September 27: Queer Wanderings in Paris

[kinetic_elaboration]

I am so tired!! Have been on my feet a lot. We got a lot of sleep last night, definitely necessary after yesterday. Then we had breakfast at the hotel, and went out to two different queer bookstores nearby. After, we took a break for more caffeine and some rest at the hotel, and then took a trek out to my old neighborhood.

It’s definitely not a very interesting neighborhood and it hasn’t changed at all in the last fifteen years. I think the most surreal part of it to me was how little it really hit for me… there wasn’t a lot of connect between my memories and the reality, even though the space hadn’t changed very much. But, it was good to know. And it was good to know that my muscle memory of the route was still the same. I suppose it’s like my muscle memory of French: I recall more of it and easier than I thought I would.

I have noticed that even when I speak a few words of French my accent comes through enough for people to switch to English. I mean they’re mostly switching to English because they hear me speaking English–good, my master plan is working–but I think sometimes it’s just my voice that is the clue.

We stopped by a library and I read an article in the paper to test out my language skills some more. Then, back to the hotel, and out to dinner and dancing. We also managed to find a patisserie still open on the way to the dancing. I’m really so glad we got to go to a gay club here. There were a lot of Anglophones there; the music was techno with a lot of 90s sampled beats in it; all the people were very dorky (surprisingly dorky for Paris I must say; but I say this as a compliment); and I had an excellent time.

I’m so fucking exhausted now, and a little loopy, and I’ve been wandering too far afield on the internet. I need to rein myself in, shower, and get back to sleep!