nouvelles de la france, no. 1

hey gang! (pls forward to whoever wants to read this crap)

keyboqrds different here ,qybe I should just go qheqd qnd type the
sq,e qnd leqve it up to you to decipher: did you get thqt?

no? ok I'll make an effort.

Arrived yesterday morning, at Charles-de-Gaulle, having not slept much at all in the plane. Pure torture. Went outside, bent over to get something out of my carry-on and toppled over from the weight of my backpack! I just sat there giggling, then a lovely couple asked me if I needed help up. I said no thank you and that I needed to get used to it. And they understood me! And I thought my accent would be so impossible that I would end up having to use sign language! Maybe it won't be that bad after all!

Franck picked me up at the Gare du nord on his scooter so I could leave my stuff at his place in Montmartre and then go out and stimulate my senses to fight the extreme fatigue. In town I wandered along the Champs elysées in a stupour, stopping occasionally to check out the various public washroom options. I encountered an interesting variety, covering the full spectrum in terms of style and cleanliness.
it was raining so I didn't do as much walking outdoors as I would have liked, but it is truly lovely nonetheless. I stopped for a coffee and entertained the locals by asking what they call a "briquet" here. (It's called a "briquet")

First French meal last night at l'Olivier in Montmartre. I held back and did not order all of the richest food on the menu, but I did spoil myself with a lovely magret de canard. The staff was adorable, charming atmosphere, a guy wandering around with a guitar singing French classics (everyone singing along except me -- just like in Mexico).

Today we're going on a scooter tour to check out a bunch of places the names of which I cannot remember. There was Saint Somebody, and then Saint Somebody Else, followed by a stop at Saint Number Three. The weather seems to be holding up for now, but the forecast says rain so I will have my raincoat with me.

I don't know why all of my pictures from day one look like garbage (maybe my camera was jetlagged too) but there you go.

mexico news part 3

Hey peeps. hope these messages aren't boring for you. I'm in Santa Cruz de Miramar with Jim. The bugs aren't after me too much. I went on a jungle boat ride today which was fabulous. We saw crocodiles and huge birds and turtles. And I made more friends. I have oodles of friends here now. Oodles, I tell you.



Turns out what I thought was mild turista a week ago was nothing but PMS. I guess it was wishful thinking, that there might be such a thing as "mild" turista. I don't think there is. And I don't think I can ever avoid it. Oh well. It's not like I have to be anywhere...

k well off for some foods. I didn't put the pictures up after all.
Maybe manana. Maybe when I get back. You can wait.

Eva

mexico news part 2

sorry havent written in a while. I am spending a lot of time getting lost in this place and am far too distracted to actually stop in Internet cafes to write mensajitos to my amigitos. I still cant find the apostrophe on the spanish keyboard. maybe they dont have apostrophes. actually I think they dont.

Tuesday I went for a 24-hour stint in an "ancient Mayan" spa, which was cool. I was covered in "ancient Mayan" mud, steamed, boiled, scratched, massaged and fed lots of "ancient Mayan" fruit by some "ancient Mayan" ladies. really nice. and really affordable.

still in Guadalajara. yesterday I went to a lawyer party in a noisy bar and drank lots of beer and tequila. not as much as that "other" time, though, which is a good thing. today I went to tonala to buy piles of stuff, for which I now need an extra suitcase. weeehoo! que padre!

tomorrow more sightseeing and then saturday Im off to the coast to hang out with the bugs.
pictures available soon at http://picasaweb.google.com/posamari

besos. Evita