july 31.
Success! I didnt miss my flight!! I arrived in Paris on Tuesday evening, to find that the airport lost my baggage. To be honest I didn’t really mind, infact i found it quite funny. On Monday i actually watched Mr. Beans Vacation movie (Mr. Bean macht ferien) in German. He seemed to lose everything but it all worked out. I just thought of Mr. Bean and laughed it off. The woman at the service counter seemed much madder than I was, in fact i think she was mad because I wasn’t. I hopped on the train from the airport to meet a great friend from northeastern, molina. I met up with in at Chatlet les Halles, and we walked together to a restaurant called the Pigs Foot. It was a nice restaurant, not something i would normally spoil myself to when traveling on a budget, but its was great meal, and we met a bunch of his friends there. 4 mexicans, an irish, 3 americans, and one canadian, it was a nice international exchange. I ordered a french onion soup and a steak :)

august 1.
I got up early as the others in the apt went to work. the apt is beautiful. top floor and huge circle window that leads to a balcony. I spent some time in the morning enjoying the sun on the balcony and relaxing on my first day of vacation :)
In the afternoon I biked to china town and picked up food for dinner. Eggplant, garlic, coconut juice, hoisin sauce, chicken breast, and some rice. My friend ruppert from northeastern also flew over from Germany that morning, so when he came in; I walked around city with José and Ruppert. When we came back and I made a feast of a dinner and we started drinking wine.

After dinner we all went to the Eiffel tower and the wine kept flowing, and we snacked on cheese and baguettes. As enjoyable as it was cliché. We all had a great time and after seeing the Eiffel tower light up a couple times we made our way home.

august 2.
I got up at a decent hour and had a quick breakfast: baguettes, nutella, butter.
And we (me, ruppert, jose and jose’s roommate kaitlin) just spent the day exploring and walking around. We walked by the louvre, walked on champes de elyses , napped on a nice grassy area.

When we came home and i decided to cook another huge meal, this time spaghetti blognaise, we started drinking and had a mini dance session in apt. at this point it was us 4 plus Molina and a lady friend of his. Not long after we decided our dance moves would do better on a real dance floor so we went to a salsa club (la penya). We came home and ate the spaghetti leftovers, and as it turned out we hadn’t had enough dancing, so we started a wild dance off… it was mostly me and ruppert haha, it was hilarious.

august 3.
We got up, and did a quick clean up from the night before. And we made pancakes! It was a lot of fun living together as so many people because everything was done communally. So while some cleaned others made pancakes and breakfast was ready in no time.

Around noontime my bag finally came in! We walked down to the louvre and saw the mona lisa. Afterwords we walked towards notre dame and on the way we watched roller skaters do some wild tricks. We were in a rush to get home so we decided to ride the velo bikes, bikes that u can rent right of the street. It was a new and wildly successful new form of public transportation in paris. We got back and got ready for the part we were hosting in the apt. The party started off slow but it turned out to be one of the best I have attended. Despite the fact that we weren’t a huge group, we partied till 6 am it was legendary.

august 4.
We all got up slowly and Molina and I went to a nearby park where we relaxed and napped on the grass. We got back to the apartment and had long lunch, bagguete bacon and cheese. It was really nice. We sat on the balcony talked about everything (life, work, the past the future etc…) we have a lot in common so it was a really interesting conversation. After lunch we watched a wild documentary called ‘jesus camp’, that exposed the extreme and radically political voice many born again evangelical Christians are talking in America. Once the other guys got back we all went out for dinner on a touristy street. I got escargot! It was actually pretty tasty, but that may be because it was covered in garlic pesto and olive oil, three of my fave ingredients. i had orange duck as the main course, it was alright, nothing special. we walked around for a bit after and ended up on a little island between pont neuf where many Parisians gather for wine, snacks and friendly discussions and relaxing, we came back home after and were really tired, and crashed not to long after.

august 5.

I got up and took the subway to la’defense to meet the girlfriend of a german friend of mine. the food was nothing special, but the company was great. afterwards i walked for a couple hours, first walking by the arc d’triumph then winding through some streets and getting my self lost and acquainted with the city. i picked up some pizzas for dinner, and went back to the apartment. the whole day i was thinking about my idea for the inspiration café which I had come to realize early that morning and I was really able to develop the concept. i called my bro and filled him in, his excitement and confidence was huge support.

august 9.

I wraped up my week long stay in paris and overall it was fantastic. I got to see the eiffel tower light show, the mona lisa, notre dam, the bridges, the architecture, the food, and most importantly I got to meet some really great people. I also got the chance to watch an intriguing video that raises some really good questions. The film is called “Zeitgeist” I cant personally confirm all the claims are true but it raises some really good questions in any case. Also during this first week or so of my vacation I had a small epiphany. I have realized what project I would like to pursue as soon as I graduate from university. I wrote shortly about the idea on incubaker here, inspirations café.

After doing a final walk through of paris with kaitlin, robs roommate I got to bed around 2:30 only to wake up 2hrs later to make my way to the airport. I made it easily to Nice in southern france (being sure not to check any baggage this time). I took a bus to the main train station, a train to St. Raphael, then a bus to St. Maxime where a friend of mine picked me up and drove me to his families home. I was supposed to be in Lyon today staying with a couchsurfer, but there was appearantly there was a miscommunication so skipped Lyon and bought a flight directly Nice from Paris. It seemed to work out for the best as now I am with a food friend of mine from my past semester at ESB in germany. I got to stay at his familys vacation home in southern france giving me some more time with friends and time by the beach. So far it seems like paradise…

august 11.

