Ug.

I'm writing you from the common room my hostel (my second Hostel experience ever- shout out to Erin and our I Love Lucy and the blood on the ceiling place in Copenhagen!) and taking refuge from the rancid feet smell in my room. The trade off to the stinky is listening to the young Scottish girls speed talk in barely decipherable English to their loved ones on Skype. Three of them talking at once, all the same tone, all the same pitch, all the same accent.

I'm exhausted today. The Doxy I'm taking not only makes me barf occasionally but it's been giving me nightmares. Two nights ago it was about me and my best friend (Jennifer Beals of Flashdance or L Word fame, of course) being chased, threatened and ultimately attacked by a group of guys. I managed to escape to seek the help of the first cop I found who happened to be Don Johnson. Where does this stuff come from? My dream interpretation skills are on haitus. Last night's was equally creepy and too awful to recap- let's just say I was greatly relieved to wake up to my life. Even as chaotic as it is.

After Stephen so graciously accompanied me to my 7:30 am train, I tortured myself with the following itinerary: train to Marseille, drop stuff off at hostel then take the train to Aix en Provence, intend to spend time there before heading to Avingnon only to discover I can't find the train I need so I go back to Marseille, decide to skip Avingnon and head to Arles, wander Arles (which seems to be closed for the winter) and fail to find any van Gogh spots I seek because they either aren't represented on the tourist map or they are closed for the winter (!!!), head back to Marseille, drop my stuff off in the Feet Room then attempt to stay awake until a respectible hour to go to sleep.

Maybe it's because I'm tired or maybe it is the (what day is it?) six weeks of travel under my belt so far but I am really really REALLY looking forward to settling in for a bit. And looking forward to not seeking lodging. And not carrying my luggage. Man, I am wussing out. I think tomorrow will be a better day after 12 or so hours of sleep. Marseille is gorgeous (did you know it was on the Mediterranean??? Did I fall asleep that day in Geography class?) and I'm looking forward to exploring. (Count of Monte Cristo castle, anybody?) I just hope I don't smell like feet all day.

Will write more later as soon as I ca- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz