Feet on the ground again

I've been having such a busy time with no time to catch my breath until now where I am back in Farnborough with a couple of days to rest a bit and sort through my packing.

The days in Paris were absolutely glorious.  The weather was cloudlessly sunny, warm and perfect for walking and walking, sightseeing and talking.  Everything was perfectly enjoyable; the Parisians are friendly, sometimes brusque, never aggressive, always polite.  They do have style!  There is so much to absorb and learn about and every corner turned presents another interesting street or alleyway with buildings to turn your head and take an interest.  

We had a couple of beautiful meals in traditional restaurants, sat outside bars in the evening sun and enjoyed coffee and croissants in tiny cafes each morning.  I loved the shop windows and often wandered inside to look at bags and clothes.  I loved the window boxes outside apartment windows and huge front doors on the street front which opened to dark tiled halls in the apartments or sunny courtyards where you can catch a glimpse of someone's life.

It was so good!  

We hadn't realised that the Sunday was an "free to all" day for visiting historic buildings and a national holiday.  The city was hectic in the afternoon and our taxi to the station was caught in chaos traffic which caused some anxiety.  However it wasn't long before we were on the Eurostar again and back to London.

Next stop - Abingdon.   Met up with Will and Candice who had bought tickets and found the right platform so we jumped on to the train and headed off for a family weekend.  We had such a lot of fun catching up and it was great to see all the cousins together.  It was noisy!!  Such a lot of fun.  Will and Candice went back to London and others dispersed to various places, we were a small, tired household at the end of the day.

Monday was a big day!  I met Will at Waterloo and we headed off to Carshalton.  I wanted him to see my school and some old haunts.  Glorious September sunshine made our trip very well worthwhile and we walked and talked around the places I know so well.  We visited Granny in Wallington and then headed back to town to Canary Wharf where we met Stella, niece/cousin, for a drink before heading back to Waterloo and heading for Farnborough.  Phew - gin and tonic has never been so welcome!  A fantastic day.

So now a couple of days to rest a bit and sort through my things and pack for the journey home.