Circles

I am one of those last minute packers. I can know for months that I am going away but only finally turn my mind to packing a bag about an hour before I walk out the door. Generally this works out ok and I don’t usually forget things, but it does require an extra burst of adrenaline to get everything done in time to walk out the door.

I followed my usual laid back approach to going away on Sunday. This did not improve my stress levels as I realised that I had only just about left myself enough time to get to Waterloo to hop on the Eurostar. I knew my tube journey was due to be affected by engineering work, so that was going to slow me down anyway. I then managed to just miss a rail replacement bus but at that moment my mum phoned and she kindly offered to drop me off at a station where I could pick up a train service. Phew.

I then started to think of al the other things I had failed to do such as make sure I had left some tickets out that I need for tonight and my poor brain began to think that perhaps I should have put slightly more planning into going away.

Anyway, I made it to the Eurostar and made my way across to sunny France. I thought the Eurostar was really slow on the UK side so maybe it will be better when it departs from St Pancras later in the year. Anyway, let me give you a tip here: Never arrive in France on Sunday night. It’s closed. Apart from the local kebab shop. That’s where I ended up having dinner as there wasn’t really anywhere else to go as even the hotel wasn’t serving food. I used my very poor French to order something vaguely edible. The problem I find I that I can say things in French and be understood but then have no idea what the person says in response. It’s not like in French lessons at school. *shakes head*

After I’d eaten dinner I went back to the hotel and met up with some chap who had arranged the meeting I was going to and we went for a drink and a couple of other people joined us. We did manage to find somewhere a bit further afield that was open and encountered the “Gallic shrug” when the waiter realised that we were British and unlikely to be ordering his entire menu.

The hotel was slightly manky. I had to wait until I got home until I had shower because my options were a freezing cold dribble of water or a vaguely hot trickle of water. Neither was going to provide much of a shower. I was talking to someone about this and he said the shower in his room was as bad and so the only way he had been able to wash his hair etc was by going down on all fours in the bath. I tried not to dwell on this thought for too long.

There was also much navigation using very unreliable satnav systems, which seemed to leave it until just beyond the last moment to provide directions. Still no-one got last as far as I know and we got to see far more of the sights that France has to offer – some of them several times, as we went round again and again.

I hopped back on the Eurostar yesterday afternoon and headed home, worn out from having to get up an hour earlier than normal and trying to sound coherent in meetings. I till think there is something a bit lonely about going away on work trips like that, but I had a good time and it was preferable to being in the office. Today it’s back to work… *sigh* but I have a really nice evening ahead. *smiles*