Sun, skates & sexy men

Yesterday morning I stepped out of my hostel holding my umbrella before me like a shield. I almost dropped the umbrella in confusion: something was different. There was something warm and vaguely familiar on my face, something I hadn't felt for a long time. Sun. There aren't words for how good it felt to find the world lit up with natural light. And the light is different in Paris. It's paler, more delicate than it is at home. It was dancing off the Seine and making the buildings glow. I suddenly understood why all those poets get so gooey over Paris in the spring. It was a city utterly transformed.

Naturally, I spent the day out doors, frolicing in the jardin des plantes (paris's first public park) and the parc de bercy, next to the cinematheque francaise. I took a stroll through bercy village, a seers of old warehouses that have been converted into shops and trendy restaurants, and went to a braisserie for lunch and ate overlooking a pretty market sqaure. Also stopped by the biblitheque national and sat reading on the sun deck.

I was so excited about the weather I felt the need to share my joy and befriended a group of Americans over dinner and a few bottles of wine. We took some absinthe and headed to a bar where there were bras hanging from the ceiling and the all-male staff wore nothing but underware.

Somehow we dragged ourselves out of bed this morning to visit europe's biggest flea market, which was actually kind of disappointing. It was all fake handbags and rip offs of American clothing brands. But the afternoon more than made up for it. I've been missing my skates like crazy since I left, so I got in contact with the Paris rollergirls and they invited me to their training session this arvo. Unfortunately the skating itself didn't last too long as they train outdoors and the rain made a comback today. But we retreated to a nearby cafe and spent an jor or so chatting about derby! There was also a film maker who came to watch. She's making a doco. About women in sport, so it was very cool to have a chat with her too!

Think that's pretty much me for the last couple of days!
Missing you all muchly,
Margs (aka Or Elsie, my new official derby name as if last week!)
xo xo xo