I'm Baaaaaaaaaack

Well I had quite an adventure. Some of it horrific (that entirely due to my choice of travelling companion), and a lot of it wonderful. I love France. Much more than the UK (sorry to my blog lovelies in the UK). The people are friendly, and even the children have manners (wow, I know). The food is to die for. The architecture is breath-taking. The Eiffel Tower does not disappoint. She is grand. And the Louvre left me overwhelming and in awe of human capabilities. There are hundreds of museums in Paris, many that have free admission! One of these, The Museum of Romantic Life, has a plaster cast of Chopin's hand. Yes, the Chopin! Place de Concorde left me in a continuous gasp ... I could not seem to close my mouth, which gaped at that famous water fountain we have all seen on-screen (even if we don't know we have). 

The carry-on experiment was a success. I didn't need any more things than I travelled with, and laveries were all over the place, enabling me to launder my clothes as frequently as I needed. I ended up buying a new suitcase, one of those with a hard shell that you can pull. I got it for a steal at the Cora supermarket. As far as clothes go, I got a very few items. And a lovely long cardigan sweater that would have cost a bomb in Canada (pictures of that to come). 

I didn't spend all my time in Paris, I also visited a place in the country called Auxerre on the recommendation of a Parisian. It's a quaint and tiny city with a really old part to it. 13th century cathedrals catch your eye on the skyline as you walk across the bridge from the train station on the way to centre-ville. And there are narrow old streets (well, they're lanes, really) and all the buildings are ancient. The river Yonne cuts through Auxerre and there is a charming little marina with many houseboats for sale. In many ways Auxerre looks like a city whose future is behind it ~ I noticed many abandoned buildings as well as businesses for sale. Also, true to small cities, everything in Auxerre closes at ten or eleven pm. Still, I certainly don't regret going. In fact, I made a couple of friends while there and also got the inside scoop on living life as a local. More on that in a future post. 

Well that's just a little bit about my time in France. More to come!