I have spent the last couple od days and nights with chirs and his family (mother, brother, sister, father and grandmother) I found his grandmother particulary amusing. She was sweet and inquisitive. Mostly with chris and his brother we spent much time at their pool and the beach. Meals were home cooked and included lots of quiches which were great. I will need to try and cook them one time. The house was beautiful hidden away up a hill in st. maxime. The beach was down the road and you could see the ocean from most every room in the house. The pool was a nice compliment to the beach.

On Saturday morning (my last day there) chris and I drove out to st. tropez there as a large open air market that morning and I picked up a cheese plate and net to show my gratitude for the families hospitality. They seemed to like it and started using it right away. I also bought a plate of paella for myself. It tasted great but I wasn’t a huge fan of the swindler that sold it to me.

That afternoon, another friend of min from germany, Edwyn, met us at Chris’s house. I had to leave chris’s because his family was leaving the next day. It was great there and I was very comfortable but it was time to pack up and head out but where exactly, I wasn’t sure. I got a ride with Edwyn to St. Raphael where I could get a grain to wherever I needed. I decided to go to Cannes. I had heard good things about it, plus it was in the Mr. Bean movie I had recently seen so I decided to go. I picked up a ticket and while waiting for the next train I went and grabbed a baguette and a cheese I become fond of while at chris’s called Comte. I also grabbed a couple of carrots.

I arrived in canne around 9pm’ish without a plan or a place to sleep. I saw some backpackers sitting in the trainstation and asked them if they had any reccomendations for a hostel in the are. Unfortunately they told me they didn’t know, as they had stayed at a camp site. But luckily they had a book with an address for one hostel in it, I quickly jotted down the information and was on my way. I hit the streets and asked a few people if they knew the address to no luck. Nobody recognized the address or had heard of a hostel. I saw a sign for a hotel that said it accepted baggage since the lockers at the train station were closed. I had asked about 5 hotels however all were fully booked and wouldn’t accept holding my bag overnight. After some pleading the last hotel agreed to hold my bag, on the condition that I come pick it up promptly at 8 AM the next morning. I was hesitant to give my bag away, but eager at the same time. It would have been safer behind the counter then with me if I were to sleep outside on the beach or street.

After dropping my bag I was much more comfortable walking around and was able to appreciate Cannes a bit better. The city seemed to have a lively nightlife. I walked by some really mind-blowing yachts. Similar to the ones I had seen in St. Tropez. I walked the boardwalk of the beach until I found a nice place to relax and possibly sleep.

august 12.

So that first night in cannes wasn’t the best. I feel asleep in small intervals. Walking up to the slightest sounds. It was also very cold sleeping on the cold and damp beach without anything to keep me warm. Also the sand wasn’t as comfortable or as giving as I had imagined. I woke up before my alarm which I had set in order to get my bag in the morning. I got up around 5 AM, bored and cold waiting for the sun to rise. I walled to the train station and fell asleep there for a bit. It was warmer than the beach but their were some unsavory characters there, intoxicated and some hostile. I got my bag around 8 am as promised and decided to I would stay in a hostel that night, in order to give myself a fair chance to appreciate the city. I was able to get a map in the morning when the train station opened and I was able to track down the hostel based on the address I got from the travelers. I was able to find it easily but the owner wasn’t there. I tried the phone number on the door a couple times and eventually I was able to reach him it was about 10 am. And he requeste that we meet at the hosteal at 12 am. I walked around the neighborhood a bit and found a bench and sat and read for 2 hrs. I returned and met the hostel owner. I decided to stay despite the fact that it costed a bit more than I had anticipated for a very basic and unequipped hostel. I dropped my bags and eagerly hit the beach. Where I spent the day reading, sleeping and swimming. On my way back to the hostel I picked up some groceries. In my room at the hostel I got to meet to Italians that were staying there, Francesco and Roberto, both really cool guys. We walked around Cannes a bit and eventually made it to the casino, where we decided to play some 10 cent slot machines. Where we are I was able to make a bit of cash. After we left we walked by some street performers including one man holding a snake. I decided to pet it in order to further my comfort with snakes. Its skin was wildly smooth. We got back to our room where our roommates a French couple were already sleeping.

august 13.

The next morning I got a French SIM card for my cell phone and used the internet. Then I picked up some chips and salsa (my favorite beach snack) and I made my way to the beach, where I met up with Francesco, Roberto and Roberto’s family who had an uncle in Cannes. After the beach I got my bag from the hostel and began my trop the meet a couch surfer. His profile page said he lived in Nice so I hopped on the next train, and called him from the train. While on the phone I learned that he lived in Frejus, which was in the opposite direction from Cannes, a town near St. Raphael where I was previously. It was at this moment that I was reminded of 2 important lessons. First, communication is important, and saves time, energy and money. Had I called him first it would not have been a problem. And the second lesson was more important. Since I of course knew communication was important I realized that learning a lesson once for the first time is a cheap cost. But not learning from previous mistakes and remembering lessons is expensive. I got off at the next stop and switched trains.

I arrived in Frejus, what seemed like an empty ghost town, as I was the only one from a full train that had gotten off at that stop. I walked till I saw a gas station and asked there how to get to the campsite where Keveen, the Couchsurfer I was staying with lived. I told the gas station attendant I was going to walk and he told me I was out of my mind but that it was good that I was sporty enough to walk. As I was walking I decided it wouldn’t hurt to try thumbing it. A couple of minutes later a guy in a convertible pulled up and I hoped in. He asked my where I was going, but I didn’t know how to respond in French so I just showed him the map. And pointed to my destination that the gas station attendant had circled on a map he had given me. I tossed my bag in the back seat and we were off. He asked me a million things but only in French, and I tried my best to answer in the minimal French I had learned to this point. At one time he put me on the phone to someone; I believe it was a girlfriend of his. That was fun too, but no idea what they were saying.

