camenbert cheese , paris part one

arrived in france around 6pm on staurday night , freezing weather which only got worse, got very lost trying to find hostel which was cruely just off the map i had paid for at great price. had a chance to paractice my french tho asking for directions. first night in teh hostel we were staying with a south african lady who is a teacher , the hostel turns a blind eye to the fact is for under 25s. paris seemed to spite us from the very begining, no lifts or escalators and pointless stairs that go up and then down again straight away and then up with no particular purpose. not enjoyable with heavy suitcases, like rome i found that paris was very dirty and there are alot of homeless people sleeping in the metro stations, not as many beggers but still more than this small kiwi girl is used to. im off two minds weather to belive the travel books and ignore them or give them change and have faith that its not a scam. i was all on my lonesome sightseeing first day in paris, we are staying inbetween the area bastile and the latin quarter, i walked along a long wide boulivard that is called haussaman and stoped at the food markets and sites along the way, including a beatiful church whos name i have no idea where a cute father and son where playing patonk of the frosty grass, so cute, the madeline whcih looks alot like the parthenon in rome, concorde which is a huge area with stautes and stuff along teh river seine, i walked leisury along the river on that beutifully sunny but cold day past the lourve and other sites and buy camenbert to munch on