A Very British Update

Hey Charlie!

Summer is definitely over here in England so I thought you might like a little update from your favourite English Assistant (Obviously that's me!).

After I left you at the end of April I spent a few weeks writing up my project for university in terrible French, although no doubt it was much better than my attempts before coming to France.

Then, at the start of May, I left Marseille with my friend Imogen (she was an assistant in Aurillac) for 4 weeks travelling around France.  We visited Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Paris, Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon and then spent a week in La Croix Valmer, just next to St Tropez!  It was a fantastic month "couchsurfing" sleeping on sofas and floors depending what our hosts had available.  I've put a few pictures up below for you.

The "Water Mirror" in Bordeaux

An old swimming pool that has been converted to an art gallery

The European Parliament with Faustine (An amazing French lady we met in Strasbourg)

No visit to a FREE zoo (Lille) would be complete without the stroppy teenager haircut alpaca! 

The "Island of Machines" in Nantes.  This heron flew above us!

Bordeaux involved lots of wine.  Did you know there are 600 bottles in each barrel?

Imogen and I enjoyed the weather greatly on the south coast in the French Riviera

St Tropez didn't disappoint on boats.  I'm taking this one here.  But who calls their boat Drizzle?!

Travels finished, I had a few days with my parents in Aix-en-Provence and then left for home on the 8th June with no less than 6 (yes 6!) suitcases.  I think the wine was to blame, you just can't get good wine in England without paying a small fortune!

I am missing the French weather a little, even though I am much better suited to the grey English skies than the blazing sun.  I'm also missing my French family, French food and the wonderful Tyson, the family dog.

As you all go back to school this week I wish you every success with the coming year.  For me, I still have a month before the start of university but I'm working already!

You may begrudge having to study English Literature sometimes but whenever you feel that way, simply spare a thought for poor old me who, this year, has to read Simone de Beauvoir, Flaubert, Hagege, Rachilde, Zola, Proust, Ernaux and a few others.

So good luck and I am hoping to visit Marseille at some point next year.  If I do, you'll be the first to know and I look forward to hearing all your news.

Bye for now
Alastair