I left you in Marseille and, thankfully, I seem to have left my bad luck there as well. In fact, just a few hours after blogging about my current lack of sunshine and rainbows I saw THIS from the window of the train to Dijon.
A rainbow! And sunshine! I silently thanked the universe. I spent a restorative weekend visiting my friends, April and Guillaume, who I met in DC and relocated to Dijon about a year ago. 
Guillaume is French (you may have guessed) and was a host-extraordinaire during my visit. From meeting me inside the train station when I arrived, to dropping me off when I left (at 6:15am and even walked me into the station), to cooking the MOST delectable meals (seriously…I awoke to fresh croissants and coffee, while he was in the kitchen preparing the next meal of fresh pasta and tomatoes- that. he’d gotten at the market that morning!). April was also absolutely incredible, as she ALWAYS is, helping me to wash and dry every single item in my suitcase in HOT water (in a never before used cycle of their fancy washer called “Hygiene”). Each cycle took about 3 hours but I’m not taking any chances with those bed bugs. Thankfully (yes, I’m knocking on wood with both hands right now) there have been no further signs and I’m thinking I left them in Marseille, hopefully to keep my bad luck company. They deserve each other!
My weekend in Dijon gets 5+ stars, thanks to April and G. What a beautiful and quaint town they live in and their place is just steps from the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral. Here I am rubbing a sculptured knob on the cathedral wall that’s supposed to bring good luck (as if I need it!). 
I enjoyed touring about the town and the bustling Saturday markets, trying my first escargot (yum!!!), meeting several of their super-cool friends, and going to my first pro rugby match. We crammed a lot in- as one does when you have Super-hosts! Aside from the food (so many delicious things!) the rugby experience was especially amazing- I can’t believe how physical it is and with no helmets or protective gear. I feel like most kids ages 0-10 go through daily life with more bodily protection than these men, who are tackling each other like NFL players!
It took four trains (five if you include a tram), a plane, and an automobile to travel from Dijon to my next destination, Cinque Terre. This local had been highly recommended by a few friends whose travel opinions I trust (thank you Josie and Kate!). It was so worth the long journey, as the beauty of this coastline is unlike anything I’ve seen before. And the hiking…don’t even get me started. So, Cinque Terre consists of and 10,000 acres of national park, a rugged coastline (along the bluest Mediterranean you can imagine), and hiking trails connecting five picturesque towns, that are tucked away like puzzle pieces into the cliffs. 
On my first day I took an off-the-beaten path hike that my hotel proprietor had recommended (he said it was his favorite). OMG. This 2.5 hour hike between Corniglia and Manrola (towns #2 and #3) was beyond spectacular! It wove through olive trees and vineyards overlooking the sea- it’s even prettier than this in real life. 
While it wasn’t a crowded trail I met a wonderful couple and we hiked the second half together. Andrea and Tim are my kinda people. They hail from Pennsylvania and despite having been married for many years and having two children (their son has hiked the Appalachian trail!) they continue to prioritize “experiences” over “things.” They talked about early in their marriage when their living room was bare so they could travel. And just last year they travelled around New Zealand with their children, in a camper. It sounded phenomenal! 
I treated myself to one delish and semi-fancy dinner while I’m Cinque Terre, at a place I had read about in the NYT called Rio Bistrot. It was so worth it and I had the best sea bass ever (to date) as part of a tasting menu.
I couldn’t leave Cinque Terre without a final hike, this one to a sanctuary I’d seen majestically looming above me for days. On the trail I met a woman from Ireland who was traveling by herself for the first time ever. After she recounted a nightmarish travel experience to get there the day before, we stopped for a breather. While drinking water and admiring the view in silence she took a deep breath of the fresh sea-mountain air and said “It’s quite lovely isn’t it?” Although the view was lovely, what she meant was traveling solo. Yes…indeed, it is.
On to Milan! So I do fly by the seat of my pants sometimes but this was extreme (even for me), as I got on a train from Cinque Terre with no confirmed place to stay in Milan. I figured this wouldn’t be a prob and I’d book something on the train. What I did not know is that I was arriving on the first day of the infamous Fashion Week. Ug. I’m not exactly a fashionista (apologies to those asking me to start a travel-fashion blog) and all this meant to me was that it very difficult (and expensive) to find a place to stay for two nights. The Air bnb selection was dwindling and coming off my Marseille experience I wasn’t going to chance it. Especially as I’d awoken every night since that fateful evening dreaming (nightmaring?) about bed bugs crawling on me. I splurged on a Scandinavian hotel where everything was white and I slept like a baby. Only having one full day in the city, I definitely made the most of it. I did a quick morning tour of the main sites and was astounded by the beauty of their downtown monuments and humongous castle, as well as the grandiose Duomo. I hadn’t planned on touring the inside of the Duomo but once I saw the outside I HAD to. How could I not see the inside of something so spectacular?? 
I had thought the beauty in Milan would be focused on the fashion shows, but I was wrong. Although I did see some (less beautiful) evidence of fashion week around the Duomo area.
That afternoon I was aggressive to make my way to Lake Como…but after hearing so much about it, I HAD to! And I’m so glad I did. I took an afternoon train and arrived in time for a 2.5 hour boat ride to Veranna (one of their many beautiful villages). Unfortunately (because I had to catch the train back) I wasn’t able to explore much in the town itself, but feel like I got the gist…enough to need to go back for sure. The lake views literally take your breath away.
I debated getting take-out for dinner and eating in my hotel room (as I had the night before), but decided to take in whatever last breaths of the city I could and ventured to the restaurant across the street from my hotel. While it was not packed, I was not the only solo diner and quickly started conversing with anither woman sitting alone, just two tables down. She joined me and and I loved chatting with her- it really made my night! Her name is Evalein and she’s from Holland and is in Milan to cover Fashion Week for one of the big Dutch dailies, Volkskrant Magazine. I hope we can stay in touch!
Evalein told me that most people in Milan right now are here for Fashion Week and this was confirmed when I realized the tall, young blonde women next to me getting scrambled eggs at the hotel breaky buffet were Fashion Week models and not members of a Scandinavian volleyball team (that had been my theory the previous morning). I sat next to a few of them this morning and they were so sweet as they talked about their head being sore from a headdress they had to wear yesterday and how they were 30 min late for their fitting-time but didn’t care as “a girl has to eat.” I was so proud and told them so! They were off to model at Fendi, Gucci, and Dolce Gabana shows today. They were glad that one of those brands (can’t remember which) wasn’t using “celebrity models” anymore and went back to the pros like them.
This has been a lot for one blog but the past week has been a lot, in a very good way! It felt like it was a reward from the universe.
Just landed in Morocco…excited to break ground on a new continent!