south spain

Hello All,

I just gotta say life is good!

Got out of the city, staying with Malinder, aka Raj. He owns an Indian restaurnt in Benalmadena Costa just east of Malaga. He is an amazing host and we are having a lovely time together. I spend the evenings walking around town, and the beach, and hanging out at his restaurant eatting amazing Indian food! I am so glad to be out of the city. Although in the last 2 days or so Barcelona began to grow on me...

To back track in my trip a bit, back to France, back to Dunkerque...

Caro and Manu. What welcoming hosts they were. I felt so comfortable with them and they took such good care of me. She is a substitute teacher at a primary school and I had the opportunity to go to her school with her and talk to many of the classes. I was quizzed by the students as to knowledge of pop culture... that was fun. The questions they asked were quite amusing. I am so lucky to have such an amazing responsibilty. They will both always be in my heart and I look forward to hosting them in the States! It is amazing how you can get so close to people so quickly...She is my sister from a French mother! It is funny how I achieved such an enjoyment from accomplishing the little things. The second to last day I was there I managed to find a market and a bookstore for a french to english dictionary. Wow was I proud of me. I made them lunch the day I left, avocado, tomatoe and mango sandwiches...they said they enjoyed them, wonder if they will have them again?

Paris. Antione. Oh you silly guy! This guy is such an active host, and even in his studio apartment he had myself and one other guy, Zachary who was from San Francisco. Zachary and I wandered around the first whole day I was there. That evening we met up for the France Italy futbol game at a pub in La Bastille. This was great, especially because France won! I attempted to wonder the next day on my own... this was a bit of a disaster... it took me 3 hours or so to find the boat tour down the Seine, and my first viewing of the Effiel Tower... once again, so happy to have achieved something. The boat tour was decent, just happy to be sitting down, and on the tour, you see the majority of Paris because it was built around the river. Then I wanted to go to the Lourve. I took the bus, and ended up succumbing to the fact that I have no idea what I am doing. I ended up riding around transfering from bus to bus at large transfer spots and eventually got to the Lourve just as they closed... dammit... so back to the flat. I was emotionally tired and a bit frustrated with my inability to navigate on a city´s transportation. That evening we, Antione, Zachary and I watched Point Break. The French love Patrick Swayze. The movie was great... Day 3... Zachary and I wandered again, back to Marias, the march and the very ecclectic side of town. We went to the Centre Pompidou. There was a cool film exhibit there and the building itself is quite interesting. The inside of the building is on the outsided and different areas are painted different colors... Day 4... Holly must become independent again. I thanked my host for his hospitality and headed to town to a hostel. This was really nice. My first hostel. The folks that worked their were wonderful smiling happy people. I met a very nice girl from Korea that was there on holiday. She worked for the government and their recycling program. That evening I went to the market and bought bread, avocados, tomatoes, rum and juice and had my own little picnic outside the hostel. Two girls walked by. Rosemary, and I cannot remember her sisters name right now. Her sister had been going to school in London for 5 years or so, and although they were both American, she had a very thick british accent. We feasted and drank and then went for a walk towards the Effiel Tower. At the hour, every hour, the Effiel Tower sparkled for 10 minutes, so we meandered towards the tower. We came upon a bridge, the Pont de Arts, on the way. This bridge was covered in young people! Everyone eatting, drinking and being merry. Wow! This was great! I met up with Jaris, another Antione, Amondine, Julian aka Shamus... after this I will refer to him as Shamus, and Caro... We hung out for awhile. This was so lovely, why had I not stayed in town later to meet such lovely folks earlier? Before Amondine left she invited me to a BBQ at their place in Noisy le Sec the next day and we agreed to meet at the train station about 6 30. I stayed and hung out with Jaris and Antione. They were both qutie young, Jaris was 17 and Antione 15. Both spoke very good English. There were some unsavory folks on the bridge as well and I asked them if they would walk me a block or 2 to my hostel so noone would see me leave alone. They agreed and we began to walk. They were so sweet, they walked me all the way back to my hostel! Jaris and I met up the next day underneath the Effiel Tower, near his flat and attempted to go to his favorite museum, which sadly, was closed. So nearby was a modern art museum. Yeah, an experience, but I just didnt´get it. We went back to his flat and he made us some food and we hung out and shared tastes in music and played some music together. Later on that day I caught the train to Nosiy le Sec to go to the BBQ...

And Amondine I am sorry...but I will have to continue this blog later... I do not want to not have all my energy to write about what lovely people you all are and the great experience I had with you... wonder if you are still reading this...I hope so... You guys are great. I miss you and will continue with my stay in Noisy le Sec very soon.

Love to all,
Holly