Caen France

 I stayed in Caen with Patrice, a middle aged French guy who is an amazing cook. 
He had a band staying with him who were recording an album in Caen. They sound like MGMT. Not my cup of tea, but they are pros. I helped the singer with his English lyrics on a song talking about how Bela Lugosi was a heroin addict. Rad guys.




I went to Caen because it is very close to the D Day beaches and I wanted to see the Mémorial de Caen, which is a WWII museum. The best museum ever, in my humble opinion. 

They also had a temporary exhibit about the cold war. It showed both sides and was really well put together.

Side by side US and soviet propaganda videos with consumer goods of the time from each country.  

 Stalin's pipe.

Nantes France

  I had been traveling for a few months by the time I got to Nante and needed to breath a little. 

It worked out perfectly. 

I stayed with a lovely French couple, Mathilde and Simon. 

Mathilde is studying to be a teacher and Simon is a in a rock band that sounds like Alice in Chains. 

The dude is way into grunge. 

Don't ask. 

Rocking out songs from the first Dylan album.

The French know how to cut onions.

I jammed with Simon. It was fun, but also a stark reminder that one starts to suck at the drums if he hasn't played for awhile. 

Toulouse, France

Toulouse is a great college town.

I stayed with a German student named Rike and her French flatmates. 

When I travel I usually take photos in the day and don't take the camera out at night. 

I really regret this M.O. in Toulouse. We went out on a Thursday and there were literally a couple thousand college kids out having a huge street party with a few brass bands. 

Rike said it was just a normal Thursday in Toulouse. 

The guy on the left is an Irish dude who had been hitchhiking around Europe for 10 months.