8 July 2019
Hamburger
Pictures of the Eiffel tower and eating a hamburger in Rosa Parks
Something truly extraordinary happened tonight. I ate a hamburger. And not because I wanted to.
Paris is rude. So rude that I was outright told by 3 places 'we do not seat solo diners'. One of them added on 'go to mcdonalds with the other losers', another said 'come back when you find some friends'. So that was great. The come back when you find some friends was even a Korean place.
Before being forced into a hamburger (that was not mcdonalds), I went to see if I could get scammed at the Eiffel tower. It is actually quite far, on foot, but on foot I went. I did not get scammed, but the guys selling mini Eiffel towers got into some kind of a territory war. I left that area quite quickly. It was interesting to see how when they set out their wares on a little rug that it actually has handles on it so they can pick it up quickly with all the stuff instantly wrapped up inside it while they run off at top speed. Quite interesting to watch.
The area in and around the tower was very busy despite it being a Monday night, it was also very dusty. At times it was hard to walk with my eyes open due to the dust. This also makes it hard to take photos because I dont want to get dust in my camera. The dust probably has something to do with the recent run of 40 degree plus weather killing off all the grass you are not allowed to sit on.
Thats enough text, its late, I have to get up early for work.
Here is a sneaky photo I took at lunch time when I was at work. There is a canal near the office, and someone thinks people will pay to go on his barge that has a dodgy looking submarine made out of cardboard mounted on it. No one paid while I was there.
This is the mega mall over the road from my office, it is much like an Australian mega mall. The food places in here have seating, very convenient and useful. It also has free toilets, but when I used these toilets, there were 5 guys sitting on the floor of the toilet watching people urinate. Great entertainment!
I approached the tower from the Seine. It was a decent walk.
This is about as close as you can get now.
These guys hang around just outside the exits from the secure area and harass white girls as they come out.
When I was last here, you could walk right under it. Now there is a lot of security and fences and checkpoints and soliders.
I got in the way of everyone taking a photo to take a photo of them.
The scourge!
Last tower shot. The grounds were closed in a few spots for Bastille day preparations.
The streets around the tower are nice, there are a few shopping streets like this one, mainly everything was closed despite there being 4 hours of remaining daylight.
Just another bridge, with lots of gold paint on display. The big building in the background is the war museum, currently hosting a Picasso exhibition?
CHAMPS. I snapped this shot while scurrying across the road. There are a lot of temporary grandstands erected either side for Sundays big military pride parade.
This is what French people look like. It is an actual Gucci advertisement, not a joke.
Apparently this spot is quite famous, the main Chanel store is here, but right now, no one is here.
Until you see the people standing at the bottom you cant really tell how big this place is. Its the Mary Magdeline historical society or some such thing.
PROOF. I did not make up eating a hamburger. At least I managed to get it with salad rather than chips. This confused the guys serving me thats for sure. It was a gourmet burger, New York style. I have no idea what that means in relation to burgers.
Final pic of the evening, the area surrounding my hotel. The actual suburb is called Rosa Parks, the 'get to the back of the bus' Rosa Parks. Also this was taken at 9:30pm, yet its still perfectly light. Tomorrow there really will only be one update, I have to go to work early.