We pulled up directly to the campsite and I called Keveen. He had made dinner, some sort of warm cereal from Peru with some vegetables and ginger. We at quick as he was in charge of sport activity at the campsite (a little summer village of about 1,50 people) and that night there was a foosball tournament. I played a little but the few skills I had picked up at work in hamburg were no match. Plus in southern france they played with many different rules and with a cork ball instead of plastic.

After dinner I met some of the other employees of the campsite, and we watched a belly dance show that the campsite had organized and then we went to the campsite disco, nothing too wild. We were able to get to bed early.

august 14.

I got up around the same time as Keveen. My plan was to go to Monaco for the day. I tried find the bus stop he mentioned but no luck and there were no pedestrians to ask. I began walking in the direction of town hoping to walk by the bus stop. I began walking a bit and the road turned to a something similar to a highway and I had not yet seen a bus stop, so I decided I would try to hitchhike once again. This time I used a thick sharpie and a scrap of paper to write out my destination ‘ST. RAPHAEL’. While holding the sign, and walking backwards I saw the bus needed fly by. So I began to run after it. Despite having made eye contact with the bus driver he refused to pull over. While walking and trying to get picked up I realized my chances increased significantly as I tried to make eye contact with each driver. Drivers began to give hand gestures that they were going a different direction or their car was full etc.. Not long after a guy slowed down and picked me up. He was really nice and the same age as me, 21. He didn’t speak any English so I was forced once again to venture with my French to avoid a silent car ride. He was a sort of mason and pointed out his home as well as where he worked while driving. He drove well out of his way to drive me to the door of the train station despite all of the heavy traffic downtown.

The next train to Monaco was an hour later so i went to the internet shop to check my mail and I went to the grocery to pick up some food for the day. The train ride was longer than I had expected and it was a hot, sticky and sweaty ride on the packed train, but I appreciated the time on the train because it gave me to update my journal as well as enjoy a baguette with a garlic cheese spread I picked up at the grocers.

Once in Monaco I wandered around and found myself at the entrance to the Monte Carlo casino, a cool looking place and judging by the amount of tourists it must have been a city center. I wandered around a bit more and enjoyed the sites. Beautiful people strutting their best, a family driving around in a drop-top Bentley everyone inside covered in so much gold and diamonds u could barely notice anything else. Astonishing yachts lined the ports, not normal ones either, these were the real deal. These here had helicopter pads, pools and just about anything else you could imagine. I wandered around a bit more and found myself at a palace at the top of a hill. A top the hill there were also nice gardens a cathedral, some government buildings, and most magnificent was the view over Monaca and the port.

I decided I would head back to the campsite so I went back to the train station and bought a ticket. The next train left in an hour so I though I would risk it and run to see if I could find a sports store to get some snorkeling gear for the next day. While walking I saw a nice looking hotel, the ‘Hermitage’, with lots of tourists standing around I thought it was worth a look to see what all the hype was about. Out comes a couple coming to grab their Bentley from the valet and with a strong Texas accent the wife exclaimed: “Ha you see that! A finger print” as she rolled her eyes. The husband laughed as if he was used to her making a big deal out of nothing. I continued walking closer to the front door where a Buggatti was parked. I had never seen one in person before, it’s a pretty wild beast of an automobile to say the least.

I was about a block from the hotel looking for snorkeling gear when I saw a familiar face turn the corner. It was a friend of mine from NU! She had studied in the same program as me but did her studies in Italy where as I did mine in Germany. We were both pretty shocked by the random meeting. She was on her way to meet her family coincidentally in the same hotel I was walking away from. We went to a nearby café and had a quick drink while we exchanged stories of our experiences abroad and our future plans. I think we were both extremely shocked that in all the places in the world to run into someone we meet each other in Monaco. It was really nice to see a familiar face and share a coffee with someone.

Walking back to the train despite the fact that I was wearing one of the few shirts I had in rotation in my backpack, and I was returning to sleep on the couch of a mobile home in a campsite in a remote town, and all I had to eat that day was a baguette and some cheese spread, despite all those things just because I was so happy to see a familiar face and enjoy a friends company I felt richer than anyone else in Monaco.

I got back to Frejus and while waiting for he bus I began eating some more of what was left of cheese spread with some more bread I picked up earlier in the day. Back at the campsite, Keveen and I spoke a bit before I went to bed. I went to sleep not much later.

august 15.

The next morning I got up, ate a quick breakfast and decided I would walk to the beach. On the way I stopped at a fresh fruit stand where I picked up one of the best nectarines of my life. I also stopped at a sports store to check out some snorkeling gear. They were selling a kit with a snorkel, mask, and flippers in one package. However my sophisticated nose didn’t fit comfortably in the mask. So I had to opt for a higher quality mask and I bought the snorkel separately. I decided to skip the flippers as they were expensive and I figured they would be a hassle to travel with. I also picked up a cheap watch. I had been traveling without a watch thus far. It was nice not worrying about the time, but I dint want to risk missing a train, plane or meeting up with someone and I rarely carried my phone with me.

I followed my map to get to the beach, which was about 6km away. I got a little lost so I may have walked closer to 7 or 8km by the time I got there. I relaxed on the beach; reading, sleeping, and snorkeling then repeating the process. I also snacked on some chips and leftover salsa I had from Cannes.

On my way home I wanted to pick up some groceries so I could toss together some sort of dinner for Keveen but I had forgotten it was a national holiday so most stores were closed. I was able to find a little grocery store where I picked up some pasta and sauce. I also stopped at the same fruit stand for the morning to get some tomatoes. I also ended up purchasing a watermelon, some oranges, and a bundle of grapes. I got back to the mobile home and a couple of minutes later Keveen arrived.

