After landing in Paris December 28th, I embarked on almost three weeks of nonstop travel. Miles and I spent the first minutes of 2006 under the Eiffel Tower, shouting "bonne annee" among a sea of French partyers. We rented a tiny apartment rather than a hotel in the first arrondissement, prime Paris real estate: less than five minutes from the Louvre, 10 minutes from the the tower itself. Though cold and a bit snowy, we had a blast in the time we were there. Next stop: Bordeaux. We finally made it to the City of Vin Rouge after 7 hours of waiting in Gare Montparnasse, and a 3 hour train ride. Arrived in Bordeaux late, and stayed one night in Hotel de Famille: absolutely the worst hotel in the world. Water damaged ceiling, cracked linoleum floor, bugs on the wall. Needless to say, we slept in our clothes. I'll post photos as they become available. After a few cloudy days exploring the city's offerings: a beautiful river, a great above ground metro and an intriguing modern art museum, we set off for Spain, at last. We arrived in San Sebastian and spent a wonderful few days in a pension with a perfect tea room overlooking the main drag of the city. We hiked, drank and ate, witnessed a religious parade, and gazed longingly at the amazing waterfront. After that, a quick day trip to Bilbao where we experienced 5 hours of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim museum. Once again, only pictures can describe it. I'll post when I get my computer working. Finally it was back to Madrid where we at last had free lodging. Though still cloudy, we made the most of it. I saw many classic Madrid sites: Plaza Mayor, Parque del Buen Retiro, Museo del Prado. Attended a few classes with Miles where I understood nothing, as it was all in Spanish. :) Got a small glimpse of the night life which is world renowned, though a little less vibrant in the cold winter months. Ate more than once at Maoz, the most delicious falafel house at great low prices. Spent quite a bit of time at Miles' new apartment: a great little place with a nice big kitchen, in close proximity to a main metro line. After a week or so of museum going and having a general blast with Miles, it was time to head to Aix. I took a 16 hour overnight bus from Madrid to Marseille: pretty long and a little bit uncomfortable, but relatively cheap and easy. That is where vacation ended, and study abroad began. But, is there really a difference???