Thursday 8th September 4pm
I made my way from home to Totnes Train Station, train was due so I had to make sure I made the 5 minute walk down in good time to catch my train! Haha, something that I have picked up from my Mum the early thing.
Anyway, I waited at the Station for my train to get in, at the wrong end! I hadn't looked at my ticket and my lovely Mum had got me a First Class ticket! I legged it down to the other end when the train got in and settled in to my lovely spacious, air conditioned seat.
I studied and finished some bits for my Gym Instructors assessment and got a bottle of water off the trolley as it came round. I also didn't realise that I could have coffee/biscuits etc for nothing being in First Class! (I made up for it on the return journey!)
Changed trains at Reading after a call to Mum to make sure I was on the right platform! Its so much easier to drive for someone with a brain like mine!
J How did I know I was going to get a call checking on this, I was just on the verge of sending her a text to let her know which platform!
Got to Redhill and was met by Mum and my big brother, who I haven't seen since April 2010 at the time of the London Marathon. He's certainly changed since I last saw him, am sure he thought the same about me too!
We went over to look at his new house in Charlwood. It's MASSIVE! I could fit my house nearly 3 times over in it haha but there we go, it's all relative (scuse the pun) I get to live in Devon! Anyway, really pleased for him, I'm glad that his boss looks after him and he finally gets the reward he has worked so hard for.
J This was the start of our adventure.
I wont bore you too much, me and Ma went for a pint at The Old Oak, I had to! haha and then bed ready for our early start! (Mum had to blow up the bed first for me)
J made quite a mess!
Early Friday morning, taxi to Reigate Station and we met the feeder coach to Dover.
Mum's friend from other trips, I had gone to Belgium with them both was at Dover too. We all got on our coach with driver, Dave and the hilarious tour guide, Eric.
J Eric was Dutch, he spoke 9 languages and his sense of humour was so dry that it went over most people's heads.
Nice, easy ferry crossing, the Beer made it easier and we three sat and people-watched for the journey! There was a funny moment with a man and a baby that turned into a small boy but I think it was one of those, 'you had to be there' moments!
And then we were there! Bonjour France!
There was the inevitable story from Mum, about when I wet myself in Calais when I was small because I wouldnt use the French toilet and she had to spend a fortune on a new pair of knickers! I fortunately was too young to remember this and have since found bladder control!
J She has also found a lot of toilets!
Eventually after a little break we were in the outskirts of Paris at our Hotel - Mum help me out here with where we stayed?
J We stayed at the Campionale Hotel in Argentueill (spelling not great, sorry). Quite a way out from Paris but it served its purpose.
We had a lovely meal at the Hotel that night, very young waiter with a nice bum served us!
A few drinks with other people from the coach, Mr Woodhouse, we will never forget him. A man keen on Egyptology, hands tattooed with the Eye of Horus and always in a leather jacket. He had really long hair and a beard to match but one legend of a man and so very genuine.
Saturday brought to us an adventure into Paris, a trip round, mainly based around Eric's obsession with toilets! We saw the Opera House several times, Eiffel Tower and eventually we were dropped off at the Place de Concorde (Mum will correct me) we did however cheekily get back on the coach and got dropped off by Dave at the Eiffel Tower as I had a little word with them! Helps being female sometimes! Dont tell the others though!
J Quite right where we were dropped off but Deborah worked her usual magic and got us the lift back to the Eiffel Tower.
Sadly we couldnt get a beer there this time so we had a strange sausage and chips carton and chatted to some very friendly Americans who gave us the usual 'Oh Jeez we could listen to you guys speaking forever, we love your accent' line! haha but they were very nice.
J love the way they joined "the line".
We snapped a few pictures and decided on a hot, sunny, slow walk back to the coach area, me map reading! I know, I know what some of you are thinking but I did it, I got us back on little local streets where we could soak up the French atmosphere properly!
J It was very hot walking back so very glad we didn't walk there as well.
We saw some of the others from the coach waiting and we sat with them in the shade for a bit, this was a moment so amazing for me I will never ever forget it. I told the funniest joke I have ever told! It's going to get lost in translation but I will attempt to tell you.
J Eileen and I had the most peculiar ice cream, don't quite know what it was made of!
We were sat down, some people snacking so there were the inevitable birds flocking around us trying for a bite to eat. Most of them Pigeons! There was one hopping about there, he was deformed, he had a bad foot that was turned in and one big fat toe. We watched him hobbling about and then...... wait for it....... I said, 'He's pigeon toed!'
*tumbleweed rolls along the screen*
Anyway, oh how we laughed! And I continued to laugh for a lot longer than anyone else!
J You know what they say about people who laugh at their own jokes.
We got on the coach, back to the Hotel to prepare for our nightime excursion to Montmartre! My favourite place in Paris.
Last time I went to Paris with Mum we went there in the daytime so I was excited at the prospect of seeing Montmartre in a new light.
We followed Eric to the restaurant where we eat an epic amount of food before going into the area of artists and all things very 'Totnesian'
I couldn't actually eat all my dinner and we also had loads of wine to get through! How awful eh? haha
J Both meals out that we had were very substantial, unlimited amounts of wine and beer and very good value.
Then into Montmartre, we walked up some steep steps towards the Sacre Coeur , I've spelt it wrong I know!
Then into the buzzing street full of people eating, drinking, painting and being drawn.
