Wrong button again!!!

Sorry. I keep hitting the wrong button and then it posts before I write anything. Please refer to the previous title for this post. :)

Yesterday, it's 9:30am on July 12 here, I went to the train station to get a reservation to any place in Italy. Real specific, right? I ended up having to go through Nice so I didn't go through Switzerland. I only have a 3 country pass and would have had to pay for the whole ticket, much more than the 15€ I paid in reservations. The next open train was today so I had one more day in Paris, not a bad place to be stranded. I will get into Nice late night/early morning, then catch the 4pm train to Milan, which means I can wander Nice without having to pay for an expensive hotel. Sweet!

I will get to Milan around 10, booked a hotel there for the night, then head to Venice at 7am on the 14th. I'm hoping to spend the day in Venice and catch the night train to Rome. After Rome I will wind my way up The Boot and check out places suggested by TP, my mom's neighbor, along the way. Then I'm thinking it will be off to Barcelona and possibly Valencia before rolling back to Madrid. Not a bad plan, right?

Back to Paris. After booking my train, I headed back into the city center. It was far according to the map, so I started walking...with all my luggage. Basically, I went the wrong way for 30 minutes before I realized I wasn't seeing anything familiar and turned around. As soon as I did I saw just how far I walked. The tower of Nortre Dame, which I started out fairly close to seemed miles away, and probaly was. Crap! So I went to the other side of the Siene and walked down by the water, this kept me from retracing my steps and getting frustrated. Plus, I gt to see some pretty cool things:
-a small pirate ship with dinner service and a show
-a pool ON the river, it was in some sort of boat but makes it seems like you're doing laps in the Siene.
-people getting ready to put out lounge chairs in preparation for the annual beach party scene
The beach party...every summer they ship in sand and put in on the road that follows the river. People go down and sun bathe like they're at the beach. It's an escape for those that don't have the opportunity to go on holiday, ad there has been talk of just leaving the sand terr year round, creating their own beach! I'm leaving before this happens but seems like a cool scene. Also, the 120 year anniversary of the Eiffel Tower is on the 14th. Their are posters every where advertising the celebration that show the Tower covered in fireworks, kind of like sticking sparklers every where. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the next one I see.

So I'm lost, but not really. I just walked so far I wasn't on the map any more. I think this wasn't punishment for the last log were I said it was satisfying to find your way in a new city. I got cocky. Thank you, Universe, for putting me back in my place. :) I was walking towards the Latin Quarter, known as the student area because it was supposed to have some cheap hostels. I never found them and was too shy to ask for a long time.After an hour of wandering (stupid ego/shyness!!) I found a used bookstore called San Francisco Books. Yes!! Sounds like and English speaking spot to me. I went in and got a guidebook for Italy by Rick Steves and asked where I could find a cheap hostel. He gave me directions to Woodstock Hostel in northern Paris. Sounded like a party to me so off I went energized despite wearing the bakpack ad walking for over 3 hours at this point.

Apparently I wasn't the only one that liked the sound of Woodstock Hostel. It was full. As was the one across the street. Panic started to creep in. It would be dark in a few hours, looked like it was going to start raining, I had promised I wouldn't sleep outside, what if everything was booked accept the 200€ places....I went to the bad place.

I think I hit the wall...metaphorically. I was tired, both physically and emotionally (sorry for stealing your line Ma), and had no place to stay. I forced myself to take deep breaths and calm down. There were a lot of places I saw walking to Woodstock so chances were good one would have an open room. Next hotel, 120€. Not that desperate yet. :) I did end up finding a place. It was more money than I wanted to spend but worth it. I took a shower and did some sink laundry before passing out at 6 or 7 pm. I woke up at midnight and started to book hotels for my next leg of the journey. I am not a fan of the thought of sleeping in the street, the main thing I learned yesterday. That and it is important to rest.

So that's what I'm doing today. I did sink laundry last night and took it to dry at a laverie today. Best 3€ so far! I met a guy traveling around, on the last leg of his 6 week trip with his girlfriend, from New York state. He told me about his experiences in Italy and what he would/wouldn't do again. It was the first time I've had a long conversation with an American since Ive been here, except for skype and the quick interaction with Museum Laurence.

I'm feeling good about where I am again and ready to head to the next place!!

Again, please feel free to forward this off to anyone who might be interested. The URL of the actual blog is:
http://bmurdock-spain09.blogspot.com/

I expect to be offline for a few days but should have a post by Rome at the latest. Until then...
Au revoir