EN ROUTE, AND ARRIVING IN PARIS

To get from where I was in England to 
Paris, I had to navigate two train rides, 
a taxi ride from one London station to 
another, and two much-too-heavy 
suitcases.  I had a great cabby, a typical 
Londoner - he told me he'd lived there
all his life, in a great Cockney accent.  He 
kept saying, "It's a tough old town."  He 
told me that it has changed a lot, and that 
it really is quite rough now.  He lives alone 
in an apartment, and would really like to 
get himself a small bungalow out of town, 
but can't see how to manage it.  He heaved 
my cases in and out of the taxi without 
even a grunt, and was very pleased when 
I gave him a decent tip.  I like to think he
will be able to get that little bungalow
one of these days.

I had decided that I would skip London, just
because it seemed like such a lot of work, 
finding a place to stay and hauling my cases
around, and really not a lot of time - and on
one hand I was glad I made that choice.  I
was excited to get on to Paris.  But on the
other hand, once I was in that taxi I realized
I would love to spend some time in London,
and explore the different neighbourhoods
and perhaps see some shows, ride the 
Underground, and visit the British Museum.
I will just have to go back!!

The only photo I took in London, from the back
seat of the taxi, arriving at St. Pancras station.

The train from London to Paris was really 
fast - I think it only took 2 1/2 hours.
I was dreading the tunnel under the Channel,
(also known as The Chunnel) but on the 
approach, we had been in and out of several 
tunnels, so when we got to the
long one, I didn't realize that's where we
were - which is just as well.  There's something
a little creepy about being 150 feet under the
sea bed, with I don't know how many tons of 
water on top of you.  It only took 20 minutes!
The only way I knew we had been through it
was the shrieking teenage French girls who
cheered and said, "Nous sommes a la France!"
I don't know if they hated England, and had
been forced to go on a school trip, or if they
were just glad to be home.  Or both.

My Parisienne friend Marie met me at the
Gare du Nord, where her granddaughter 
was also arriving to stay.  We took a 
taxi to her home in Montmartre, and she
welcomed me with such excitement and
pleasure - I have been so moved by how
people have opened their homes to me,
and the really great visits I have had.
The first night, we went out for dinner
(mais oui!! what else to do in Paris??)
and then we went for a walk along the
Champs Elysees - which was really
packed with tourists.  But it was such 
fun to walk the long street, ending up
at l'Arc de Triomphe…

Here we are, Marie and I, on the Champs Elysees!!
Photo courtesy of Iris, Marie's granddaughter.

Grand-mere and Iris!

I took this in the middle of the street, while crossing - not
a really smart thing to do in Paris - mad drivers!!!!
And I mean crazy, not angry!!

I have so many photos from Paris - which is
a city I really loved!  It's funny how there
are certain places where you feel immediately
at home, relaxed.  Even though it is such a
noisy, busy city, I loved the feel of it.  It 
is somewhere else that I would love to live
for some time.  I mean, look at these….

This is the Sacree Couer, in Montmartre.  We took a funicular
up a very steep hillside to get to it, and it was, as you can see,
packed with tourists.  We lined up to get in and walk around - but
my favourite part was sitting in silence and meditating on … the Mystery.
There were too many people for the place to have that deep silent sacred
feel to it, and I was disappointed.

These were just some of the stairs going down!!

OK, I think that's it for Day 1 in Paris….more to 
come!

P.S.

This is NOT where I stayed, but I did visit it.  This belongs to a family of 6 - parents and 4 kids.  Oh, and a new puppy.

LAST FEW DAYS IN ENGLAND

I promised not to reveal the location of these photos, but this is the North Sea.  I put my feet in it, and it
wasn't as cold as I thought it would be!  I almost could have gone swimming.

I took this photo as I was leaving, because I thought it was a perfect image of a typical English village.

Curious, but very shy….

Not so shy - and check out those eyelashes!

TINTERN ABBEY

On our way home from Bath, we stopped at
Tintern Abbey which is in Wales, a medieval
Cistercian church by the River Wye.  The
river forms one of the borders between Wales
and England.  The Abbey was surrendered to
King Henry VIII, with his Dissolution of the
Monasteries act, all the goodies were taken
from it, and it was left to decay.  Two hundred
years passed before its beauty and value began
to be appreciated again, and in early 1900 it
was recognized as a monument of importance,
and repair work began.  I was actually stunned
by its beauty, especially in the early evening
light, and moved by its endurance and strong
presence.
Oh yes, and apparently in 1967 Allan Ginsburg
dropped acid at the site, and wrote his poem
Wales Visitation.  And of course there is the
famous poem by Wordsworth, very long, 
called Lines Written A Few Miles Above
Tintern Abbey.  Not acid-inspired.

