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While in my short trip to Paris, I got the rare opportunity to see a protest in action. The protest sort of found me because as we were walking along, the street we needed to go up had been completely closed off for this protest. I've never seen this before. In the US, you can pretty much go and have a picnic alongside the protest as long as neither gets in the other's way. But given the fact that the French now have racist, anti-immigrant, non-French native, drunkard Sarkozy in office, they take any and all protests very seriously. Obviously nobody wants what happened in Paris awhile back to engulf the city again.       Now, I should say at this point that there were around 20 people in this protest. It was so painfully small that I realized I've had house parties that were bigger. But, there they were, the police, ringing the perimeter. Some 30 cops keeping in some 20 people. Really sends a message about how free your speech is. Sure, you can have your protest. No one will see it, but you can have it.       And hey, just for kicks, some more Sarkozy criticism

Petit Futé is a French publisher of guide books that are naturally in French (with a few in 'anglais'. They publish guide books on just about everything and everywhere. They are one of the few companies that I've seen publish a wide range of books on Africa. And I'm not just talking about an Egypt or Morocco book. No, they publish one on Congo, which is a rare thing to find.       Amongst their typical guides, there are a few edgier ones. Well, maybe edgy by American standards anyways and no, it's not the gay section that I'm talking about. It's the 'naturist' and the 'naughty' books that push the envelope a bit more. But hey, if someone wants that in a holiday, let them have it and in book form no less.       The think that earns Petit Futé the truly cheeky label is that after looking around their store in Paris, I got the distinct impression that any book they are a little concerned about selling a lot of copies of, gets a hot girl on the cover. Case in point is Serbia. Very cheeky indeed. You see this as well with Ukraine and naturally Norway. Then oddly enough, Siberia gets a train. Not sure what's up with that. There are a lot hotter things out in Siberia than the Express.       I hear that they're good guides, although as I found out, I speak absolutely no French, so I have to take the word of those who do.

When bopping around Europe, the fact that everyone speaks a different language becomes readily apparent. In places like Croatia, you'll see the majority of signs and instructions written in English, German, and Italian. Sometimes they'll even toss in Slovenian or French for good measure. It's a similar case in other countries and in other cities that see tourists or are a crossroads for many people.       There is one language that is generally missing in all these groups though and that is Spanish. It is just not there. Places like Montenegro will even have Russian before they'll have Spanish. Obviously, if more Spaniards went to these places, then they would have more Spanish translations. So, it is the case that Paris will generally have three languages: French, English, and yes, that's right, Spanish.       I blame this in a large part to how Spaniards travel, which is to safe destinations like Paris or Venice. It is only the truly adventurous souls that go to the strange destinations and that is really only possible because they speak multiple languages.       For me, it was a bizarre sight to see, since everything in California is always in at least Spanish as well as English. Not seeing Spanish for three months was a bit weird to be honest and I have to say that I kinda missed it, because a mashup of English and Spanish means that I'm home. Oh, it's true that I was in Spain for a good chunk of time, but even there, I saw more Catalan than Spanish. Someday, I suppose I will have to actually see Spain proper and go for full Spanish immersion.

The White Plans are back in Europe. These were a series of plans put forth by Provo (no, not the one in Utah) in the mid-1960s. The one that I remember hearing about the most was the White Bicycle Plan for Amsterdam that put out 20,000 bicycles for community use in Amsterdam. It was genius at the time and my parents were responsible for telling me about it again and again all through my childhood. It sounded pretty cool at the time, but naturally faded away, just like a lot of the things from the sixties.       But, it was a good idea and it has come back in Europe as more and more people turn to cars and clog in the inner cities. I first saw it in action in Barcelona with Bicing (official Spanish and Catalan here). That was a cool thing to see in action because it was used by a great many people, since even the hottest day outside is still cooler than any day in the stuffy Metro stations or behind the wheel of a car. The only catch in all of this was the fact that you had to be a city resident of Barcelona to use the program.       Enter Vélib' which is short for 'vélo libre' or 'free bicycle'. This system is genius. Anyone can use it, which means that tourists, yes tourists can hit the streets and attempt to overtake Parisian traffic. This is a feat not to be taken lightly.       Yes, this system does cost something, albeit very little and you have to have a credit card to get access to a bike. But, I think this is a good thing because those who use the bikes pay for them and it gives some accountability for the bikes so that they can't just be stolen in one fell swoop. Of course, I did see two kids peeling around on one who obviously weren't old enough for a charge card and they have probably stolen an improperly locked bike. At some point, I'm sure they would get bored and probably return it, because what's the fun in stealing something that is ubiquitous and mundane? It's like grabbing a rock out of the river and running around going, "Ha! Look at that, I stole me a rock! Yeah! Rock! Yeah... Wait a minute..." Thus the genius of these systems and why the English deploying 300 bikes in 1993 just proved that was the best way to get 300 bikes stolen.       Because of my tight, 2 Day schedule, I didn't get a chance to ride one of these bikes; I was on a walking tour after all. But, given the chance to do so again, I would gladly take it. I will just need to be sure that my private health insurance covers Parisian bicycle collisions.

