Last but not least

Bonjour!
(Yes, again. I would say bon soir but I've learned not to say that before 3pm)

I swear I have no idea where the time went, but today is my last day before I leave for London! I'm back in France, having spent the last three weeks kind of travelling in a very floppy circle. This past Saturday I left Geneva to meet my good friend Alea in the south of France. We travelled by car along the French Riviera and saw the glass blowing town of Birot and climbed many (many) stairs to the top of an old medieval village who's view was breathtaking. Picture a huge expanse of Mediterranean, incredibly old fountains in the midst of gorgeous French gardens, stones so old they were shiny from all the years of walking, and masses of lavender. We spent our days exploring the smaller towns that all looked just like postcards. Markets with fresh food, spices, and handmade soaps made them beautiful and colorful and made our trips so cheery!

However, even when travelling with other people, the day still really revolved around food. I think two of my favorite experiences with Alea and her mother were two meals. The first was on our way back from Birot. We walked by some cafes but most weren't serving before 7:30 and all the others basically served the same thing for the same high prices. I think the French have caught on to America's fascination with cute cafes (and the strange idea of sitting down and actually... relaxing) and have jacked up their prices. So this meant the three of us had been out all day and couldn't find a place to eat and we were getting pretty cranky. But as we trudged listlessly to the car we noticed an outdoor Italian market in the middle of this little village. A long row of stands held everything from huge wheels of cheese to fresh bread and grapes. We spent the first fifteen minutes as our "appetizer" (a.k.a. hoarding the free samples), and then walked back to the car to eat our purchases on the road (funnily, a very American thing to do during our very European meal). My dinner consisted of fresh milk, hot bread with cheese, and grapes from the stalls. Basically the most perfect meal ever, especially when I topped it off with the biggest cream puff ever. We were pretty dairied out the next day so we searched the streets of our next stop, Aix-en-Provence, for some salads. As usual, it took forever but it was worth it when we sat down at this really great, and obviously popular, salad place. Our food was delicious and healthy and fresh and we could not have left more satisfied... except that we were blessed with two MORE delicious things: massive cream puffs filled with a weird (but amazing) cream-ice cream mix, topped with whipped cream and chocolate fudge, and a cafe solely staffed by young, beautiful, French waiters with abnormally deep voices. It was not unlike the magical door to Narnia, as I have never seen more yummy things in one room in my life, and only magic could have produced this feast. So that took up Sunday...

We did some more exploring and found our way to a great YMCA hostel in Avignon later on. Since I had to leave early the next morning for Paris we woke up even earlier to have a little French breakfast before my train left. Our €5 got us grainy powdered coffee, a relatively decent croissant and Tang, which can only be described as fluorescent. I don't think that glass had ever seen an orange in its life. I guess our luck had to run out at some point but no matter, the French can make even Tang classy.

So here I am, back in Paris, back in a smokey cafe. I cant believe it's been 21 days and I've seen 5 countries (6 if you count Vatican City), learned how to say "Do you speak English?" in French, German, Croatian, and Italian, met people from all around the world, and have gotten disastrously lost in every city I've been in. I don't think I've ever been so proud of myself and I can honestly say I've changed and learned more about myself in 21 days than I have all year. So here's what I've learned:

1. You're supposed to get lost. Getting lost is the best part and once you stop freaking out you can end up in the most interesting places.

2. People in train stations that ask for an "extra 50 cent to buy a ticket" aren't really buying a ticket. And don't hand them your Coke while you rummage through your purse for change.

3. Not having coffee to go is a blessing. Yes, it's convenient to grab a Starbucks for the car, but being forced to sit down for five minutes can be the best part of your day.

4. No matter how busy you are, stop and eat - real food. Food (especially gelato) can work wonders.

5. Eating alone is like a date with yourself! And don't talk on the cell phone to look busy because that's silly.

6. Sleeping on the dock of a boat in the rain really makes you appreciate a real bed. Hostels can also have that effect.

7. Charge your camera every night, even if you think you're fine.

8. Not speaking a person's language can make you good friends...

There you go! I love Europe, but I love my Americans more, so come visit in London. As for me, I'm looking forward to settling down in one place and maybe living out of some drawers and a closet for a while :-)Au revoir, auf wiedersehen, dovidenja, fino al nostro prossimo incontro, until we meet again...