We cracked the melon and ate quickly as he had invited me on a ike e was guiding that evening. With Keveen as the guide 3 cars left the campsite for a 3 hour hike. It was really incredible; the view from the top was amazing. After the hike we all had a glass of wine from Keveens favorite spot. We drove back and once home we quickly started making the pasta. It was tight cooking quarters in the mobile home kitchen be operated on the same wavelength. We are both huge fans of fresh garlic, and threw together a great sauce with peppers, onions, balsamic, some sugar, and a boat load of other spices but no salt as Keveen has completely removed salt from his diet, for ethical and health reasons. After dinner a friend, or rather a lady lover of his came over. I had met a friend of his who worked with him at the campsite, Malvi. I used her internet before going to bed at a decent hour.

august 16.

The next morning keveen and his lady friend were eating breakfast and I joined them for a croissant, some French bread and fruit from the day before. I went with him and his friend into the city center of Frejus where we met his friend’s sister. We all sat down and grabbed a drink at a nicely located café in the center of town. Keveen had to return to the campsite for work so I walked ot the beach were I spent another relaxing day reading, napping and swimming. I am currently in between two books; “reminiscences of a stock operator” and “the story of philosophy” today I had the philosophy book with me. Recently this book has been very interesting as I am on the chapter about Spinoza, a Jewish Philosopher who was excommunicated from the community for his “anti-Jewish” philosophies. The chapter touched upon the Diaspora and the struggles of the Jewish people. It also mentioned other great Jewish philosophers like Maimonides. In the afternoon I began my walk home, stopping in the city center for a sandwich. After a quick bit I decided to stop at the same café we were at earlier in the morning. I sat down with an amazing espresso and updated my journal.

I made it back home as keveen was about to head to one of the campers homes for dinner. I was invited by Elodie and Malvi, two other staff members that I had become friendly with in the past couple of days. It was a small but nice diner. After dinner I was able to once again use Malvi’s internet. I used it for a while, booking a flight to Paris from Bordeaux for the same day I was planningn on meeting Niamh in Paris. I also confirmed the couch I was planning on surfing on for the next couple nights, and sent out requests for couches later in the trip. Keveen was at dinner for most of the night so I spent most of the time talking with Elodie and Malvi. Another couch surfer came late at night to surf Keveens couch. He was a German from Bremen and and shared some wild and somewhat discomforting stories of his first couch surfing experience in Cannes. He slept on the couch in Keveens, and I slept on the couch in Elodie’s mobile home.

august 17.

The next morning I got up got my stuff ready and hoped on a bus to the train station, then a train to ‘Six Four’ to visit with my friend Edwyn and his girlfriend. We went on the ‘wild coast’. It was a bit cold and the weather was a bit rough for cliff diving so we went snorkeling instead. Great snorkeling though. The water was beautiful and we were able to see a lot of fish. We drove to the beach and walked the boardwalk. It was really nice, much fewer tourists than the other cities I had been in by the beach. We walked to another town called Sanray and got some Panini like sandwiches. I had been craving a Panini since I saw someone eating a really good looking one in paris over 2 weeks ago. I was actually able to fill that craving earlier this morning before boarding the train to Six Four, I had gotten a chicken tomato pesto mozaarella. This time I got a much better sandwich called the Americain, steak, cheese, with French fries, salad, tomato, and barbeque sauce all brought together by the power of Panini. This sandwich was definitely in the top ten list of best ever sandwiches. We walked around a bit more then back to the car and they dropped me off at the train station where I got he next train to Toloun, a couple of minutes away. The couch surfer I was stating with sent me a message saying he would b e at the beach until 8:30 pm so in Toulon I sat down at a nice a nice café by a large beautiful plaza and enjoyed another delicious espresso, wrote out another idea I came up with will staying in the mobile home for a new innovation in the real estate market.

I used a map I picked up when I arrived at the train station in Toulon and I walked to his apartment. Steph was extremely nice from the very beginning. Showing me around the apartment, he told me that for my stay I should feel at home. If I wanted to hang out with him and his boyfriend I was welcome to or if I wanted to explore the city on my own I was welcome to as well. He even did my laundry and prepared dinner upon my arrival. Soon after his boyfriend, Ludo, came over. Steph was an impressive furniture designer that as between jobs and Ludo was in the navy. Living so close to morocco, there seemed to be no shortage of hash. We watched “Trainspotting” then the guys retired to their bed and me to my futon.

august 18.

The next morning I got up around 11 am and walked around the town with Steph. He had tons of knowledge about the town and the architecture that he shared with me. I offered to cook some Persian food for lunch/dinner. In the afternoon steph and I gathered all the groceries I needed and we came back and I cooked a huge pot of bademjoon and rice. We all seemed to really like it. We then walked over to the beach to watch an air show from the French air force. It was pretty cool. After, on the walk home we stopped for a quick drink and some people watching.

Back at stephs apt we chilled out for a while talking then we decided to watch the documentary “The Yes Men”. It was a pretty cool movie about some activists against the WTO and other agencies manipulated by the rich elite. We dove back into the bademjan leftovers and watched some 9-11 movie.

august 19.

The next morning when I awoke ludo and steph had been up for a while and prepared a big breakfast of bread, croissnts, jam, cheese coffe, juice melo and pudding. We took off to the beack which was nice and rather quiet. I did some snorkeling, napped, and we talked for a while, and I was able to learn a bit more French. After the beach we drove to the top of a mountain in Toulon so I could see a panoramic view of the city. It was a one way road up and down the mtn. and very curvy, and close to the edge. The view was amazing. We came back and Steph made dinner. Some croque monsieur sandwiches that were toasted and lightly fried, they are like grill cheese but with more toppings and meat inside. For desert Steph had prepared something like bit-sized French toast pieces, but with yeast in the batter which made them extra fluffy. During dinner we watched “rocky horror picture show” a movie I hadn’t seen in years. I forgot how weird that movie was.

august 20.

