St. Tropez to Marseilles - Day 99

Date: November 25th, 2009
Distance: 160km
Country: France
Song of the Day: Lighting the Way - Superdrag

I woke up and went to pay for the camping. They wanted 20 euro! I guess this is their cheapest rate is for a camper with elecricity and two people. I tried to bargain with the lady because I was just one person in a little tent. I didn't even stay in one of the sites because they were all gravel. Instead I pitched my tent in a spot of weeds and grass in between sites. Nope, their system only allows for that as their minimum price. Instead the lady just let me go. She said not to worry about it. Very cool.

The rest of the day was pretty much just long. It was dark long before I got to Marseilles. I almost pitched up in the woods along the road. But I really wanted to get into Marseilles. Actually I was hoping to find other Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving with. I love Thanksgiving. It is the only purely American holiday. Plus it is all about eating good food and hanging out with good people.

So I kept going. Getting into town was hell though. It was up and over this giant plateau. Just a grind up hill. That did mean that the last jog into town was all downhill. I was just flying down the crooked road in the dark. Sheer drops on one side. I was very glad that I had new batteries in my light. It wasn't scary, just a lot of fun. It did take me a bit to find where the hostel was. When I got there though, bad news, they were all booked up. Crap.

I was about to leave with this nice girl Julian, who was staying there, offered me a bit of food. She figured that she couldn't send me away without having something to eat after biking all day. How sweet is that? Well we ended up talking for a couple of while. It turns out she is a volunteer in Morocco. So I told her all about my plans for getting down there.

Before too long we also started talking with two other American guys. Both from around Seattle. Small world, huh? One of the guys, Andrew, was working in Marseilles as an english teacher. He wasn't actually staying at the hostel, but had when he first arrived. So now he would just come back to hang out with some of his friends who worked there. We ended up talking about Thanksgiving and he ended up inviting us all over to his place. Sweet! I am really excited. I didn't want to miss Thanksgiving. So at least I had one thing accomplished

The next thing I had to do was get a place to stay. It turns out the other guy, John, also needed a place to stay. So we decided to set off together and find a cheep place to crash for the night. Neither of us minded sharing a room at a hostel so we figured one room for two people would work. We found a low cost hotel near the train station. Now this place was a dump. Not like the place in Allassio where it was antiquated and quint. This place was just lame. Also there was only one bed. I think both John and I were thinking a room for two people would have two beds. We were wrong.

At least we had a place to stay. Now both of us wanted something to eat. There was a pizza/sandwich/kebab shop down the street that was open. We had some "sandwiches" which consisted of a hamburger patty and lettuce and tomatoes and fries in demi-baguette. Good food. The conversations was interesting... The proprietor was Algerian. He had some things to say about Israel. But overall was very nice.

From there John and I headed back to the hotel to go to bed. Now, I should remind you that I wasn't really expecting to be sleeping with anyone when I woke up in the morning. I was hoping, of course, but that fantasy had involved an attractive girl who had invited me to stay on her 80 meter super yacht. Well, that wasn't what happened. Instead I ended up in bed with a guy I had only met hours before. Such if life though, right? Actually, that is sort of what traveling is about. Getting something unexpected. Not bad, just something I hadn't foreseen. So life is fun.

-Dravis