Home Sweet Home?

---

Back from Stuttgart already. The time passed way too quickly this weekend, but I suppose that's to be expected when you're really enjoying yourself. Needless to say, everything was great.

I got in 20 minutes before Nicholas and it was extremely easy to find him at the train station. After we met up we were off to find our hotel, which proved to be a bit farther away than we had origionally thought. Luckily Nicholas is now a pro with the german rail-lines.

Unfortunately, neither of us is a pro at directions on foot. We got off of the S-Bahn only to be lost again.

But wait! There was a beacon of hope and warmth in the middle of the cold Stuttgart night. Nicholas and I had happened upon the German mix of the Platdeutch and Tommys (both Grand Island digs). And it was delicious. We were welcomed with open arms by a gang of 60 + drunkereds who only spoke German and who were clearly enjoying the synthesized German polka music that was blasting from the speakers of the live band. Now just to clarify... this is the kind of place where the 70 year-old employees wear lederhosen and peasant dresses. I hope you all have a vibrant mental image of my first impression of Germany.

After that experience, and it truly was a dining experience, we finally found our hotel. This hotel was great. It was contemporary and chic, and on top of that there were bowls of gummy bears sitting out on every table. It was a dream. Nicholas and I spent most of our time in Stuttgart just wandering around the hotel. We didn't even make it to downtown Stuttgart, instead we opted for makeshift sandwhiches of rosemary ham and cheese on a baguette.

I'm sure you're all growing tired of the minute details I've given you, so suffice it to say that I had an absolutely lovely time. The only bad part was saying goodbye. But no worries; we're thinking of meeting in Paris in about three weeks. I'll be poor from all my trips when I get home, but I think it's worth it.

On another traveling note: I'm off to Paris on Weds morning for a whirlwind of culture and Parisienne style. I'm very excited to observe the women of Paris, and I hope that there won't be throngs of tourists (like myself) to get in the way of my non-scientific research of Paris fashion and attitude.

Since I'm living in the dorms directly after my trip to Paris, tomorrow is my last night with my host family. I'm extremely excited to be on my own, but I did have a nice experience. I'm going to miss the good food, nice people and free wireless, but I think it'll be good for me to stike out on my own and learn to survive on baguettes and peanut butter.

Please send some soon, mom!

So yes. All is well here. Another entry apres Paris!

---