When I got up Ludo was already gone for work. I organized my stuff and ate a quick breakfast. Because I forgot my camera cable at home I used the opportunity to back up my camera with the memory card slot on Steph’s computer to a data CD. Steph drove me to the train station and made sure I was able to get on the train ok to Marseilles.

I called Cathy the couchsurfer I was planning on staying with. She told me to take bus number 10 to a certain stop where we could meet at a certain church so I could drop my bags with her at work, which was really nice of her. The tourist office at the trainstation was closed and nobody seemed to have heard of a bus 10. but eventually I found another tourist information office where I got a map and told which subway I needed to take in order to get to the bus.

AS we discussed I met cathy at the church and she was super nice. I dropped mymy stuff in her car and we agreed on a meeting place for that night when she got out of work, she mentioned that she knew a great place for dinner and that there may be another couch surfer staying with her as well. I took the bus and metro back in to the city. I walked around a bit and saw some cool graffiti on the side of a building I wanted to take a photo of, but my camera read “No memory card” I was sure I had taken it out of Stephs computer so I was really confused and quickly opened the memory card slot and saw that the card was indeed there. But it turned out that the computer had damaged it. After fiddling a but I found if I wedged the card just a bit deeper it worked but it need to be kept somehow at a certain angle. The area I was in was not the safest so I decided I would find a restaurant or café where I could comfortably sit and fix the camera somehow. I figured I would be able to sit down in Mc Donalds and fix it with out being hassled to buy anything. But once inside the temptation over came me and I got a Royal cheese. It came in handy however as I used the box from my burger to loge the memory card in place. I also got a chance to sit and update the journal.

I walked around Marseilles a bit more, going through Panier, the old part of the city which is famous for its cute and narrow roads, but I had been warned to be aware of my camera as it as a poorer area and not too safe in some parts. I met up with Cathy and Johan, another couchsurfer from Netherlands. We met up with an English friend of Cathy’s and together we went to a nice cheap little couscous restaurant. They gave you a plate of couscous and they continuously refilled a bowl of sauce and vegetables that the table shared. And each person chooses there meat. The meal was really good and unbelievably priced. After dinner we all went for a drive through Marseilles. Cathy’s friend Paul, narrated some of the highlights as we drove by them. As we drove we even made it to Le’Corbusier an apartment building that was made famous for its innovations in the use of space and technology. Steph had told me a lot about the building when I was in Toulon. It was dark however so I hoped to return during the day. We got to Cathy’s apartment which was really nice and had a huge balcony about half the size of the apartment and it was the top floor so it had a great view. We sat outside and talked and chilled enjoying the city lights. Then we went inside and shared a delicious sweet wine from Bordeaux that some other couch surfers had brought her.

august 21.

Johan and I slept till around 10ish, and then we enjoyed a coffee on the balcony. The morning was calm and relaxed. We left the apartment a couple hours later. We hopped on the bus into town and we got some sandwiches for lunch. I again chose the delicious Americain with bbq sauce. We then walked to the beautiful church atop a hill on the other side of town called notre dame. It had a huge gold statue of the virgin mary which is said to watch over the city and harbor. It was pretty neat because u could see it from most anywhere I the city, including from cathys terrace. We decided to walk to the beach which we could see from the viewing points of the church. We climbed over a rail and were able to get right by the water on some large rocks. It was nice quiet and relaxing. The only others there were fisherman. We relaxed and talked there over some beers we picked up just before. Johan was a chef so we were planning on cooking for for cathy and her friend that night. So we went towards the market to pick up some ingredients. In total we spent about 10 euros. Not much I thought to feed 4 people but johan seemed confident. We got a hog pog of vegatables and fruit and two fresh fish. We weren’t sure exactly what we were going to make but johan seemed to enjoy what he called “freestyle” cooking.

In the end the meal turned out amazing. A salad with cold pasta, and a great freshly home made dressing topped with a filet of each type of fish and freshly fried potatoe chips as a garnish. And some fresh fig placed for taste and design. It was great because I learned how to gut and filet a fish something I have been yearning to learn since I fell in love with the Italian fish restaurant in Hamburg. That night Cathy stayed at her friends and she trusted her apartment to Johan and I.

august 22.

We woke up around 10 again and got up and ready slowly enjoying the comfort of Cathy’s apartment. I through together a lunch from the leftovers. Since Johan is an inline skater we went to “the pool” a world famous skate park by the beach. We spent a while there, it made me really miss skateboarding. I took a ton of pictures and admired the really little kids do impressive tricks. There was one kid who must have been about 8, flying up and down the ramps on his razor scooter, it was amazing.

After the skatepark we went to the check out “Le’corbusier”. Steph had told me so much about it, I was glad to see the outside and parts of the inside sharing the info I learned in toulon with johan.

Outside le courbusier I said goodbye to johan as he was off to hitchhike to Barcelona. I sat outside the bldg and inspired by its presence and what I had learned about it I drew some sketches. Cathy picked me up there then we picked up her 4 kids and 2 of their friends. Cathy prepared a pesto tortellini and for dessert we had some pears with melted dark chocolat atop. The food was great but there was a bit of a language barrier throughout dinner so it was a bit hard to communicate.

august 23.

I got up early and felt fresh from the get go. Cathy was still home so I got some bread and pastries form the bakery and we ate a quick breakfast together before she went to work. She was going to paris for the rest of the week and weekend. Cathy was such a kind, gentile and trusting person, she said I could stay in her house while she was on vacation if I needed. Her kindness and generosity were inspirational.

