2004.10.06 in Paris

We were again offered accomodation getting off the train and were actually considering it outside when another offer was suddenly presented. It was for a Korean homestay for 20 euros/night or 18 euros if 3 nights. The guy had a mini photo album and showed us pictures of the place and how to find it. What really hooked us were the services included: breakfast and dinner (!), internet & CD burning, and laundry! Amazingly we could save a lot of money on all those other services we'd end up having to pay for in the CIty of Lights... The location of the homestay was in a quiet suburbs and at least 30 minutes away from downtown. But this minor detail was offset since Paris' Metro system is inexpensive, clean, efficient, and has abundant subway stations. The Metro has a lot of lines and you'll often have to transfer similarly to London's Tube. The homestay was a row house and it accomodates a lot of people with a lot of bunk beds. I counted at least 20 different people (mostly Korean) staying there along with 5 others who live and work in the home. It was nearly 11:00 but breakfast was still being served and we gladly ate the generous servings of korean hot soup, japanese rice, and assorted kimchi.

Spent the afternoon hanging around and shooting the Eiffel Tower (of course), bought some prepackaged crepes and other foods for the next day, walked to Arc D'Triomphe, and cruised down Champs D'Elysses before heading back for dinner.

A few of the workers/residents at the homestay knew Mandarin as well as Korean so Le was able to converse with them easily. They mainly spoke Korean or French other than the guy who found us. Dinner was good but didn't have as much meat or Korean bolgogi as I had hoped...