Tag: Holidays

Doing the tourist thing

Mmmm baguettes
Mmmm baguettes

23 November 2014

Commando collects football scarves from every city we visit and, once he’d had a shower, he wanted to go back to Boulevard Saint Michel to look in a shop he’d spotted where he thought he might be able to get a Paris St Germain scarf. With all the getting lost and the extra walk around Jardin du Luxembourg time was getting on and, when we found ourselves back on Boulevard Saint Michel passing La Croissanterie St Michel, we realised we hadn’t had any lunch. The display of baguettes and cakes was mouthwatering and, after a lot of drooling, we finally settled on a chicken salad baguette to share and a muffin each. Delicious. Continue reading Doing the tourist thing

Lost in France

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23 November 2014

Everyone knows I have a talent for getting lost. It’s something I do with monotonous regularity and, usually, it doesn’t bother me. In fact I’ve found some pretty interesting things that way and I always know it’s only a matter of time before I find my way back to somewhere familiar. Ok, so there has been the odd time, in the middle of the woods, when my stomach has tightened momentarily and I’ve had visions of being found as a skeleton under a tree.  GPS has often been my saviour but, on Sunday, it was a different story altogether. I was lost, frightened and in a state of panic. Continue reading Lost in France

From ossuary to graveyard in one afternoon

L'avenue du Général-Leclerc
L’avenue du Général-Leclerc

22 November 2014

Leaving the catacombs behind we wandered, slightly dazed, onto L’avenue du Général-Leclerc, quite some distance from the place we’d entered l’empire de la Mort. Our first priority was finding somewhere to eat. We found a little place called Indiana Café where we thought we might get a snack and a coffee and went inside. The snack turned out to be a huge meal, a beautiful hand made burger that surprised us by coming with salad and fries. Of course I had coffee too. Continue reading From ossuary to graveyard in one afternoon

L’Empire de la Mort

Fontaine de l'Observatoire
Fontaine de l’Observatoire

22 November 2014

The walk to objective number two took us through two more small parks one after another, Jardin des Grands Explorateurs and Jardin Marco Polo. We passed the Fontaine de l’Observatoire, designed by Gabriel Davioud and opened in 1874. The four female sculptures by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux represent Europe, Asia, Africa and America and the horses bursting out of the fountain were the work of Emmanuel Frémiet, but the thing that really drew my attention were the turtles sitting in the water. These gentle images full of movement and life were in stark contrast to the dank tunnels filled with old bones that lay ahead. Follow if you dare! Continue reading L’Empire de la Mort

Bonjour Paris

Wet pavements and sunshine, bonjour Paris
Wet pavements and sunshine, bonjour Paris

22 November 2014

On Saturday there was a plan, of sorts. This involved finding our way across the city armed only with a map and three separate objectives. We emerged from the hotel to wet streets and sunshine, it had obviously been raining at some point but the sky looked reassuringly blue. We got off to a good start, we knew which direction to go to start out. Continue reading Bonjour Paris

Under the sea to gay Paree

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21 November 2014

Friday morning began with a latte in Costa Coffee and a long wait on the cold platform of Southampton Central Station. We’d arrived way too early. The lesser of two evils, it was that or leave later, get stuck in rush hour traffic and possibly miss the train. In my time I’ve spent many hours on platform one of this station. As a teenager I worked in the offices above and caught the train to and from work every week day for five years. On Staurdays in the summer I helped out on the platform, guiding people to their connecting trains. Some of the announcements are imprinted on my brain. Continue reading Under the sea to gay Paree

A FLIGHT, A HOSPITAL VISIT AND A HORRIBLE DRIVE HOME – first published 14 August 2012

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In the end it turned out the flight delay was the least of our worries. When we finally stepped aboard the plane at Agadir airport our biggest concern was a long, late drive home. Little did we know it would be a flight we would never forget and it wouldn’t end with a drive home at all. Continue reading A FLIGHT, A HOSPITAL VISIT AND A HORRIBLE DRIVE HOME – first published 14 August 2012

last days in Morocco – first published 13 August 2012

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Our time in Morocco was coming to an end. That’s the problem with holidays, they’re never long enough and the final days are always tinged with a little sadness at the approach of normal, mundane everyday life waiting at home. Even with a new job to look forward to I wished I could stay a little longer. Continue reading last days in Morocco – first published 13 August 2012

A palace and a souk in one walk – first published 11 august 2012

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One of the delights of North Africa for me is haggling. For some reason I’m quite good at it. Morocco is a very male dominated society and the shopkeepers find it very strange when I do the bartering while Commando stands by and watches. On our penultimate full day in Agadir we decided to take a little trip to the souk to see if I still had the knack. Continue reading A palace and a souk in one walk – first published 11 august 2012

here comes the rain again

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12 – 14 November 2014

There was no let up to the rain on Wednesday morning. My coat was still damp from the Tuesday walk, my gloves and hat still sopping wet. Luckily I have a selection of hats so I chose another but I don’t have a selection of gloves so I had to do without. If this rain keeps up I’m going to have to start a glove collection because my hands were freezing. Continue reading here comes the rain again