the circle

so, how long has it been since i wrote? despite promises of updates, with photos. i wouldn't be at all surprised if you haven't nodded off or, that indeed, you've buggered off completely. oh you've never been far from my mind, dear reader, i compose blog entries in my head daily. but as for getting round to tapping the keys....
so, right. new leaf and all that. new leaf. and quite rightly too.

blog entry title is the circle. because that was life is all about really, completing/creating circles. but before i get into that i shall quickly (sorry) describe the last month (ooh, is it nearly 2? dreadful!)

voyage to prague was as expected but at the same time not quite. i fully expected there to be some sort of family ordeal (you've met my family? you understand! bless em) especially being as my bro was bringing along his girlfriend and therefore changing the whole family dynamics: new girl vs old girl? (please, no offence meant here) but in fact none of that occurred at all. the dramas were all from my bro! and once he got them out of his system everything was all good. beer (no pastis) and lots of food- shopping aside i think we all went home a coupla kilos heavier.

zip- prague-geneva-chamonix- lyon... pop in on some friends; zap- lyon- marseille les goudes, where we were very kindly lent a little holiday home by the sea to lounge about in for a coupla days, profiteering from all the sunshine and sea air before we went off to provence.

provence: lavender, olives, wine: my favourite consumables. an outdoor aromatherapy session in the nature- and oh the nature!!! an escaped garden. we camped a few days in the verdon gorge, a climbers' mecca, and slowly wandered a few trails while we were there. i say slowly not because we were unfit (oh no, 5 months at 2000m altitude makes you into wonderwoman when you're at sea level again! despite... g of tobacco and....l of wine per week) but because i had to stop every 20 metres to inspect some wee plant or other.

and then we went to corsica.

well, when i was a wee thing i read asterix in corsica (in fact i read most of the series- it's where i learnt my history of france) and was quite taken by it for some reason, deciding that some day, amongst the already growing list of places, i would go there. and, well, some years later, our little peugeot rolled off the ferry into the bright ajacio sunshine and we hit the corsican road. first destination was one of the islands most important archealogical sites: filetosa. first occupied by humans some 9000 years ago this impressive site is covered by carved menhirs (of the type that obelix would deliver) which more than resembled large penises. all this before lunch! and a good thing too. by midday it was unbearably hot- not even the Windows Open While Driving (WOWD) aircon was sufficient.... so we zoomed towards the coast and parked up, set up the tent and went to the beach!!!!
oh la la la la, la mediteranee!!! how beautiful. the beach!!! golden sand, azur sea and totally cloudless sky.
in actual fact this poses a large problem for your average lazy as all buggery freeloaders like ourselves. if left alone we'll quite happily get out of the tent at about 1030ish, smoke, drink coffee- 1130ish, bathroom activities and weyhey- we're ready for action at midday. midday, corsica: 30odd degrees. no time for hitting the beach or walking off into the hills. time for a siesta!!!
in an effort to combat this dilemna we discussed getting up early (like 9) but getting up that early requires consuming another meal and by the time you've gotten down to the boulangerie for a croissant and all that- well, the extra time is gone! even earlier you say? well, probably not a bad idea as they seem to sell out of croissants before 830!!!
(here's some mathematics for you: people on 2 week holiday are obliged to get up and hit the streets early- an hour and a half lounging in bed every morning over 14 days is a whole day lost!!! this is why we take month long holidays)
anyway, we never managed to figure out that dilemna in the whole time we were there. in fact the last day was the only day that saw us getting up early and that was because we were catching the ferry.
ok, sorry, getting side tracked.
corsica is quite rightly referred to as l'île de beauté (the island of beauty) and it swings gaily between ragged coastline, huge, dominant mountains and quaint little towns perched on the edge of them both. its incredibly rich and long history includes being dominated by, protected by/from, bought, sold and damn near discarded by every european power since the year dot. the language is closer to italian than french and i didn't see one single donkey the whole time i was there (which was the only real disappointment).
but i think it's best you just go there and see for yourself.
aiie corsica. it will remain close to my heart for the rest of my life.

so, back to the circle.
after corsica we went back to the alps to collect our belongings- (very wierd after feeling like i had closed that door). and despite slight emotional upheaval the alps were absolutely breath taking: green green soothingly green, carpeted in alpine flowers with bell-wearing cows, tourists and cyclists all over the shop. we followed former tour de france routes and could sense the pain in mounting the extremely high, thin aired summits. (we were travelling in a fully laden maggie after all)
and then down the other side, back through lyon, side step through haute-marne and circle almost complete: paris.
paris.
paris.........
well, i have a whole other blog entry coming on now. a proper explanation for the real meaning of the circle. it might be a whole novel's worth. and i will write it.
soon
i promise
xxxxx
b
oh, and of course- attach photos ;)