Paris is like this

Paris is like a slice of plain cheesecake with whipped cream and almond shavings on top.

(For you to understand this analogy, you must know that I hate all kinds of nuts: peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc, etc, salted pistachios are the only exception, and I really love plain cheesecake)

In simpler terms, there's a lot of good stuff sprinkled with bad stuff.

So far, I've had an amazing time with all the people that I've met. From drinking wine at Pont des Arts at 3 am and being accosted by crazies to our Euro Disney day trip and our boat concert adventure, it has been great. There is so much to do in Paris, and a Monday can truly feel like a Friday. I love how easy it is to get around and I love how (most) people dress here and I love the comfort of my nice, little room at the Cité Universitaire.

However, I still haven't found somewhere to live, I still haven't gotten my bank account to work because it "hasn't been verified", I haven't paid for my logement because of my stupid bank account, and I have zero cash with me, again because of BNP Paribas. I still haven't gotten my student card and I haven't sorted out my Carte de Sejour. Basicallly, all the administrative stuff is lagging.

But, today, I've been feeling like there is a ray of hope to my administrative problems.

I went to see an apartment at the 3eme and it looks pretty great.

PROS: good area, down the block from Andy Wahloo, big apartment for a (very) good price, separation between the living room and the bedroom
CONS: 6th floor (without an elevator), I need a bank's caution (!), and the building will undergo renovation at some point in December (so, potential noise, etc, etc)

(I actually just called the owner to get all over this apartment)

As I walked away from the apartment, I had the feeling that I had finally found something I had liked and somewhere I could see myself in.

I walked into the metro at Etienne Marcel to come back to la Cite and I tried to get something to drink because I'm hungover thirsty (I wanted a 2.00 euro bottle of Nestea, but because I'm po', I settled for a 1.70 euro bottle of Evian). I put one euro and seventy cents in the vending machine and it returned my seventy cents. I didn't know why it was doing that and I just kept putting the money back in. After putting the money in for the third time, and just when I was ready to give up, I looked at the little screen and it said "2.00".

Someone had already put a euro in the machine! Or the vending machine got confused and thought I had put in two euros instead of one.

Anyway, I got my peach Nestea for half price.

A ray of light on a gray day.