The Spain-France Border is a Wash

"Could it get any worse?" said Ross right after it started raining while we were all huddled on the platform at the Marseille train station at 3am. The train station luckily had a roof over the platform, but unluckily it leaked, more so when it started pouring. It did then get worse because the drainage grate 20 feet from us suddenly erupted with water and started spreading across the previously dry platform. We all scrambled for dry land, ‘we’ now consisted of Beatrice, Peter and three others who were about the same age as us:

Marino - the Yugoslavian gypsy we met in Nice who was headed to Spain to find more gypsies whom with he could start a band. (Though we thought the title Gypsy was not PC, that is how he introduced himself.) He spoke at least 6 languages, and would wander up to a person and go through his list until they found a common language.

Martin - the multilingual Bavarian surfer on his way to study somewhere in Spain. Also the only one that spoke decent French, he was a savior.

Ross - the Brit on who was headed to Barcelona to meet up with his girlfriend to catch a connecting flight to somewhere else.

Our train was canceled halfway through its route due to rain and floods along the tracks, and all trains and roadways into Spain from France were closed as well. So we were quite stuck in Marseille, as many of the trains within the country had also been canceled. Marino told us that Marseille was very dangerous and we should stick together, then he pantomimed some stabbing and shooting gestures. Luckily there were about fifty (give or take) people from our train in the same predicament and more from other trains. We met Martin and Ross on the platform and they confirmed that with us and suggested we all stay awake because "Marseille is the most dangerous city in Western Europe." Since most of the trains had been canceled (except to Paris) we decided to temporarily scrap our plans to meet up with our friend Marc in Spain, and took the next train to Paris. We checked into our small, cheep, hotel room two blocks from the Louvre and then checked out the Notre Dame Cathedral.