Putting Kerouac's Neck on the Block
Mar 8th, 2012, 02:14 AM
#22
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Okay, FMT, I'll meet you at the rue du Pont Neuf exit. You'll know me easily enough, as I will be the only person dressed entirely in black in order to blend in with everybody else.
Mar 8th, 2012, 05:09 AM
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How do we get from CDG to ...?
What the heck: we'll shell out for a taxi. I'm afraid to use public transport for fear that we might have to change in Châtelet-Les Halles where we might be accosted by aggressive beggars.
What the heck: we'll shell out for a taxi. I'm afraid to use public transport for fear that we might have to change in Châtelet-Les Halles where we might be accosted by aggressive beggars.
Mar 8th, 2012, 02:17 PM
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Padraig - No, not the rue du Pont Neuf exit. That's where kerouac told me to go and look what happened. I've tried reading the signs but they're all in French. I'm scared and confused and I really have to go to the bathroom.
Mar 9th, 2012, 12:42 PM
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Kerouac is still safe. Today Herself and I walked the the length of the Canal St Martin between Parc de la Villette and the Seine, and found it made for an enjoyable and interesting excursion - certinly not normal tourist Paris. It's something that I would certainly recommend to people who have been to Paris before, and now seek something a bit different from the standard list of Paris "must-sees".
On attire: I ignored all the well-meant advice, wore jeans (my good ones that cost €10, not the €7 cheapos), lounge shirt, walking shoes, and parka jacket; carried a man-bag. I was addressed in French everywhere I went. So it seems that the real secret of not being taken as a tourist is to stay away from the places that tourists go.
Apologies to FMT: I did indeed visit Chatelet-Les Halles, but failed to find him. Perhaps he was over-reliant on the idea that I would be all in black. Herself was all in black, but at this stage you are probably loath to approach women that you don't already know, even if they are carrying sandwiches and loo-paper.
A small thing that pleased me greatly: found a café at Bassin de la Villette, directly at the water's edge, named "Okay". I wondered how many Anglophones get the joke.
On attire: I ignored all the well-meant advice, wore jeans (my good ones that cost €10, not the €7 cheapos), lounge shirt, walking shoes, and parka jacket; carried a man-bag. I was addressed in French everywhere I went. So it seems that the real secret of not being taken as a tourist is to stay away from the places that tourists go.
Apologies to FMT: I did indeed visit Chatelet-Les Halles, but failed to find him. Perhaps he was over-reliant on the idea that I would be all in black. Herself was all in black, but at this stage you are probably loath to approach women that you don't already know, even if they are carrying sandwiches and loo-paper.
A small thing that pleased me greatly: found a café at Bassin de la Villette, directly at the water's edge, named "Okay". I wondered how many Anglophones get the joke.
Mar 9th, 2012, 03:03 PM
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Today I followed some tourists reading a Rick Steves book (I knew they were tourists because they weren't dressed in black) and found my way out of Châtelet-les-Halles. Somehow I ended up on rue Cler but later I met my parents and then we walked the Promenade Plantée. Despite the fact that there was no elevator they still managed to climb the stairs all the way to the top. I think it was my mother's comfortable white tennis shoes that made this possible. No one tried to throw us of but we did have to avoid several piles of dog doo. I recommend comfortable white tennis shoes to anyone who has difficulty with stairs. As a bonus, it is very easy to accessorize with white. Choose any color fanny pack you like, even purple.
