La Ville Lumière | Summer Part 2

So what was the rest of my summer, if work was Part one? Well, the biggest impact on my summer was my birthday present, the fulfillment of a dream (of mine, and of many); Paris! City of love, fashion capital of the world, home of artists and poets and writers and everything else it's famous for, Paris was a dream. My sister and I made an ad-hoc decision to jump on the Eurostar, skip under the Channel and spend a weekend there. We went full tourist, and managed most of the major sights in two short days. Vertigo held me back from climbing La Tour Eiffel, but all in good time. 

Naturally, I fell deeply, desperately, and quite disgustingly in love. A true cliché, Montmarte is the most beautiful quartier of any city I have (and probably will) visit. That said, I'd like to point out that the Eiffel Tower is a glorified piece of metal. It's a wonderful landmark, but it is what it is; a tall, rusty iron triangle. Iconic, yes. Incredible, undoubtedly. Beautiful? Hmm. 
A holiday it might have been, but it wasn't without its benefits. I now have a solid (some might say stubborn) desire to spend the six francophone months of my year abroad at the Sorbonne. It seems that every member of staff at the University of Manchester is determined to put me off, but it's not going to happen. Whats more, Paris gave me back my painter's hand. How could it not? As soon as I got back I cracked out the watercolours.

As is everyone who sets foot in the city of dreamers, I was captivated by the architecture. I set to work on a Parisian window I'd snapped over there. You can see the result on my instagram. I fell back into painting mode and reached to my travels in Berlin for inspirtation.

JUST A WEEKJust a week after returning from Paris, I was off again. Where? Back to the good old rainy city; Manchester. It was that time again: University called, and after a long summer of failures, successes, and repetition, I answered willingly. I moved into my new house [unfortunately not without problems] and threw myself into life as a second year. I've spent the last 12 weeks diving into French Cinema, translating what seems like every literary text in the French speaking world, and haphazardly trying to set my year abroad in stone. It's been a mad one, but God it's been good.

        

  Fallowfield is beautiful as ever [read: Fallowfield doesn't look like a sh*thole when you look at it in the right light], Uni is hectic, Paris is wonderful, and I'm back.

There's no place like home | Days 79-90

Last time we spoke, I was in Germany and under the impression that the dreadful illness had passed. How wrong I was. It continued. I worked for a week, but my time away had gotten off to the worst possible start and my mind set was terrible. So I brushed off the dust, shrugged off potential judgments from everyone else, and made a decision that would benefit my health. I came home. I knew when I made the decision that I'd regret it on and off when I got back, but in the end I knew it was what I ultimately wanted. I've gone through my entire life making decisions according to what people would think of me and how they would react; it was finally time to make a decision for myself. So that's what I did. 
Since I've come home, I've felt infinitely better. I've seen a few friends, burned a lot of incense, had some wonderful bubble baths and generally cleansed myself of a lot of ill will. In response to CVs I sent out before I left for Germany, I've even had a job offer for "Bilingual Customer Service Assistant" at the international desk at a local company. I start on July 1st. So it's home sweet home and quids-in. There have been moments where I've kicked myself for catching that plane back, but I know it was the right decision for my mental well-being, so I don't regret it. The happy days have continued, and here's what's happened since I last saw you guys.

As before, that's all of my instagram snaps since my last post. They were all happy snaps, so why spare you the joy, hey? It's worth noting that they go backwards in chronological order, so from the bottom up you can follow me home from Lübeln to Salzwedel, to Berlin, to the sky over England, and back to sunny Somerset. It's actually hotter here than in Germany, so that's a one up!    Until next time,

Ort Hopping: Three Cities and a Village Later | Days 47-74

I'm back! Apologies where they're due, I know it's been almost a month since anything even touched this blog; exams loomed and everything got a bit stressful. But that's over. And I'm in Germany! I finished exams, and with them my first year of University, and now I'm at a job in Lübeln. Rather than post 30 full size instagram photos to catch you up, I'm going to put some mini pictures of everything I've put on instagram since the last post. Easier and fast for us both. Here it is!

So from the top down, you see me burdened with exams and longing for a night out; my beautiful big sister's 22nd birthday; booking flights to Germany; the Flat K finale (end of exams celebration); house-sitting for my sister (cat and wifi included!); leaving halls; and the last 9 are dedicated entirely to Germany. 
I stayed for a night in Berlin - as you can see! - before every train in Germany, a bus and a taxi to reach Lübeln. More on Lübeln later. I'm back in business!