Thurs Jan 3

There is no Gideon bible in the bedside drawer at the hotel Albert 1er in Algiers.

There is, in my room, a kick ass balcony overlooking a main square of Algiers and the Mediterranean beyond. I'm in a medium to high rent room, which is to say around 70 dollars a night. I asked for the simplest one they have, and they said all the smaller rooms were booked up. I straight up don't believe them, but i'm not complaining either. This is a pretty sweet room at a pretty sweet price. The balcony itself it the crowning moment of the room. It occupies a turret-like section (lonely planet's adjective was 'wedding cake') of the corner of the hotel, behind what used to be a fireplace and is now drawers. There are two entrances to the balcony, on either side of the turret, and the view looks out over 270 degrees of central square, harbor, city streets and the Mediterranean. It's dark and cloudy now, but I'm already excited for the view when it’s not.

Gagner un peu d'argent peut etre, mais pas me faire mal. Leur marché depend de tourists comme moi. Le mélange de verite et mensonges me deboussole, et sa voix est séduisante, surtout sous les lumieres de soude de la nuit Algerois.

I ask the receptionist at the hotel what price I should have paid for a taxi and he quotes me 800 dinar, where I had just paid 1000. It's the difference of three dollars, which I would have tipped a legit cabbie anyways, but good to know.

It's raining steadily when I walk out into the streets of Algiers for the first time. I'm in search of bottles of water and other sundry items. The rain feels good, especially after 25 hours of travel, especially in the relative warmth of the Mediterranean air. I avoid eye contact with various characters hanging out in doorways and find my alimentation. I pick up some yogurt, a wheel of camembert, a bar of soap and some water. On the way back a pastry shop catches my eye and I pick up a quiche there. When I get back to my room I put on pajama pants, eat my quiche and a cup of yogurt (and by now, my throat doesn’t feel so bad either), and even without bread, I dig into the camembert a little. I might try and call home in a little bit, otherwise all I've got to do is sleep.

Here's in case you were wondering: the plugs here are the same as in france.