We eventually land in Marseille. The weather here was considerably different than it was in London. It was hot and humid. I immediately regretted changing into boots and a jacket at Gatwick. Once I got my luggage, I put my flip flops back on, packed up my jacket, and called Yann.
For those of you that don't know, I never found a place to live in Aix. All of the ads seemed sketchy. Most of them were asking for double the rent for a deposit and I checked with my friends overseas--this is not normal. I've known a lot of people to get screwed over by online phishing scams so I opted to stay with a local until I could meet with some property owners face-to-face.
The guy I'm staying with is named Yann. I met him on Couchsurfing.com. This is a pretty amazing site. It's basically a huge network of trust. The idea behind CS is that you post your travel plans online, people living in that area will see those plans and decide whether or not they want to offer you a place to stay. Out of all of my offers, Yann was the only one I was really interested in. He's my age, speaks english, and loves to travel. Other than the fact that he doesn't like pictures (you all know I love my pictures), I felt like I could trust him. Others who offered me a place to stay either had negative references, looked/sounded creepy, or made it perfectly clear that they would only let me stay with them if they could get into my pants...This Yann, he's a good guy. He was up-front from the beginning and seemed really laid back. Just what I like.
I took a bus from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence for 7 Euro. Yann met me at the bus station just like he promised. He offered to help me carry my luggage but you all know I like to bear my own problems. Halfway up the street he just grabs my suitcase from me, which was a lot heavier than I thought. It's because I'm so damn strong! Or...it was because I was used to lugging it around.
We get to his apartment just a few minutes from the bus station which is a small studio, situated in the middle of everything. Perfect for a bachelor. I put a few things away, shower, then Yann takes me out to show me the town. It's a Sunday so most places are shut down. He points out all of the restaurants and bars, assuring me that I will get a job in no time. We stop at a pizza place and grab a pie for home. The entire time we're out he's quizzing me on my french and making sure I'm catching onto regularly used phrases like "Avez-vous commander?" meaning "Have you already ordered?" Trés importante!
We get back to his place, he cracks open some beers that I've never heard of called "1664" which I immediately taste. Yann stops me abruptly, reminding me that I forgot to toast! Mon Dieu! I took 4 years of french in high school and got a french minor in college. How could I forget such a thing?!? I definitely have no clue about french culture. Anyway, the beer tastes like a pilsner which nicely complemented the pizza avec champignons (my favorite). Over dinner, he hands me a copy of his keys and we try get to know each other better. At this point, I realize that if he and I had met in states we would naturally be friends.
By the time dinner's complete, I'm tired of drinking so I suggest a movie. He doesn't have a TV so we hang out on his bed and watch Fargo on his laptop. I wake up halfway through the movie to Yann laughing at me, telling me that I had been snoring. Of course I'm appalled but I'm too tired to care too much and he says he's going to bed too. I noticed earlier the air mattress that was meant for me but we both pass out on opposite ends of his bed, no pillow barrier needed.
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