I think I’m in some kind of dreamlike trance.
It cannot be true and real and actual that I spent last night at a BBQ in a huge, beautiful garden in Belgium, drinking champagne, having conversations with people I’d never met before, in a mixture of four languages, singing along with music that ranged from Queen [...]
Filed under: Mishaps, contemplation, dreams, food, foreign languages, friends, fun, happy, laughter, life, summer, swimming pool | 8 Comments »
It would be quite a silly idea, if you were someone who had almost passed out whilst impulsively climbing the steps up some big hill in Lyon, to even consider taking on a much larger number of stairs less than a week later. No, you’d want to stay safely and contentedly on the ground, happy [...]
Filed under: Eiffel Tower, Paris, culture, pain, scenery, tiredness, tourists, weather | 9 Comments »
I’m off to Paris in the morning.
I don’t know what my access to the internet will be like until I get to where I’m staying in Belgium, so I may disappear for a few days. Rest assured, I’ll be back with tales of travels, mishaps, book readings and new friends, and of course the obligatory [...]
Filed under: Ballymena, French, Lyon, Paris, book release, changes, conversations, culture, friends, fun, packing, travel | 3 Comments »
I’m always pleased when I find out that my preconceived notions about something are true.
This is why, for example, I sat with a big grin on my face when I arrived at Part-Dieu station from Lyon airport, having found myself surrounded by a buzzing crowd of busy people, with two little old men busking in [...]
Filed under: Lyon, conversations, family, friends, granny, kissing, life, relationships | 7 Comments »
The pipes, the pipes are calling…
I wake up from my dream, the soft, soothing melody of the music delighting me. Everything else is quiet; it is 3am and Lyon is asleep. The traffic noise outside my window has died down, there are no conversations to be overheard from the restaurant downstairs, and the only sound [...]
Filed under: Lyon, life, night, piper, strange | 5 Comments »
Vieux Lyon, Lyon’s “Old Town” area, is beautiful.
I think I’m an “Old Town” person, having fallen head over heels in love with Tallinn Old Town in Estonia - I love cobbled streets, rickety buildings, and the feeling of having stepped back in time. I’ve been to Vieux Lyon several times now, but yesterday I went [...]
Filed under: Enid Blyton, Estonia, Famous Five, French, Glasgow, Lyon, clouds, decisions, fun, mysteries, pain, patience, scenery, traboules, walking | 6 Comments »
It’s an impossible dilemma, as far as I can see.
Close the windows and suffocate in my sleep? Or keep them open and be eaten alive by insect intruders?
Unable to bear the sticky, clingy heat as I attempt to get to sleep, I tend to opt for option two in the hope that at some point [...]
Filed under: Lyon, blood, decisions, food, how rude, insects, itching, worry | 4 Comments »
The Sister, in a rather strange French comment, has revealed to the world that my pickpocket incident was by no means the first time that I found myself sans possessions.
In 2003, on a wet and dreary day in Glasgow, Student Hails was having a Very Bad Day. Late for a seminar, tired from sitting up [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | 11 Comments »
I love this Go With The Flow lifestyle, I really do.
In the olden days, back when I worked 9-5 and my life was governed by a strict routine that bored me to tears (or at least to drink), I’d be reading about some really cool event or another that was happening in a different country, [...]
Filed under: Lyon, Paris, blogging, book release, books, boredom, decisions, dreams, fun, happy, life, travel, work, writing | 11 Comments »
I’m waiting anxiously in the queue at La Poste, passport and Western Union Money Tracking number in hand, to claim the emergency rescue fund sent to me by The Parents.
The queue is approximately 2.3 miles long, and I’ve already wasted half an hour today by walking here earlier, forgetting that everything in France closes for [...]
Filed under: French, Lyon, Western Union, confusion, conversations, money, paranoia, parents, queues, rescue | 7 Comments »
