Bonjour France and Greggy!!!

I got into Ventimiglia at 11:30 p.m. on the 28th and saw Greg for the first time in over 4 years! It's been awesome to be with someone I know, especially since it's Greg and he lives here in France! We got back to his awesome house in Nice and hung out for a bit with some German friends who had been visiting for some big car race and the Film Festival of Cannes (can't believe I was so close and missed it!!!).
So, to bed and to rise, and in the morning I reconnected with Greg's signature breakfast: toast with butter and jam dipped in hot chocolate in a bowl. Ah, Greg.
Greg drove me around Nice, Eze and the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, and we lunched/walked by the sea in Nice, and I have to say this: it was very nice. :)
Odd foreign thing: my pizza came with an egg in the middle. Just an over-medium egg right there hangin' out. Okay, Frenchies -- I know we all like to have our special little twists on someone else's original creations, but an egg? That's kinda random. I can't say it tasted bad, though.
Afterwards, we drove the 2 hours through the rolling hills and vineyards of Provence to the Mirabella house in Pennes Mirabeau, about 20 minutes outside Marseille. It is beautiful here. Pool, palm trees, an immaculately clean and nice French home ... and Greg's family, who are incredibly kind and hospitable. Christine (Greg's mom) did my laundry, much to my opposition, and anyone who would do a backpacker's laundry is a kind, kind person worthy of a lot.
A combination of Paco the dog; Christine's home cooked meals and chocolate chip bundt cake and settling into Greg's old room - full of Woodbury High School and Minnesota paraphanalia - has made this girl feel quite at home in France.

I've got a home in Torino!

On the train to Ventimiglia in Italy I shared a compartment with Maria Angela and her 11-year-old grandson Gabriele. Gabriele is just learning some English in school and is not bad at all! They made me promise to call when I come back to Italy in a few years (guess I have to now) and I can stay with them in Torino and not to worry because they would remember me. Guess I smelled that bad. ;)
These people were so nice!

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"If our lives are dominated by a search for happiness, then perhaps few activities reveal as much about the dynamics of this quest -- in all its ardor and paradoxes -- than our travels."
-The Art of Travel

Grandma Italia

A small Italian woman whose name I do not know sat near me on the train from La Spezia to Viareggio. We spoke the whole 45 minutes, trying to decipher eachothers' mumblings. But I know this woman, and I call her Grandma Italia because she is exactly like my real grandma.
From the way she holds herself to the look she gets when she decides it doesn't matter that I still don't understand what she is saying after the fifth repeat, she is Grandma to a T. Her eyes have a similar worn and wizened look; her nature strong and social but humble and gentle, too.
She reminds me that I need to call someone I miss a lot.

CT at night

Went last night to an American bar in Monorrosso. An AMERICAN BAR. Ironically, it's called "Fast." Ever wonder what those laid back Italians think of us?
While waiting for Mark, JD and Matty and Cara, the two girls from San Diego State that I also hung out with in Pompeii, I was approached by creepy foreigner #1: Maximo. He had good taste in music but the few things he didn't have going for him were that he was like 35 and that he asked me to join him on the patio while he smoked a cigarette which he then bummed off a stranger. I also made the mistake of telling him I was leaving on the last train into Manarola. When I was waiting for the train I saw him coming, so I went up to a random girl and asked if she would momentarily be my friend and explained why. She agreed immediately and I met yet another friend: Stephanie from Gonzaga University. Thank you, Stephanie!
Being alone, I keep thinking of conversations I wish I could have with the people I'm close to, but something tells me they'll come up again in life. Plus it gives me more of a chance to familiarize myself with all sorts of crazy-mixed-up keyboards, and who doesn't want that skill? You say you can speak 4 languages fluently? Yeah, well I can type 50 wpm on several foreign computers!

Cinque Terre Day 2

Another amazing day! But first -- last night. I walked to my ostello up a huge hill in Manarola and into my dorm to find Whitney, the only other lone female traveller I've met thus far who just so happens to live in Boulder, go to CU and work at my favorite Boulder restaurant - The Med. Ironic that we happened to meet at the Med ... the real Med, that is. So we grabbed dinner and I tried Cinque Terre's renowned Limoncino, which I had one sip of and promptly decided to never drink again. I later learned it's made from grappa, alcohol derived from the skins of grapes and therefore very syrupy and strong. I'll stick with the wine. But so fun to hang out with someone who knows home!

Today I hiked. I managed to do all but the simplest one, which I will get to tomorrow. I was disgustingly sweaty and needing to dive into the aqua blue of the sea when I finally reached Montorrosso (from Manarola!), and along the way I ran into Carol, or "Mama Gibb" as I referred to her earlier. It is a small world after all. She told me Mark and JD were on the beach in Montorrosso, so I found them, swam, relaxed and had a beer compliments of Mark. Now the sun is setting, and just to brag a little more -- it is gorgeous.