After cathy left for work that morning I used the net for a while, booking flights to morocco for when bezzi arrives. I took the bus into town to walk around the city for the last time. I found myself walking through the African/Arabic markets. I enjoyed the open markets and the interesting characters that it attracts. I got a half pizza with vegetables which they rolled up and gave to me as a sandwich, at 2 euros it was a delicious and cheap lunch. I then walked to the train station and picked up a ticket for an overnight train to Biarritz that left at midnight and arrived at 10:30 am. I walked around a bit more picking up some fruits and veg to make a salad when I got back home.

I got home, made a huge salad, cleaned up a bit and made a little card for Cathy expressing my gratitude. I went to the bus stop with all my bags to find out that the last bus left at 9:17 about an hour and half earlier. I asked someone nearby how long it took to walk to the train station. He said it was about an hour. If he was right I would make it just quick enough to grab some food before the train left. So I started walking, knowing the vague direction. I was not really scared, but I was pretty positive I was going to get mugged. The whole time before getting to Marseilles people had warned me of it, but at this point I didn’t have a choice. Even if I had extra cash, there wasn’t a taxi in sight. So I walked with my bags for about an hour asking for directions when I didn’t recognize the areas from the bus. Eventually I came to an area I recognized but I still had some distance to walk. I picked up a sandwich at a shop near the train station; I also grabbed some fries with it, figuring a heavy meal would put me to sleep better on the train. I slept for a little but I spent most of the night rolling around trying to get comfortable.

august 24.

I arrived in Biarritz and waited for a while looking for a friend of JB, the couchsurfer I was staying with. He was at work but told me that he was sending a friend to come and get me. After a while JB called me and asked where I was and I told him ‘in front of the doors at the train station in Biarritz”. Turns out he lives in St. Jean de Luz. It was only 15 mins away but the next train was in an hour and a half. So I grabbed the bus which left a bit sooner. Waiting for the bus I talked to an old lady, well at least I tried to, but there was a bit of a language barrier, but she seemed to enjoy hearing me struggle to get a simple sentence of conversation across.

The bus got me to Saint Jean de Luz where I met Valerie a couch surfer that had stayed with JB before and they were now friends. Not long after JB was home for his lunch break and he cooked some spaghetti carbonara. After lunch he went to work and valerie went to do laundry so I explored the town for bit. I saw a huge gathering of people so I went over to what all the fuss was about. It turned out Sarkozy, the French president was coming to this small village today. Then I remembered that while half asleep a man in the train station this morning had mentioned that to me as well. I hung around a bit and was able to see him which was an interesting surprise. There were many protesters against modified fruits and vegetables. The French secret service did not seem to allow any freedom of speech at all they violently and aggressive ripped up banners and pushed around protesters unnecessarily as their demonstrations was completely peaceful.

Some woman had apparently gotten some close up fotos of the behavior of the secret service and they tried to rip the camera from her neck. She must have been about 50 yrs old and was there with her family, I could not believe how aggressive they were. Once they had the camera one ma looked through her fotos while another rummaged through her bag.

After the presidential sighting I walked through the small town making it to the beach. On top of a nice grassy hill I laid down my mat and sat down to enjoy the amazing view of water and cliffs. It was truly amazing I fell asleep and woke up 2 hrs later and began back home to met up the others. JB had whipped up a great dinner with a salad niciose, burger meat, potatoes and some vegetables. I learned about his green thumb and not long after we went out as there was a huge free beach side concert. First we picked up Rachel a couchsurfer who had stayed with JB her first time there. Very interesting, she had biked from England to Spain and was now on her way back home. Going it all alone I was really impressed on her initiative, confidence and bravery.

We got to the concert and shared some drink. Theo group on stage was “People de Herb” there were pretty cool. I had not heard of them before but apparently they are pretty famous. Next up as famous female DJ from the area but I forgot her name. the coolest part was the concert was directly on the beach, a couple of feet away was the quiet crashing of waves, people could even go for a swim if they wanted. The atmosphere was amazing. To ensure a clean beach, after the concert the organizers offered large garbage bags with the incentive of prizes to those that were able to fill their bags with trash, needless to say the beach was most likely left cleaner after the concert than it was before. After the concert we dropped Rachel at her bike and she had to bike about 10k to her couch where she was staying. The rest of us got to bed around 3ish.

august 25.

We all got up late, some time after noon. We enjoyed a nice breakfast , toast, chocolate chip bread, butter, blueberry jam, great cheese, orange juice and coffee. JB had to go to school to finish his theses so on his way he dropped me and Valerie at the beach in Bidart, between st. jean de luz and Biarritz. Unfortunately there were no wave but we relaxed and napped on the beach. We walked a bit then we got the bus to Biarritz. Where we used the net quickly before meeting JB in front of the Palais Hotel, an amazing hotel right on the beach. We grabbed sandwiches for dinner. I got a chicken sandwich with red peppers, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and French fries inside. Very satisfying. After we drove out for the second night of the concert. As we arrived Xavier Rudd was playing. He is a really impressive musician who plays a lot of instruments really well and as he did at the concert, all at the same time. In between Xavier and the next act we meet some of JBs friends. And during the next act we meet up with some of his friends that we had seen at the concert the night before really fun and cool people, most of them couchsurfers as well. We were all pretty tired so after the concert we went home and directly to sleep.

august 26.

We got up earlier than the day before and enjoyed a similar and equally enjoyable breakfast. JB had to return to work on his thesis so me and Valerie went for a walk by the coast. We found an amazing place to sit on a Cliffside to enjoy the amazing view and environment. We sat and chilled for a while, both of us eventually falling asleep. After a while we awoke to the feeling of being melted by the sun so we moved to a shadier spot before walking back. We had wanted to pick up some groceries but everything was closed so I whipped up a dinner with what I found. I made a pasta with fresh sauce of onions, garlic, walnuts and tomato and some random spices. While dinner was cooking we played cards and enjoyed some aperitifs’. With dinner we popped a bottle of wine, and after we talked and chilled before going to bed.

august 27.

