Stars

Well, all worked out well. Some hunting on the internet and subsequent phone calls led me to the Hotel des Arts right in the middle of town. The shower and toilet are down the hall, which is what I guess qualifies it for one star, but the room was clean, spacious and 22?50 with a double bed, so it’s A-OK in my book.

I took a little nap and wandered the city for a few hours. For dinner I went to the Monoprix which is a pretty good sized department store with a grocery. I was following up on a rumor that there was cheddar cheese to be found in the Monoprix, but it turned out not to be true. I picked up some off brand goat cheese and a loaf of bread. On the way out some random girl was doing samples of a new Danon jouice with milk drink. I bought some just because it was the first person I’d talked to and it made me feel good.

The guys here are apparently pretty aggressive in approaching girls and they are fairly gun shy because of it. Smiling isn’t something you do to strangers. It has a definite connotation as a come-on. Kittie said she liked it because she thought it was more honest. Me, I sort of like having a clear signal for attraction, but I miss smiling at random people on the street. It just widens the gap between everyone losing that little point of contact.

As for the Monoprix I didn’t really like buying stuff there. Paris and Toulouse both still have lots of little shops and vendors scattered along the streets. Much more so than back home. This is something that big discount stores will eventually do away with. I wanted to use my credit card though since I’m nearly out of cash and so I shopped there since it was safe.

It is really nice just wandering through a big grocery store and seeing all the many choices. Especially here in France where there are tons of cheeses and breads and sausages. Everything is really expensive, so I can’t really buy anything, but it is nice to see nonetheless.

One interesting thing is yogurt. It is a much bigger part of the diet here and so instead of a yogurt section there’s a wall of yogurt. Thirty or forty brands with more flavors than you can count. I couldn’t help but smile. I was careful though not to point it at anyone lest they think I was coming on the them.

For the night I went to a big Mexican music festival that happens to be going on now; the Rio Loco.

http://www.garonne-rioloco.org/

It is held along the Garonne river which is only about a five minute walk from my hotel. There was some good jazz with a Spanish feel. The vendors selling ethnic products from around the world were as entertaining as anything. Tonight is the big night for the festival, so I’m gonna head back.

This morning I got moved to a more expensive room. For 2? more I’ve now got a window over looking the street and a bidet. I like the window, don’t know what the hell to do with the bidet.

This would be cool with another person too because the room is 4? more to share it and that’d be 14? apiece. Mannkhi mouskila; no problem.

Anyhow, I’ve decided my treat for the afternoon will either be Mexican food (the Mexican family left Mauritanina and closed their restaurant before I came) or a movie if I can’t find a Mexican restaurant. I’ve just recently learned what tapas are, so maybe I’ll try them.

Love,
Will