Bonjour Paris, Ciao Italy!

Couchsurfing keeps getting more amazing... After leaving our host in London and taking the Eurostar (what Americans call the Chunnel) we arrived to the chaos in the form of a large Parisien train station. . . It was not love at first sight, nor even second. Everything took about twice the amount of time due to the language barrier, and reorientation. After many hours in the trains station, we stored our bags and stroll down the San Martin Canal while waiting to meet Pauline, our next CS host. Being a bit antsy, I took a run down the canal and stumbled upon the largest park in Paris, complete with rolling red raised walkways and waterside cafes. It still felt isolating to not understand everything people were saying!
Fortunately, all of that disapated when we met Pauline and Yvan (her brother), both of whom welcomed us into the flat. Even though we stayed only four nights, it felt like visiting friends who I had known for a long time. We spent the days wandering around the various neighborhoods and soaking up Paris and hung out with our hosts at night. Most of our time spent with them was laughing at their hilarious antics (imagine a French impersonation of Gollum or Little Miss Sunshine!) and talking about life. Trying to see all the sights was fun, but it was really the people that made it the best experience so far!
After Paris, we headed from the big city life to meet up with Linda, our next host in the small mideival town of Colmar, near Germany. She spirited us off to quaint colorful village and we spent the weekend eating delectible French cuisine (my mouth is watering for tarte flambee as I write this!). It was a restful break after the big city spurt. Two days later I found myself watching locals from Basel, Switzerland floated down the Reine clutching inflatable totes with their clothes inside (brilliant!) and wished I could join them!
Then to Italy, Cinqueterra, the beautiful hill towns of the Riviera. . . only it took 13 hours to get there, including getting on the wrong train, passing Riomaggiore (our stop) three times and getting squeezed into rush hour trains with our packs and hundreds of sweaty bodies coming from the beach. Maybe this was providence, because on arrival we found ourselves in a private room with a terraza overlooking to sea and city square instead of a dorm due to an overbooking! Words cannot describe Cinqueterra, except for the crystal clear blue green salty sea that was soooo refreshing after that day of travel. Look for some pictures soon! I am in Siena now and should take a siesta before going to explore...
Ciao!