I got up and had breakfast with Valier as JB was gone for work. After I got ready and packed my bags. I got a ticket for the next train to Bordeaux which left at 16:40. I had sent a message to the host I was to be staying with yesterday requesting he send me his address via SMS as I wasn’t going to get a chance to check the internet again, so far no response, but hopefully soon…

I arrived in Bordeaux around 7pm and still no response so I decided I would go to a cyber café and check my messages and possibly find another place to sleep last minute. Luckily I had a new message from the guy I was planning on staying with, the message had his phone number, a huge relief. Ramesh and mom were online so I got to chat with them which was really cool especially since we both were using web cams. I walked to my hosts place on the way asking a burger delivery guy if he knew the street, he wasn’t certain but knew it was really close. I walked on and saw I was one street away. At the apartment I did not know the last name of my host so I looked up and I saw a man with his head out of the window on the 3^rd floor. I shouted up in French, “wheres guillame?!” meaning which buzzer was Guillames (the first name of my host). He didn’t understand but after a couple exchanges someone popped there head out of the second floor window and the man on the third laughed and said “Ca Guillame!” I went up and dropped my bags, and showered as it was a long and sweaty walk from the train station.

Guillame luved in a cool apt. I noticed the apartment buildings were not larger than 3 or 4 stories and most being only 2. it made for a really nice setting and gave the city a really nice and human feel. A couple of doors away lived Guillames good friend but he was out of town, however he had agreed to let a couch surfer stay at his place in his absence. So Guillame had fiver a german traveler the keys to the apartment. Not long after we all went to one of guillams friends apartments. There were about 10 of us. First we ordered pizzas then the guys and I hung around for a poker game. All his friends were really nice. It was all in good fun playing poker and having lots of laughs, nothing tooo serious. We got back to guillams place and he showed me some spots on the map then we called it an early night.

august 28.

I got up and walked around. I made my way first to the tourist information to see if I could get into a winery tour that day. There was a bus that left 2 hrs later so I walked through the historical streets of the city seeing many nice statues the mirror fountain and grabbing a tuna sandwich for breakfast/lunch. I walked around a nit more and found myself in an African drum ship. I wanted to learn about drums in anticipation of my trip to morocco where I was thinking I may be able to pick up a nice drum. The man who made them didn’t speak any english but his friend did, so she translated for both of us. Not long after he started playing the drums it was really amazing watching him. I just love hearing the drum played like that. I left the store and realized I was a bit lost. I asked a nearby security guard how to get back to the tourist info and he told me I needed to take a bus and lot if confusion so I just asked him to point in the direction of the tourist office and I started walking.

Me and about 30 others loaded the bus for our winery tour. We went first to a small winery and the man giving the tour was part of the family that had lived in the chateau since before the revolution. He showed is around the chateau, the vineyard, the vineyard and the over 200 acres of cultivated land, then the winery where he explained the process of wine making. His tour ended with a nice wine tasting session. It was really neat and I learned a lot. Before leaving I picked up a bottle of the red Bordeaux wine.

On to the next chateau and winery… This one was much larger in terms of production and the size overall. Currently in the chateau lived 4 generations, all living in their own area of the property. They produce over 400 thousand wine bottles a year. They store there wine underground in caves and cellars. The largest cave they found only 20 yrs ago accidentally when a brother was wondering across the property and found a huge underground structure. Before we left I picked up a bottle of a dry white wine.

I began to walk back to the apartment thinking if I saw an interesting place to eat I would stop. I walked a bit out of my way trying to find a special place to eat but instead found myself a bit lost. But it gave me the chance to walk through some interesting areas.

I was pretty close to the apartment when I saw a familiar face and he shouted “Hey man, I know you!” it was the delivery guy I asked directions from the other day. We talked for a little before I asked him to recommend some good cheap food in the area. He said “well you know, I work right there at ‘Speed Burger’ its good and I might be able to use my discount for you” I agreed and we walked together. So ‘Paca’ and I entered Speed Burger where he asked his manager to give me a discount. There seemed to be a tempered and unfriendly exchange going on between Paca and his manager. Then Paca turned to me and said “C’mon lets go!” I had a feeling things didn’t go well and as Paca translated and explained to me what happened… “I cant believe it” he said, “I don’t believe he just fired me like that”. My stomach shrunk. Turned out the manager didn’t want to give me a discount and Paca didn’t like his lack of hospitality to a student traveler, so he talked back to his manager. The manager didn’t appreciate Paca’s fresh mouth and simply said, “you no longer work here.” I was in shock from the random string of events, but Paca assured me that his boss was a jerk, and the job was bound not to last. He then continued to reassure me that he would find me a good place to eat. He honestly seemed more concentrated on finding me a meal than anything else. He told me he knew another restaurant where he used to do deliveries. It was an Indian restaurant, great food but a bit expensive, but he said he would talk price with them and that they were really friendly. I told him that it was no problem, and that I could easily get a cheap and tasty sandwich from any corner shop but he insisted that he would take me somewhere good. On the way we had a nice discussion about his life and about the city. After a while of walking we were almost back at the tourist information, and he had bumped into a friend of his and introduced me, and we kept walking. We turned off onto a side street and he said “Oh there it is” as he pointed to an unmarked door. “that’s the back door”. The restaurant was called Taj Mahal.

We walked through the back door, then a couple more rooms and doors until we made it to the kitchen. It was a nig kitchen with a couple of chefs and a dishwasher. Paca said hi to everyone and introduced me. He explained that I was looking for a good meal but that I didn’t have too much cash. One chef brought out a fresh piece of Naan filled with cheese and gave it to us right from the fire pit where he was cooking them. Paca said he was hot so he went outside. I hung around talking and snacking. I watched and learned how they made the bread. They packed some rice, curry, Naan, and some other toppings in a couple Tupperware packages and requested no money. They were from Sri Lanka and all were extremely nice. I exclaimed my gratitude and met Paca outside.

