i wrote all this on a napkin and now i’m

honestly i thought this place would be somewhere else. like a postcard. but no. it’s just here. and it’s that weird, gray, and doesn’t throw a single ray of sunlight today. i just checked and it’s…there right now, hope you hate that kind of thing.

i’ll admit i’m not exactly a people person. but i found a coffee shop down a side street with a window that looks like it belongs in a movie. the sign says ‘café noir’ but the owner keeps calling it ‘café noir-er.’ whatever. i ordered what sounded like regular coffee and got this thick sludge with a layer of foam that might’ve been motor oil. tasted like regret. but i’m saving money, right? if you wanna find a better place, check out the reviews on TripAdvisor. or yelp. maybe one of those. i didn’t check either.

the weirdest part? the neighbors. there’s this old man who plays accordion every morning outside his house. not a real performance. just him sitting on a bench hitting a toy accordion with a stick. it’s kinda sad. or maybe it’s genius. who knows. if you get bored, Nice is just an hour’s drive away. i heard that. from a guy in a subway. he looked like he’d rather be anywhere but there. we never talked.

staying at this place called… hmm. it’s got a name but i won’t say it. it’s got Wi-Fi that dies every five minutes. i’m typing this on my phone battery now. i heard that. from a tour guide who asked for money to ‘show me the sun.’ turns out there was a drought. or maybe he just wanted to upsell me.

i walked this town for hours hoping to find light. maybe a photographer would’ve cared. maybe a dancer. but i’m just…me. i found this spot with a bench facing the main street. the street’s empty. just a few old vans parked up. one had a poster for a band that doesn’t exist anymore. or so i think. i asked a local. he just nodded and said ‘welcome to wherever you are.’

here’s a map. maybe it’ll help. i don’t even know where i’m pointing at.

this place has bad weather. and bad decisions. last night i tried to take a photo of a dandelion. it looked like it wanted to vanish. i found three unsplash images while trying to escape this. one’s a dog lounging like it owns the place. another’s a guy on a horse. not sure why. third’s just a white flower. all of them look staged. like they were taken by someone who wasn’t me.

i’m leaving tomorrow. probably before sunrise. if i don’t run out of money first. which i will. i’m a budget backpacker. i bought a sandwich for breakfast. it was cold. and it called itself ‘levains.’ it was a lie. i heard that. from a vendor who didn’t smile.

anyway. this post is messy. like me. like the weather. like everything. hope you like that kind of thing.

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