Cheap chic

Another selfie in the mirror before I exited into the wilderness of Paris. By now, I couldn't help but liken all my experiences to a kind of dangerous adventure in the jungle. I kept feeling like a weak member of the herd. I was easy prey for the lean and hungry. Beggars and thieves litter the footpaths, eager for a piece of the tourist pie.

I wasn't too pleased with the arrangement of my hair today, but I took the photo nonetheless.

Carpe Diem. The blog is called Meet Me In France. I would like to share with you the Eiffel Tower, a distant shape. This is the view from outside the hotel door. My hotel, called Hotel Cactus, is in the Montparnasse district. The Metro was a 2 minute walk away. 

I was armed with a scrap of paper today. This piece of paper had the addresses of various thrift shops. I was on a mission to discover the delights of parisian cheap chic.

The roar of the train, its ear shattering squeals, the gush of wind, the door alarm honking, the whoosh of the door opening, the sound of beggars as they openly solicit for money to a carriage load of people, all provide a sensory sensation.

What an amazing sight overlooking the Seine.

Last night Mel had taught me how to create a panoramic view with my i phone.

These carousels are so picturesque. They punctuate every public square. Such attention to detail.

Th

 What simply sumptuous buildings.

 Crossing the road continues to be a challenge for me.

Aha. I found my first thrift shop. Yes, it had that pokey, claustrophobic feel to it. The racks and racks of assorted colours and textures were amazing. Hmmm. The prices weren't all that cheap. Yep. I felt quite at home in this shop.

 This shop was awesome. Lots and lots of treasures. What a crazy random, messy window display!

 This delightful shop wasn't open yet. It opened at 2:00 pm .

It was approaching 12 noon and my tummy told me to investigate this patisserie. I chose a scrumdiddlyumptious salmon and spinach tarte.

The shops close for two hours at lunch time. This squashed my hopes of an impromptu visit.

  So I took the opportunity for some window shopping. I LOVE the colours here.

It was about now that Paris started to gobble me up. There are no more photos. I was beginning to fatigue. The past few days were catching up on me. I wasn't sure where to find a toilet. So I went to  a McDonalds, thinking that was the easy option. The queue was half an hour long. The condition of the loos wasn't too good.

I found a great district for cruising the shops and I did a lot of walking and looking. I also spent quite some hours trying on various items and I bought a fair amount of stuff. 

Fatigue started to kick in and I knew it was time to head for home, but I had perspired so much over the last few days, that it became imperative to buy some jeans. 

This turned into a ridiculous situation. I found an affordable shop in which to purchase a pair of second hand jeans, but they didn't have any changing rooms. I was forced to slink into a corner at the back of the shop, put on my raincoat and try and inconspicuously manoeuvre myself to avoid lack of dignity. There was no air conditioning in the shop and after trying on a number of pairs, I found two that were satisfactory. However, I lost my dignity when I heard two girls snigger at me and make rude comments at that "weird lady" in the corner trying on trousers.

Loaded with bags of clothes , I was accosted by a group of youngsters who tried me on for a scam. I ignored them. But in the next half hour I was approached by another group of teenage boys who tried to distract me with conversation in order to make a profitable kill.

I made it back to my hotel room without incident, but the audacious city scammers unnerved me. Paris had certainly made a meal of me today. 

Culture shock was starting to hit.