I saw them on my first visit in 2003, but the fact that the public toilets in France are free didn't really sink in until this trip. Yes, to all of those living in the pay-me land of San Francisco's non-free public toilets, you heard me right. The toilets that they put out cost nothing to use in Paris.       This makes a lot of sense because it greatly cuts down on the amount of filth that humans may leave in the street. San Francisco has to learn from this because some guy down on his luck is going to use any change he has to buy another bottle of booze and not put his hard-begged money in to a thing he can do for free in Capp Alley. Of course, San Francisco makes you pay something because they're worried about guys sleeping in there or doing drugs in there. I don't know what the French think about this angle, but it seems not having human poo on city streets is a higher priority.       I have to admit that I didn't actually get around to using one of these Love Johns, but I did witness a great many people going in and out of them. Maybe they were doing drugs deals? On a quick glance, I have to say that they looked pretty good inside. In fact, they were a great deal cleaner than many I restaurant's bathroom that I had used.       So, it seems like it's a pretty good idea overall. Now if only they could figure out something to do with all the dog crap for those who suffer Paris Syndrome.

Welcome to your local Ibis Hotel and more importantly, welcome to Paris, France. Your stay here will be delightful and we want to let you know that we're here to help you in any way that we can.       Take the elevator up to your room. Just remember that only two people at a time can go and without luggage or it just won't work because it exceeds the weight limit. Yes, it is supposed to hold three people, but unless you're French, you'd be best off sticking to two. With no luggage.       When you exit to your floor, you will notice that it is 5 1/2. No, this is not a mistake. We've numbered all our floors with a 1/2 because by cutting the ceilings to a mere 198cm (6'5" for those who chose "different" forms of measure), we've managed to get an extra floor in our hotel. Imagine that, an extra floor! And yes, we do pass the savings on to you. Your bargain price for one night will be 79 euros. Just don't think what that is in dollars and you'll be fine.       Once in your room (watch the low hanging lights) you'll find it to be clean. We take great pride in this. We clean everything and you'll enjoy how clean it is, especially the shower ceiling, because those 198cm become 188cm in there and we've noticed that the ceiling gets dirty at an unreasonable rate. We don't understand why, but we make sure to clean, clean, clean just so that everything is good for our guests.       But please, make yourself at home and enjoy your stay with Ibis. We are here to house you snugly!

Yes, it's a movie, but it was also how long I spent in Paris. Not nearly enough time to see a city like Paris, but I'll take whatever I can get of it, because whether Stupid French or Genius French, it's a city I love.       So, what do you do in two days of Paris? Unfortunately not a lot. Museums are out because most are anywhere from a half day trip to multiple days. Chilling in cafes can only be done quickly or you can blow the whole time you're there doing that. So, what's that leave? Walking. Lots and lots of walking.       There really is no better city for casual strolling because unless you want to see scores of tourist sites (in which case take the Metro), you won't regret using your own two feet. We traveled up and down areas north and south of Seine. We covered a great deal of ground to which I'll someday post the corresponding photos. Do I feel like I missed out on anything? No, nothing whatsoever. I ate great food while there and met up with friends. I even saw the Eiffel Tower which I had missed on my last trip. Missed isn't really the right word, since it was never a "must do" on my life list, but I saw it, just didn't go up in it since the lines were insane. Maybe the next time, maybe not.       This is a pretty general article and there's a reason for that since I started keeping notes for ideas on articles and have a huge slew of them that I hope I can get through in a timely fashion...