news from England, no. 2

I've been a bit knocked out by the Willesden Green Flu but trying to have a good time anyway. Not easy. I've been sleeping a lot and getting out of the house in the late afternoon. Today I went to see Artia again (friend from high school) who took me to a really cool place called the ICA. Don't remember what that stands for. Very useful I know. Sorry about that. Anyway, have a look at my pix. I've taken some lovely ones. Now that I've figured out what was wrong with the camera. Thanks Brigitte! love to you all and see you soon. E

news from England, no. 1

Hey fans. I am really not up to much today... have been flattened by
the infamous Willesden Green Flu!

Quick recap: Wednesday St-Malo, lovely lovely lovely. Rented a pretty red beach cruiser at the hostel (which is truly excellent, my favourite so far. really close to the beach, nice facilities, friendly staff) and rode along the beach to the old town, where I enjoyed my final Breton meal before leaving the continent. mmmm. Back to watch the sun set over the ocean and hit the sack early.

Thursday morning I headed off to Portsmouth via ferry, 8 hours wasted. won't be doing that next time... Portsmouth -- bus to London -- arrive at Sarah's -- collapse in a heap. Friday I wander around Hyde Park for several hours and take a quick tour bus ride. Saturday we went to Brighton. Which is okay I guess. Probably a great place if you're 20 years old and it's summer time. Yesterday, Sunday, I hooked up with an old high school friend who lives here now. He took me to East London, which I adored: Columbia Road Flower Market, Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane. Crowded energetic chaotic fun.

Well today I'm not in top shape, so we are off to a very late start, but we'll probably have a chance to do a thing or two before I collapse once again.
ta ta then!

nouvelles de la france, no. 3

Hi all
little catching up to do. Had a hard time prying myself away from Angers... (was it the free private room? was it the adorable kids? was it fear of improvising? or was it pure laziness?)

Finally got a train Sunday evening for Le Croisic. Approaching the town I could see the countryside changing -- oh wow I'm going to the ocean I'm going to the ocean I'm going to the ocean yay! Salt marshes everywhere, didn't see any paludiers (salt farmers? what do they call those guys in English anyway?) in action -- the French take Sundays pretty seriously -- but it was still exciting to know my fancy salt came from around here.

Ah Le Croisic! Lovely tiny sweet town full of old people (don't get offended, mom...). I reserved a room and a taxi from the train. Really nice taxi driver appears to be the only one in town, travels around with her super-licky dog in a minivan. Castel Moor: cheapo ugly decor, not very good food, inconsistent service. But the view is fabulous, I can smell the salt air and hear the scary scavenging birds preparing to attack from my room. Love it love it love it.

Since Le Croisic is lovely but limited, I decide to head to Nantes the next day (Monday). My idea was to leave my stuff in the storage locker, put the bare essentials in my backpack, and travel around seeing stuff until I have to be in St Malo on Wednesday. Goddamned baggage scanner was out of service at Nantes. I call the Nantes Youth Hostel and they're closed until 4 pm. rrrrrrrrr. I decide to go to
Rennes. With an hour and a half to kill before the train to Rennes I leap into a taxi and ask the driver to show me around Nantes. The very nice but unwashed man gave me a quick tour -- cathedral, castle, Place Something, fine arts museum, city hall, zoom zoom zoom.

ok Rennes. University town. Young revelers everywhere. Lots of dogs on string too. hmmm. The hostel is nice, right on a canal, with really nice people working there and an interesting mix of travelers from all over the place. I decide to settle in for 2 days. Go out for a really heavy meal on Monday night, yummy traditional Breton food. Tuesday I head to Vannes and took a 3-hour cruise in the Golfe du Morbihan. Next time I have to go for the longer tour. It was fantastic. Gotta love those 7,000-year-old rocks! Ok back to Rennes. I decide to put earplugs in for sleeping to block out the noisy Germans who gather outside the window most of the night. Bad move. I slept through everything, right up until 15 minutes before I'm supposed to clear out of my room!

Ok this is too long. More soon. E