September 2024
September has been a busy month! It’s crazy thinking about how much actually happened in the month - the end of the paralympics and a lot of travelling.
All things Paris
The month kicked off with some Paralympics and live music! For the Paralympics, I saw some track cycling and wheelchair fencing which were a lot of fun. After the track cycling we came back into Paris for a concert.
We went to see Travis with Hamish Hawk as the support. I love love love Hamish Hawk, which is how I found out about the show.
A friend from the US came to Paris for a few nights and we were able to meet him for dinner. We had some has some great vegetarian ramen. A friend who had dinner with us suggested the place - he’s vegetarian and swore by this ramen and it did not disappoint. After this, we walked to a Le Dernier Bar avant la Fin du Monde and had a cocktail. We called it a night after this because we were up early the following morning to go away for a weekend.
Books
I started reading The Artist’s Way this month and I’ve been really enjoying it. I am a lot more committed to it this time compared to when I first tried in 2023 - so committed I event took the book with me on holiday while travelling by bike! I have done my morning pages every single morning, usually as the first thing I do after brushing my teeth however at the end of the month while on holiday it wasn’t always the first thing.
For The Artist’s Way, there was one week of reading deprivation, which I didn’t fully succeed in - due to my use of social media. However, I do want to try this again because I think it’s a task that I can learn a lot from.
A friend lent me his copy of An American Marriage which was so good. I’m not sure if this is a book I would have picked up on my own, but I trust my friends judgement when it comes to books. Such an emotional read, but would definitely recommend it.
While in Belgium, I picked up a copy of What You Are Looking For is in the Library which I also enjoyed. I like how the stories within all tied in with each other. One thing that really stood out to me is the felt creations that were gifted with the books and how each person was able to find their own meaning behind it. I think libraries are magical places and often books surprise me. I can almost always take something away from a book, and it’s often not at all what I would have expected.
Travel
There’s been a lot of travel this month. I spent a weekend in Ambleteuse, the north west of France on the coast. I was there for a family party. With my partner, we took out bikes on the train from Paris to Boulogne-sur-Mer and then cycled. On the Sunday evening when cycling back to Boulogne-sur-Mer, we got soaked - is it really a bike trip without rain? We had to pack out bags in such a way so we had dry clothes that we could get changed into on the train.
The weekend after, we were in Belgium for a wedding, we arrived on the Thursday evening and left on Monday evening. On the Friday, we went to Antwerp so my partner could get his wedding ring altered. While there, we met some friends from dinner. We went to a Thai restaurant and the food was so so good.
The wedding was a lot of fun, but a little overwhelming for me because it was all in Dutch and it’s fair to say my Dutch level is very low (it’s on my list of things to learn, but I don’t currently have the time to commit to it).
On the Sunday after the wedding, we were able to see four different events that were happening for Heritage Days in Brussels. It was a lot of fun to see places that are usually closed to the public. I wrote an article about it, and my overall thoughts. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see anything for Heritage Days in France because I didn’t reserve anything in advance, and because I picked up a last minute shift at work.
On the Monday, I was able to meet a friend for a drink over lunch. She recently moved from the UK to Brussels which is very exciting, she’s been wanting to do this for a while so that she can become fluent in French. Now that she lives in Brussels, I’m sure I’m going to see her much more often than I used to.
The interesting thing about being in Belgium, is that I don’t feel like a tourist (when I know that I am!). I think because I’m often there for a family or friends, I don’t really know what the tourists do in a place like Antwerp or Brussels.
And then at the end of September (and beginning of October), I took 10 days off work with my partner and we went on holiday! It’s out first holiday in a long time where we didn’t have any real commitments. We took out bikes on a train from Paris down to Valence and then cycled along the ViaRhôna to Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux where we’re spending a week.
It’s been so nice to see a different part of France and to have a holiday with low commitments. I really really needed this moment of calm.
Journalling
I didn’t make it to any JoClub sessions this month, or do much journalling in the evenings, however I did do my morning pages consistently so I’m counting that as a win!