get out of paying a public transport infringement fine... To get to the appeals office before it shut, I raced from one end of Paris to the other in a record-breaking time of 40 minutes armed with the dodgiest 'I can not speak French very well' accent I could pull off, in an optimistic attempt to talk my way out of paying a 50 euro public transport fine: ... Read the Post...
old and dusty
So, after living in Paris for over two months now (ooh lala!), I finally hauled derriere to check out one of Europe's largest collections of 'look at all the stuff we stole from other civilizations' (though, granted, some of it was bought...) aka the Louvre - a building with a very long history having first been constructed sometime in the 1100's as a fortress (no-one needed museums back then you see, everything was new, but they did need to ... Read the Post...
the magician of antibes
There was a storm brewing over the Mediterranean as I settled to lunch on a rock wall by the stony beach. Farmers market tomatoes and goat cheese on crackers had become my staple midday snack since arriving in the south, something about the heat, the light, the air, demanded fresh and simple foods. I opened my journal, slipped the shoes off my baking feet, and started slicing a tomato. ... Read the Post...
trading places
If you're even vaguely Anglo-Saxon, or otherwise non-confrontational in nature, the thought of arguing about how much bewildering foreign currency to pay, while doing rapid conversion arithmetic in your head, for an item you're not even sure how you will get home/ if it will pass customs/ you'll understand why you bought once you get back to life on a comfortable mattress, may induce a hyperventilating panic attack. Never fear, I have a strategy. ... Read the Post...
