Week 23 2025. One Daily Positive and Project 365 - Paris

I'm not enjoying work at the moment, it's quite depressing. They've wound my role down as they're doing something different next year to engage students with low attendance. I discovered this week that they're advertising for a TA, my old role. They said they'd let me know if there was any suitable alternative employment, but I found out on a job site about the role. It's not nice not feeling wanted, despite my line manger telling me I'm invaluable to her, it's just all to do with budgets.

I was triggered by a pair of shoes in Mountain Warehouse, these are what we used to buy for Stephanie and she'd have been due a new pair of boots and sandals around this time of year.

153 I had my B12 jab on the way to work and the nurse had prepped the blood testing tray to save me going back on Friday. It's my 6 monthly test for my creative thrombocytosis. Levels were almost in normal range back at the last test. Home to have an early bath, catch up with some TV and an early night.

154 I had a call from neurology first thing in the morning to discuss the new medication. It's definitely working, only 2 migraines in May. I'm still getting persistent headaches and occasional stabbing eye pain and I feel nauseous from the meds, but I'll take that instead of 15 days of migraines a month. An upset at work through thoughtless comments. Peter met me for coffee after work and home for dinner. Went to the pub on a dog walk with a friend.

155 Got my nails done after work and home to do some washing and packing. I spent the evening watching the last Mission Impossible film ready for Thursday evening.

156 Peter picked me up and we went into Worcester after work to watch Mission Impossible. We had dinner and a couple of drinks in the pub. I enjoyed the film and we got home at 11pm. Straight to bed.

157 Woke at the alarm and had a bath, then into work. Peter collected me at 3.30pm and we drove straight to the airport. I had 15 mins before my gate was announced to grab a sandwich. Landed at 10.30pm. My friend Dorette, was waiting for me at the station.

158 Some serious mileage walked and stairs climbed up and down. Grabbed a Starbucks and caught the metro to the Eiffel Tower for a trip to the top and a glass of champagne. I finally managed to get tickets to Notre Dame stopping on the way to have lunch and a cocktail. Then we visited the Catacombs to discover they were closed due to a strike, so we went to the near by China Town. We missed our stop on the RER, I fell off my seat and the Parasians did't bat an eyelid, despite me and my friend being in absolute hysterics. Bought a bottle of wine and some snacks and back to the air b&b around 9pm.

159 early morning visit to Pere Lachaise Cemetery where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde amongst others are buried. next stop a tour of the Paris Sewers, then a walk up the Champs Elysee. Back to the air b&b to collect my bag, then a stop at Notre Dame for dinner and off to the airport. No trains running, took a while but found a route with a bus replacement service. Flight home at 10pm.  

What made me happy this week:

Being in Paris with my friend. Having new experiences. 

Things that made me smile this week:

Sitting at the Easy Gate desk watching people trying to cram bags twice the size than they've booked into the racks.

Standing up on the train to check the station and sitting back down (on the ground) without realising my chair seat had flipped shut, walking past places we were going to all because we were too busy happy. A waiter meow'ed at us whilst taking our order. 

The stupid light on the BMW when you open the door at night.

On the blog this week:

The good bits of May

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The Good Bits of April 2025

April has been busy and packed full of fun with 2 of our sons, DIL and grandchildren. The weather has been perfect for being out and about and we've made the most of it. The 2 weeks Easter Holidays felt so much longer and despite packing so much in, we've also had plenty of time to rest, watch TV and just chill.

Things that made me laugh:

April Fools Brownies. I made these for my students. I work in a secondary school, they humoured me.

Parking the white car. My other vehicle is a camper van, a Ford Transit. I can park it anywhere, this thing takes several attempts and a taxi to the pavement. I took this photo to prove I can actually park it.

The grandchildren have provided us with lots of entertainment from 'She was naughty for 3 minutes' When granddaughter spoke to her friend at the park and didn't give her cousin the full attention he wanted. Being told by granddaughter that I am her favourite, but not to tell granddad. Also the importance of a half year has been discovered. And I best not mention the punch in the face I gave our granddaughter when I was trying to put her seatbelt on.

Places we visited:

Forest of Dean - Beachenhurst with Peter and the grandchildren for the park and lunch

Malvern Hills - Walks with our son's dog and to see the bluebells on our own

Park - We're fortunate to have several nice play areas in Malvern to take the grandchildren to

St Briavels - Two nights camping together and a walk to the local pub

Chepstow Castle - Day out with Peter and our granddaughter

Easter Party - In my old neighbourhood with DIL and the grandchildren

Much Wenlock - English Heritage Wenlock Priory in the morning with a friend, then

National Trust Benthall Hall - Late afternoon before I headed to my camp site for the night.

