Watch out France…here we come….again

During the night in Finesterre we decide to return to Santiago for two nights before heading back to France. We have been generously offered accommodation for a few weeks by a friend who has a restored ‘barn’ in the rural french area of Bantard. The WiFi in Finesterre is patchy at best and we have…

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Our last full day in Paris commences with us being good Aussies proud to fulfil our civic duty. Voting at an embassy is a different experience however the forms are the same as it ever was. The experience is simple yet bizarre in some indefinable manner. Pam has been to Paris twice before this trip,…

Sacre Coeur

Following the andtheywalked ethos, don’t walk the same path twice, we make our way to climb the Arc de Triomphe. Today is cloudy but no rain. We have timed our run to perfection, the queue at the ticket office begins to move as we attach ourselves to its tail end. Mission accomplished at last. I…

The Louvre

We awake to the sound of steady rain. I realise as we leave the hotel that I have not worn a raincoat since primary school and that I had completely overlooked the loss of peripheral vision once you lift the hood onto your head. The indignant beep of a horn on the very first zebra…

Walking in Paris 4

The consensus is that I am too verbose, so we are writing this together in the hope of compression. We have been tired and there has been so much to do we have had little time to update. We are now sitting in the outdoor section of the Refuge Albergue Orisson after having walked the…

Walking in Paris 3

I have had a lifelong fascination with time and infinity, I can remember as a very young child asking myself a question that as an adult I would phrase as “if the Universe is not infinite, what is it contained in?” and the answer to this question of course is Time. Time contains us, one…

Walking in Paris 2

Biological imperatives assuaged Pam and I continue our stroll down Avenue Champs de Elysees. By this time the light rain has completely eased and the sun is drying our clothes. The Champs de Elysees is a broad street with wide footpaths and after the shopping section abruptly ends, the buildings on each side of the…

Walking in Paris 1

I awake at 3:30 am, my bug-eyed sleep mask adrift in the bed. In a massive busy city our room is haven of quietude and peace. There is plenty to do but no one making me do it. That is a great feeling. Liberty. All is well in my tiny world. I realise Pam is…

Excitement, Adventure

“I’m leavin’ on a jet plane” I feel this strong urge to encapsulate experience via ancient pop song lyrics. Hope I shake it off soon. Thirteen hours, arse cheeks burning. My darling wife in her infinite wisdom has had the good sense to pony up with the extra moola and get us seats where the…

Gay Paree

It occurred to me that the long distance flight could be akin to giving birth, the length of time between tends to fade the horror, but a couple of hours in, oh I remember now !!!! 28 long hours after we left Lexi’s house in Melbourne we checked in to our very beautiful motel Radisson…