Friday, April 11, 2008

Part Two

Continuation of the previous posting...

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. I made friends with a cute Moroccan girl who insisted on trying to give me presents. She also taught me a few words in Arabic which I can no longer remember. I also made friends with a quiet German couple. We were sharing a bench and we made conversation over Apple products and experiences in Morocco.

We returned to Josi's apartment and ate and laid in bed while she spoke to her boyfriend over Skype. We continued to laze about until we decided to start getting ready for the Hammam.

So, we walk in the Hammam and for 28 Euro, something like 35 dollars, we got a scrub down, sauna session and a massage session--amazing right?

I walk into the bathing room stripped down to nothing but my bottoms. I take a quick shower with my underwear on to geta bit clean before going into the Sauna. The Sauna was pretty big and so, so hot. I mean, I've been in a sauna before, but nothing like this! Josi and I laid on the tiles and I tried as hard as I could to enjoy the experience--I've just decided that I'm not as hardcore as Josi.

Then, we sat on stools waiting for our turn on the gommage. Basically, you sit on this table while a women scrubs off your skin. She puts oil on your body and uses this glove that's about as rough as nail file and just rubs your body. Its really gross to watch all the dead skin come off your body--especially since she rubs your entire body--breasts, between the legs, ass--everything. Let's just say I felt rather *Clean* after that experience ;)

Then, after being rubbed down, Josi and I went upstairs to get a 30 minute massage. It felt amazing and they massaged oil into our freshly scrubbed bodies which definitely helped the softness factor. I have to declare that my skin has never, NEVER, been that soft. It had to have been softer than a baby's bottom. Oh, and I know you're incredibly jealous of Josi--you should be! She got to spend time with the softest skin this side of the Nile ;)

I woke up super early the next day to get to the Airport in time for my flight to Madrid. I got there with plenty of time and ended up waiting for quite a while because the plane I was waiting for was delayed on route. The plane ended up leaving and hour and a half late, meaning that I definitely missed my connecting flight to Paris. Now, I don't know if you've ever been to Madrid, but that airport is fucking insane!!! I walked for 20 minutes and still hadn't left the terminal. Not only that, the airport doesnt announce boarding--you have to look for it on the departure screen, which I think must generally be a great system unless you've missed your flight. I finally found a customer service ladt who booked me on the next flight to Paris-Orly.

I arrived in Paris around 6pm to find out that I had miss-booked my hotel reservations. For some reason, I had booked my hotel for April 10-16 when in fact I arrived on th 7th and was planning on leaving on the 14th. Typical Laura. So, I called Daniel, the guy I met in casablanca who also happens to live in Paris. He graciously too me in and I ended up staying with him for three days. It was great hanging out with him--we saw Bercy, La Fayette center, a typically French movie, EuroDisney...I could go on and on. We also managed to find fantastic food everywhere we went and had a blast playing poker with his roommate. Let's just say I might have gotten really, really wasted... Anyway, I had an excellent time and it looks like Daniel and I may end up being roommates. He is moving to San Francisco in June, so the timing works out perfectly!

I moved to my current hostel yesterday night. It is located by la Place de la Republique and is in a really trendy area of Paris. I have my OWN room and bathroom (Amazing) and the hostel is pretty awesome. I spent the last day people watching and reading my books--just what I needed after yesterday's ridiculousness at EuroDisney ;)

Oh, and the most random thing happened just now--So I was sitting in the lobby of my hostel working on some emails, and this girl opened the door and looked at me and said "Laura! Laura! Is that you??" I looked up and it was Kristina Grbich, a girl I went to the Stanford Summer Course with---the one I took with Colleen Kapsch during highschool. I looked at her and couldn't believe it! She lives right around the corner from the hostel and was walking home from class. Anyway, she saw my Stanford shirt and said that for some reason she knew it was me. She invited me to her party tomorrow night and we're going to catch up this weekend and grab a coffee or something. Im so excited!! The world can be so freaking small sometimes!!!

Alright, I think we're up to date. I hope everyone is doing well and is taking care of themselves. I miss you all terribly and will be back home soon to party it up! Good luck with school work (tee hee hee) and I'll post when I get to London.

Love and best wishes,

L