Strangers of Paris

1. Alix
Nick and I had our first "couchsurfing" experience back in Paris. We stayed with a fantastic guy in an extremely small closet, er I mean flat. Our first night 2 friends came over and we drank beers and with pretty good english discussed mostly Music & Politics. All in all a great night. I was thoroughly impressed with the one guy - Reme - who knew more about the United States than I (pathetically) did. It is quite amazing how in tune the rest of the world is. We made dinner for alix the next night, wherein he asked us with a big ol' grin, "Can you stay for more nights?" (a.k.a I want you to cook me more dinners)

Instead of taking a VERY expensive train from Paris to Bayonne, we decided to give a whirl at European Carpooling. We were introduced to a site where drivers listed where & when they were going and how much they were asking for the ride. Enter Caroline & Emma. Caroline took us most of the way, Emma took us the rest.

2. Caroline & The Balding Frenchman
Fiery red hair all but consumes Carolines appearance. With Caroline barely able to speak any English and us brutal with Francais, we were intersted to see how this 6 hour car ride was going to pan out. Lucky for us, she a had a little buddy that rode in the front seat. They chattered away while I started feeling queasy in the back seat. How does one express to someone who doesn't speak your language: "PULL OVER QUICK! I'M GOING TO THROW UP ALL OVER YOUR CAR!" It was a close call, but I made it. I didn't get sick (thank goodness!) but I made it out of the car to breathe in some much-needed air. A quick note about the buddy: the most wonderful man who spoke not a single WORD of english. He bought us a ticket for a tram ride, insisting that it was a gift for us (lucky I am able to understand A LITTLE french!). Very sweet man indeed.

3. Emma
Young and reckless. Loves to drive fast and loved her trip to Australia (which happened a few years ago). We arranged to meet her at a very busy place - at RUSHHOUR I might add - where there were no existing parking spots. This was her choice! We saw her drive by so we ran to catch up with her and she managed to get backed up in traffic. Quickly threw up her e-brake and we both climbed in the backseat with packs still on our back and traffic surrounding us. Exhilarating indeed.