Visitors

When I first moved here all my friends were promising to come out and and see me, however visitors have remained thin on the ground and a rare sighting. Some people have been very honest and expressed a concern about having to speak French all weekend (they won't have to) and others keep promising but never seem to get round to booking tickets. Though a couple of friends have been amazing and regular visitors, bringing with them much needed supplies of teabags, bacon, sausages and marmite.

I think one of the problems maybe that I live in the city - you would think that this would be a perfect excuse for a cheap weekend city break, but I'm not that far south to make it a sunny escape in winter but far enough south to be unbearable in the summer. Also being in the city, I don't have a pool and shady patio for guests to lounge around drinking apero's and pretend they are living the French lifestyle (but I do have a great apartment with fantastic views..)

Having got that little moan out of the way I am pleased to report that after 11 months without so much as a hint of a guest on the horizon, I was positively inundated with visitors. Well, two and a dog that came for a city break while his owner went abroad for work.
The first had been working up in the Alps and came for a couple of days before going home. Unfortunately the Alps are not known for their supply of teabags, bacon or sausages but he was a 'great' visitor and did cooking and washing up duties without prompting or hinting. In fact it was lovely to come home from work and find dinner all ready prepared. Then, no sooner had I put him on a bus to the airport, I was back at the station collecting visitor no 2.
He arrived fresh from Gatwick and had a plentiful supply of pork products and a rather amusing story of being interrogated by the security people at the airport about what was in his luggage. I can see how a packet of sausages could look like a bundle of dynamite sticks in an x-ray machine.

It is fun having visitors, not just catching up on the news and the gossip from home over bacon sandwiches but also a great way to rexplore the city and do things that you don't normally do as a resident. Just as you start getting jaded about where you live and start only seeing the pollution, the traffic and striking transport workers, you can see it through a pair of fresh eyes and see the beauty of the place again. I teased visitor 2 about going to see a wall. He is a builder but even he didn't seem thrilled by the prospect of 'a wall' - till he saw what must be one of the most striking pieces of trompe l'oeil ever. It was also fun just sitting by the river and having a drink in the sun. This was made even better as he was getting texts saying how miserable the weather was in the UK!!

It was sad to see everyone go, though I still had the company of a 6 month old puppy for a few days. I say 6 months old - but he weighs 26 kilos and still thinks he's teeny tiny when tries to sit in your lap! Now even he has gone and I have the place to myself again, awaiting the next visitors (whenever that may be) and getting used to doing my own washing up again.