My favorite things...

Yesterday I re-experienced one of my absolute favorite things: Driving in Europe.  I arrived in Marseille, France 24 hours after leaving my friends in New York City.  This trip should not have taken so long, but due to mechanical issues on the plane, delays, a last minute rerouting, and a lost bag, my little jump over the pond became quite an adventure.  Needless to say I was tired, a little out of sorts, and already running late for my hotel check-in time.  But all of that just added to my excitement as I got into my little rental car, tested out the clutch, and searched for a sign that looked French for exit.  

Once on the road all my problems disappeared and the hour long drive to my hotel in Arles was pure joy.  I love their no-nonsense style of driving here (read: very fast).  And even when I was super lost in the little Roman streets of Arles and was starting to doubt that the hotel even existed, I was smiling.  Finally I pulled over to check the map (to tell the truth, the guy behind me was honking and waving his hands at me like I was crazy and I panicked and pulled over), but before I had a chance to find my place on the map I glanced up and there, low and behold, was my hotel sign hanging right in front of me.  I've posted some photos of Arles below.

The moral of my story is, the long delays and lost baggage were totally worth it, because now I am in France, with a car of my own and adventures in front of me!

Today I'm going to visit Richard Esteban in Aigues-Vives.  Hopefully I'll have pictures to share with you from his workshop in the next few days.  Stay tuned....

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