catch-up

Paris
I realise that it has been a while since I last posted on here. There is much to fill you in on, not least the fact that I am writing this from Paris (France!). Yes, I did make it over here in the end, and, as I write this, I am very pleased that I went through with my decision to come here. I love this city: it is beautiful and inspiring; its understated beauty is inspiring. This is my fourth visit, but my second in the last three years, and that means that I have the confidence to venture off the well-worn tourist path (relatively speaking) and explore the various neighbourhoods, and that is what I am managing to do, walking around near-suburban districts, seeing people go about their daily business, and often to a backdrop of gorgeous aromas wafting from countless boulangeries.

I'm staying in a hotel off the Champs Elysees; I really cannot do gritty and scuzzy, but I think that I may have shot myself in the foot because the place is a bit too peripheral... not by Metro, but it is a trek getting back from the centre of town if you choose to walk eveywhere which is what, increasingly, I like to do when I'm here. I love the walk that starts at the Rue de Rivoli and leads all the way up to Place de La Bastille: the ever-changing nature of this seemingly endless thoroughfare akin to four seasons in one day. I still cannot comprehend the traffic lights: even when the green man lights up, cars insist on driving past! What's that all about? This time around, the proliferation of multi-national chain stores (am I being tautologous?) has hit me: there are so many branches of GAP, Zara, H&M, and Starbucks here. I have even spotted a branch of C&A; it would seem that the UK's loss is not France's gain!

I'm struggling with this keyboard: small, seemingly imperceptible changes, have resulted in a very frustrating blogging experience! Until next time...