Micky Walker

巴黎驚魂記(Adventure in Paris)

 我們錯過了最後一班地鐵，找不到夜間公車(因為倫敦有, 以為巴黎一定也有)，也搶不到計程車，即使稍後招到計程車，也來不及回去因為我們住的Hostel宵禁是凌晨2:00。於是我們只好忍痛決定找間旅館住。很不幸，唯一找到的一間旅館居然客滿! 走投無路的我們，一邊幻想會有好心人士收留我們，一邊尋找是否有營業到天亮的PUB，打算待在PUB一整晚再搭第一班地鐵回去休息加吃早餐。但實在是又渴又累，於是找了一間露天咖啡廳進去坐，希望他們也是營業到天亮。事與願違，他們只營業到凌晨3點。這時身旁坐了一個沙烏地阿拉伯人，用流利的英文跟我們聊天，聊了一下驚訝得知我們現在是無家可歸、打算找一家PUB待到天亮。他隨即表示如果我們不介意，他願意開車載我們夜遊巴黎，見我們面有難色，他一再說明他在巴黎住過四年，這次是回來開會，接著攤開地圖一一介紹我們尚未去過的著名地標，並且說明PUB有的很危險，看他一臉誠懇，我們就賭一次試試看。我們坐上他的黑色S- Class賓士車，他就一一介紹了巴士底監獄、歌劇院、拉丁區以及高級住宅區。最後還剩兩小時才有地鐵可搭，他問我們接著要如何打發時間，我還是打算找一家PUB待到天亮，他就搖搖頭繼續開車。他帶我們到他住的附近，指出最近的地鐵站，接著去他租的公寓。他的公寓是一房一廳，蠻乾淨整齊的。他請我們喝飲料並建議我們多睡一會兒，隔天早上起床可以自己做個早餐吃完再走，教我們把他的住處當自個兒家一樣，還要把床讓給我們，他睡沙發。我們深覺打擾他人許多，堅持睡沙發。說實在，兩人睡一張沙發很難睡，還好後來發現是沙發床，睡起來比我們訂的廉價Hostel舒服多了。隔天八點多起床，我們收拾了一下，把所有東西歸位之後，遍尋不到筆只好用我的唇釉寫了感謝函，留下E-mail就準備走了。要開門時才發現門已鎖住，需要鑰匙才能開，怎們辦?這難不倒名偵探美琪，輕鬆找到鑰匙開門，來個法式告別(不告而別)就走人啦!到底我們是幸運碰到好人還是化險為夷?反正我們是安全地全身而退啦!誰叫我是"李大膽"呢?!

We missed the last metro (tube), and we couldn’t find where the night bus was. We couldn’t get any taxi at that moment. Even if we got the taxi later, we couldn’t get to our hostel in time because the curfew is 2:00am. We had no choice but decide to stay in a hotel. Unfortunately, there was no room available! We became HOMELESS! What can we do? We tried to go to a pub which is opened until next morning while we dreamed that there would be a kind person who would like to offer accommodation for us. We were so tired and thirsty that we went into a café on Champs-Ellysees. We expected that it would be open until the next morning but it is just open until 3:00am. At that time, a guy who sat next to me started to talk to us in fluent English. He is from Saudi Arabia. He said that he used to live in Paris. He had lived in Paris for 4 years and this time he came back for a business seminar. After he surprisingly learned that we had no place to stay and we intended to sit up to catch the first train the next morning, he told us that he would like to give us a drive to show us around Paris if we didn’t mind. We dared not to say “O.K., we’ll go with you” but didn’t refuse him immediately. He promised us that he wouldn’t do harm to us and kept on telling us that being in the pub is very dangerous. He seemed to be a kind guy so we decide to give it a try. We got in his Benz and he started to show us the famous landmarks in Paris we haven’t been to, such as Place De La Bastille, Opera House, Le Quartier Latin, La Madeleine, shopping area …etc. It was 4:00am. He asked us how would we spend the last two hours and we still wanted to kill time in a pub. He was mad again. “I told you that being in a pub is dangerous for young ladies!” And then he drove us to his apartment he rent, and showed us the nearest metro station. He told us to make ourselves home and suggested us to have more sleep until the next morning. We thought we have bothered him too much so we insisted to sleep on the sofa and we would leave at 6:00am the next morning. To be honest, it’s uncomfortable for two persons to sleep on the sofa. Fortunately, the gentleman found that the sofa can be spread into a double bed. Well, it’s more comfortable than that in our cheap hostel. We woke up at 8:00am the next morning. We packed our stuff and kept everything clean and tidy. We didn’t want to wake him up so we left him a thank-you note with our E-mail address and were ready to go. The door was locked! We needed the key! It’s a piece of cake for me, Detective Micky, to find a key. It was in the ashtray on the bar. Gloria asked me how I knew where the key was. I didn’t know how I knew where it was. I just knew it. I am the detective! We took French leave (leave without saying goodbye) since we were in France. Did we meet a good guy or we were just lucky that nothing bad happened to us? Anyway, we were safe and sound and thank the gentleman for everything he did for us.