Jumper: Pull & Bear // Skirt: Zara

I visited Paris for the fourth time in December. My little sister, who was still under the legal drinking age in the US, was flying over to share a few bottles of wine with me. I was so excited. I hadn’t seen her for almost two years. We were meeting at Le Marais early on a Sunday morning. Except we got the dates wrong and she was only to arrive on Monday.

Meaning, I got on that EXTREMELY EARLY (6am) flight FOR NOTHING! I blame everything on my sister of course (no but really it was her fault).

I was in town by 9am. By this time, I was already feeling glad that I’d arranged my accommodation via Cobblestone Paris – I had the mobile number for David, who was my ‘personal English-speaking greeter’ (haha) and who was making a special effort to ensure I could access the apartment early. You know that feeling of being taken care of? When you can relax in the security that someone’s there just to make sure you get to your destination smoothly and safely? IT IS A VERY GOOD FEELING.

I passed (read:wasted) some time drinking expensive hot chocolate (I had just come from Portugal, so if it cost more than €2, it’s expensive) at a cafe across the street, which name I still giggle at when I say it in my mind (Cafe Le Spicy). I was SO GLAD when David came and rescued me – I was about to drop dead from sleep deprivation ..and watery hot chocolate.

One of those corner units on the left was where I stayed.

According to David, apartments with a wraparound corner balcony were highly sought after in Paris.

Once in the building, I ticked off a new life experience:
I rode in the tiniest lift in the world. It must’ve been something like 75x75cm! Amazing!!

The exhaustion I was feeling dissipated as soon as I stepped inside and saw just how beautiful the apartment was:

No, the flowers aren’t real, haha!

The living room had the high ceilings that I LOVE, and a generous helping of those tall French windows that I LOVE.

I WAS IN LOVE.

Chestnut, my pet fox, came to Paris too. It was his first time.

Charming chandelier.

Guidebooks galore.

More faux flora.

HIGH SPEED WIFI.

HEATERS IN ALL ROOMS.

Life was good!

Oh, the apartment also comes with a landline that you’re free to use make calls to any country in the world except one (was it Nicaragua? I forgot).

Even though David shared a good list of local recommendations with me, shamefully I barely remembered anything.. French names are really difficult to remember if you can’t visualise them!

I suppose I didn’t work my brain too hard because I knew that David was so communicative by text and I could ask him again at any time.. (which I did).

There was also comprehensive Apartment Guidebook with more than you’d need to know. This includes instructions for the dishwasher, laundry, etc, and most importantly, information about WHERE TO EAT.

It even has a page about Parisian social etiquette – Parisians are not RUDE. They are FORMAL. 😀

Looks like I was set for a great few days in Paris. No stress!

PATISSERIE STOHRER // RUE MONTORGUIEL

Rue Montorgueil – one of David’s ‘local recommendations’ – is a lively pedestrian street – one of Paris’ permanent market streets – occupied by a diverse selection of restaurants, patisseries, cafes, cheese & wine shops, fishmongers & butchers, and even a few bars and bistros. Only a short walk from our apartment, we wandered here on one of our lazy days.

The aim was to visit La Maison Stohrer, “La plus ancienne pâtisserie de Paris”.
Meaning.. ‘The oldest pastry shop in Paris”.

It was apparently so popular that even the Queen herself had made a visit – as you can see from the postcards on display, they’re not too modest to hide any evidence of this.

I was visually impressed by the savoury ‘cakes’ in the front window, with the crab shells and foie gras and smoked salmon, but couldn’t bring myself to sample any. I wanted something sweet. Plus, David raved about a certain rum cake that I absolutely must try, so it was that one item I walked out of the shop with. But stupidly, I didn’t eat it immediately and all the sticky rum juice later spilled out onto mine and my sister’s things. Lesson: Eat delicious things IMMEDIATELY.

Amazing jazz & swing band!

The best part was running into this swing band performing in a corner, made up of four old friends. I loved them so much I bought their CD! CD? Who still uses CDs?? Haha.

HÔTEL DE VILLE

Hôtel De Ville, home of the Paris City Hall, was also around the corner from the apartment. The square had turned into a vibrant meeting point during the holiday season, with a beautiful carousel and a number of street performers looking to bring some joy to adults and children alike (and then get their money).

