We were watching two homeless men across the street. They were sharing a sleeping bag when they started to bicker. One of them rolled over so that he was facing us, pulled out his penis and took a wee (thanks, Cat) right on the sidewalk. He didn't even bother to stand up or move three feet away from where he was sleeping. Even though a lot of the bathrooms here are open and unisex (that is, the girls get the stalls and the men stand in full while using the urinals), this is the first time this innocent little girl has seen a man "wee." A noteworthy experience -- thank you, Paris.
The other day I splurged on a quality bag that will actually hold all of my stuff (that is, my laptop, camera, notebooks, and Evian). After several visits to the store, I finally made a purchase. It took awhile, because I am a very picky shopper, and even after I bought the bag I had to return to the store twice to switch colors. Apparently I made a great choice, because yesterday (the first day it saw sunlight) I was stopped several times by women on the street and on the Metro. See: http://www.brontibay.fr
I had some time during my host-family switcheroo that left me homeless. I stayed with a friend of mine, Rodrigo. He was kind enough to not only let me keep all of my baggage at his apartment, but also to help me carry it up (and back down) five flights of stairs. In return, I cooked us dinner (okay, so I wanted to take advantage of having a kitchen and the Parisian shops at my disposal). I made a simple pasta dish with ravioli and tomato sauce, in which I added my own sautéed tomatoes, artichoke hearts, ground beef from le boucherie, and garlic sauce. Fun!
