How to sweep a a girl off her feet

France again was definitely a good decision. I almost skipped out on visiting an old friend, thinking I’d be saving time by getting to Spain and possibly avoiding some awkwardness. But, as it turned out things worked out great. Immediately we hit it off after ending things quite oddly four years ago. We have both changed in drastic and not all that differently of ways. We spent hours talking and then three days exploring Bordeaux and the nearby beach town of Arcachon. Once kind of dating – ‘getting to know one another better’ back in our super pious days we were now picking out attractive guys together – ok so he has changed more than I have.
We were staying with a French friend of his and her mother in their apartment in the outer part of the city. Besides spending lazy days wandering the city we also spent lots of time lazing around her place, I finally got to shower! And sleep in a bed again! This time I felt I was truly experiencing France – the long drawn out meals which each included Rose, bread and cheeses and chocolates for desert whether it was our picnic on the beach or a huge dinner of leftovers from a work party of goose pate and cold meats and cheeses with raspberry cake for desert.

For the first time ever I also had someone to see me off at a train station. We took photos in the photomaton and they waved as the train departed. It was while here that I also decided it was time to come home and changed my plane ticket. However I still have two weeks to go. Since leaving things have been much less pleasant. With lots of trains, getting stuck in odd places, cancelations and rude people. Being on my own again doesn’t seem as ideal now that I spent time with such wonderful people in France and it doesn’t help that my newly learned French seems to have replaced all the Spanish vocabulary in my memory. As I write this I am on a train in Spain that I had no intention of being on but the man at the train station was really rude and I got so frustrated I left Bilbao without seeing a thing. Meaning, I’ve now been on a train (or series thereof) for the past 22 hours… and counting. Hopefully when I finally get off I’ll be able to find a place to sleep for the night and don’t end up on a night train for the mere convenience of it…