The Amazing Adventures of a Nobody, a reality show in which Leon Logothetis explores the world through the kindness of strangers, has just begun filming it's third season in Europe. Armed with only five euros a day, Leon must make it from Paris to Moscow by hitching rides, crashing on floors, and showing a complete disregard for conventional rules: Asking someone you've only met if you can stay on their couch is a tough thing to do, but it's even harder when you don't even speak their language. Leon is sending us updates from his trip, and we'll post them once a week.
I arrived safely in Paris only to be welcomed by a torrential downpour. The City of Love was as spectacular as usual even if the rain was dampening its usual beauty. My first day in Paris was filled with eventful moments as I tried my hardest not to be put off by the weather and the fact that it was just fully dawning on me that the French try their hardest not to speak English. The language barrier was proving to be an interesting challenge: My new favorite phrase had become “do you speak English?” Most people did not.
As the day progressed I came up with a master plan of how to find a way out of Paris. I went to a blood bank in the center of Paris and asked them if I could give blood in exchange for a ticket to Toulouse. They looked at me with wide eyes and then told me that unfortunately I had to be French to give blood. And even if I did give blood they would not buy me a ticket to Toulouse...So this ended that little fantasy. My luck was about to change, however, as I met Pierre, my first knight in shining armor. He was on his way to Toulouse for the May Day holiday and offered to take me with him. After having walked around Paris in the pouring rain for hours, I hugged him repeatedly. Once we arrived in Toulouse, he put me up for the night in his uncle's house, and the first day of my journey ended on a massive high.
The next few days were equally inspiring. I hitched my way from Toulouse to the Costa Brava in Spain, riding with an ex-French air force pilot who recounted his many military exploits and a French folk singer who was not to impressed with my appalling rendition of the Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody.” At one point I felt that she was so taken aback by my singing skills that she was going to drop me off on the side of the motorway as punishment. In the end I had to promise that I would never sing again.
I was dropped off in a small town on the Spanish-French border and experienced my first scary moment: The town was filled with drunk Eastern European truckers and African prostitutes. As the sun was setting the town became more and more scary, and I was extremely grateful to find a lift with a Spanish DJ who was on his way to Costa Brava for a rave (or 'fiesta' as he kept telling me). He could not speak a word of English but we somehow managed to communicate.
In the small town of Roses on the Costa Brava I stayed the night with 15 chef assistants who were working in one of the top restaurants in the world, El Bulli (Cala Montjoi, Ap. 30, Roses; +34 972 150 457). They had just finished their internships, and I spent the night partying at the English pub in town. I only slept for a few hours and then had to find my way out of town and onto Barcelona. Thankfully, the chefs all pitched in and bought me a train ticket which cost 9.5 euro.
When I arrived in Barcelona, I went to the main city center called Las Ramblas and after facing rejection for a few hours, I eventually bumped into Alvaro, a Chilean sailor who had a boat in the Port of Barcelona. Unbelievably, he offered to let me stay on his sailboat for the night, and we sailed around Barcelona (though I must admit to not doing to much of the hard work, as it was probably better that I stayed out of Alvaro's way). Alvaro was a magnificent host and rescued me from walking around Las Ramblas being while rejected by more people than I can count. It was definitely the highlight of my trip so far.
The Amazing Adventures of a Nobody airs internationally on the National Geographic Channel, and on Fox Reality in the United States.
Photo: Shankly Productions
Amazing Adventures of a Nobody is quickly becomming one of my favorite shows. Which is amazing because I don't get the channel (or rather ANY TV channesl) that it is shown on. Instead, I get highlights online and read blogs about it.
Congrats on a great first week.
Posted by: Suz | May 27, 2008 at 12:30 PM
How's the new adventure going? Seen any jail cells yet? If so let me know and I'll send you file and a tomahawk. Buzz me when you make it to Moscow. Good Luck Old Boy. ps tell Nick to be nice or we'll play catch with the hawks and I get to threw first!!!!
Posted by: Bob the Blessed | June 04, 2008 at 01:30 AM