Laundry... Parisian style

My washer is in the kitchen and my dryer is in the shower.

Pocket full of change

I make a lot of noise when I walk in Paris because I still haven't gotten used to the fact that a handful of coins is actually a lot of money (and shouldn't really be treated as small change!). My pockets fill with more and more change each day because I still haven't broken the habit of reaching for my billfold first. It's a little deceiving coming from the States where you don't (and can't) really buy anything with change. Using three coins in the States is likely only going to get you something out of a vending machine, while in Europe, three coins can pay for a meal, a few metro tickets, or your entrance into the Musee d'Orsay. From what I've witnessed, the French are good about paying with exact change, sticking to credit cards, or most importantly, quickly using their change-- because I sure haven't seen (or heard) any other noisy walkers like me.

Free Museum Sundays

On the first Sunday of each month, all the museums in Paris are free to the public. It's a pretty good deal, huh? That said, I took advantage of it and went to the Louvre today to fight the crowds. Good thing I had practice at McDonald's the day before... compare the size of the crowd in front of Mona Lisa to crowd in front of the McDonald's counter.

I think the French love McDonald's.

Yes, I went to McDonald's. I did it. But in my defense, I was doing the "French" thing by joining some of my teammates Q and Mel for lunch. I guess it's the thing to do on Fridays at Integer... and it seems like it's the thing to do for everyone else in France too! I'm not sure my picture does it justice, but it was the most crowded MacDo's (as the French call it) that I've ever seen. It took a little while to get our food, but the Chicken McNuggets still tasted just as good.

The second picture is from another McDonald's I saw later that night where you could actually order from a kiosk instead of waiting in line... hopefully that sped up the process for those guys because the line from where I was standing was pretty long. And no, I didn't have McDonald's for a second time in one day--- though maybe I'll have it next Friday.