this huge hill I've just mastered, a sort of temple dedicated to the Revolution (I mean, how much more French do they get?!?) where folks like Voltaire, Rousseau and Emile Zola are buried. The Greek– (or Roman? One of those.) inspired temple is magnificent, my new favorite monument in Paris.
I duck into some old bookshops and a Tibetan store just to kill time. I've got all the time in the world! Sushi for lunch, and then I treat myself to a lovely piece of Belgian chocolate from Jeff de Bruges, while the Amélie music ringing in my head the whole time. Off to UGC Cinema to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, or at least buy my ticket. I still had another hour to kill so I ducked into the Horse's Tavern for a café noisette and some good solid writing time. The movie was genius by the way. GO see it if you haven't. I emerged at 5pm the afternoon, quite content with myself that I got farrrr more out of this day of exploration and appreciation for Paris than the L'Union Européen of Occidental Europe. Take that, snob.

Three Words for the Day? Poodles, cigarettes and baguettes. Because they're everywhere !

Lady made me a free omelette at Tour Montparnasse when Marion and I saw the sunset! Who says there aren't sweet people in Paris...