I actually had to go back and read what I had written last. I can’t believe how long ago that was. I have done so much since. I have visited Paris . . . twice. I have gained and lost friends. I have watched Christmas decorations be put up and down. I have journeyed through Scotland. And I have been in the company of old friends. So many things. But I guess I should begin with Paris.
Right after I left the castle I headed to Paris for my first time ever! Have you ever felt like you were meant to be somewhere . . . even though you had never been there . . . it just pulled you in for some reason? That is how I have always felt about Paris. And the moment I stepped foot and that city and set my eyes on the Eiffel Tower for the first time . . . I knew exactly why I had felt that way. What a feeling! I will never be able to explain what I felt as I came around a tree and out peaked the Eiffel Tower . . . except to say that it felt how I had always dreamed it would.
I stayed with Ellen in Paris and together we discovered the city: the Eiffel Tower, Musée d’Orsay, Musée de l’Orangerie, Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur, Angelina’s, Notre Dame, Versailles, Luxembourg. We saw so much and it was all so beautiful. After a week there I knew why everyone falls in love with Paris.
Not much more than three weeks after leaving I returned to Paris for Thanksgiving. This time I brought my friend Kerri. The city was already decorated for Christmas when I got there and it was beautiful! Lights on all the trees and little cabins along the Champs Elysees.
The second time around Paris was even better. Since Kerri and I had both already been we concentrated on just hanging out in the city of love. We hit a lot of cafes and restaurants and walked around a lot. One night, Kerri, Ellen and I went to a restaurant called Dans la Noir which means “in the dark.” It is a restaurant that is completely pitch black inside, so when you eat it is as if you are blind. You can’t see your food, your drink, your friends, not even your hand if it was in front of your face. And the waiters and waitresses there are all actually blind. It was really cool trying all these foods and really tasting them because I could not see what they were. It was quite the experience, truly unique. I left Paris the second time truly satisfied.
In between Thanksgiving and Christmas I just hung out in Aix and enjoyed my friends, many who were heading back home, either for Christmas or for good. I had a lot of Christmas parties and a Christmas concert. It was really wonderful. And I got really close with my friends in that holiday season, making it all the more difficult to leave them all. But it wasn’t all bad because though I was leaving my new friends in no time I was going to see my old friends, my Chico friends, and in none other than Scotland!
There is so much to say about Scotland. It really felt right to be there. It is quite the country. Everything good said about it is true. I went to Edinburgh to meet nine of my friends for Christmas. We rented a three bedroom apartment for five days and all piled in. It was so good to be with old friends, though it made me more homesick than ever. It felt as if we had never been apart. We spent our days eating good food, laughing, playing games, drinking, and discovering the city. On Christmas we all stuck ourselves in the apartment and ate, sang and opened presents. It was the best Christmas I could have had away from home. But then again I wouldn’t say that I was away from home . . . because those girls our home and it was wonderful to be with them.
After Christmas Ellen and her sister Beth and I went to Glasgow to stay for a couple of nights. There isn’t a lot to see there but the people are great, the night scene is good and it is easy to take buses to other places from there. So we spent our days in the country, our nights in the pubs and we slept in an old hotel know as the Quality Inn but familiarly called “The Shining.” It was and old creepy hotel and I am sure that if I believed in ghost they would live there. But despite that we fell in love with it.
In our day travels we went to a sea side city called Ardrossan, an island called Arran and we took a tour of the highlands and western lochs. It was all so beautiful. You see pictures and you think, it can’t really be that picturesque, but it is! Just as magnificent as you think it is . . . maybe even more. I have never had my breath taken away so many times. My favorite was the island of Arran. We took a ferry over from Ardrossan and filled our bellies up with a Scottish breakfast on the ride over. Once there we went in search of hiking trails and walked about a mile before finding any. But it was well worth it. I don’t when I have ever enjoyed a hike so much. On the hike up there were moss covered trees and a crackling creek. There was nettle and robins. And at the top . . . the most breathtaking view I have ever seen in my entire life. It was perfect in every way. There were mountains and green fields, trees by thousands, blue sky, scattered clouds, a rocky coast, an indigo ocean and the sun . . . oh the sun! It was so luminous. The three of stood in silence for I don’t know how long simply enjoying the glory.
After Glasgow we headed back to Edinburgh for Hogmany aka New Year! They throw a big bash in Edinburgh where they close up the streets and set up concerts, rides, food stands and so many other things. Men dress up in their kilts while everyone else bundles up for the cold and at midnight they let of a spectacular fire works show from Edinburgh castle. It was the best New Years I have ever had . . .
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