I didn’t ride the carousel nor did I try to catch the bubbles – I think being in Paris made me feel like I had to be a bit more… FORMAL?!
So I just stood rigidly taking photos while my hands turned numb from the cold. I enjoyed it.

LE MOULIN ROUGE

This wasn’t anywhere near Le Marais but I had such a fun time that I wanted to share!

You may or may not already be familiar, but there is a huge drain cover opposite the Moulin Rouge building that creates a sort of vertical wind tunnel on the street (?? What do you call those things??). Loads of people were on it, mostly throwing their scarves in the air while their friends photographed them.

Lucky me, I had a skirt, and who knew it could be such fun to try to keep your skirt down in public? 😀

COBBLESTONE PARIS

Just can’t get enough of these windows..

I really couldn’t recommend Cobblestone enough if you’re looking for an apartment to rent in Paris and would prefer a stress-free, hassle-free experience. They’ve been in the business since 2004 – long before the age of Airbnb – and so they know what they’re doing. They currently offer 26 centrally located, beautifully furnished, fully serviced apartments that will definitely make you feel like you’re living the Parisian dream!

The apartment featured in this post is La Charme Du Marais.
If you use the code SMCRZY, you’ll get 10% off your booking 🙂

My favourite things about the apartment:

• Wraparound balcony
• Many many tall French windows with sash curtains – isn’t it also your dream to open the doors to look out at life from the terrace?
• Wifi with super fast internet speeds
• Complimentary bottle of wine and chocolate
• It was warm in winter

Not-so-favourite things (hey gotta keep it real):

• The pillows were rather hard
• Small bathroom

*My stay with Cobblestone Paris was complimentary. All opinions are my own and are always honest!

The post The Best Apartment in Paris! appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Arriving late at night and looking dishevelled, I stepped out of my taxi feeling extremely out of place. It was a Thursday night and there were all these chic and trendy looking people on the steps outside; girls in fur coats and high heels. I could hear music coming from inside the building. Then there was ME. In jeans and flat hair and no makeup.. accompanied by my unglamorous red suitcase.

Reminding myself that “no, I don’t look like this NORMALLY”, I proceeded to check in and resigned myself to a night in to rest up before meeting with friends the next day.

But hey at least I had pretty alright shoes (they’re Topshop, if you’re wondering).

Funny masks are provided in every room. So is an iMac that has all the info you need, including maps and a list of recommended bars/restaurant/shops in the neighbourhood (Charonne) and Paris in general. Plus a whole load of TV channels.

And.. there’s also free porn! LOTS of it, at no extra charge. I had a good browse and noticed they included gay porn too. All bases covered huh!

There wasn’t much of a view, but it was so good to have that whole big comfy bed to myself after having had to share, before coming to Paris.

I spent the first morning indulging myself in a super-long shower followed by lots of lounging around naked and I took my time moisturising every inch of my body. It’s important!

Left: Reception area // Right: The bar

The shelves on the left contain a whole assortment of fun things you can buy to make your stay a little more vibrant. They include party packs, toys, novelty items, more masks, and some arty things that you’ll want to have despite them being of no real use. I’m certain there was a section with some actually useful stuff as well..

The pizzeria’s meant to be really good. I didn’t manage to eat there though – I was too eager to go out and stuff my face with all the French food I could find.

I did however spend one night at the restaurant/bar. The music was excellent and the vibe upbeat! It seemed to be frequented by a lot of the local residents/Parisians, which I really enjoyed.

WHAT’S YOUR ROOM NUMBER?

We bumped (literally) into a loud, over-confident French chick who looked somewhat like Alex Vause from Orange is the New Black. She was SO BOLD. She ‘introduced’ herself to me by grabbing my arm, with a too-enthusiastic HEYYYYYYY. No holds barred, she proceeded to ask my friend (female) and I if we were sleeping with each other – but in a much, much more direct manner than how I’m describing it here (use our imagination).

Then she invited us to Mexico.
Why? Because she and her friends were going in two weeks.
Why?  Because, she’s getting married to a man, who knows she is gay, but doesn’t seem to mind, although he’s not aware that she’s still sleeping with girls. That’s what I got from it anyway!

“So why are you getting married???”

“Why not?? It’s fun!!”

That was it. I liked her.

