No kidding, I had my bag stolen last night from less than a metre away from my body whilst I was lying in a park at 5 in the morning looking at the stars like a fool. How does that happen? What kind of freaky person has the ability to do that without me noticing?! Talk about surreal. You know when you just cannot possibly comprehend the reality of a situation, you kinda stand around looking puzzled, saying silly things like ´Where the fuck is my bag?´ and ´How the fuck did that just happen?´. That was me last night. Or this morning, same thing. Of course then we found some random cards, like my drivers licence and my blood donors card, on the ground and then my bag, rinsed of my wallet and phone, next to a rubbish bin. Environmentally concious thief, nice. So of course, what could be more fun than making a trip to the local police station and reporting the stupid crime, all in that confusing language that is spanish, and then spending the early hours of the morning calling australia to cancel credit cards etc etc. Nothing. Nothing is more fun. So, I am writing to say, hi, spain is fun, bilbao is awesome and I am having a great time but I went to bed at 7 this morning and now I am shaky and sweaty, like a glorious giant ball of coagulated fatigue and anxiety, mmm, my favourite.

Anyway, I now have lost all my phone numbers, for the second time this trip, so please, if you want contact from me, send me your phone number, it´s important.

Also, yesterday was the 5 month point of no return - I have been away for ñore or less half my intended time away, and despite some very curious bumps in the night, I feel that actually, it´s not so hard to do this after all and I am bursting in earnest for the next 5 months in spain. (Ok, not right now but maybe tomorrow)

Tomorrow I am taking a sleeper train, with my own little bed and everything, to barcelona. How exciting! Let´s hope my whole freaking backpack doesnt go missing this time.

Adios Amigos!

Sophie

oh, and if you want to see those photos I sent you the link for I think that you have to be friends with me through facebook, sorry. I´m such a social-networking snob right now.

ooh ooh, it's like totally france

how are you all? guess where I am! totally in southern france, doing frenchy things like eating baguettes and kissing people all over their cheeks. i am so french right now, more than I ever have been, and probably ever will be. life after ireland has been blissfully disorganied and bursting with nights with nowhere to stay, running desperately for trains and sweating all over other passengers (yuck, why am i so sweaty?), kayaking in norway, oh, sensibly deciding that it would be clever and witty to ride a bicycle through a 1400m freeway tunnel under a mountain and very nearly being killed by a semitrailer, being detained and interrogated and had my bag thoroughly searched at heathrow airport upon arrival from oslo, staying on random people's couches in the middle of paris qnd hqving picnics on the seine, attempting to speak french without actually knowing how, and finally, being locked out of my hotel at 2 in the morning and being told off like a recalcitrant child by the hotel owner in french.

so far I still haven't made it to spain, but surely by the time you hear from me next I will have moved on to a spanish farm, met a spanish farm boy, taken up farming and decided to stay forever in the bliss that is spain.

seeyou round amigos

sophie