National Trust Berrington Hall - On my way home

Countrytastic - Three Counties with Peter, DIL and grandchildren

Birmingham City - Two trips to watch Birmingham play

Croome Park - A day out with Peter, DIL and our grandchildren

Goodrich Castle - A day out with my friend and her 2 children

Keynsham - Peter and I visited his mother as there was some DIY to be done - catching up with reading on all the trips

Meeting with friends - Lots of coffee visits, meals out, just chatting and drinking tea moments also

Things we did at home:

Gardening - Lots of moving pots around really for best sun light

Grandchildren to stay

Tidying up after the grandchildren had visited

Had a visit from the Easter Bunny

Had fun with Olive our friends dog we looked after for the Easter weekend

I'm not sure May will be as busy but I do start and end the month in Northern Ireland with a bank holiday weekend and Whitsun holiday, so who knows? How was your April?

A weekend in Paris - June 2024

I travelled to Paris on the weekend to meet my friend Dorette, who I met in 2011 when we lived in South Africa. She was there with work and as we haven't seen each other since 2019 it was an ideal opportunity to meet up after 5 years. it felt like 5 minutes since we'd last seen each other. 

We had the most amazing weekend. Our feet didn't hit the ground, other than the 15 miles walked on Saturday and the 10 miles walked on Sunday.

Paris is getting ready for the Olympics and with Joe Biden's visit, the streets were closed for traffic and in places for pedestrians. We were unable to access the Place de Concorde, hence a lot more walking than anticipated.

My journey started at Birmingham Airport and after hearing tales of massive queues for security, I left work an hour earlier, but walked straight through security and arrived airside 3 hours before my flight.

I was joined on my trip by Yoda, the learning base lego figure, that I spent the whole weekend looking for in pockets and the bottom of my bag and to my horror, discovered this tiny piece of lego was also 2 pieces joined together.

Having checked I didn't fall foul to the 10 year + date on my passport, I was horrified to discover I was getting stamped on arrival. My passport is almost full with visas and with 5 years left to run I'm reluctant to surrender my Burgundy cover in exchange for the new blue ones.

I'm also annoyed I had to sign up with a PAYG contract for 2 years as I couldn't get 3g in Europe with my current top up monthly subscription.

No luggage, so straight to the RER.

One way ticket purchased 11.80 euros and a 1 hour ride to Garde de Nord to meet my friend Dorette.

The air b&b was on the canal, a short walk from the station and an idea point for exploring Paris.

It's been 14 years since I've been to Paris and I was amazed at how much it has changed. So many more tourists, so many more queues and menus and guides in both French and English, almost everywhere. There were a few places I spoke French to order drinks and food, but as soon as I said 'Bonjour' most people could hear the English accent and replied in English.

First stop, after coffee, was The Louvre, for a 10.30am visit and straight off to see the Mona Lisa.

The queue to visit filled the whole gallery, but people moved on quite quickly.

This was the closest we could get now, last time I was here, you could stand almost side by side and take a selfie.

The view from the windows of the court yard is stunning.

We worked our way around the whole of the museum, stopping to take photos of things that interested us. it was difficult to get a lot of photos due to large tour groups that dominated most pieces.

After The Louvre, we headed for the Eiffel Tower.

A court yard of designer shops.

Lunch stop.

Free entertainment at lunch, with the streets being closed, due to Biden's visit, this bus got stuck and the furniture delivery guys refused to move their vehicle and just walked away.

I love a bit of street art.

Place de Concorde closed whilst Paris prepares for the 2024 Olympics.

Our route closed due to Joe Biden's visit.

Finally made it to the Champs Elysees. I do love a good building design and this Louis Vuitton building is one of the best yet.

The last time I was at the Arc de Triomphe, I drove round it.

The first real sign that the Olympics aren't far away, viewed from the Trocadero.

Ready for our cruise down the Seine.

Notre Dame.

One too many glasses of Champagne.

We finished the evening off at Montparnasse.

Day 2 in Paris.

We started to see more signs that Paris is almost ready for the Olympics.

We started the day early with a visit to Sacred Coeur. By 10.30am the queues to get in were huge.

I insisted on a climb to the top.

Lunch stop.

A visit to Galleries Layfeyettes.

Another roof top view.

The afternoon spent exploring the neighbourhood where we were staying and a few drinks.

Back at Gare de Nord and the end of the trip.

I arrived back in Birmingham and Peter collected me and got home around midnight.

Lets hope it's not 5 years until we see each other again.