We hung out with her and her friends, who all worked in TV (although at that point I didn’t know what to believe anymore). She couldn’t stop trying to find out our room number. She would slyly insert, mid-conversation, totally irrelevantly – so what’s your room number?

I found it soooooo hilarious. SHE was freaking hilarious. Made my night!

PLAYTIME IN BED

They had these lights.. probably some kind of utility lights with long cords, but they provided lots of entertainment, especially with the mirrors on opposing walls. Simple pleasures!

We must’ve spent two hours just fooling around on the bed with these props. Such kids!
AH! That’s just it – the hotel’s tagline is ‘Mama Loves You’!

Here are a couple of videos we recorded (very silly):

Four nights in that room went by in no time! Melissa left day earlier, so I got another night on my own to bring out my inner teenager and giggle at some super-cheesy porn movies. And enjoy some nude sleeping.

Oh! You can also take pictures and videos of yourself using the iMac camera and send it to Mama.. or yourself via email.

Everything was fab – location, service, ambience, food, entertainment – save for a weird technical glitch that interfered with my porn watching the iMac screen sometimes which was never fixed (probably a good thing).

I stayed in a Mama Luxe room. Prices from €109.

The post Fun at Mama Shelter Paris appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Although I learn very quickly (I’m one of those annoying people who’s ‘good at everything’), up to last month I was a pretty novice snowboarder, having only had about six days of experience.

One evening, my friends Shah and Fay said, “Hey, we’re going to Chamonix in two-and-a-half weeks and there’s a spare spot, wanna come?”

“Okay!”

I hadn’t been to Chamonix before and I was super excited. I was thrilled about being able to get on the snow again. We were going to Les Grands Montets, which I knew nothing about so I thought I’d do some Googling. My research led me to reading things like:

“..the home of professional extreme skiing”
“..notoriously steep and not very beginner-friendly”
“..the blues are pretty much reds and reds are pretty much blacks”
“..has a reputation for offering some of the steepest slopes in Europe”

What……………

I started to get bit nervous. So I went ahead and bought a good pair of Dainese padded shorts, made sure to include a helmet in my equipment hire, and paid for winter sports insurance. I was set!

I never knew getting to Chamonix was so easy. London to Geneva in about 1.5 hours, and then a ground transfer for about €30 – also about 1.5 hours long. Boring info: I used AlpyBus going and Mountain Dropoffs returning – both were good.

I got there earlier than my friends, so I chilled out at our Airbnb apartment while I waited. Well, actually I was getting some work done. Contrary to popular belief, I DO work. The bonus is that I can work remotely so this is how I get ‘soooo much time off”, for those wondering. I’m also not bound to annual leave allowance.

Anyway! Our accommodation was situated at the foot of Les Grands Montets (super easy access to the lifts), in Argentière. It was a magical scene from the balcony:

If you thought that was good, this is what it looks like on a sunny day:

On our first day out, we decided that we should take the shuttle to the next resort, Domaine De Balme, so we could get accustomed to our hired boards/boots/skis. This resort was meant to have ‘kinder’ slopes.

We arrived quite early in the morning, when the pistes were freshly groomed. It was really slippery and with the new board that I wasn’t quite used to, I caught an edge and had a mighty fall quite early on. I landed on my front like a rag doll, banging my head (or rather, helmet – see, good decision!) onto the hard snow. I was in a daze for a minute and the pain was a shock, but naturally I picked myself up and continued snowboarding the rest of the day.

The rest of the beautiful day!

I loved Domaine de Balme. It wasn’t too challenging and had offered some peaceful yet fun runs surrounded by pine trees.

And at the top of the mountain.. it was stunning. Ignore the skiers :p

Below the clouds, the scene was magic in its own way..

There’s a certain excitement in snowboarding or skiing in low visibility. It’s scary = it’s fun! See what I said about my finding a LOT of things fun..

The next morning..

I woke up with the right side of my ribs feeling soooo bruised from the fall I had the previous day. So I just popped an Ibuprofen and off to the slopes I went!

I had a three-hour private lesson that I booked through ESF (€180) so I could improve more quickly. It was excellent. I requested ‘an instructor who’s cool and funny’. Freddie was cool and funny. I was happy.

By the afternoon, I was having so much fun coming down the difficult slopes at Les Grands Montets. And the VIEW! Descending through the clouds.. it was freaking awesome.

