Updating...

Shame on me! I am failing my blogging again...

I have lots of things to write, so I am just going to spread them out over a few days. Maybe that will help me get back in the habit of regular posts. :o)

My most recent adventure was... a trip to Paris! :o) I found a great deal on RyanAir for only 60sek (about $10) each way, so I decided I couldn't pass it up. (There was tax to add on, of course, but it was still supercheap) I found the ticket on a Sat, booked in on a Sunday, and headed out the following Friday for a week in Paris.

It was awesome!! It was so good to be back, and I got to stay with Ab at her and Alain's apartment, which was super fun. (They were wonderful hosts, and I really really appreciate getting to stay there.) :o) I went with Ab to the city where she works (Osny) one day, and spent a much-needed afternoon sitting in the SUN (!) in a beautiful, green park. (This was a much-needed sun break after current winter conditions in Sweden) It was a small town, but the park was beautiful. lol we had quite the adventure getting back, as well, with a "typical" sudden-switching-of-which-train-goes-where, leading to our madly dashing about, and only by luck ending up jumping on the now-correct train just as the doors were closing. The French transportation system keeps you on your toes.

Other things I did included: going on the "standard" 5-8 hour Paris walks (I still remember my way around!), going to the church ward that I always used to go to when I studied there (they remembered me!), spending a few hours at la FNAC picking out 10-15 supercool children's books in French (I'm a sucker for books in other languages, and the some of these were so beautifully done), going to the Opera at Bastille to see The Barber of Seville (one of the few operas I hadn't seen but had really wanted to--and it was a terrific production. On top of it all, we only paid 5euros to get in, and then ended up getting decent seats after all), seeing a (free!) exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls, stocking up on herbal teas from Monoprix (pomme canelle, tileuil, agrumes, peche-cassis....), going to see a really interesting film called "Mar Adentro" (Spanish, with French subtitiles), making fondue with Ab (yum!), and eating delicious falafel, crepes, and panini. Oh, and I found supercute swing shoes! (Brown Mary-Jane style with dance steps sewn in on the top with a lighter brown thread.) Also, the last night there Ab and I went dancing at The Slow Club where we met up with Patrick (whom I used to teach lindy with in Paris) and that was GREAT!! The dancers were awesome, the place/music were awesome... and it is a place I remember well from before. lol I was on a total high for DAYS from that. :o)

Paris is great. The break there was totally what I needed, and I couldn't believe how, well, familiar everything still seemed to me. French was no problem, neither was getting around, or remembering people from there. It was really nice to get that sort of affirmation that I hadn't lost it completely just because I'd left.

So, one week in Paris. Simply perfect. :o)