How Inappropriate

It is someone's birthday party, and we wander in from the streets to a darkened room. Before a get much of a chance to look around, Kathryn exclaims, "I know, let's go swimming!" I think, "Great!" and when I turn around, everyone has started to climb into the bathtubs of varying shapes and sizes that line one wall, on tiers. Kathryn has taken off her pants already (and is wearing some modest black briefs underneath), and climbed into the highest tub already. I look around and everyone else has started climbing into the remaining tubs, still clothed. Groggily, I stand there wondering what to do, and it finally hits me that everyone is going to have to take off all of their clothes eventually. I go, "No... no, this is really inappropriate..." trying to remember what underwear I am wearing.
A boy about fifteen years old catches my eye as he passes by. I start up a conversation, trying to avoid seeing all of my friends taking off their clothes. Then I find myself kissing the boy. (AGH! How disturbing is that.) When I look over to the bathtubs everyone has fallen conveniently asleep. Then we fall asleep on the floor.
When the boy and I wake up, everyone else is still alseep, so he whispers to me that we should go get coffee at a cafe he knows of in the Faubourg something-or-other, just around the cover. This doesn't make sense to me because we are on the Ile-St.-Louis, and I thought all the Faubourgs were on the west edge of Paris. He gives me directions and I start to follow them. For some reason he does not come with.
I am surprised when the directions he gave me lead to real places, because all of the street names were Italian. Eventually I come out on top of Montmartre (this does not make sense, given the direction I was travelling), into a cirlular place (une place, not a place) with a large sculpture in the center that I have never seen before. It is covered with black grime, but I can tell that it was carved from bright white stone. As I get closer, I get the chilling sense that it represents something terrible.

Behind-the-Scenes at Disneyland

I leave my mother in the café-urbanoutfitters, because her coffee is taking too long. Exiting through the sliding doors, I peruse the touristy street for other food options. Here is a hot dog and burrito stand. Across the street is a ritzy bistro with nothing under $13. On the corner I spy a lobster house, advertising their fantastic milkshakes.
None of these appeal to me, so I continue on, towards the museum. I pass though the backyards of several small houses, an apartment complex, and a church. I descend some stairs to an observatory. Inside, there are some plaques and some looking-glasses, but everything costs money to see. I exit again.
Going back up the stairs, I meet my mother and sister. We move onto a concrete platform to the water's edge. I climb the edge and stare out to sea, as do many other people. The ocean churns violently, crashing around the spiky rocks to splash those of us on the edge. I am tempted to dive into the water, but it is a diseased green-brown, and I know I will be dashed to pieces on the rocks.
Slightly out from shore, columns of rock rise from the sea, reminding me of the Statue of Liberty's crown, or the Rudolph movie's set. They form a nearly impenetrable wall between us and the open ocean, but beyond them I catch a short glimpse of a hugegreen, half-submerged statue of a woman. This is the spot that is so famous in this town, but I am pushed from the ledge before I can fully appreciate its beauty.

Later, we enter a bustling metropolis. Trying to reach the main shopping center, we find ourselves in a monstrous and empty Nordstrom. They are still working on taking down their christmas decorations. The building is very elegant, composed of high-arched ceilings, marble floors and pillars. We tramp down an echoing hallway to a room with a dark, wooden stage. Security here thinks we are coming to audition, and they press-gang us into a line of drama members. We escape through a dusty, dark white room, and hightail it back to where we parked our car. We speed onto the highway and try to figure out the best way around the mountain and home again.