Night out...

My dormmate Fiona is very nice. She's from Australia and lives in Hong Kong, and is doing her PHD in Cultural Heritage management. We went out in the morning to visit the farmers market in the latin quarter on rue Mouffetard. We got a couple of ham and cheese baguettes to take along...It seems that in Paris, locals and tourists alike will walk along munching their breadsticks as if they were chocolate bars.
After we parted for the afternoon, I sat in the Luxembourg gardens watching the people go by and admiring the beautiful afternoon. I walked past a group of older men paying chess in the gardens...much the same as you might see in the park on Queen and Broadview in Toronto. One of the men called to me to join him in a game, which I considered, but declined (I'd be no match for him) Later, he came up to me and asked me out for coffee. Ahhh, these french men never lose their game!
In front of St. Germain des Pres Cathedral, a french dixie band was busking in the street. I took a break and watched them for a while. They were fantastic and had drawn a large crowd. At the end of each song, their audience would cheer and shout "Bravo!" The trumpetter would then shout out an advertisement for their latest CD, on sale today. I didn't buy the CD, but I put a euro in their cup. It was great :)
On my way to see the Eiffel tower, a french guy came walking along side me to chat. He was tall, blonde, and handsome, so I chatted back ;) He offered to walk with me to the tower, claiming that it had been years since he'd seen it up close. It took us 45 minutes...he spoke very little English, and I spoke even less french, but we managed a conversation. Afterwards, he showed me to the nearest Metro station and asked me to meet him for a drink. I said no, and that I had to meet a friend....I know, I know! But he wasn't really my type, the walk was fun though!
Later in the evening, we went to a jazz bar on rue Lombarde to hear a Moroccan jazz band that Fiona suggested. It wasn't exactly jazz, but I had such a good time listening to it and being in the crowded little bar. The lead singer/flutist was also a comedien, apparantly, he had the whole bar laughing...but it was lost on me in the translation.