I've been travelling for almost a month now, and I'm only now starting to keep a blog. Why, you ask? Well, it has a lot to do with the loneliness of travelling by myself. I've met a lot of people, and I spent the last five days with an old friend (more on that later), but I do have a lot of alone time, and boredom can set in pretty fast if I don't keep busy.

Anyway, I spent the last five days in Dijon with Sophie Fasne, who did an English/French exchange to my highschool in 2000 (almost nine years ago. Wild!). She saw that I was in Europe via facebook and invited me to come visit if I was in France. I am so glad I did. For one thing, this is the first time I haven't felt like a tourist in a long time. My first day here she picked me up from the railway station. I did the old North American hug, which was awkward, because the French don't do that (and, anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not really a hugger anyway). Then she took me to her house, introduced me to her boyfriend Nicol, and fed me (avocados, tomatoes, mozzarella, and cheese in a salad... mmmmm). Then she showed me around Dijon.

Dijon is a gorgeous little town, with lots of medieaval architecture, and little villages with vineyards surrounding it. It is the home of Dijon mustard (although I've been told that the mustard is no longer made in Dijon, and even when it was most of the mustard seeds were imported, primarily from Canada). Also, all throughout the area are little villages with vineyards. They are beautiful, and the wine is great. Sophie took me on a drive through them on the way to her parents country house (which was huge and beautiful).

Anyway, on my first night here Sophie and her boyfriend had a barbeque with many of their friends, all of whom were extremely nice. I didn't understand most of the conversation, but I didn't mind. I'll go so far as to say it was pleasant. The next day I slept in and went into town to wander for a while in the afternoon.

Wednesday we went to the country house. We stopped in a village and drank some wine and sampled five kinds of local cheese. I was in my element. At the house Sophie, her brother Tomas, and two friends (Sam and RoRo) played cards, while her younger brother Antoine studied. I finished Murakami's Wild Sheep Chase and dangled my legs in the pool. Later we went to a nice restaurant for supper with some of the people from the bbq and a few new faces. I ate two courses of cheese (St. Martine and camembert) and had more wine. A more glorious day I could not have had. Then some of us went to watch a free concert/circus in a park and then to an Irish pub (McCarthys). What a detailed account I am giving! Sophie and I soon left, and I passed out when I got home. Today I did not do much. I took advantage of the free laundry facilities, and met Sophie in town for a drink. It rained so I came back pretty early, and then just lounged around for a while. Tomorrow I am off to Bern!Local tradition states that if you place your left hand on this owl and make a wish, that wish will come true.