salut de france!
as i write, i am sitting in the home of my ex-flatmate marie, drinking coffee to combat the sweet typical french breakfast of... chocolate. brioche with nutella, dipped in hot chocolate- the carbo way to start your day :) but seriously you have to love a country where everyone's breakfast cupboard contains bars of chocolate.
we are just outside her small village, feycelles, surrounded by hills and picturesque stone houses with wooden shutters that bring one back to times of princesses and yodelling mountain shepherds. ok, so the yodelling bit was taking it a little far, but i really can't begin to describe the lovely provincial towns we have seen the past few days here in the south of france. i told marie as we walked around her village that it's the sort of place i would expect to find the shoemaker and his elves, to which she replied "oh, you want to see the old shoemakers house?" and proceeded to bring me to a little dwelling with a pair of shoes carved into the stones above the tiny front door.
it is so cool to see the way people live out here in the countryside, what they eat and drink, and their traditions. definitely off the tourist track here, which i prefer.
in lyon i was fortunate to have charlotte, who put more thought into my visit than the lonely planet guide. she showed me all sort of parts of lyon, telling me the history of them all, and rounded out our experience by taking me to funky french cafes, bicycle rides through the park, and just chilling out at various picturesque points in the city. what a girl.
she was also very proud to show me everything "typical french", from macaroons, baking, famous photographers, places, and also took care to wear a little beret when she met me at the train station.
paris was paris... wonderful in it's own sense, simply because it is paris. there is so much history and beautiful things to see, and definitely a city with attitude. i had expected a bit of stereotype snobbery, but was delighted to find instead lots of people who were very receptive and friendly. but not to disappoint, i also did meet some dirty frenchmen who got their kicks trying to woo tourist girls, somewhat reminiscent of pepe le pieu. i obviously responded with my characteristic warmth of antarctica. they caught the chill... :)
so today marie and i embark on another adventure to a town she wants to show me... just guessing that it will be beautiful in that distinctly old european sense, like everything else we've seen out here.
all my love to everyone,
bisous!
becki

good day!
first of all... has anyone ever tried beetroot juice?? i am drinking it, thinking it's a tasty way to make me strong and healthy but it actually just tastes like... beetroot. go figure. not that nice in a liquified form, i might say.
this morning i slept in and effectively missed church, so i headed down to the beach to enjoy the surprisingly sunny day. nothing like talking to God amidst sand, rocks, and wildflowers, with a glistening ocean in the background.
ireland is starting to feel the chill of autumn, and it makes me think nostalgically of leaves turning colour back home, pumpkins, hay bales, and that crisp autumny smell that october brings. here, it would appear that october brings rain. how shocking.
in fairness, i found myself appreciating ireland in a whole new way after returning from hectic london (which was completely fantastic in it's own right). i saw the green, rolling hills dotted with cows and sheep and stone walls dividing the fields, and it felt like coming home.
london was a surprisingly great city- i had my doubts because it is so cliche that i thought surely i couldn't like it, but realized there is a reason why everyone loves it. we had great fun shopping at harrods, where we found a coat for 1000 pound and a baby (armani) onesie for 170. realizing that affording any sort of article of clothing was nearly impossible, keeley and i decided to try out the chocolate section and make our way down to toys where we played away two hours. best shopping trip ever!
we also saw the changing of the guard, an age-old tradition at buckingham palace that lost a bit of its pomp when the band started playing abba's 'dancing queen'.
goodness, this beetroot juice is just not getting any better.
anyway, where i really fell in love with london was while i was journaling at a little cafe in camden, a suburb filled with markets and all kinds of alternative food, clothes, and people. the cafe was filled with all kinds of wooden mismatched furniture, with poetry on the walls, and all sort of delicious, organic goodies to go with their coffees. i never wanted to leave.
now i'm actually stalling before booking my trains through france, where i am scheduled to go in 9 days. hooray! hopefully the technology aspect of 'booking online' will fail to overwhelm me today, but no guarantees.
hope this day finds you well and wonderful, enjoy the smell of manitoban autumn for me! (or wherever you might be)
love to you all,
becki