The "Secret" Entrance to the Louvre

So today we're going to the Louvre. I've been warned about the horrendous line coming from the pyramid and have been told by no less than 5 people about other so-called "secret" entrances. It turns out many of these entrances are no secret as they are on the website for the Musee du Louvre complete with a map which shows you where they are. The entrances I've been told about so far are:
-Carousel (located in the jardin- the entrance leads down some stair cases which lead to an underground ticketing area)
-Rivoli (on rue de rivoli at number 99 - look for these number in gold- there is a door. Go through it and it will lead to the inverted pyramid and ticketing area)
-Porte des Lions (on the opposite side of the street from the large pyramid towards the end of the large building surrounding the jardin are two entrances to underground ticketing areas).
-Metro entrace (supposedly there is a way to get to a ticketing area directly from the metro station stop.
-Stairs in the garden Tuileries (lead down to ticketing areas. Look for statues above the staircases)

France Day 2

I'm going to this tomorrow:
http://www.grandpalais.fr/programme2.html

Process behind the exhibit: http://www.grandpalais.fr/pics/2008/monum08.jpg

Today we saw Notre Dame. It was amazing, beautiful, and dizzying (especially the stair case heading up to the tower!) We had lunch at a cafe with enormous cheesecake and boissons compris. Apres, I fell asleep for 3 hours. The metro is a bit nullifying in the summer.

Now on the TV: French rap.

Going to France

I'm flying to France tomorrow. It'll be my first trip to France even though French is the only language I've seriously studied. It's particularly funny that it's taken me so long because I've traveled to so many other places. Ha. I'll be staying in Paris with Schnitzel's aunt and cousins. We're bringing them German soccer hooligan wigs for house warming presents that are colored red, yellow, and black. Yay Deutschland.

Prague

Day 1
-Pleasantly surprised that rideshare guy is not a Psycho Maniac but instead drives very nice Mercedes / speaks little English
-Stay with friend Tom near outskirts of Prague in his mother's room
-Schnitzel eats a basket of animals & Tom orders a "redundant" (non-alcoholic) beer
-We see our friends Eats Tapes at the Kriss Kross Club


Day 2
-I dream about getting falafel at Mo's Imbiss.
-We see a mouse riding a dog near the St. Charles Bridge.
-Have lunch at a beer-sponsored restaurant
-The Castle: attempt 1
-Schnitzel orders "the pork knee over gynecological equipment"
-We getting ripped off as our waiter tries to charge us 5 euros for a take-away box.


Day 3
-Go to the Czech equivalent of K-Mart.
-See gargoyles puking rain at the Castle and the line is too long to go inside.
-Schnitzel orders an undead cocktail
-Regard 1920s Royal Spanish Porn at the Sex Machines Museum
-Eat dinner at a Merlin-themed pub where Schnitzel orders something called "The Devil's Ring" consisting of every fried food known to man
-Attempted Drum and Bass club is actually a 1960s Czech Acid Rock Party
-I try to go to Radost FX a club that used to be cool and now is what Schnitzel calls an "ESL Dance Party"
-We arrive at just in time to see the sun rising over the protruding bums of the Alien Babies climbing the radio tower.


Day 4
-Ride share guy says smoking engine is "An Easy Fix" and we decide to take the train -Discover Swedish High Schoolers have booked all the seats
-I ride for two and a half hours facing the sun in a locked compartment with 15 other travelers.
-(Finally) Berlin.
-We are home / exhausted.


More pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/everythingandrobots/sets/72157604933126290/

Things To Buy In The States

Before I begin the list, let me note that the conversion rate from euro to dollar is pretty horrendous. It has been getting worse every day since I arrived, meaning that my rent goes up about $10 per month. The rate is now somewhere around 1 euro = $1.60. Hence, all the ridiculous petty items I need to buy from home (I've included the price change in parenthesis so you can see what I mean).

ROOT BEER (non-existent)
Tortillas (5 euro =$7.50 for 5 flour tortillas in Berlin- corn tortillas non-existent)
Refried Beans (vegetarian / canned) (non-existent)
Bottles of Tylenol / Ibuprofen (9 euro = $12 for 18 caplets)
Sammy hair gel (non-existent)
Biore strips / face wash (non-existent)
New shoes: boots, sneaks (50 euro - 80 euro = $75 - $120)
Socks (4 euro per pair = $6.00)
American to European Adapter (I can't seem to find these anywhere)
Shower Rod (it's like $45 here! Dude!)

Things to bring back:
Tape measure (because I never got used to the metric system really...)
Some good books

Things I need to do:
renew driver's license
get a hair cut (easier to explain in English)