So, where were we last, Norway? So, on the 16^th, we got back to lovely warm Montpellier. I met up with Manuel, we had a nice evening at the Fitzpatrick’s jam... And the next day, we decided to break up, after being together nearly a year and a half, which was... Rough. There was never really anything wrong, but we couldn’t do another year of long-distance, and I just didn’t see myself moving to Germany to be with him. Ironically, it almost makes it harder and more confusing, knowing that there was nothing wrong and yet we still decided to split, but hopefully it’ll make more sense over time. Anyways... So, originally I wanted to change my ticket to go home earlier, but it was so expensive (like $750), I just couldn’t justify it. So, I stayed with Sealia for a few nights, and then with my friend Brian. Thank god for my friends, I don’t know what I would have done otherwise. I was sad, but it was actually a nice week—lunch dates with Sealia, I got a new haircut (!), a trip to the Musée Fabre, doing some cooking, and a Friday night Jewish dinner with Sealia, her boyfriend, and 3 friends.On Saturday, September 24^th, I began my 4-day trip home (it was supposed to be 4 days, don’t worry). I left that morning for Marseilles, got there, and of course, promptly got lost trying to find my hostel. I swear, I have the worst sense of direction ever! So, I was wandering down a street, and ended up asking a young Muslim woman if she knew where my street was. I was expecting her to point me in the right direction, but instead she said, “no, I’m not sure, but let me call my sister, I bet she knows.” So, she called her sister, who had a vague idea. So, she took me in tow with her 3-year old daughter, and she asked 2 different men if they knew where the street was. We found it a minute later, and she walked me right to the street. Wow. I was so impressed and blown away by how much she went out of her way to help a lost traveler. It’s not like I was helpless, and I obviously spoke French, but she still wanted to make sure I was where I needed to be. Wow. That’s one of those “my faith in humanity has been restored” moments. Anyways, I found my hostel, left my things there, and then met up with Northern Harmony and spent the afternoon singing with them. For those of you who don’t know, I used to sing with Village Harmony, and when I found out that they were doing a concert and workshop in the area, I decided that I had to go. It was a blast—it was great to chat with some fellow Vermonters, and we learned 7 great songs. I was really pleased that my voice held out for the 5 hours, and the whole thing just made me smile :)












Northern Harmony (picture stolen from the internet)After, I wandered around the city for a while... Gotta say, Marseilles is not a terribly attractive city. Nor very safe. So, I ended up getting a kebab, going back to the hostel, and just chilling. Actually, it seems like the key word to this whole mini-trip is “lazy traveling,” mostly because... I feel like I’ve done my touristy dues. I’ve traveled, and seen museums, and cathedrals, and eaten interesting food... And now, I’m tired, and don’t really feel the need to get every ounce of cultural experience possible. It’s actually sort of a nice way to travel.
The next day, Sunday, I took a train to Lyon in the morning. I left my bags in a locker at the train station, and spent a while being really confused about where I was... There wasn’t a tourist information office, and only one little map, but I didn’t even know where I wanted to be... Eventually, I asked the right person, and after 2 metro rides, found the tourist office. Hallelujah! I ended up walking around, going through a big market, seeing a nice cathedral with all of these Roman ruins right next to it, and then going up the hill next to the city to see the big cathedral, Notre Dame de Fourvière.













Not going to lie, it was one of the ugliest cathedrals I’ve ever seen. It was built after the Franco-Prussian war in 1871 (I think), because the inhabitants had promised Mary that they would do so if the city wasn’t harmed by the war. It’s enormous though, and there’s actually a second church, essentially, in the crypt. Anyways, though, I’m a purist when it comes to cathedrals, and I don’t like the ornate decorations, especially anything too colorful. Give me some good old fashioned Gothic...


















Entrance to the Cathedral. It was awfully sparkly white.














Apparently the Romans really had a thing for Lyon, because there are ruins all over the place. I think that the amphitheater was recently restored, but there’s this huge area of foundations and such which you can climb all over. I wish there had been some information there, because I really don’t know what the story is...



















Am I artsy or what?














I spent a few hours that afternoon sitting in a nice park, reading a book, and then had a great dinner, which felt like a good way to end my time in France. Salad with goat cheese, cassis kir, lamb, gratin, lemon tart and red wine. Awesome. This is a picture of one of the rivers that goes through Lyon, on my way back to the train station. I collected my bags, took a quick train ride to another train station in the city, and found my bus to Frankfurt.
It was... A long, and not very pleasant ride. 10 hours, and I couldn’t sleep to save my life. But, I survived, and we rolled into Frankfurt am Main at 7:30 the next morning. I got a map, found my hostel (I think this is the first hostel that I haven’t gotten lost trying to find!), and left my bags. I had some breakfast, and then went to the Goethe Haus, where the author was born and raised. I don’t know anything about him, but I like historical houses. So, the house was cool, and then there was a small museum. Most of it wasn’t terribly interesting, but there was a room with Fuseli paintings which are awesome. His painting The Nightmare is actually the very first Symbolist painting I ever studied. Cool stuff. Crazy, and deranged, but super cool.


































Then, I went to a square called Römerberg which had all these old houses, the Rathaus, and a church. Very pretty.














It was actually so cool looking there, that I had a death-by-German lunch to go with the super German setting. Rindwurst, Kartoffelsalat, and Radler. Om nom nom.
Spent the rest of the day wandering around the city, walking around a big park, and then hunting for dinner. Was a little disappointed in the dinner I finally got: bread and cheese (which is normally good, but this cheese was Intense, with a capital I), but I got apfelstrudel for dessert which was awfully tasty.














I was in a cool mirrored elevator... What was I supposed to do?















Next morning, I packed up, and headed for home! Took the train to the airport, and flew to Dublin, where I went through US pre-clearance. For the first time, I had to check “yes” on the farm and livestock questions. It was actually sort of exciting. I went through, talked with the man who then said that I had to go into a back room and answer some questions... It was all very chill, actually. I hadn’t worked with cattle or sheep, hadn’t been very long on the farms, and wasn’t bringing any dirt, seeds or meat products back with me, so all was good. As I was leaving, though, the woman said “were you with WWOOF? I have friends who have done that. Did you enjoy it?” I was very amused.The flight home was very uneventful, and when I got to Boston, Becca was there to pick me up :) We spent the evening together, and watched Supernatural and had ice cream. Good way to come back. I didn’t actually get home for another 5 days, though, because the next day we went to NYC with the rest of the family to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.But now, I am finally home, after being away for 89 days. I was thinking about it, and while I’ve definitely been away from home longer, this is by far the longest time that I’ve ever spent traveling. Overall, it was a good trip. I learned a lot, and got to do new things. I’m a better traveler than I was, and now I can drink a beer, speak German, muck out a stable, harvest carrots and bake bread without a recipe. Hopefully a few other things, as well. I think that the whole trip ended up being a little more stressful than I had expected, because of all the traveling and planning, and everything that was going on with Manuel. Now, Vermont feels like the vacation! But, not for long, because now that my “let’s put off the real world” trip is over, it’s time to start looking for a job! So, wish me luck for the next adventure...!