It turns out that Monte Carlo is a ghost town at night and everything was closed at 8 pm.

The best thing about hanging out in the Saint-Germain area is having a picnic on the Pont des Arts.

My return to Europe 10 years after my first backpacking trip there was a blast. No Visas, no currency exchanges, no need to show evidence of onward travel. The hospitality of my friends and couchsurfing hosts was amazing. I have definitely learned how to treat my future guests in the right way. [...]

 
12:45 pm
I’m on the 7.5 hours train to Barcelona via Narbonne in southeast France. The weather has turned, the sky now gray and cloudy. We all slept-in this morning. I showered around 10am, enjoyed a croissant, indulged in another pastry – champagne and white chocolate mousse, and sipped hot chocolate. [...]

 
On this day, Magali working a long shift at the bakery, Sebastien took me around the Bay of Arcachon. Biganos, the town where Magali’s mom lived, was at the southeast edge of the bay. First, we drove southwest to the Dune of Pilat, Europe’s biggest sand dune. Formed during [...]

In the morning, we ate bread and chocolate pastries for breakfast, before heading off to St. Emilion, the “wine city” northeast of Bordeaux which Magali first told me about during our time in South Africa. The district boasts 822 winegrowers and 5,400 hectares of vineyards. According to a tourism brochure, the land owned [...]

It felt good to be back in France – a little warmer, and ever so slightly less expensive than Switzerland. I picked up my bag and was happy to see Magali and Sebastien outside the baggage claim area, waiting to greet me. We drove to the center of Bordeaux (city) and started to [...]

Laura’s Dad stopped by her apartment as planned, and after talking for a bit, he offered to walk me to the Gare de Lyon where I would catch my high speed TGV train to the Swiss capital of Bern. I appreciated his help all the more when my credit card didn’t work in the automated [...]

On the last day of 2008, I slept late before heading off for a quick visit to the Paris’ modern art museum, the Pompidou. In 1998, it had been closed for renovations. I had just enough time to visit the temporary exhibitions, the most noteworthy being on the development of Futurism in Paris around the [...]

 
My first and second visits to Paris were during the summer of 1998.  I saw a lot back then, and was excited to revisit familiar places and new sights now.  The first morning began with fresh croissants, a baguette, and coffee.  Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side.  A steady, cold rain was falling [...]