A Cluster-Fuck of Introductions

Nice: I'd arrived in Nice on a Sunday night. I had managed to make all my trains with no hassles and the hostel arranges for pickups- which was phenominal with my pack. Ville Saint Exubary I believe the name was. For anyone who's planning to spend any time at all in the south of france, this is the place to be. I quickly met people Monday morning at breakfast (which is free) and spent the day touring around- ending up on the beach with water so blue and clear it may have been a Walt Disney creation. Van Gogh couldn't have chosen a better color for the sea. At dinner that night I met a mess of Australians and Canadians. We ended up drinking the cheap wine and beer at the hostel and eating all night. (1€ beers, 4€ bottles of wine) The next day was spent walking around the markets in Nice, going to the port with million dollar yahts, and eating a posh lunch in a small cafe. I really can't remember every detail of everything because it all meshed into one image of the best city I've been in. Aix-En-Provence was cheaper, and had better food, but the family atmosphere of the hostel in Nice was beyond comparison. After only a day or two, one could wander back from the day's adventures into the warmth of a million friendly faces. Granted, there were a few stereotypical Americans- frat boys with grand misconceptions of traveling, and sullen-faced girls who dressed above the occasion and never seemed to have a moment of fun. But, avoiding that, it was amazing. I went skiing with two Ozzies, a three hour bus trip. Daemon, an older Australian with kids my age, and Caitlin- a 22 year old nurse and I went up to the mountain. After a few days, we began to refer to Daemon as "dad" and he stayed as that until we left. I ended up meeting a girl from Orange County named Amanda- whom after a day of hanging out casually mentioned that she'd been on a TV show with her twin sister. This 6 foot, 20 year old had been fourth place in America's Next Top Model. She was a celebrity, but because I've never seen the program and I know nothing of things of this nature, it was lost on me. We just had a good time. One night, after drinking or "pre-gaming" at the hostel we wandered down to an Irish Pub with quite a large crowd. One of the hostel workers had given us a ride, and with a slue of Canadian boys (from Winnipeg, home of The Weakerthans!) and Amanda and Caitlin and I were escorted by "Dad" because he jokingly thought that 3 girls and 10 boys in their early twenties needed to be guarded. About 15 of us crammed into a Van meant for 8. We ended up missing the last Tram back up, and had to walk an hour and a half uphill back to the hostel. Fucking insane.
It's a small fucking world, because in Wayne's, the pub in Nice, as I was exiting and being pushed out by all the canadian boys, a girl grabbed my arm and asked me, "Did you go to The University of Vermont?" I stared at her, "uhh, yes. How did you know that?"
"You used to date Danny." she said, matter-of-factly. "I'm friends with him and Lauren. You lived in Living and Learning, I remember because you were always changing your hair." I'd been used to this in Burlington, and sometimes Hutington, but to be in Nice, France and for someone to know you when you have no idea who they are is fucking mind-blowing. I was decently drunk, as was she, and although I gave her my email- I never saw her after that.
Another mention on my list of people would have to be Sam, 41 years of age and a British nurse. Upon meeting her you'd think that she couldn't be any older than 28, 30 max. As it turns out, she had grown up with Led Zeppelin's kids and was best friends with Robert Plant's daughter! Apparently she used to go into the recording studio with them all the time. Minorly, she'd also partied with Duran Duran in college.
On the way to Monaco, Cait and I met an ex-pro-tennis player from Australia.
It's insane how many people you meet in travel. I can't say that it was like that in every hostel, this was exceptional. Perhaps we all just had good luck that week with all the people we met.
Now, I'm in Paris for the next couple of days. Last night I went out with the Sweet Canadians that I'd met in Nice, and their two fellow Torontians. Got back to the hostel around 6am, and slept until 3pm. Pure exhaustion.
I'll be in London on Tuesday, and New York late Wednesday night. It'll be good to be home. The consant motion of travel is sheer exhaustion and beyond expensive here, and in the end it's weeeeell worth it, but I'm about ready to sleep in my own bed.
While being away has gotten easier as each day passes in the past 3 weeks, there're still some days (mostly at night, when I'm ready to crawl into bed) when I can't seem to get the color of Mike's eyes out of my mind. The scent of him follows me in my sleep, and I wake from dreams to find that he's not beside me. I think that if he were here, I'd never go home! I know it sounds boring, but I can't wait to settle into the comfort of my simple routines and familiarity. I probably won't work for a little while, and I hope that I can take a trip to Boston to see Lauren for a few days. I think differently of traveling within the U.S. now- it's so CHEAP!
Well, I'm taking it easy tonight, and tomorrow I'll do some touring around Paris.
Gros Bisous mes amies!