Interesting Parisian Professions

There are ladies who wander around near tourist sites (train stations, the tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame etc.) in eastern european garb: Shawl, dress, head-wrap and so on. They ask everyone who looks touristy, "Escuse me, do joo speek eenglish?" If you respond positively, they hand you a card talking about how they're down on their luck, need a couple bucks for their kid's medication, etc. This morning we saw a group of them smiling and chatting happily as they approached the Gare du Nord with sad note cards in hand, off to a day's work!

There are also men who appear to be african or middle-eastern who wander around the Eiffel tower primarily, selling tower tchotchkes, keychains, blinky-towers, and other stuff. They're harmless, of course, but damn there's a lot of 'em. They carry the towers on a large ring that jingles as they walk. During our first tower stroll, we were approached by at least 20 of them. The other night at our magnificent dinner, suddenly a dozen or more of them went running by - jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle... jingle jingle ... jingle.... followed by a French cop. It caused Steve to exclaim "Cool! Dinner AND a show!" It was hysterical. We've been laughing about it ever since. Some of them should think about expanding their business to include little keychains of glass pyramids at the Louvre, arcs at Du Triomphe, or skulls 'n bones at the catacombs.

People have been alerting us to theft scams for weeks now. My uncle Roger had his wallet stolen in Prague while trying to help someone open a subway door. My mom insisted that I wear a money belt (which I have not) and Steve, of course, refused as well. (Wearing his shirt tails out to cover his pockets has probably been a deterrent to thieves.) I carry my purse over my neck and shoulder, so nobody could slip it off my arm easily. (Although if they took it, they would be very disappointed; my debit card hasn't worked since Prague.) Anyway, we have been on the alert--especially on subways--against pickpockets and scams. So yesterday, we had just gotten off the metro and a woman was running to get on. The doors started to close and she fell between the platform and the car. I thought instantly "A scam! Protect your goods!" as this woman was about to get her right leg sawed off by the Paris metro! When I finally realized no one else was around and this woman was as old and helpless as my mom (sorry, mom), I helped her up. Steve, hands safely in his pockets, watched my back. In the end the woman's leg and ego were bruised, but otherwise, all was well. The train operator opened the doors, and the woman limped on her way.

Ah, Paris! Never a dull moment...

So here we are on a very cushy train to Bruxelles, where the wifi is free and they had meal and drink service akin to a U.S. airline (well, before they started getting so cheapo). Funny how the wifi on the train is so much higher quality than the wifi in the hotel.

By the way, Daric, we wrote this one together just to mess with you...
:)