Jessica, 23

Sydney, Australia

What are you up to in Paris?
I'm on a Contiki tour. It's a tour designed for people eighteen to thirty-five, and it takes you around Europe. This is our first stop, here in Paris. We've been in London, and we're here for three nights.

What is your impression of Parisians ?
I'd heard they were very rude. But everyone I've talked to has been very nice.

Do you have any observations about the dating scene so far?
They're very... forward, especially here in the red-light district. I've had people yelling, "Sex, sex, sex!" in my ear.

Are you actively looking for anything tonight ?
I'm single. I'm up for anything. If I find somebody, I will go home with them, maybe. I'm interested.

What are some qualities you look for in the opposite sex?
Usually I look for dark hair. Taller than myself.

Do you have any experiences hooking up in a foreign country?
No, I haven't. I've had marriage proposals in Samoa, because apparently I'm hot over there. Maybe here. Fingers crossed!

What are some things you do to impress the opposite sex?
I'm a professional dancer, so I like to pull out some moves every now and then. And I think I'm kind of attractive. I act confident. Confidence gets people. It really does.

I agree. Do you have any crazy hookup stories?
I did anal once. Which was crazy. But that was about it. That's kind of crazy in Australia. A lot of people don't like to talk about it. It's kind of taboo. But I liked it! I've had threesomes before — two girls and a guy. I've never hooked up with a girl. It was just a pleasuring the guy kind of thing. It was good. I like experimenting with things like that. I'm not shy. Everyone kind of needs to do it at some time.

Do you have any crazy ex-boyfriends ?
No, I don't actually. Oh no. One of my ex-boyfriends told me I couldn't eat a kebab, because it looked dirty. So I didn't eat a kebab for three years.

That is crazy.
Or singlets. I couldn't wear singlets. I don't know. He was pretty weird like that, for three years.

How long did you guys date?
Four and a half years. Four years without kebabs or singlets. That was pretty hard. He saw me eating a kebab and told me if he ever saw me eating a kebab again he would break up with me. It was pretty intense.

What do you wear when you want to feel sexy?
Usually, short skirts. I do have big boobs, but I kind of cover them up a little bit. So usually just short skirts, or if I want I can get my cleavage out.

Is there a fantasy you absolutely have to fulfill?
I've never had a lesbian hookup, so that would be kind of good.

You came to the right area.
We were walking past the sex shops and I was like... what's that phrase? How do you say "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?"
"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir!" I was doing that past the sex-shops and they would be like, "Oui, oui!" I was like, "No, no, just kidding!"

 

Abbi, 23

Westport, Ireland

How long have you been in Paris?
Two months. I work at Corcoran's Bar next door.

Do you get hit on a lot at work?
Yeah. It's horrible. It's annoying. We have a certain amount of regulars that come in, and during the day, they're fine, but when it hits two a.m. and they're drunk, it gets a bit annoying.

How do you deal with them?
I push them. I literally smashed some guy into a mirror last night because he was trying to touch me. I think if you work at a bar anywhere, it happens.

What's the different between flirting here and back home?
When Irish guys come on to you, you can say, "Sorry, I'm not interested," they say, "Okay, that's fine," and they leave. But with French guys, telling them that you're not interested seems to be an invitation to harass you. They just keep going. A couple weeks ago I was at Harry's Bar, the oldest cocktail bar in Europe, and I was with my aunt. She was talking to this guy, and she says, "This is my niece," and he turns around to me and says, "I like your dress, but I like what's underneath it even more." Right in front of my aunt! And then he goes, "So babe, what about me and you back at my place?' and I'm looking at him like, "Have you not realized I'm with my mom's sister? You can't say that to me!" It's so weird. In Ireland, guys are not over-complimentary. They're quite subdued — they never say, "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on." French guys make me uncomfortable. The only thing I can do is stand there and laugh uncomfortably, and they think I'm crazy. I just laugh into my drink, going red and embarrassed and wanting to get away.

