Upon arrival in Paris, we step off the train, and are approached by a big gothic looking bloke. He turns out to be an American traveller who is working for a youth Hostel nearby. Taking a pamphlet we head to the nearest bar for a drink.
It was here that we encountered our first truly frustrating experience with currency. Trying to adjust to the francs which we were now using to pay for our drinks was painful. We naively ordered and paid for our drinks and THEN figured out how much in Aussie dollars we had just spent. For two measly little drinks we had paid AU$30. I guess we looked like easy targets.
Darkness soon descends, so we decide to make our way to the Peace and Love’ Hostel, only to find out that there are no rooms left as we had taken our time getting there. Obviously seeing the look of desperation on our faces, the lady tells us that there is one other option. There is a spare mattress, that we could share, on the floor of room 10 if we want to ask the rooms occupants if they would mind us sleeping on their floor.
The hostel was an extremely old structure made up entirely of wooden slats, which creaked loudly as though they were about to give way. We cautiously made our way up the winding staircase, which was unimaginably narrow, permitting only a one way flow of traffic at a time.
Knock Knock.
Disappointment soon creeps back into us as we turn to head back down the seven flights of stairswhen the door opens and a very sleepy yet very sexy nineteen-year-old Alaskan comes into view. Jodie and I are about to drop to our knees and praise the Lord, so I ask timidly if he would mind sharing his room with us. With a reply, turning to his also sleepy friend.
“Sure, the more the merrier”.
His friend slowly rises and introductions are made. Gifford and Derek.
Joining us for dinner at a small restaurant down the road, we talk non-stop, learning about each other and laughing hysterically about our travel experiences so far. During the course of the evening we find out that they are also travelling on Eurail passes and have arrived from London today. Jod being Jod also manages to find out that they are both single and ours for the taking!
After a quick stop at the grog shop we head back to the room for some cards and eventually bed. We snuggle up tight, fighting the miserable Paris cold, for a night of very little sleep.
Rising again at 6:45am-set for a full day of touring Paris. It soon became evident how life changing this trip was really going to become. We had set off on our own, not even 24 hours having past, and already we were feeling unlike we had ever experienced.
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