Backpacking through Europe in 1994

Day 94 • December 9, 1994
Tours, France

I spent the morning helping Barbara paint her ceiling. She had just bought the space for her new real estate agency, and I didn’t have anything else going on, so it felt like the right way to spend the day. We ran out of gas on the way there, which turned into its own little adventure, but we eventually got everything sorted. It was easy being around her. She spoke some English, she was funny, and there was an easy kind of chemistry between us.

But even while I was there, I already knew how the night was going to go.

I had made plans with Marina days earlier, and I wasn’t about to cancel. She had been one of the first people I connected with when I arrived in Tours at the beginning of the trip, and something about seeing her again on my last Friday in Europe felt right. After I got home and took a nap, I showered, grabbed some beer, and headed into town.

What started as a casual night out turned into one of the best evenings of the entire journey. We started at Donald’s Pub, then moved to Buck Mulligans, and eventually landed at the London Pub, where I ran into Paddy — the Irish guy I had met weeks earlier. From there we ended up at the Inox Café, the same place I had gone on my very first Friday night in Tours. Being there again, on my last Friday in Europe, felt like the trip had quietly come full circle.

We stayed out until almost three in the morning, talking, laughing, and moving from place to place like we had all the time in the world. And for once, it actually felt like we did.

Six days left. But on this night, none of that mattered yet.

My Photographs from today in tours, france

With Marina

With Marina

With Marina, my French “girlfriend”, in front of Donald’s Pub. I had met her during my first time in Tours a few months earlier, and it was wonderful to reunite with her. Those days felt like something out of a movie — young love in the middle of the adventure, full of laughter, we smoked cigarettes, drank wine, read La Monde, and had a real connection that made the whole trip even brighter.

Big Smiles

We hammed it up for the camera. Big smiles, arms around each other, just soaking up the joy of being together again. Those playful moments made the time in France unforgettable.

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DAY 94 / 12-9-94
tours, France

I really like Barbara, Rachel’s friend. She speaks some English, is funny, and very good looking. Combined with the fact I was looking for something to do, I agreed to help her at her agency. She picked me up at 10:00 [am], but we ran out of gas before we got to her place. We ran to a gas station, & got everything worked out o.k.

I spent the morning painting her ceiling for her, then we met Rachel at Barbara’s house for lunch. I came home with Rachel, & was tired so I took a nap. I woke up at 6:30 [pm], showered, & left at 7:30 [pm] for Tours.

I picked up some beer on the way to Marina’s house. We talked for a few hours, then decided to go out. First stop was Donald’s Pub. Then we hopped over to Buck Mulligans Pub, then to London Pub, where I ran into Paddy, a guy I met last time I was here. We stayed at the London Pub till it closed at 2:00 [am], then headed over to the Inox Café.

It was nice to spend my last Friday night in France at the same place I was at the first Friday night here.

Marina & I stayed until around 3 [am] or so, then went back to her place.

It was a Fantastic Night!

6 more to go.

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