La Belle Vie♥

Greetings all from finally back in France after many many massive weekends of traveling!!

Gosh, where to start.

Oktobefest, definitely. This year I decided to make a bucket list of things to do before I leave Europe, and oktoberfest was definitely on there. I bought myself a last minute ticket, for 7am on Saturday morning, which of course meant (because there is no train up to my friendly neighborhood airport that early) that I once again ended up sleeping in the airport. Luckily the Lyon airport is very nice, and has restaurants with booths. So I set up camp for the night, along with several other scragglers in the airport, it was a bit like summer camp, sleeping with backpacks, accept with strangers, and a lot less fun. However, the next morning I arrived to Germany (after having changed into my German outfit, a corset, pumping up my size C's to at least a DD...you should have seen the looks I was getting on the airplane) and promptly changed into the rest of my costume using Max and Jon (the friends I was there with) as a shield in the train station. We headed over to the oktoberfest tents (of course stopping to buy a beer for pre-game on the way there) and rocked our day out.

Oktoberfest, is every bit of the drunken insanity that you think it is, tents full of tables with random strangers dressed in Liederhosen, crazy Italians at the table next to you, crazy Germans at the same table as you, all standing up on the benches, toasting, shouting, singing, dancing, clapping and raising their enormously large glasses of beer. The best part was the waitresses, who are possibly hte strongest human beings on earth, each carrying giant masses of beer. I don't know if any of you have held a mass, but it hurts my hand just to hold up one, let alone carry about 15 of them full of beer at the same time. These chicks were STRONG and pint sized...amazing little pocket Xenas.

After spending the entire day drinking and eating everything in site...we got kicked out of the tents early because we didn't have a table reservation...I on the other hand managed to sneak back in...well not sneak so much as break in. I was standing in line, and I have never had to wee so much in my life, so i decided the way to get into the club was to try, in broken german, to explain to the bouncer that I had a kidney problem, and so that he needed to let me into the tent...I can just imagine how that sounded, "Sir, I have kidney disease, I NEED to get into the beer tent...please." Brilliant on my part. He of course denied me entry, so when he turned his back I made a run for it, bells and whistles started ringing, people yelled, but I just kept on running. Made it to the bathroom and then found my way to Max's friend's table (who were dressed as giant kangaroos by the by). Eventually the boys managed to sneak in, after several failed attempts, and we set off into town in search of currywurst (the best drunk food on the planet) and then headed home and fell asleep watching the Neverending Story on Max's movie projector...pretty much the best day ever.

So the next day was much of the same...accept more painful, because my liver was in serious revolt after the previous day's excursions. At one point in the night we were in a bar that I actually fell asleep in, I have honestly never done that in my life. There was a giant bathtub remade into a booth for a table. I laid down and passed out, and didn't even remember it until the boys reminded me about it the next day. All in all, I'd say O'fest was a smashing success, no wonder they only do it once a year though.

The next weekend, I jolted off to London Town to go stay with my very very good friend Katherine for the weekend. Katy Kat, actually was my former student in Texas when I was a French teacher. She and I kept in touch over the years and eventually, she made her way across the pond to live her dream and I am so proud of her. Six months in, she lives in a beautiful flat, has a great first job and is training to run the Paris Marathon with me in April! The first night I arrived we hugged it out somewhere in the underground and on our way home picked up chicken nuggets and chips at a local resto called the "chicken stop." I just had to eat there out of necessity because the name was just too amazing, like something you'd see in Texas. We stayed up until way too late, catching up and drinking far too much red wine. The next morning I paid for it though as we got up to do a little 6 mile run...little did I know that the first mile of said run was up the biggest freaking hill I've ever seen in my life. However, katie surprised me with a stop in the Hampstead Heath gardens at a little breakfast nook hidden away in an old english style building, it was like something out of pride and prejudice sipping coffee out on the terrace over looking the huge garden...very picturesque.

We spent the rest of the day sight seeing, I wanted to get my hair cut, but had waited to do it until arriving in London, as I wanted to be able to explain what I wanted in English, just in case...and of course my hairdresser ended up being from France, and I did it all in French anyway....figures. Katie and I hit up the national gallery and saw all kinds of paintings by my favourite guys, Sunflowers by Van Gogh, Renoirs, Monets, Manets...it was pretty surreal to be standing about a foot away from each of them able to see the brushstrokes. At one point a children's group came through and we joined in for story time.

The next day was mine and Kate's 10k for cancer in Victoria park. We got up suuuuuuuper early and headed down (sitting on the top of the double decker bus...I was far too excited about this) and arrived at the park thinking we were late, kate was panicking and i was wondering where all the people were since we couldn't find the freaking start. I asked for the map she printed off...only to look at it and see that the race didn't start for another 2 HOURS....oh kate, i could have killed you if your'e reading this:) The race for cancer was amazing, very moving, as everyone wore signs in honor of whom they were running for. Some saying "for my son who passed away last june and was 22," I found myself weeping at several points during the race itself, especially when passing a young man wheeling his father through the course in a wheelchair, and also when passing one woman in particular who was standing on the side of the road furiously clapping, cheering and weeping all at once. I got to the end of the finish line and actually crossed it by doing a cartwheel, sadly I have no pictures of this...but it was epic.

That night I went out and found another old friend from Texas (I swear more and more are coming across the pond now...it's an epidemic). My good friend Michael Georgio, fellow singer now Londoner and I went out for dinner and had a great time catching up over whiskeys and burgers in Covent Garden. Life is so surreal sometimes.

Kate had to work the next day so I headed of for a day of sightseeing on my own. The best part being Shakespeare's globe theater. I headed home that night and in honour of shakespeare I decided to watch Shakespeare in Love and gorge myself on fried chicken and chips from the "chicken spot" again. It was a truly delightful evening. Due to all the wonderful striking going on here in France at the moment (as the french are pissed that the retirement age is moving from 60 to 62...seriously ridiculous, delayed trains, protesters actually on the tracks, closed down unis, cars set on fire, helicopters...I mean really, all over two years) anywho, my trip was cut short a bit and I ended up spending the morning boarded on my flight for 3 hours before take off, after having taken a 35 pound taxi ride to the train station and another 2o pound train to the airport...god my pocket book was so light after being in England.

All in all two amazing trips. Fresh back from the land of Ire yesterday so I'll be sure to update that soon. I'm a little shot for right now.

I love you, I miss you,

Sarah

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