As with all of the larger tourist destinations I've visited, one has to take the time to find the better parts of Paris. For me, those are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements - that area immediately to the north of l'ile de le cite and ile st-louis. That's where I spent most of yesterday - it's a cool area of short, narrow streets, cafés, restaurants and stores. There's also several very notable museums, like the national archives and the musée Arts et Métiers. It's also got a very live vibe. This is where Parisians go to live and work, and you can tell by the character of the place.

Yesterday I grabbed lunch on Rue Montorgueil, a street directly north of des Forum des Halles. That street pretty much sums up the area perfectly; it's closer to a market road in one of the smaller French towns than it is a road in Paris, and it's devoted entirely to food. I grabbed a great salad and pastry at a bakery, and spent a leisurely hour reading my French book in a café nearby; wonderful. I wanted to buy a ten euro tin of beans and tomato sauce - just to see what the fuss was about, you understand - but ultimately I decided against it.

All in all, my time in Paris was a sightseeing tour. Looking back, I have gone through at least five different churches, three museums and three major landmarks. That's for the best, I suppose; I did just spend about ten days hiking in the mountains. Visiting museums has also been cheap; as an EU citizen less than 25 years old, I get free admission. I've been avoiding the art galleries, however; I've seen more than enough art this summer, I'm afraid, so much that it's starting to blur together.

I really did like Arts et Métiers though; it appealed to the engineer in me. It's a presentation of technology from 1650 onwards, with the inevitable French bias, but it goes as far forward as Cray supercomputers and digital cameras, with specific focus on materials, energy, communication and transportation. It's a big museum though. I got there quite late in the afternoon yesterday - about three - and it's better to go in the morning, grab an audioguide, and take a break at lunch, then continue in the afternoon.

I found much the same experience at the Hôtel des Invalides, which focuses on War throughout the centuries. I suppose that it's a very backhanded compliment, that the museums in Paris are so comprehensive as to be exhausting. Be warned, however; most museums will take your passport as a deposit for the audioguide - but the guide can be an ipod touch with interactive menus, so it's somewhat justified. But they don't often tell you that you need said deposit until you've paid for the damn thing, and in my opinion they don't always guard your passport adequately.

Now, I'm off the Cherbourg; that's not a large tourist destination, but I want some time to practice Gumdo, read up on London, and maybe hit up one of the nearby beaches, without feeling like by taking time off I'm missing something. It may sound like I've been spoiled, but I miss the little things now - gym membership, for instance. Being on the road constantly has taught me any number of skills and vastly improved my French - but I wouldn't want to live like this forever.

Cheers.