I fell a few more times.. but they were fun falls! It was more painful doing up my bindings because being in that position squished my bruised ribs. Sometimes I had to pathetically ask Shah to do them up for me. Luckily, he’s such a patient guy that he always obliged.

I am aware that I look like a boy child on a ski trip with his parents.

We stayed on the slopes until it closed and I had to be rushed down by one of the staff through the fog at the bottom. I looooooved it!

Oh here are some snaps of food: confit de canard, rillettes de canard (our daily staple), and french onion soup. It was great to be in France.

Anyhow, I am so grateful for that day because, turns out it was my last day of snowboarding for the season. That evening, I was beginning to have trouble breathing – it started to hurt each time I inhaled deeply.

WHAT IS THIS PAIN

After a terrible night’s sleep STILL with pain around my rib area, I awoke in the morning thinking ok MAYBE.. something is wrong.. maybe it’s not just a bruise after all because, there is in fact, no visible bruising.

So instead of putting on my gear as usual, I sadly had to stay back and wait for an appointment at the clinic nearby. And waited I did. It took bloody three hours in the waiting room before it was my turn! Eventually, this was the situation:

“You’ve cracked two of your ribs”

“So what do I do now?”

“I’ll give you some painkillers”

“If I take enough painkillers can I go snowboarding tomorrow?”

“No”

“Are you sure”

“Well you can but it will be painful”

“Aha! But you said I CAN.”

“Just stay at home and read a book”

So yeah that was that. Turned out I cracked some bones with that fall on the first day. But hey at least I did enjoy two fantastic days of snowboarding (with fractured ribs yes but ah.. ignorance really is bliss isn’t it??).

I proceeded to the pharmacy, picked up my meds, and went back to the apartment. I guess I was pretty excited to take the meds because the pain was getting pretty sharp and awful, and I couldn’t breathe comfortably.

ALMOST-DEATH BY TRAMADOL

I was prescribed a combination of Dafalgan (1g Paracetamol) and something called Tramadol. I’ve lived pretty much a medication-free life, so I’d never even heard of Tramadol. Little did I know that it was about to make my life HELL.

It was too strong for me! I barely even weigh 50kg and I was given 50mg tablets.. Obviously at the time I didn’t even consider that it might have been too much so I took one, got high off it, then went to bed.

By early morning, I was DYING. I was so nauseated I could barely even move. Also added one more item to my Life CV – projectile vomiting. That was interesting. But try vomiting with TWO CRACKED RIBS.. it’s fucked up man. I pretty much spent the entire day crawling between sofa and toilet and feeling like death. I couldn’t even hold down two sips of water. I was drowsy. Being horizontal so much of the time made me lethargic and left me feeling like absolute shit.

Eventually I recovered from the sickness, but I never touched another tablet of Tramadol since.. I’d rather put up with the pain than to go through THAT again.

Fortunately, the next day I was on a flight to my favourite Porto for some recovery-time in the sunshine 🙂

BONUS STORY – GENEVA AIRPORT NIGHTMARE

If you like hearing about bad things happening to other people, here’s one for you:

So I got to Geneva Airport to catch my flight to Porto, still feeling weak and unable to carry anything heavy (y’know, it’s a bit difficult when you’ve cracked your ribs). I could only take very shallow breaths, too, and without any strong pain meds this was a real challenge.

I get to the check-in desk and inform the lady at the counter of my situation and asked if I could get any assistance should I need it. She says ‘no’. No big deal, I thought.. I’ll just go really slow.

I approached the security check like an old lady, dragging my heavy backpack along the floor since I couldn’t really carry it with the straps. Sometimes, I could carry it in front like a baby, but for brief amounts of time. By the time it got close to my turn, I was feeling awful and out of breath; face pale. The staff could see me clearly struggling, but no one so much as asked me if I was okay or if I needed any help.

No matter, I thought. I’ll manage. Then I got told to hurry up. Other passengers, instead of helping me, started to cut in front of me. I stayed patient and didn’t let it bother me.

Once I got through, I looked for my gate and saw that it was a 20 minute walk. And that mean 20 minutes or normal walking, not 20 minutes of my old-lady-walking.  I saw an information counter just ahead, so I thought I’d better ask for some help. Breathing was getting really difficult and painful.

