So, I left my beautiful vacation in San Sebastian and am moving north. France is beautiful but very tough to talk to people. I arrived in Bordeaux, France last night around 10 o'clock and didn't have a place to stay but I knew of some hotels in the area. All booked. So I wandered the area and found the park a little sketchy. Where to sleep? Not even lying, saw a merry-go-round in the corner of the park and walked on over. I was gonna sleep there no matter what. The tough choice was either to sleep in the tea cup or the airplane. I went for the tea cup and am glad a did. Great night of sleep under the stars surrounded by horses and airplanes. Tonight I found a hotel so don't worry. My lost in translation moment. In every country, I am splurging on a dinner to really get the culture. Well, today I chose my french restaurant. Shouldn't be too difficult, right? I started off by sitting down, took care of that. Then the beautiful french waitress came to me and said about a thousand french words in which I replied with a long blank stare. She handed me a menu' (all french). I asked for an english menu', she brought me water instead. I pointed to 3 items on the menu' that were reasonably priced (over my budget, but too late to walk away). First course was a square piece of meat with 4 different sauces around it. I didn't want to know what type of meat, but it was amazing. Then the next one came over and it was even better. Baked salmon on a risotto. I did alright when the dessert was even better. Anyways, I am off to Paris tomorrow to relax... I found a nice little hotel in the city called something like Moulin Rouge? or something like that, i am not quite sure but I heard plenty of girls stay there. Just kidding. Ah, the city of love, Paris. Even more beautiful by myself with a bottle of wine. Picture that in your mind. Me in my french baree' (spelling?) and a cheap bottle of wine. Priceless. Talk to you again soon. Cooley