Unfortunately, not much has happened in the last couple of days. So, let’s see: what on earth is going on? My last entry was from the train from Zurich to Milan. In Milan I jumped on a train to Bologna, only to discover that I needed a reservation. Oops! The conductor was frustrated and scolded me in Italian. She eventually said, “I’ll let you pass this time,” or something like that, since I only had 9 euros and the ticket cost 16. Never again will I jump on a Eurostar train without checking; it was not worth the hassle. I ended up in Bologna, checked my email, wrote long messages to everybody, and eventually caught a rough night train south.

I have a couple of days to cover, and they have been quite adventurous. Two days ago, I eventually arrived in Monterosso after a few detours and losing track of my friends. The first thing on my list was food; I was very hungry. After eating and practising a little Italian with the waitress, I headed down to see the beach. I met a few women nearby and mentioned that I planned to camp there. They told me that several American women were planning to do the same. Good luck! I walked onto the beach in high spirits and saw one of them sitting in a chair while three others were in the water. I asked, “Are you the Americans I heard were going to camp on the beach?” She replied, “I don’t know …

Not much happened, so I decided to catch a train somewhere. I did not really know where, and did not particularly care. I boarded a train to La Spezia, or somewhere like it, then changed trains and continued beyond Pisa. The funniest part was seeing Jenn at a station from the train when it stopped. Ha! She looked great, as usual. Now I am on another train heading somewhere south. I still do not know where, and still do not mind. I am in a comfortable cabin with several people, and nobody is asking me for money. As I did two nights ago, I plan to sleep on the beach, although tonight’s destination does not have one. What shall I do? I will get some food when I leave the train, and everything will become …

I’m in Nice at the moment, and yesterday was quite grand. We arrived rather early in the morning yesterday, at about 8:00 a.m. We found our hotel pretty quickly, and I ended up sleeping for the most part of the day. Much needed! At about 5:00 we set off on our cross-town adventure where we wandered over to the Russian Cathedral on Nicholas Avenue, which Nicholas II gave to Nice many years ago, and then wandered down to the beach. We walked along the beach for quite a while, crossed into Old Nice and wandered through the little narrow streets. We got a little turned around in the streets and ended up seeing some pretty awesome memorial plaques from the world wars, I think. Eventually we ended up at …

Well, I woke up and got a little food from a pastry shop. It was so good. I checked my bag at the train station, while Sibyl and Ash kept theirs at the hotel. At about noon, we caught a train to Monaco, then a bus to Genoa (I think), followed by another train. This is where things started to get interesting. In Genoa, we boarded a train headed toward one of the Cinque Terre towns, but I climbed into a different section from Sibyl and Ashley. The train travelled one stop and then simply stopped. I met two women from Florida, Rosie and Marxy, and we claimed some first-class seats. After a while, the train began travelling in the opposite direction. Oh no! A few other passengers were also wondering what was …

We are in Nice now and have been for quite some time. We arrived this morning and quickly found our hotel. We are getting good at reading maps and finding our way around new towns. The hotel is all right. It is fairly run-down, but it is a place to sleep, so I can’t complain. I have spent most of the afternoon sleeping and recovering from several days of very little rest. Soon I am going to walk around with Sibyl and Ash, visit a Russian cathedral, and find some pastries. Speaking of pastries, I met an attractive Hungarian woman named Anna on the train. She invited me to stay at her flat in Paris, although I already had a place to stay. In hindsight, it was early and I wasn’t quite thinking. …

It has been a few days since I last wrote, and Barcelona has been busy in the best possible way. I started the day at the hostel, grabbed some breakfast, and walked over to my new hostel to check in. After a few suspenseful minutes at the door, I made it into room 306 and met the first of several new roommates. From there I went back out toward the Sagrada Familia, wandered around the cathedral, and reminded myself that I was getting better at the subway system. There is a strange confidence that comes from navigating a language you do not really speak, but can sort of understand if you squint hard enough.

I woke up at the hostel and eased into the day with coffee at a small cafe. Hostels make for memorable people-watching, and this one was no exception: a rotating mix of travellers, beach plans, late nights, and people trying to figure out where the next train would take them. We spent the afternoon at the beach, then returned to the hostel for a nap before meeting a larger group for the evening. About 20 people were heading out together, which sounds organized until you remember that this was a hostel group in Barcelona. I did not know exactly where we were when we arrived, but everyone seemed happy enough to be there.

What an eventful day! I do not even know where to begin, where the adventure starts, or where the insomnia blurs with reality in a dizzying haze. I left the airport after getting some change and finding my bags. Despite some family concern about me travelling alone, everything went smoothly: finding baggage claim in Spanish, getting change from an ATM, getting smaller bills for the bus, and catching the right bus. I jumped on the A1 and headed for Catalonia. I asked the bus driver to alert me at my stop, and he did. First on the agenda: find some food.

I am quite glad to be on an American keyboard; European keyboards take some getting used to! So, let’s see: life is indeed quite interesting. After taking a long nap, I woke up to two women moving in. Being my outgoing self, I asked, “So, where are you both from?” That is where it all started. They joined a few friends and me on our adventures for the night. They were both charming, but both were already seeing people. But on to the story.