Place Monge near the Young & Happy, Paris

Just saying hello from the lobby of the Young & Happy Hostel in Paris’ Latin Quarter, where I have now been sitting, jet-lagged, for three hours listening to the hostel clerk’s Euro-techno playlist and downing overpriced bottles of 1664, the local cerveza of choice.

My flight was uneventful, hopping the pond from Chicago to Zurich, Switzerland, and then a quick flight into DeGaulle. It took a few minutes to get my backpack ready to go, and then I had to walk for a while to find an ATM to siphon some Euros and eventually, the RER commuter rail station.

After waiting in line for what seemed like an hour to get a ticket, I jumped on the first train into town. (I also noticed a self-service kiosk that could have saved me that hour — oops.) Exhausted — I can’t sleep on planes — I almost passed out on the RER, which could have been trouble. Paris’ suburbs are not the friendliest places on earth to nap with a $300 backpack containing belongings for an entire summer.

I switched to the Métro at Châtelet, which required walking about half a mile underground, and hopped off at Place Monge, a few blocks from my hostel. The Y&H is on Rue Mouffetard, a winding, skinny street littered with dozens of restaurants, crèpe shops and bars. There’s a grocery store next door and a bigger one a block down, so I’ll be able to eat here on the cheap.

I got to the hostel a few hours before check-in starts, so I’ve already spent a while walking around the neighborhood, practicing my Français and snacking here and there. My first meal was a grilled jambon, brie and tomato sandwich at a shop down the street. I washed it down with an Orangina, paid my tab and thanked the guy in French. He understood me. Hooray!

More tomorrow, probably somewhere along my walk down the Champs-Elysées. Au revoir!