“Hi, do you think I could get some help with my bag? I’ve had a snowboarding injury so I can’t really lift it and I have trouble breathing. I’ve cracked my ribs.”

“Sorry, no. You should’ve asked earlier at check-in.”

“I did tell the lady but she said she couldn’t help me there, and I did think I could manage.”

“I can’t do anything, sorry.”

“Is there a trolley I can use at least?”

“No, no trolleys are allowed here.”

“Please, I only need some help with my bag. I can still walk, I just can’t lift my bag.”

“Exactly, I can’t call for assistance for you. It’s not like you broke your leg! You can still walk!.”

I was looking so pale and pitiful at this point that the best this mean lady could do was tell me ‘the fastest route’ to my gate. I could barely even understand what she was saying because I’d started to feel lightheaded. Actually I felt bullied. And helpless. I hated this lack of independence.

I nodded my head and walked a few steps away and hid behind a pillar. In a moment of weakness, I started to cry. BAD DECISION. The sobbing made it even more painful, and my breaths even more shallow. I tried to slow down and compose myself, but I couldn’t. I felt SO BAD.

Eventually, a French family saw me and came to ask if I was alright. In my amateur French I managed to tell them about my injuries and how I couldn’t get help. I’m still grateful for them because they then went over to the mean lady at the desk and demanded that she request assistance for me.

I did get help in the end, but not before the mean lady came over to me to say, “I’ll call for someone, but there’s no guarantee, so if you miss your flight don’t blame me.”

THANK YOUUUUU mean people of Geneva Airport.. I’m now a much stronger person. But bigger thanks to the kind family who cared enough to check on me.

The post Went to Chamonix and Had a Great Fall appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Sitting in a beautifully sunny garden in Milan right now.. and about to tell you a story about an afternoon spent in Bordeaux during one of the last days of 2013, in the winter!

My best friend from home, Joyce, had come to France spend the Christmas period with her partner Clem, whose family lives in Bordeaux. I joined in for one week.

^This is my favourite photo of the city that I’d taken during the trip.

Bright circle lights hanging over the streets illuminate the city at night.. it felt magical!

^The fleuve

Coat – Isabel Marant x H&M

Jumper – Vintage

Skirt & Bag – Topshop

Boots – Urban Outfitters

And I’m wearing a pink Buff on my head.. :p

I just liked the look of these naked, leafless trees. And then ME! In hindsight I should’ve worn something more along the lines of.. neon yellow.

^Me, Joyce, Clem.

It was SO GOOD to see these two again! It’s always a funny/fun/crazy time think it’s cos we’re all so mad..

We took one day out of the week that we spent together to go out and have a wander around Bordeaux. Started with lunch at some brasserie which name I sadly don’t remember – but it was nothing super special so I thought it unnecessary.. haha

^Joyce’s steak tartare

^Stuffed eggs and oysters

THE TREE BRANCH

So, after lunch, when we went out to where all the naked trees were…. I found this tree branch with bright orange leaves still attached, lying lonely on the ground. Naturally, I befriended it and invited it to join us on our city stroll.

I introduced it to Joyce. She was receptive.

Unfortunately, Clem refused to be friends with an inanimate object. I had to chase him down so many streets with the branch, pestering him.

“SAY HELLO to the branch!!!”

Clem said he was embarrassed to be seen with us.

Eventually, with a LOT of annoying behaviour by Joyce and I, Clem relented and ACTUALLY SAID HELLO TO MY TREE BRANCH!!! HA ha hahahha

I pushed it by trying to make him say more, but I think that was his limit.. but it’s ok, we got the whole thing on video.. 🙂

*******

It was a rather grey gloomy day that afternoon. But the sunshine was in US!

We went to a couple of beautiful toy stores and I bought myself a plush.. banana. What else, right?

Saw this cool art installation near the church:

At first I thought WOW what a cool tunnel thingy.. that’s somewhat like a ball..

We went inside and took some photos

BUT THEN AT NIGHT!

Isn’t it so cool! I hope to have something similar in my own garden. Umm someday.

^Joyce brought her Carebear out.

And here’s a little behind-the-scenes shot:

>

HAHA!

^I thought there was a certain beauty in the monotonous colour palette that was seen in Bordeaux that day. Quiet, peaceful, and a little bit mysterious! A perfect setting for someone like me to come prancing about with a brightly dressed tree branch..

