Paris my first morning

Well the day started off all wrong. I got lost, wondered around for two hours and realized that paris is very expansive. It started to rain, I was under dressed and growing hungry. Determaned to walk and not give in to the metro I saw some interesting parts of town. I didnt know that I was in the dodgy bit untill I found the not so dodgy parts of Paris. It was not unlike Canal street in NY, lots of cheep stores and sidwalk stalls selling things for pennys. There is a strange past time of some men who hang around the entrances to the metro station and shout things to the women going in or comming out. They seem like questions by their gestures and intonation but the women walk past them as if they were ghosts. So I stare past them too and wonder what it is they are asking, or wanting? Also I discovered that I must have an international face that says "I am a Sucker" because I got stoped by a guy on the pavment with a clip board. When I explained that I didnt speak French he tried his hardest in pigion english to get me to sign up a monthly payment to save the children. Are you kidding me? I dont even live here, I couldnt belive that he was still trying, and I couldnt belive that I was still listening to him, because I couldnt remember how to say no thank you.

I was growing even more discruntled with Paris, increasingly wet in the rain and very hungry so I started to look for a cafe with Wifi were I could sit, dry off and maybe catch up with people. That alone took an hour, Wifi is not very prolific in the dodgy neighborhoods. So I enter this lovely little cafe and there are a thousand free tables but the waitress sits me down next to two guys who were sitting at a booth for 4. Eh? I was mortified joining there table soaking wet, and with a bag full of things. However they seemed nice, they greated me in english, moved the bread basket over to me, and poored me a glass of wine from their bottle. Oh Joy! So I was a bit confused are we sharing a bill? However I was polite and accepted the bread to wash down the vile taste of the wine I now felt obligated to drink. The waitor then brought me my own bread and wine. So I guess we have our own check but what do I do with all this wine? Well when in Rome...So I used my bottle of wine to top up both of their glasses, right to the top! I had forgoten more French than I had wanted to admit, the only 3 or 4 things I could read on the menue were 16 Euros. So I took a plunge and ordered the mystery dish that was 8 Euros. Turns out it was large flat bread with 3 types of dried raw meat, melted blue cheese, and fete cheese sprinkled on top. So I was in hell. I was litteraly dripping wet, sitting next to two very friendly French men drinking wine, and eating raw smelly food. Neither here nor there I survived. They were very helpful in translating to the waiting staff for me, and helping me get the bill.

So I left determaned to have a better day from there on out.