Do you have any crazy hook-up stories in Paris?
Not yet in Paris. I haven't been here long enough. But I have one from Portugal. I was with my family. I went out with my little brother and his friends, and I met this Australian guy, and I was really drunk and gave him my number. He texted me the next day and I was like, "Okay, we can go for drinks, whatever," and I went down and we got absolutely shitfaced. He was very good-looking, but he was brain-dead. At four in the morning, he was like, "Do you want to come back to my house?" and I said "No, you can come back to my house." But my bedroom was literally across the hall from my parents' bedroom. So we did the deed, and it was horrible. It was really bad. Both of us were too drunk to remember how to have sex. It just ended in this awkward, weird thing where neither of us knew what we were doing and we were absolutely hammered, and at one point he turns to me and says, "I love fake tits. I'm so glad you have them because I love them."

Oh, wow.
I didn't know whether to be extremely offended or extremely complimented. But I told him, "Seriously, you have to leave." So it's six in the morning and I put this guy in a taxi and I think, "I never want to see you again." And he says, "We should go out for drinks tomorrow," and I said, "No! I just remembered, I actually have to go home tomorrow morning. I have a flight really early."

But you didn't.
To cut a long story short, the next night I went to a bar with my dad's fiance, and we were getting absolutely shitfaced. Eventually we were waiting at a taxi run. I look down the taxi run, and who the fuck is sitting there? He's kind of looking up at me, and I'm looking back going, "Oh fuck!" trying to hide behind my dad's fiance. I told her, "That's the guy from last night!" And she's so fucking Irish, she turned to him and asked if he wanted to share a taxi. I was like, "Get in the fucking taxi and shut up!" and he looked at me and said, "Oh my God, babe, I thought you were going home!" and I said, "I am going home! Goodbye!" I was trying to close the door and he was trying to get in the taxi, and I shut the door on his arm. The last thing I saw was him holding his probably broken arm as we were driving away. It was absolutely awful.

That is pretty epically bad.
And then I had to clean up the debris of the night before. Where do you put used condoms when you're staying in a villa with your parents? You throw them into the neighbor's garden!

 

Thomas, 25

Saxony, Germany

Are you on holiday?
Yes, I've been here eight days.

What is your relationship status?
I'm single.

Are you looking?
I look every day, but I don't go to a girl and say, "Hi, I'm from Germany. What's your name?" I let it be natural. I have girls in Germany. But not relationships. Just for... meeting.

Have you had an experience with a girl from another country?
No, just Germans.

What's the craziest hook-up story from Germany?
I came back to Germany from a trip. A girl was renting my room. The new girl and I and my roommate were drinking. Then my roommate went to bed. We go to the balcony. We look at the stars. We look at the eyes. Then we go back to my room. The sex was good. But during it, the condom was destroyed. And she didn't take baby pills. So three days after we go and buy pills at a hospital. I don't want a baby with this girl!

How do you usually meet girls in Germany?
Mostly, I meet my friends, and there are new girls I don't know. They say they want me and we meet up. Or clubs. I look. When a girl looks in my eyes, I go up to her and say, "Hey, you looked at my eyes. How's it going?" But most of my life, I've been in a relationship. They last for one or two years, and when they end I have to find another relationship for one or two years. So this is new to me.

Tell me a story about a past relationship.
With one of my first girlfriends, we were young, and we fell in love with each other very fast. And one night, we went back to my room, and I was a little nervous, and she touched me and said, "It's okay if we do anal." I was shocked. I had seen it in pornography but I never thought I would do that. It never occurred to me. It was strong for our first time having sex.

And do you think it's strange now?
No! Now it's good. But for your first time with a girl, it's weird.

What are characteristics you look for in a girl?
Physically, I like a small, thin girl with big boobs. Not so big, but not so small. In Germany, there are sizes, A, B, C, D. I like a good C. A youthful face. It's good if a girl is twenty-five but they look nineteen- or twenty-years old. And little bit shy. When you need to speak with each other, you don't have to think, "What say I now?" and the conversation can flow. And it's not important she know about everything, but it's important that she's interested.

Do you have any fantasies?
I lost many vocabulary. I have to speak English one week a year.

You're doing fine.
When I have a relationship with a girl, I fantasize that an ex-girlfriend joins my new relationship.

For sex or for more?
Only for sex. You always think about an ex-girlfriend when you're having sex with the new person, so in my fantasies, they can join too. But then they have to leave after.

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