And oh yeah, I also learnt that you can buy a model of Picasso’s nose. My favourite is the watermelon one – seen on the bottom row, far right.

I like the idea of having a colourful Picasso’s nose in my handbag or pocket. That way I can pull it out at random times.

“Hey, look what I have here, a NOSE”

It’s a good way to meet people, I think.

While I can’t say that I ‘fell in love’ with Bordeaux – like I do with many places I go to – I did have a lot more fun than I anticipated! The people were fairly friendly.. there was even a night when we ended up at some random dude’s flat to share a few drinks.. but that’s a story for another day.

The city itself was also more vibrant than I imagined. Admittedly I didn’t spend too much time exploring it since most of the week was spent with Clem in the suburbs with his family and friends.

Wanna go to Bordeaux? Check Monarch for cheap flights from London! They’ve got a concise little guide to the city too.. !

The post An Afternoon in Bordeaux.. With a Tree Branch appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

People always ask me, ‘WHY? HOW?’ What did you DO?’ with immense curiosity. Here’s how.

When I arrived at the rather rural Castelnaudary train station, Blanche, the woman who owned the farm, came to pick me up with her car. From the moment we met, I knew she took a certain disliking to me. I could tell by the way she looked at me and by her body language. You know when you just KNOW?

She clearly wasn’t interested in me or in getting to know me. I endured a super awkward car ride that lasted 20 minutes. Nevertheless, I filled my mind with only positive thoughts and convinced myself that she simply wasn’t the talkative type.

When the car pulled up in the driveway, she got out and.. left me there. Again, no matter.

“I have arms and legs.. it’s fine I’ll carry all my bags up myself!”

I was then distracted and struck by how eccentric and pretty the whole place was (click here for more). I met Bernard, her French/Moroccan husband. He had been a chef for over 30 years and was quite the quirky man. He was friendly and funny and warm, unlike Blanche the iron woman.

I felt slightly disappointed that there were no other volunteers like myself at the farm. BUT, after unloading my things in the bedroom upstairs I sauntered down to get familiar with the house and surroundings; and Bernard introduced me to a German guy called Axel.

Axel was sort of a long-term volunteer who helped out at the farm in exchange for food, water, and electricity. He was a nomad. He lived in a caravan happily planted on a plot of land next to the farmhouse with…… his donkey, with whom he had travelled over 10,000km through Europe on foot!!

He also had quite a bushy beard and so I couldn’t help thinking of him as ‘Jesus’ in my mind…

Anyway, Axel was so friendly and accommodating, you would think that HE was the host. He showed me around the whole area and pointed out important things I should know. I met the two resident cats, the dog, and the old horse who lived close by.

After my ‘orientation’ was over, I got changed into some bathers (it was a sizzling 35 degrees celcius) and went along with Axel to take his donkey for a walk up and over a nearby hill. It was fun! I’d never walked a donkey before..

Eventually we reached a medium-sized lake. It wasn’t the most picturesque lake, but good enough for a quick swim while the donkey grazed on.. dried up shrubbery nearby. In that heat, getting into the water was like heaven!

On the way back, Axel told me more about his donkey (whose name I’ve clearly forgotten..so I’ll just call him Donkey) and the places they had been together. We had a nice chat about some serious things (like his decision to live nomadically) and some nonsense things (donkey poop). According to him, all he needs is himself and Donkey. He later showed me the little enclosed area he had built for Donkey near his caravan, and how Donkey would sometimes be cheeky and try to break through the fence… which was not even a real fence unless you consider two horizontal strings a fence, haha.

DAY 2

The next morning, as instructed by Blanche, I woke up and got ready very early. Had a rather awkward breakfast in the kitchen where she expected me to know where everything was. Luckily, I was saved by a cheerful Bernard who joined in soon.

I spent my first day working on one of the vegetable patches with everyone.. and boy was it hard work.  Hard, sweaty work. And who knew there were such a thing as gardening gear? Special rubbery shoes, gloves, hats, etc.

By the end of the afternoon, I was freaking knackered. I felt totally beaten down by the blazing sunshine. Like the sun had taken the form of a giant HOT shoe and stamped on me. ME, the sun-lover..

