Night 1 in strasbourg.
Mar. 27th, 2002 12:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unbibiumIn the game that is my vacation, France is level 2. Paris is the boss character. I need to find its weak spot and then whale on it with my Bubble Lead, or something like that.
But if anything, I have too many options. Return to Paris early as I can Thursday to a non-IYHF hostel that doesn't take reservations, but will find me another hostel with a free bed if I fail to stake a claim there. (I need to call again to make sure.) Spend tonight and tomorrow calling each hostel in that list Blerg linked to, until I get a bed guaranteed for tomorrow and Friday. I met a woman on the train to Strasbourg; we had a big compartment all to ourselved. For the first two hours, it was silent. But afterwards, I commenced my first 100% French conversation. She told me that I should have found a place in one of the suburbs of Paris, someplace ten minutes away by train, as opposed to four hours away.
That's better than my idea, and perhaps with some more thought I could have arrived at the same conclusion. But often in one's llfe, there are many choices which afford thinking a little harder, a little longer. But most of the time, when I think longer and harder, I just freeze up into indecisive inertia. It's that kind of indecision that kept me from booking my Paris rooms back when I was in Phoenix, or London even.
Last night I went to the restaurant by my hotel for some choucroute. It tastes like a gourmet hot dog. But cognitive dissonance is telling me that since I paid 17 for the meal, it was the best hot dog of my entire life. The potatoes and beer were good as well; it struck me as more of a German meal done French-style, with the sausage-and-gam thing and the waiter recommending beer.
Strasbourg has so many rivers and bridges, a huge cathedral.... well, I suspect it's the cathedral; it's pretty big. But maybe there's an even bigger one I haven't found yet. There's a futuristic but confusing but easily navigable tram system; it's the machines and facilities that are confusing. I forgot to validate my tickets before boarding the tram, and suffered no ill efects, but validated and discarded them when I got off in fear of there being some consequence later down the line.
Strasbourg is very close to Germany, and it's very cold here. I'm tempted to just hightail it to Hamburg, as well, since my aunt Bridget has a friend there who can put me up. Like I said, too many options.
I think after checking my io.com mail, I'll have had my fix.
But if anything, I have too many options.
- Bump Luxembourg to BEFORE Andrew's April 1 vacation.
- skipping Paris entirely
- postponing Paris to after the Netherlands.
That's better than my idea, and perhaps with some more thought I could have arrived at the same conclusion. But often in one's llfe, there are many choices which afford thinking a little harder, a little longer. But most of the time, when I think longer and harder, I just freeze up into indecisive inertia. It's that kind of indecision that kept me from booking my Paris rooms back when I was in Phoenix, or London even.
Last night I went to the restaurant by my hotel for some choucroute. It tastes like a gourmet hot dog. But cognitive dissonance is telling me that since I paid 17 for the meal, it was the best hot dog of my entire life. The potatoes and beer were good as well; it struck me as more of a German meal done French-style, with the sausage-and-gam thing and the waiter recommending beer.
Strasbourg has so many rivers and bridges, a huge cathedral.... well, I suspect it's the cathedral; it's pretty big. But maybe there's an even bigger one I haven't found yet. There's a futuristic but confusing but easily navigable tram system; it's the machines and facilities that are confusing. I forgot to validate my tickets before boarding the tram, and suffered no ill efects, but validated and discarded them when I got off in fear of there being some consequence later down the line.
Strasbourg is very close to Germany, and it's very cold here. I'm tempted to just hightail it to Hamburg, as well, since my aunt Bridget has a friend there who can put me up. Like I said, too many options.
I think after checking my io.com mail, I'll have had my fix.
