Monty on Tour 6...

Sorry it's been so long between posts...Paris was so busy that I didn't have a chance to get to an internet cafe to update. And now, it's Wednesday and I've only got one more day left here in London before I leave the fair shores of Ol' Blighty and wing my way homeward!

Paris was splendid! Unfortunately, apart from the day I arrived (Wed) and the day I left (Sun), it was overcast and on Saturday, rainy. But that didn't stop me anyway. On Wednesday night, I was in a mood...in fact, I think I sent nearly everyone on my phone a text message which said "It's Halloween and here in Paris, Monty is on the prowl"...! And I was! Had dinner and then hit the bars of Le Marais - I was determined to pick me up a Frenchman! One disappointment...Frenchman don't seem as tall as Englishmen! There's not that many taller than I, and I'm not exactly a giant! And I LOVE a tall man! I do have to say, my Anglophilia is still as strong as ever, despite the good looking French guys I saw! There are a few friends of mine who are total Francophiles, but there's no doubting it now, Englishmen are my thing! Anywho...

Got to all the usual tourist spots of course, but also did Rodin's Museum which was fantastic! And reasonably quiet too which was a stark contrast to every other place we went! I must say that Versailles was a little bit disappointing...most of the outside was covered in scaffolding so it lost its grandeur from that perspective. And it was jam packed with tourists! I've not been more squashed in, which made me just a touch claustrophobic! But the Hall of Mirrors was everything I expected! Just amazing! When you look at the complex in its entirity, it blows me away that this was a palace for one man and his family!!!!! The extravagance of it is mind blowing!

But of course, the highlight of the trip was spending more quality time with my lovely (and now 40 yr old) friend EIB. We would go out for dinner and sit in the cafe, eating, drinking and watching the eye candy walk by (or in some cases, strut by)...and of course, chatting! I can't quite believe that we've only known each other for just over a year now - it seems like we've gone through a lot together...well, we've certainly talked enough for a lifetime of friendship! My flight back to London was at 2pm Sunday and so I left him at the Metro station at around noon. Sitting on the train to the airport, a feeling of sadness just washed over me! I don't know when I will see him again. I would love to come back to Europe next year, but I really should be a bit more fiscally responsible and save my $$$. I've had two long overseas holidays in consecutive years and so should be a bit more low key next year...but when close friends like EIB are over here, and I'm in Australia, the longing to travel is very intense! I must say, we have been much more relaxed with each other this time which has been lovely,..no doubt due to the fact that last year, we had only just met and I was obviously infactuated with him. And now that he's gone and got himself a boyfriend, he does seem more at ease as well. I look forward to many more long conversations with him on a Sunday night...he's very good at bringing a dose of reality to me, providing a more objective perspective of whatever is happening in my life which is good! Despite his recent fall from grace (which I blogged about a couple of months ago), he does still provide me with a high moral ground and a good laugh too! Love him to bits! Thanks EIB...these two mini holidays we've had have been the highlight of this holiday!!!

But another highlight of Paris was catching up with Oscar, the Frenchman that I met in Berlin last year! He's about to celebrate his first anniversary with his boyfriend which is very exciting - they got together shortly after he returned from his Berlin holiday! So it was lovely to see him again, see what's happened over the past 12 months in our respective lives.

But now I've got to finish off all my postcards and post them...of course, I'll turn up in Australia before they do but still, I am determined to send them! Other than that, there's not much else I've got to do here in London. I've said my goodbyes to all my friends (new and old), and have seen just about everything in London that I've ever wanted to see. I am now feeling very comfortable about getting around London on the tubes and buses, and am now getting a bit of a sense of direction now which is great! I love London and could so easily live here...the only thing that would worry me is missing the sun! And that's one thing I am hanging out for when I get back...to feel the warm warm warm sun on my skin! Lying on the beach! Going down to the park with my paper and reading in the sun! Wearing shorts and t-shirts!

Anyway, this post has gone waaaayyy too long so I shall sign off and get busy with the postcards! :-)