Sleepin' on the Black

The one Parisian dream I had on my last trip was to jog in the Jardin du Luxembourg before getting on my plane to Salt Lake.

The last night at the Hotel Beau Soleil, I realized my wallet had gone missing. Luckily I was still in possession of a US passport and a few hundred Euro. No big deal, I thought to myself. This is France, surely you don't need a credit card to stay in a hotel.

My train from Geneva arrived at the Gare de Lyon around 12:15 a.m. Back when I realized my credit cards were gone,  I pictured myself stashing my luggage somewhere and vagabonding it on the streets of Paris for the night. But it was raining when I got into town, and the hand luggage deposit was closed. A night of schlepping my bags around in puddles was the last thing I wanted to do.

I marched into the first decent hotel I saw. "Bon Soir!" (Its always helpful to start of a conversation in Paris with a little French, even if you only know a word or two).  "Do you have any free rooms?" They did. "I've got my passport and cash, but no credit card." The guy at the front desk grimaced, and kindly explained that under no circumstances would I be able to stay without a credit card.

I asked if he knew anywhere I could find a room for the night, and he pointed down an ally-way of a rue across the road.

And that is how I ended up spending the night in the fetal position on bedsheets, praying that parasitic insects would leave me alone.

When I arrived, the Romanian proprietor interrupted a cell-phone conversation long enough to collect cash and point to a piece of paper where I wrote down my first name on an empty line next to the number 6. He gave me keys and a remote control and pointed to the stairs.

I think this is what they called a "Hotel." I heard several women leave hotel rooms across the hall around 2:00 a.m.  

When I came down the next morning, the Romanian was snoring on the couch next to his dog. I quietly dropped the keys on the desk and hurried outside.

Wallet and brothel aside, my biggest regret is missing my morning jog in the Luxembourg Gardens.

Anyone up for a destination jogging weekend?