(When I published this post, for some reason 
one of the photos appeared 3 or 4 times - and
I can't get rid of them!!  Julia!!???  Help!!??)

--That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures….
- Wordsworth

And I have felt
a presence that disturbs me with the joy
of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
of something far more deeply interfused…
- Wordsworth

Therefore let the moon
Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;
And let the misty mountain winds be free
To blow against thee…
- Wordsworth

No imperfection in the budded mountain
Valleys breathe, heaven and earth move together…
Grass shimmers green…
Fall on the ground, O great Wetness, O Mother, No harm on your body!…
- Ginsburg

BATH, SOMERSET, ENGLAND

Sue drove us all the way to Bath on Monday, the 28th.
I really wanted to see the city, having heard its curious 
name since I was little.  We, my friends and I, thought
it was hilarious that a city should be named Bath.  No
one ever told me that the reason it was called Bath was
because of the ancient Roman baths that were built at
the site of the hot springs in 60 AD.  I'm sure the hot
springs were well used before the Romans appeared!
Apparently the Britons worshipped the goddess Sulis 
there, and it's likely that a shrine existed long before
the Roman baths were built.

This is the upper part of the entrance to the baths.  Below, there were so many tourists, it
spoiled the feel of the place!

Don't remember what this is!!  A church, by the looks of it.  Many of
the buildings are built with this pale stone, much of which is limestone. 

Bath is well known for this area called the Circus, which 
means circle, or line, from the Latin and the Greek.  The
buildings are astonishing - I could only get a portion of
it, but they go all around in a vast circle.  Very elegant
and posh, and I would have loved to have been able to
go poking around inside!

It's really a beautiful old city, with amazing architecture,
gorgeous shops, good restaurants, and absolutely full of
tourists!  Sue took me to her favourite clothes shop, and
I spent money!!  Cath, wait til you see what I bought!

More photos:

One of the weirs on the river Avon in Bath, built to bring the river into one single
channel, from what used to be streams and swamps and ponds.

Sue and Simon, my amazing wonderful hosts, sitting by the river Avon.

We finished the day off with a beer in the smallest pub
in Bath, perhaps in any city in the south of England.  A
tiny little hole in the wall, with really good beer.  I really
loved this day out, from start to finish.

MORE ON THE ANCIENT CHURCH

I was sure I would remember all the details of each 
thing I saw, but needless to say…..
I'm fairly sure the church is St. Thomas, and I 
wrote in an earlier post that it is built on the 
foundations of a much older building associated
with the Knights Templar.  It is called The Round
Church of the Knights Templar.  I read that the 
Knights were a military monastic order! who were 
often in the front lines during the Crusades.  They 
started out very poor, but quickly amassed lots
of wealth.  

In the church, an impression of a sword is in one of the altar stones - perhaps the remnant of a Knights' gravestone?

Looking back at the open door

I was told there was always a devil or an evil creature somewhere
in the building, as a kind of safeguard against evil entering.
I like it, crouching there.  

Looking toward the altar from the front door of the church

This is what greeted us when we came through the front door.

SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!

One last picture from Dublin….I walked
in to a pub and ordered a Guinness, just 
because I couldn't face telling people I
hadn't had a single Guinness while in 
Ireland!

It's only 10 days since I left Ireland, 
getting on the ferry at Dun Laoughaire,
but it feels like much longer.

At the back of the ferry, watching Ireland disappear behind us….

The ferry arrived at Holyhead, in Wales, and I was
picked up by Sue and Simon, and we drove through
the gorgeous Welsh and English countryside until
we arrived at their home.  It was a long drive, and
we were all wiped out.  Early to bed, and then the
next day was a do-nothing day for all of us.  The
day after that was a beautiful sunny Sunday, and we
decided to go for a ramble….

We walked through fields, and met a curious herd
of cows who followed us to the fence.

Good friends, leading the way...

Not too far away is the Manor, belonging to the 
Lord and Lady something-or-other….not 
meaning any disrespect.

The Manor, Your Ladyship….

Crossing through fields

And passing through the village

And finding marvellous trees

And climbing into them

One of
the few
remain-
ing red
telephone
boxes,
not so
well
used.


















And a very old church, called, I think
St. Thomas.  It is built on the foundations
of a church connected with the Knights
Templar, from back in the 1200's.

OK, now I'm only 8 days behind….but I need to post this
one so that I can be ready to go out for my final dinner
in Paris!!