well all, welcome to paris. here you will see myself and the rogue traveler Wes Whitaker during his visit to the City of Light. he popped in for a brief two-day visit after touring around Greece and Turkey. we took advantage of many opportunities afforded to us, particularly eating crepes, waiting in line for 2 hours at the Eiffel Tower(he, not I), and being pestered by guys at Sacre-Coeur who detained us to tie bracelets around our arms only to then demand 10 euros a piece. we gave them 2 and have forevermore been marked as an idiot tourist. but honestly, i kept walking until the guy pointed out that wes had been successfully stopped and that i might as well also. actually, someone asked me last night if i'd spent much time around Sacre-Coeur lately. shucks.

i have been assortedly occupied of late, of course with the continual housing search, but also with church friday night and tonight, a prayer walk this morning, sangria with my german friend Sebastien, and Nuit de Blanche last night, a night of art and debauchery across the city.

anecdotally, here's a neat story. friday night i came back from post-church dinner around 1 and started talking with an egyptian guy staying in the hostel. we kept talking and eventually decided to take a little walk. this little walk took us at least 2 hours and took us to the Seine and back, a fair piece. but he was very interesting and just an enjoyable companion. you never know who you'll meet in these places.

i have a lead on an apartment and hope it will come through. it's about darn time!

here's a little toast to a couple of good friends of you and me: Neal Palmer and Suzanne Levine, who simultaneously celebrated their birthdays on October 5th. well actually, Neal was 12 time zones ahead of my mother. but i salute them nonetheless.

ciao, bisous, a bientot,
andrew