Wilson had arrived, and our last day in France was spent with Gunta and Janis at a Vide Grenier a little ways out and where Wilson found some vintage flying goggles and I a skeleton key for a necklace among the other finds of the day. Once we could walk no longer without food we walked into the nearest restaurant, McDonalds, to see what the French menu had to offer. A few nights before Gunta and I laughed over the website and the funny things you could get in various countries and I saw the “Croque McDo” and I laughed hard enough and vowed I needed to try this. We did. Admittedly it wasn’t near as exciting as the Deluxe fries or the beer we shared with our meal but it was an experience no less. After a quick stop to see St-Paul-de-Vence we continued to the little village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup where I finally got to play my first game of Boules or, “petanque” as it’s called here.
It was a late night but I wouldn’t expect much else when you’re only together for a few days. The next morning we loaded our bags into the car and we were dropped off in Nice for the train ride east to Genoa (Genova) Italy!
It wasn’t until we were really en route that I realize how much I dislike going somewhere without knowing how to speak enough to get by. Sure I’ve been to Italy before but having lived somewhere in no-man’s land between French and English leaves little room for Italian to enter back in. I literally felt like I knew nothing. First stop! A phrase book. It’s probably the worst phrase book I’ve ever seen but it was the only one we could find and so I made whatever notes I could so we had some chance of getting by.
On first glance you’d imagine Genoa to be pretty grim. Not like the pristine cities I’ve been seeing. There was a different atmosphere to be sure but as we wander it was easy to be taken by it’s charm and forget the areas all too close to the train station. And to end the night off, a little dance party in our hotel room. What could be more perfect?
