Paris times
This past week I had the amazing opportunity to go to Paris for a few days.
I love cities. I love the buzz and the vibrancy. I love winding alleys and old architecture and hidden-away boutiques. I love the mix of old and new, of ancient history and modern technology, I love the sense of movement and change that is so often tangible.
I’ve been to France a few times this year, but never to the capital before, and I think capitals are special. (It reminded me of everything I love about London, even though its a vastly different place). We stayed in a lovely flat, and met some beautiful and welcoming people, with such a similar heart to us. That’s one of the things I love about the travelling we do – I love meeting people who should be strangers but straight away there is that sense of feeling and connection. I love sharing stories and intermingling lives and growing together, I love the expanding, international family of people I hold dear – both in Europe and further afield. I always feel like I learn so much from spending time with them.
There are precious memories from these past few days that I don’t want to ever forget: the man with the ‘Bill and Ted anointing’, the strange rain inside the Eiffel tower that somehow only rained on us, the sweet old lady who stopped us on the Pont Des Arts and told us most of her life story, standing on the side of the bath to get a view of the Sacre Couer, and those are just the light-hearted things. There are many other things I could describe – thoughts, impressions, questions, lingering feelings for the place that followed us back across the channel. It was deeply impacting.
One of the other amazing things that I loved best about the city was the profusion of art throughout the city. We didn’t go into the Louvre to look at the paintings, but we did walk through the courtyard to see the glass pyramids outside. I liked better the vintage French art posters for sale at little stalls along the Seine, and I picked up five up at the Sacre Couer the first evening. So I wake up to views of Paris in 1889 now 
I also loved the street art that could be found on almost corner. Much of it seemed really prophetic, and I took about a million photos. Here is just one example that I loved:
I know that our relationship with Paris is one that will continue. A dear friend moves out to France next year, and even since returning there have been so many little reminders, little nudges to keep running with what was started there… who knows how that will turn out!
The Night Before…
Why, oh why am I up writing this when the 8am ferry beckons? I like the night before an adventure: packing, squirrelling away essentials as well as random items you never know when you might need, checking the passport is in the bag for the thirty-seventh time (as if it may have come to life and snuck away while my back was turned), getting distracted with banalities, extricating washing from the machine, hair-drying it in vain hope of being able to wear it tomorrow, worrying that I can’t find the socks I want to take (not just any socks… they’re trip-specific), writing lists of things I must remember at silly o clock tomorrow, charging camera batteries (because I will take four hundred and twenty-two pictures of things only I find intriguing), checking the weather forecast before packing hat and gloves (and chucking them in anyway, for safety’s sake), wondering if it’ll be like it was in the book I just read (cue another rose-tinted reverie), making cups of tea and then forgetting them, emailing, stashing notebooks in my backpack in the hope that the trip sparks some creative marvels, just generally skipping along excitedly.
I am excited about this. I am looking out for the little things that are in store over these next few days. I am ready for a break – its been a long summer. I’m excited about the potential for connections, and the timings, and about proper coffee and bijou boulangeries
Last week there were French policemen twinning with British ones here in the city – a sign if ever there was one!
Travelling Tales
Uni finished on Thursday… I’m still asking myself where the term went. Its been so amazing, such a brilliant 12 weeks, and I’m a bit sad that I don’t get to go back for a month (how sad am I). The last couple of weeks were a bit mad, what with deadlines and essays and stuff like that. Everyone was a bit ‘demob happy’ and tired… and then we got our first essay back. (I got 72%… woop!).
To celebrate the approaching Christmas season and to mark the end of a great year, Thursday evening saw me heading to France with three lovely friends. We drove onto the Eurotunnel train, which was one of the most exciting moments of my year (“It’s a road… but it’s a train…. wow!”). I loved France… I love visiting new countries, and though we weren’t there for very long, it was fab to get a taster of what it’s like there. To see a place that means so much to my pals (and that I’ve a sneaky feeling will soon be the same for me). It is an incredible place… We had yummy food, fab coffee, and I bought camembert, Good times
Here is a photo from the amazing French shopping centre. The lights behind changed colour at intervals, it was such a creative place:
After France, the next visit was to Bradford, where I’ve been over the weekend. It was a loooong coach journey, but not too bad, and it was worth it to spend time with lovely friends. I have chilled out over the last few days, enjoyed Christmas food, visited a fab vintage clothes fair and an art exhibition, watched some great TV and had some good natters. Christmas with good friends… what more could I ask.
I’m heading home tomorrow, fitting in a flying London visit before settling back at home for Christmas. And the papers say there’s even a chance of snow… hurrah!!