I thanked Paca again for taking me there, and eagerly told him about the bread making process that I had just witnessed as we walked back. He told me that he had seen it before, and that was why he left; he went outside in order for me to talk and get comfortable with the chefs. To watch and learn from them. He knew if he were also there I would stand by him and talk with him but had he left he knew I would talk with the chefs and learn more from them. I was blown away by his foresight and generosity. We walked back to near the apartment and exchanged information before splitting ways. I got back to the apartment where guillame and his friends were hanging out. Not long after we went to the pool at his girlfriends apartment complex. We had a good time in the pool and went out for a quick dinner of kebab sandwiches before retiring for the night.

august 29.

I got up and guillame was already gone for work. I packed my bags and heated up the Indian food from the night before, which I didn’t get to eat as we went directly to the pool. I ate half and packaged the other half in a container to eat later on my way to the airport. I walked to the train station, stopping to use the internet first. Once I got there I had to wait a while for the airport shuttle. Once it arrived I realized I had no spoon or fork for my Indian food. I had to eat the food before reaching airport security, and there was the risk of nowhere to get a spoon before security check ins, so I ran to a café in the station and grabbed some plastic utensils. Back at the shuttle no one was boarding so I assumed that they weren’t to load on yet. After waiting for a while I stood idle as the bus driver got on the bus and closed the door. I was convinced that everyone around me would load on the shuttle once we were allowed to. The bus driver began to drive away and that when I thought that perhaps I was the only one talking the bus. I ran after the bus and the driver who had seen me standing as she looked around and closed the door laughed out of shock and confusion that I waited till she drove away to board. In my race to get the shuttle I jumped right into a huge puddle soaking part of my shoes. I was the only person on the entire coach bus.

We arrived at the airport for my 18:00 flight at 17:00, well on time. When I got to the ticket counter to check my bag with the wine in it, they told me I was not on the 18:00 flight. I stood there confident and reassured them, but unfortunately I had not printed out my confirmation. I figured there was a glitch that they would soon figure out so I was not too worried. After a few phone calls it turned out I was supposed to be on the 13:00 flight. I had mistakenly misread my 3 for an 8 when I read the flight time from my notebook. The woman behind the desk was really nice and after laughing about the mix up for a while I was glad but surprisingly not surprised when she got me on the next departing flight free of charge.

Arriving in Paris I was comfortable in the familiar setting. For the first time in a while I was confident which trains to take and how to get directly to my friend Jose’s apartment. At the apartment was Jose, his girlfriend and the other roommate and a friend joined for a nice ratatouille and couscous dinner. I had almost mistaken the time for Niamhs arrival in Paris, but I made it just in time at the bus shuttle to meet her. We returned to the apartment, this time there were more people and we all drank some wine and shared stories till early in the morning.

august 30.

Jose, his girlfriend, Kaitlin, Niamh and I went for Chinese food for lunch. I got a shrimp red curry and rice, and Niamh got rice noodles and we shared both. Both were delicious. After we split with the group and Niamh and I hit the town. She only had a short time in Paris and I wanted to show her as much of Paris as possible. We took the subway to the Louvre and from there we walked down champs de lyese to the Arc d’ Triumph then we got over to Montmare to meet an Irish friend of hers. We talked and walked to a nice little crêperie where the 3 of us got some nice crepes. Ager we walked all together to Moulin Rouge and there we separated from Niamhs friend. Niamh and I went to the Eiffel tower where we sat on the grass for a little before deciding to go up. We hiked up the first two parts and enjoyed the amazing view and the impressive structure. We took the subway back to the apartment and put on some warmer clothes, snacked on some chips and I grabbed the bottle of red that I got in Bordeaux. We walked to the subway popping the cork enroute. The wine was great. We took the subway from “Maison blance” where the guys lived to near Notre Dam. We got a pita gyro for dinner and shared it while walking to the little island under pont neuf. We finished the bottle and had a really nice and relaxing time. We couldn’t get the subway back as it was already closed so we diced to walk it. A good hour or two later we made it home by about 3 or 4.

august 31.

The next morning Niamh picked up some bread and pastries and I got the chance to cook something I had wanted to cook for a while now, Patatas y Huevos. I chopped and boiled some potatoes until they were soft they I lightly fried them before adding some whipped eggs. After it was ready we made sandwiches. Niamh made some fried onion and tomato to add to the mix and we topped the baguette sandwiches off with some cheese. It made for a perfect breakfast. After breakfast we helped Jose clean the apartment, as it was his last day there and before he moved out assessors were coming to check the place out. We did a serious cleaning then we went out to use the internet. We got back and made some quick sandwiches from leftovers that were in the fridge before leaving for the train station. The trains were more expensive than we expected so we got the cheapest one which left a couple of hours later and arrived in Luxembourg around midnight. While waiting for the train we grabbed a quick burger from “Quality Burger”, a burger place I had been meaning to try. We returned to the train station and boarded towards Luxembourg, marking the end of my month long stay in France.

RECAP

In one months time I got a chance to really explore the culture and lifestyles of many different types of people throughout France. I was much better exposed to ‘normal’ life by staying with couch surfers opposed to hostels. I have a long list of people to add to my address book, some people that left a lasting impression that I surely will not forget. Including everything I spent around 1,000 EU; a cheap price to pay for an experience of a life time. For the most part I always slept well, and most definitely ate well. And with one bag of clothes and another small pack with books and food, I learned what I really needed to live, and what was important to buy. I was also surprised in my comfort in the language after a month, my speaking skills were far off from a first grade level, but I was able to understand people well. France is surely one country I will return to.