I have had a busy weekend! Saturday I nipped down to Paris, and Sunday I went to the Oxford Bus Museum. I think I enjoyed the latter more, I have to say.
Paris was seriously hot, so I decided to keep activities to an absolute minimum. First there was a long leisurely lunch at the club. They did themselves proud, Euro 39 for a five course lunch, including very nice crusty bread rolls and excellent water - I must have drunk an entire litre of it, which is very very unusual for me.
After that we hit the sales. In France there aren't sales all year round like in the US and UK. Instead there are special designated times for it, twice a year. Every shop had signs with 40% to 60% price cuts advertised, and there were large crowds of people bargain hunting. That sort of thing always repels me, and I managed to buy almost nothing. But we were kept in the stores by their air-conditioning ....
In the end I purchased a second hand copy of Carl Barks' Donald Duck stories, a little tray for a friend, and a small leather pouch for my travel-cards. I am terribly excited about the last item! I have two travel-cards I use every day, one to travel between Oxford and London, and one for travelling around London. One has to touch these cards to readers near barriers, and they have to be kept separate from other travel-cards. When I bought my London card I was given a two-sided pouch for them, but it deteriorated quickly and was barely functional after five months use. The leather pouch fills the same function, but is much sturdier, so I hope it will resolve my travel-card problem for some years to come. It was cheap, too, at Euro 12.
Having outspend ourselves we separated, and I decided to walk from the Lafayette department store back to the Gare du Nord. Big mistake! I got lost, again, and wandered around the area for three hours at 35 degrees Celsius. Since I severely hate tourists who waylay me with idiot questions, I obviously didn't ask anyone for help! I stoically plodded on through the dusty streets, stopping hourly in a cafe for a large glass of something watery, feeling very virtuous and principled.
I came across all sorts of interesting sights during my wanderings, which I mainly did not photograph because I was too exhausted! Anyway, I made it back to my train just on time, which is all that matters, after all. Without a heatstroke, either!
I alighted in London at 22:00, and walked to the coach stop. The bus was delayed 40 minutes, and then got stuck in a traffic jam because there was some raging fire burning near the A40, or so the bus driver said. By then it was getting very cold. Having scolded myself all day for having carried along a pashmina in case it got cold, I was jolly grateful I had it. That is the problem with doing Paris in a day, massive differences in temperature between 04:00 when you start out and 24:00 when you get back. But as I always say, every wardrobe problem has a scarf solution! Pashminas are warm enough to keep the chill out when it gets cold, and light enough to roll up and keep in your bag when it is hot.
By the time I got home I was seriously exhausted!
But the next day I had another trip planned ....
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| What I saw in a shop window |
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| Just outside a department store |
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| Lafayette department store - spectacular in real light! |
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| Truly a consumer palace! Looks a bit like an opera inside, with private boxes |
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| Stove made from wood, children's toy |
