Planet Mad

France was great. However, I am now certain that I am the Grim Angel of The Autumn: I went to Sweden, and the weather went from glorious to pants; I went to France and the weather went from glorious to nearly pants; I went out with friends today, and the weather was decidedly not glorious, although it had been prior to my arrival. It's nice to think that I am carving out alternative career options, should I decide that teaching is all too much.

My little jaunt-ette to France resulted in many new experiences:
* I drove a left-hand drive car on the right-hand side of the road and didn't hit anything. (In fact, Charl only had to shout, "Right hand side!" once in 5 days, so that's not bad going at all)
* I voluntarily ordered a salad in a restuarant and enjoyed eating it, without looking jealously at the other diners' food. (Except maybe once or twice, in a sneaky sort of way, but that doesn't really count)
* I managed to spend 15 minutes in a CD shop and didn't buy any CDs. (Not sure whether this is a good thing or not, but it's an unusual occurence!)

We did very little of the tourist thang, apart from standing outside a couple of chateaux saying, "That's nice. Very impressive. Now, where's the bar/creperie/cave?" One evening we went to a son-et-lumiere (apologies for the lack of accents - I don't know how to find them on this keyboard!) in a touristy sort of way, and although it was a magnificent performance including thousands of people, two dogs and an array of horses, the whole storyline aspect was somewhat lost on us, unless King Francios I really *did* keep nipping off into the bushes with his bit of skirt leaving his queen sitting on the throne. Somehow I suspect not!

We spent much time, therefore, nipping up and down the Loire valley, tasting wine and searching out food. These are not particularly challenging tasks, but somehow we excelled at both. The result is a slight (ahem) tightening around the waistband and a desire to try out some of the pancake fillings here at home. Maybe it's time for another pudding party..?!