Hello Everyone!

Well what an eventful week it has been filled with many new experiences, stories, and great company that has made this week a huge highlight for my time here in Hossegor. Last Sunday we had our good friends Jeff Goodman and Katey Heline come to visit us here in Hossegor for about 5 days that were filled with constant fun and activities with great friends. Both had been in Europe this summer finishing up trips; Katey had been studying in Granada Spain, one of the places that I will be going to later this summer, since February and finished her foreign study in May and has been backpacking around Europe since. And Jeff, who had just been to Israel on Birth Right, a Jewish opportunity to visit the motherland, since mid June and then spent around 10 days in Paris before arriving here.

Once they both arrived, which turned out to be a lot more difficult that any of us would have expected due to finding friends in foreign countries with everyone not having cell phones can be a real trick to get right, and with trains that halt and alter previous planned routs. They both ended up getting here by 2 a.m. With everyone excited to see each other we set off into the town to show them what Hossegor was like. Our days consisted of going to the beaches to bask in the hot sunny weather, jumping off the bridge countless times that connects Hossegor into the beautiful blue lake/bay, strolling about the town, getting amazing food such as splitting various brick oven pizzas covered in delicious toppings, Crepes, cafe's, and my favorite Mussels and Fries on our last night together in the town center for a cook out in celebration of Bastilles Day, the French Independence day, and dancing to the point of utter exguastation nightly! This week has truly been a memorable experience that has been etched into my physe both mentally and physically, due to the fact that this week has also been one of the most painful weeks also. On Tuesday morning I awoke to immense pain in my back, after trying to cope it into better shape for the remainder of the day, I stupidly decided to continue to play hard and dance even harder and was then forced on Wednesday to go to the doctor to see if there was anything seriously wrong with me. Turned out to be just a pulled muscle and with the help of the cheap medicine that they serve here, I was feeling much better by just that afternoon as the 4 or us along with a few of Matt's friends from Hossegor were gathered around the TV watching the women's soccer game of France vs. the US. With a tromping victory and many jeers and jokes, we were all in high spirits and truly enjoying our time together.

On Thursday, we were giving the full seven course meal of French culture. July 14 marks the French Independence Day, known as Bastilles Day. We awoke to a beautiful day of sun and warm weather that helped to give the day a perfect mood! Arriving downtown we strolled the street shops and decided to eat at the local Craperie. After a wonderful meal of new and delicious crepes, we went to the beach to soak in a few more rays and try to even out the odd tans that we all got from the first day, and relax with the other Frenchies who were also celebrating for the day. Stopping to jump the bridge a few times on the way home, and pick up some wine for the night we cleaned up and then were back downtown in a few hours for an AMAZING mussels and fries, a French specialty even though the dish is from Belgium, in the town center. Eating these savory and salty morsels in the midst of the hundred or so others, I felt truly satisfied with this week. After we were completely full and could no longer eat another bite, we strolled over to the lake to get front row seats for the firework show that was soon to happen. As the fireworks explode overhead, and bottles of wine and champagne were shared we prepared our self to go downtown to the bars for dancing and fun. Looking back on this great time that we were able to share with friends, I feel extremely lucky to be given this amazing opportunity.

With our friends leaving on Friday, Matt and I fell back into our routine of relaxing and surfing. Stopping to jump the bridge, I had the rare occurrence of a close up experience with a jellyfish. After jumping the bridge, I was swimming over to the side to come out when a few boys on the edge started to point and yell at me in French, of course me not able to understand what they were saying, looked at them with a dumbfounded look and after looking around to see what the commotion was all about found out that there was a large Jellyfish just a foot ahead of me in my direct path. I quickly swam "around" it to get out of the water, but in my rash manner got a bit tangled up in its long tentacles and suddenly felt a stinging pain on my wrists and legs. Once out of the water I quickly discovered that there was still a string of the stinger on me and pulling it off started to feel the pain that these "fish" are known for. Stopping off at a medic station for a quick check to make sure that nothing really bad was going to happen, we were assured that I would be fine after we got some cream on it and the remaining stingers out of me. All in all was definitely not a traumatic experience but dose making one hell of a story! Had a great morning session the next day where I was able to get some great shots of Matt as he surfed the early morning swell. I didn't go surf cause I have been resting and healing my back, which is completely fine now!

Yesterday we also went to the nearby town of Biarritz! This VERY wealthy city rests on steep cliffs that rise out of the sea. We arrived in the afternoon with many of Matt's friends that all come to Hossegor in the summer, and the 8 of us spent the afternoon basking on the rocks that cover the beach and watched the various people surfing in the break and about the water. In the evening we got some food from a cheap burger joint, yes I know I should not be eating burgers in France where there are so many other things to have and try, but they were cheap and good and did the job. In the evening we met up with a few other friends and went to a outdoor concert on the beach for a while and then to a friends apartment for the evening to party and meet more people. We ended the night by going to the bars down the road, and eventually made it back to the cars to fall asleep at some random hour or the night completely exhausted and ready to sleep off some of the effects of the night. Woke up all tightly packed into the car this morning, and after the quick drive back to Hossegor, got into a real bed for some real sleep. Overall it was a great time where we got to party with new people in new places and have many new experiences, I expect that this summer holds many more nights similar to these.

Well Au revoir for now!

Fils du Voiture (my name/nickname here, but it's my literal translation of Carson)