Anyway, sensing that I must’ve been a bit lonely without other young people around, Axel suggested that we walk to town to grab a drink, with Bernard. By ‘town’, it literally means one street, with an all-in-one cafe/bar/restaurant, one shop, and some essential amenities. It was the kind of place where everyone knew each other.. and their families. The cafe owner was really friendly and quite the entertaining clown 😉

We ate and drank and talked and stared into the night sky. As Blanche was rather cold and Bernard spoke little English, I spoke mostly with Axel. He liked to read a lot. He enjoyed the sound of thunder. He liked cold showers. He told me a bit more about his caravan and his nomadic life. He didn’t know where he was going next – I loved this fact about him. I was slightly envious. The four of us also shared a joint (this is an honest blog!), and so I have to say: it was a very nice night.

DAY 3 – KICKED-OUT DAY

On this morning, the men had gone away with the car to do some shopping. It was about 10am and I was working on the same vegetable patch, when Blanche comes up to me and abruptly tells me that she wanted me to leave.

In shock, I asked her why. She said some rather odd things, like ‘I don’t think you’re enjoying it’, and ‘You’re not doing it right’. I figured that they were all excuses for the simple fact that she didn’t like me, so I agreed that I would go by the afternoon (her terms). But who knows, maybe she was right – maybe I WAS really terrible at farm work! When the men returned, I could hear them having an argument with Blanche, questioning her actions. It was a little dramatic, and traumatic.

I admit I did cry a little in my room. I felt dejected, confused, and I didn’t know the answer to the most important question: WHERE TO GO/WHAT TO DO NOW?? 

My return flight was two weeks away and I had never really travelled solo before.

I logged into the one house computer with an internet connection and started researching. I emailed my close friends and looked at nearby farms I might be able to move to, but without much luck.

I later found comfort in Axel’s caravan. He’d invited me there so we could discuss the situation privately. He said he was sorry that this happened and that he was also as puzzled as I was.

Sensing that I was deflated, he started pulling out various maps and spread them all out on the table. I noticed that he kept a LOT of maps with him (well of course). We considered a number of options: I could travel farther inland up to Toulouse and then Bordeaux. Or I could go the coast, to Narbonne, down through Perpignan into Spain. He shared with me places he had been before where you could stay for free – such as a yoga/meditation retreat somewhere.. or a monastery. He knew heaps of things and lots of names of places I hadn’t even heard of! He was so kind, calm, and encouraging.

As I listened to him talk about my options, I realised something. I realised that.. THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY.

Suddenly, it became exciting. It was still a bit sh*t, but exciting. I saw the bright side.

I was free. I didn’t have to spend every day doing farm work. 
I could go off an EXPLORE!

^It was just you and I from here on, Goliath!

That afternoon, I packed my bags and said goodbye. Bernard gave me a long hug and whispered, ‘i’m really so sorry’. I told him I wouldn’t forget all those nifty cooking tips he’d given me. I thanked Axel being such a wonderful presence in my short-lived farm experience and wished him lots of luck on his next journey, wherever it might lead to.

At Castelnaudary train station, I politely hugged Blanche goodbye and thanked her for having me.

THE NEXT TWO WEEKS

I spent the first night in nearby Carcassonne.

^I went on a canal cruise and stopped to take pictures at a vineyard.

^I stopped in Marseilles for a while.

^I ended up in beautiful Nice, where I was fortunate enough to stay at the most fantastic hostel, Villa St Exupéry Gardens (thank you Ulf for having me).

^I learnt how to bake macarons (now a forgotten skill).

^I went canyoning in the Verdon Gorge (amazing).

^I went swimming by the Promenade des Anglais

^I made a day trip to Eze Village, one of the prettiest little towns in Europe.

^I went scuba diving at St Jean Cap Ferrat.

^I made friends and partied with three Australian girls.

^I sunbathed and swam in Cap D’Ail, a cute little beach just west of Monaco.

^I visited Monaco for the second time in my life.

^I finally got to see the leaning tower of Pisa.

^I fell in love with Florence (can you believe this is part of the riverbank there?).

^I met Tania and Ana, two South Americans whom I asked to please share a 1kg Bistecca Fiorentina (Florentine steak) with me.

^I went to Siena and watched the town prepare for Il Palio

^I climbed up a hill in San Gimignano, which was also home to ‘the best gelato in the world‘

Thank You Axel

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