Raw Versailles

First to answer some questions: The reason Chinese or Spanish gets a better response in Paris for me seems to be because Parisians are more likely to speak Spanish than English due to Spain being right there. As for Chinese, I just look for the closest Asian and hope they can at least understand it. Paris is a very cosmopolitan city: lots of different cultures.

Yesterday was raw day with Yin and Lauren.

Lunch: Beef tartar (they gave us each a plate with enough ground beef for two large American burgers). It had onions, herbs, capers, and citrus, but not very much of it. Yes we ate it all; Yes it was really good.
Foie Gras... also raw. Never had it before... it came with toast and the best balsamic reduction I've ever had.
We also had escargot... cooked. SO good.
Dinner: Oysters, mussels, clams, tuna, scallops, and brined shrimp. All raw. Delicious!

In the afternoon we hopped a train to Versailles. It was moving for me to see the setting of the French Revolution and imagine the peasants storming the palace. It was so unnecessarily lavish inside I felt sick. The gardens were nice though.
An interesting moment:
As we sat on the grass I noticed a group of men with cameras and shit eating grins following a slutty looking, suspiciously buff, high-heeled woman. Alright, it was actually a French dude and his bachelor party... drunk off their ass. Just then a family passed us, the mother momentarily blocking our view of the entertainment. She wore a long flowing chadri... only a rectangle exposed for her eyes.
I was momentarily overcome by the extremes in human appropriateness. The modest muslim mother and the crossdressing drunk both sauntering through the gardens of Versailles. I was most interested in the possibilities for how these two would regard each other. But no interaction occurred as they passed each other seemingly indifferent.
Still I can imagine the possibilities ("sex deviant!"... "prude!").

A few notes on my thoughts:
The justifications for any given action deviate greatly between the actor and the observer of the action.
While the ramifications of both are quite strong, neither is the complete and true motivation for the action.

I know this because my reasoning for my traveling (and anything else I do for that matter) is as elusive to me as to those who speculate about me. It is never one reason but a heirarchy of reasons.

To me, the complexity of a person or character is a mirror of the complexity of this heirarchy... as well as its ability to change.

I dont know fully what drives me, I do know who I am by my actions, I dont know who I will be... and neither does anyone else.

Make sense?

On another note:

I realized last night that I couldnt see the stars... its time for me to leave the city.

Below are some of Cody's Pictures from the Road Trip in Salta, Argentina.

DUI-M

Driving Under the Infuence - of Mate

Salta Overlook

The Gnomes live in those mountains!

Salt Flat Fun

Lunch

Hey, did anyone bring any salt? ... waiiiitaminute

Be the Salt Flats

Pink Thermos Balancing Act:

Daniel-son Style