Gai Parii

Ok, where were we?  It was around 11am in Paris, we were empty, tired and drifting in and out of sleep on this bench.  Niz remembered she had 20 euroes in her old bank account, and if the supermarket would accept her card, we could get some food.  We woke up a bit, and straightened ourselves out, got all our stuff again and walked the cobbled, steep hills in search of a place for some cheap food.   After around 40 minutes we found a Fran Marche, they would accept Niz's foreign card, so we got some Baguette, Salad, Cheese, Chocolate, Bananas and water.  We found a nice little spot to sit and it was a heavenly feast.  The food tasted really good.  Infact all the food we ate in Paris, was lovely.  I ate a banana and swear it was the best one I have ever had.  We felt much better, and human again after something to eat.

After the picnic we headed back to Pont Neuf and we smoked a joint from a little bit of weed we bought from Amsterdam.  Then we just lay with eachother.  I took a turn to watch and draw in my book while Niz slept.  I want to try and describe this moment, but know you wont understand fully how it felt.  I was holding Niz, and she had some tears in her eyes.  We didn't speak, but we just both knew that we were in something special together, and no matter how hard it gets, we will get through it.  After an hour or so, we decided to have a little practise of some new songs.  We must have looked like a right gypsy couple.  I had my vest on and black hat, Niz a summer skirt that fits her like a dress playing guitar and violin on a bench in Paris.  A couple were walking past and asked if they could take our picture, I said sure and started playing some Johnny Cash.  The wife of the man took 5euroes out of her purse and gave it to us.  Was a strange moment that, we just said thanks very much and they went on their way.  We smiled to eachother and thought that Paris might not be as hard as we thought. 

Through that morning, we would still try our best to make eachother laugh.  Exagerating the waiters pleas when he told us Ít's Champs Eloise!!', Thats what kept us strong, when we laughed hard and loud with eachother.  It was getting around 5pm and we had a place we could go at 7:30, though it was a train to the edge of the city, and then a 40 minute bus ride.  We went to an Irish bar I knew and got online and planned our route.  After a cheap pint of ale we were feeling on a positive, we had made it through the day and it had turned out quite beautiful.  We went to the Lovers bridge to busk a bit, and the sound was just lost there.  The water and space of the bridge just carried it nowhere.  It was like you couldnt even hear yourself when you played.  Plus we were truly exhausted. We made enough to get the metro though and get to this address.  The metro seems so agressive in Paris, you go through a gate like cattle, and it shoves and bangs, makes this horrible noise.  Then the trains throw you round at a noisy speed.  We got to the edge of the city and found our way for the bus.  We jumped on without paying and it was hot and sweaty like sardines.  The bus was rammed full of people.  We looked round and everyone just looked ugly.  Sad women in designer dresses tutting and shoving.  We got to the stop and made our way to the address.

We were greeted by 2 very beautiful people in this world, and an amazing cat.  Mike and Fred welcomed us from that first moment like old friends.  They had a really delicous salmon and rice waiting, plus a joint, red wine and some schnaps.  They shared with us everything like family.  After such a testing, tiring day, to be welcomed like this gave us more faith for our time here.  We had a really great night with them, and Kiki the cat is truly like royalty.  We had a very comfortable couch bed to sleep on and we rested so good after a nice hot shower, clean towels and such a warm welcome by Mike and Fred.  The next day we headed out to do some busking again, and get some more information from the Embassy.  We had our last 6 euroes in the world and we spent it on some wine and food for a picnic.  We then tried to busk, and nothing!  Every place we tried, nothing.  We were getting very worried as we had no money for the metro to get home.  We walked around trying to find a busking spot with no joy, we were starting to get a bit crazy.  We thought fuck it, lets just got in this metro.  The doors were banging loud every 30 seconds or so, but we just took out our instruments and played with every bit of passion and life we had.  Seriously it was something intense coming from us as we played.  Niz played like I have never heard her play before, I sung my damn heart out and after 40 minutes we had made 16 euroes! Joy!

We threw down our instruments down and kissed so passionately, I held her and lifted her up and we thanked our lucky stars.  We then sat outside and drunk the rest of our wine, smiled, laughed and joked about how desperate we felt just before that busk.  We really did go from one extreme to the other that day.  Not a first though, and certainly not a last.  After a little walk in the city we made our way back to Mike and Freds, they had friends visiting them for a meal, and when we got their they asked us to play.  So we did, and they really loved it!  We played on the balcony overlooking this gorgeous red sunset, and a man who lives a floor up was shouting for more, Bravo Bravo!.  Mike and Fred have such a beautiful home, and they take such pride in their cooking, and hosting meals.  Like an art form.  They are a really nice couple, and again Couch Surfing didn't just get us a place to stay, but brought new friends into our life.  On our last day with them, we went for a picnic at Notre Dam and they asked us if we would like to look after their place when they go on holiday on Tuesday.  It was now Saturday night and we said sure.  Niz had been chasing up the Embassy and contacts, and we knew we needed a few more days here.

After a truly luxorious stay with Mike and Fred, we stayed with a Chinese French Girl.  She was lovely aswell.  Spoke French with a Chinese accent and lived in the very Northern part of Paris where all the high rise building are.  We met her the next day and had a picnic on Lovers bridge.  We played some music and again, passers by gave us 5 euroes!  We didn't even have our case out or anything.  It was weird, we made money not busking, just playing in Paris.  We stayed with Yifang, and the next day when she went out to work we went out to the city.  We sat on this bench in this black area of Paris.  Even the high rise slums were decorated very stylishly.  I think everyone in Paris knows who their architect is!  We decided to smoke the last of our weed from Amsterdam and then head to the city.  The sun was burning the ground truly.  We decided to just jump the metros.  We had been doing pretty good at it.  Finding the spots where we could get on for free, then when we got to the centre we jumped over the barrier and then the alarm went off.  Constantly it rang and rang announcements in French, we just pretended it wasnt for us, and watched the 2 minutes till our train came count down.  It was an intense 2 minutes.  We were pretty high from the joint, we got on the train and just held our breath.  We thought they would be coming from somewhere.  We decided to get off at a station and it was the Tour De France!  Just crowds of people and bikes, it was horrible.  We tried busking and it was painful.  We just walked for hours in the hot heat, then jumped the metro back to Yifangs. What we planned to be a nice walk in Paris had turned out to be a hard day.

I think it was because we had got complacent.  I remember walking around that day, saying hey 'Paris quite likes us, giving us 5 euroes here and there, and meeting these people and stuff'And then with a bang, we had our fear of Paris again.  The next day Niz needed to be up and out at 6am to find out once and for all about her Visa I waited for her in that black area and drew some pictures.  I waited there for 3 hours and when she came back she had her answer.  It was a No.  She would have to be out of the EU in 12 days.  It was a big blow and it hit us hard.  We brought some food and an Ice cold Coca Cola and lay on this patch of grass that was a smoking area for all these high rise office buildings.  There was a massive silly statue of a thumb.  We just lay on that grass all day, moving with the shade of the glowing green leaves, holding eachother.  For like 6 hours we lay there together, her head on my lap, mine on my guitar. Watching and listening to people come out from their work breaks and lunch hours.  As we lay there I kissed Nizha and I asked her if she would marry me........

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