Nott What You'd Expected...

Long story short, I left Zach and Megs at 9ish only to be whisked from Nantes for a quick jaunt through the Metro of Paris before heading off on a High Speed TGV train to Dijon.

How do you know you've become a well-traveled, jaded, prick of a study abroad student? When you're riding the metro in Paris en route to another French city, see the bell towers of Notre Dame and wonder...."Can't this train go any f-ing faster?" i'm an a-hole.

I arrived in Dijon at around 130 to discover that, despite my acute hostel-booking techniques, the hostel was (according to the map) located somewhere between Belgium and Turkey... I needed to find the #4 bus and ride it to an undetermined stop far far away, but 'Near IKEA'claimed the perky directions.

I wandered the town, removing many many articles of clothing in the near 80 degree (sorry, 20ish C ) degree heat, before finding the stop. It was at this point in my journey, nay, my life that I realized how stranded I was/could have been. I was lost in a foreign city, with no language skills whatsoever- the tourist office was closed, I had no idea which direction north was (yes, i looked for moss and the shadows of the sun, eagle scouts...it was noon, so shove it) and I needed to meet up with Kate at some point. There was no giving up. I HAD to find a way out....or, home, or somewhere...

I accidentally found the stop, after being distracted by H&M, and found the hostel. Needing food, a good shave, and entertainment, I fumbled my way through experience after experience (Pharmacie lady, IKEA, giant store not unlike Sams Club that later turned out to be a restaurant wholesaler... the workers were too kind to tell me otherwise...)- I came back to the room empty handed, and collapsed before being awoken by a very distressed Kate at 9pm that night...

Not to lose out on the good weather, we wandered the streets past hair salon after hair salon before passing two kebab shops and an irish pub. I bought a razor at a dirty conveince shop, and after passing up on the Kebab place with grass on the floor, had an amazing meal of greasy unidentifyable meats and fries served by a sweaty man in a Dolce and Gabana long sleeved shirt who was more engrossed in his crappy USA TV drama on the flatscreen than my lack of French ability...

We walked further into the town, so far that we actually made it to the city centre- passing enormous church after beautifully constructed building... the arcitechture here is stunning- it's hard to describe the authenticity..... so many buildings in the states have been built to replicate it- hotels, most of New Orleans French Quarter- that seeing it in person has an unreal aura about it...

The real deal.... Dijon from Dijon










One more night of Greys and kebabs, and we were off for Avignon in the morning. Avignon was the site of the second papal establishment after the schism within the Catholic church in the 1300s... there was a line of 9 popes here who reined until the reunificaiton years later-

After two nights here, it's time to move on- a blog entry and pics will surely follow....

So, tomorrow I'll leave Kate to join up with Emily tomorrow in Marseille all before meeting up with the rest of the group in Nice on the 2nd- so far the weather has been amazing, the experiences more than I ever could have expected, and my French is drastically improving.

Adios.