J So nice to be there at night time, even more buzzing than during the day.
We were accosted by an artist who seemingly conned us in price for our portraits. We had the drawn last time we were there so wanted to do it again. 60 Euros later! Anyway, I am more than impressed with mine, but as I was standing there being drawn I was being watched by a legitimate artist just to the side of the square.
A young, fairly attractive man who beckoned me over to him! Yeah, I know, happens to me all the time! haha
Anyway, here is the exciting bit! He says that he wants to draw me. I told him that we had already been drawn, ripped off and we had no money for any more pertraits. He said that he didnt want me to pay, he just wanted to draw me!
He gave me his card and I went to order a drink with mum and Eileen.
He was offended that I had turned him down and I eventually agreed to sit for him! My days of life-modelling have held me in good stead for this kind of thing and it was great to see the people passing by watching what he was doing and giving me little smiles and 'thumbs up' in appreciation of what was going on.
I had a lovely chat with Namo as I was sat there and he asked me to come back to Paris to model properly for him. Although he does portraits in Montmartre he also paints full nudes etc and when he found out I like taking my clothes off for the sake of art he was over the moon!
At this point Mum was frantically trying to get my attention as we were going to be late to get back to the coach!
Namo hated being rushed and I promised to return to Paris and model for him! (I do things like that after wine)
J Never had such an expensive cup of coffee (8 Euros!). Most people who saw the sketches preferred the one that we paid for but they are both very good.
Off we ran, I left him half a glass of wine and back to the coach we went.
J Expensive wine too 12 Euros!
Dave took us past The Moulin Rouge twice! And Eric was hilarious on the way back, I think he had been on the Vino too! haha
J The "line" was horrendously long to go in, always so very popular.
Off to bed ready for another early start.
Sunday - Rain!
Trip to the Palace of Versailles, it rained last time we went but hey, we had lovely weather on the Saturday so it wasn't all bad.
Coach trip was quite uneventful until got quite near to the town itself.
We were stuck in traffic and I happened to glance over to my right out of the window towards some bushes.
There was a rather tubby man stood there in the trees dressed in shorts and a t shirt, I thought maybe he was waiting to cross, then I thought maybe he was looking for somewhere to pee, I said to Mum, look there's a man in the bushes there! As I said it, I glanced at the man again, who took great delight in being watched and did just what I thought he would! Yup! I'd made my Mum look at that too! haha, I had promised myself I would point and laugh when it happened but I was in shock and he seemed to be enjoying the experience way too much!
No one else saw it, not even Eileen, but our telling of it gave the man sat in front of mum a laugh! He kept mentioning it after that haha
So twice in France that's happened to me now! Do I have that kind of face? haha
J I think they hang around just in case she appears, he probably makes a habit(!) of hanging around there waiting for the lights to go red so he can enjoy himself!
Versailles was great, the rain wasn't too heavy and we got to see the fountains in full flow whilst we were in the gardens.
There are hundreds of naked statues around the gardens, I have taken many photos for 'Tits out Tuesday' 'Willies out Wednesday' (even though we had already had it on the sunday!) and one Monday shot!
I had a lovely pint and off we went back to the hotel.
Ooh forgot to say, there was some music playing in the gardens there, the speakers hidden in the hedge, it was really cool.
J Although it was raining the beauty of the Palace and the gardens was not spoilt. The fountains were really beautiful, nothing much when not working but with the music etc., a lovely morning. What I liked was when we were walking back up the gardens to the Palace there was a group of 6/8 people (probably American) with raincoats, hoods and strange hats in a long line with hands joined dancing back up in time to the music.
Our last excursion! A meal out and the Montparnasse tower.
We walked to a little restaurant, that Mum had actually been to before on a previous trip.
We sat with different people from the coach this time, I was sat opposite a man, who I can only describe as Larry Lamb. I couldn't stop staring at him! When I eventually brought up the fact that he looked like him no one else had thought of it. They all did after! He even spoke like him!
J Another great evening, meal, wine and company.
There was a great accordian/guitar combo. Much better than the crap, sweaty magician on the previous night. we all had a good sing-along it was really nice.
I had been topping up Mum and Eileens glasses with wine all night, Eileen was hilarious, she hadn't realise how much she had drank as her glass was always full! Oh how we laughed!
The hilarity continued up the tower, although it was very very weird going up such a tower on 9/11 10th anniversary!
J It was a bit unnerving going up the tower on that particular day, and it brought back the memory of when I went up the Twin Towers with Deborah's dad. The lobby and lifts were all very familiar.
We went back to the hotel and continued to drink with our fellow coach-mates and discuss Agatha Christie.
A lovely end to our stay there.
Off on the coach back to Calais to discover that the high winds and the tail end of the hurricane was going to stop us going back on the ferry to Dover. After going throught eh passport thing there we then went off to the train area and went through Passport control for a second time!
They had to take the very old Indian lady off the coach the first time, which was a tense moment, lessened by Erics jokes!
Onto the train to Folkestone. I stayed on the coach to try and finish the book I had been reading. I was reading Poirots last book, Curtain and wanted to finish it. I didnt! haha
We said our goodbyes and back on the feeder coach back to Reigate. I will stop here, it's only appropriate as we had a brilliant time away.
J It's always a little sad when a good time ends but you know there is always another time and another adventure to experience.
