Baguettes, Beignets, and the French Police

The next morning we both woke up in much better moods than the ones we went to bed in. We actually got some rest and were eager to get back out on the road and continue our journey, that day making our way to Nice. We helped ourselves to the Vertigo’s breakfast, careful to prepareContinue reading “Baguettes, Beignets, and the French Police”

The Night I Snuck Into the Notre Dame de la Garde, Part 3

The streets of Marseille are as quiet as any after midnight. The air was thin and cool. The streets that led to the cathedral were lined with Renault cars and Vespa scooters and a surprising amount of Harley Davidson motorcycles, all crammed onto the sidewalks or wherever their owners could park them. Anouk led the wayContinue reading “The Night I Snuck Into the Notre Dame de la Garde, Part 3”

The Night I Snuck Into the Notre Dame de la Garde, Part 2

The Vertigo was surprisingly empty that early at night. Save for the front desk attendant we seemed to be the only ones there. The WiFi wasn’t reliable in our room and Harman needed to get some paperwork filled out online, so we relegated ourselves to the common area next to the kitchen. Nobody was cookingContinue reading “The Night I Snuck Into the Notre Dame de la Garde, Part 2”

The Night I Snuck Into the Notre Dame de la Garde, Part 1.

Getting off the bus outside the station in Marseille left us a bit dazed and confused. It was hot – much hotter than we had expected after sitting in the conditioned air of the bus for the previous eight hours, and even more so with 20-40 pounds of clothing hanging from our backs. Harman andContinue reading “The Night I Snuck Into the Notre Dame de la Garde, Part 1.”

That Tricky, Tainted Four Letter Word

Jack Kerouac, the beat-generation darling responsible for fueling countless road trips and soul- searching backpackers over the last six decades, once wrote, “The road is life.” This is by far the easiest of his quotes for people of all ages to prophesize, exploit, and it resides among others like, “Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’tContinue reading “That Tricky, Tainted Four Letter Word”