le weekend

One of the best things about living in London (and there are many!) is that it is so easy to leave it. Not permanently, you understand, for that would be very hard, but for a little while. For a weekend.

So, bright (not really) and early (too early) the man and I left home in the chilly dark of a winter's morning and arrived in Paris in time for lunch.

If you know Paris, you'll know that you need comfy shoes, a camera, a passion for exploring and sharp eyes in order to avoid the piles of dogpoo on the pavement. Merde indeed.

We stayed in a hotel across the road from the Palais du Luxembourg. There were more police around than usual and a quite noisy, but still well behaved little demonstration, as President Sarkozy was addressing Le Senat.



Close to our hotel was the church dedicated to St Sulpice. Only slightly smaller than Notre Dame, it is the second largest church in Paris. Famous for its '100 stop' organ and for featuring in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, the exterior is massive and imposing. The inside is gloomy and dirty, the poor lighting making it hard to see the murals by Delacroix.
We did, however see this:



Part of what seemed to be a small town in miniature, the little nativity scene featured a rocking crib, which squeaked softly as it rolled from side to side. The infant Jesus, who was probably feeling pretty seasick with the constant swaying, gazed with startled eyes at the roof of the cave. A small group of tourists gazed with equally startled eyes at various little scenes within this tableau: woodcutter, butcher, baker ....

Outside in daylight once more, we stood and watched the fountains. Shimmering curtains of water fell in graceful waves into the marble basins.







It felt like time for tea.

beckenham

Once a small settlement referred to as Bacheham in the Domesday Book, Beckenham has been swallowed up by suburban London. Its meandering high street has the usual bars, eateries, charity shops and estate agents to be found in many other parts of south east England. But there is the odd gem: Village Fine Sausages and Pinksy's - they sell possibly the best Chicken Soup this side of the Atlantic!

The Parish Church is dedicated to St George (he of dragon-slaying fame and patron saint of England) but, in the grounds, is this celtic cross.



It seems far from home.

I caught the reflection of the trees in the churchyard in the window of Mark's and Spencer.

crystal palace

The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and glass building, originally erected in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851.
After the exhibition was over, the Crystal Palace was moved to its new home in Sydenham Hill, South East London.
It burned down in 1936 when my mother was 14. She and her family, who lived in Sydenham, watched the flames and the glow in the sky from their home. One of her sisters ventured onto the site when the fires were out and picked up a piece of glass. We think it was part of one of the arches inside the building, as it still retains a beautifully smooth, curved edge. When you hold it to the light it sparkles and you can see rainbows inside it.

The photo is of Crystal Palace station. The design of the new ticket hall reflects part of the design of the old Crystal Palace.

starting local

Happy 2009!

I'm planning on doing plenty of travelling this year - both at home and abroad - and have promised myself to take my camera with me at (almost) all times!
Inspired by
squirrel's and kimy's fabulous blogs, I'm starting local.

Local is South East London.
So, we'll see where that takes us ...

betty's back

Bettys in Harrogate, Yorkshire.

Hmmm.

Well, that turned out to be a rather longer blog break than I intended.

So, what's been happening while I've been doing other things?

Eddy has grown up and is now cat sized.

Letty is still posting really cool stuff.

And Steve has stopped blogging! (sad face)

Lots of catching up with other peoples' blogs to follow over the next few days .....

Last week it was Christmas: family, turkey, sprouts, crackers, more sprouts, walking in the crisp, winter sunshine on Boxing Day after a pub lunch.

This week it's New Year: just the two of us (plus cats, of course) lots of yummy nibbles, mulled wine, whisky, crap TV.

Next week? Who knows?

Happy Holidays to all!

missing

Life has been a tad busy of late.
I've been distracted by a couple of momentous events and a horrid cold and haven't had much time for writing or visiting my favourite blogs.

So, what was so momentous? Well, last week I turned 50. I had rather expected to feel a little down, a little quiet. Perhaps, even, a little sad.
After all, as people seemed keen to remind me, I'm now halfway to a hundred!
But it was ok. I had a fabulous day with my family. People I love sent me beautiful cards and gave me wonderful, thoughtful gifts. So, all in all, being 50 seems pretty good.

But, despite all that, today I do feel sad.
Yesterday our younger daughter started her first term at university.
And the house feels very, very quiet.

On the plus side, there will be no cups or dishes left in various spots around the place. I won't be woken at 3am by a text letting me know that she's staying at a friend's after going to a club. (At least she lets me know!) And we won't have to cope with her hormonal mood swings.

But I'll miss the conversations about politics, religion, fashion and music. I'll miss the smell of her perfume, Coco Mademoiselle, the witty observations, the dark blue eyes, so carefully made-up, flashing with humour behind the long fringe.

I'm glad she's gone. It was time for her to fly the nest.
But I miss her.

planning

Other Half & I both have An Important Birthday™ coming up soon (too soon!)
To celebrate (or commiserate) we are planning a trip.

A Road Trip.

This will involve driving from Los Angeles to Savannah, with some very interesting stops on the way (not least for sleep, gas & food.)

Watch this space.