I got back from a 3 night Eurostar break in Paris on Saturday to find my allotment has been looking spectacular, (thanks to our Sprinkler group where we volunteer and water each others plots). The main attraction has been a mallow plant that i didn't plant; it seemed to appear overnight, grow to 4 feet, produce the most beautiful pale pink blooms - then promptly collapse under its own weight and die off!
France has suffered the same heatwave conditions as the UK so with this in mind, I packed our bags on Tuesday night and on Wednesday, we set off (via Kings Cross St Pancras, a 40 minute train journey from Gatwick, which we live close to)... and hopped on Eurostar for a short break to Paris. I had booked this early in the year and got a fantastic deal of 3 nights B&B at the Best Western in the Opera district of Paris and our Eurostar tickets too.
I had my biab nails infilled the day before leaving. This is a new thing for me as my nails have been very weak and should help.mine to grow stronger. I painted my toes, thank goodness for pilates classes. You need to be a bit of a contortionist to do toes!
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| Didnt take long to unpack |
I am getting good at packing light and was able to carry everything with room to spare. I was in such a hurry to go that I forgot to take pics of what I was taking, but remembered on arrival so snapped what came out of my bag!
I keep the disposable laundry bags that hotels provide as they are perfect for rolling and packing clothes and keeping them uncreased and clean inside the bigger bag. I took trainers, my hat, 2 floral jersey day dresses, one ginger and cream silk maxi dress (All About Audrey £10 bargain rail), my favourite browns and creams wrap maxi skirt (Naked Generation,), and a couple of blouses from East that I always take as they are so comfy - long sleeved with gold pattern on both, a sleeveless vest top, 3 nickers, 1 spare bra, trainer socks, half slip and a silk scarf (Kerala souvenir some years ago).
There's me! Entrance to hotel right next to a vintage kilo shop! Everything was very petite, a lot of leather and suede and skimpy silk, all of which made my 5ft 5 1/2 inch, size 14 frame look positively giant. There were several of these shops in this district of Paris (where you buy by the kilo rather than per item).
My Primark hat has a drawstring within to tighten the crown and so there was no chance of it blowing away; although I also tied my silk scarf around it so I didn't have to carry it unless I needed it to cover my shoulders - I didn't need it as temperatures were in the low 30s.
The trip itself was really lovely and details will be on my travel blog as soon as I get a minute to upload some pics if you would like to know more.
Im taking it easy on the gym classes for a couple of weeks whilst awaiting an MSK appointment to check why I am getting pain in my elbow and knee. so for now it's just pilates, swimming, allotment and garden weeding. Probably some joint strain due to walking 8+km a day on these recent trips (I guess you can't have it all, 66 and not counting but think I need to pace myself next time!).
This weekend I am catching up with friends who have kindly watered both my allotment and the garden and helped my son with cat sitting duties.
Another UK heatwave is imminent, hosepipe bans and train delays due to overheated rail tracks can be expected
How's your week going?
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