For those of you who have no idea what 'flaneur' means it is a peculiar French word for strolling or wandering: ie moving forward whilst taking your time to look around and enjoy life.
It seems very apt for the travel we about to commence whilst we spend a couple of months driving the back roads of France after spending a few days in London.
After spending two months in Bali I am now in the two week 'limbo' period in Melbourne before we leap on the plane to London and ultimately make our way to France.
After having mastered enough Indonesian to have a reasonable conversation with the locals in Bali, I now have to pack away the Indonesian language flashcards and revert to my schoolgirl French. As time passes my school years are getting lost in the mists of time so dredging up some of the useful phrases will be a challenge.
Fortunately one of our clever friends gave us a useful Kris Kringle present: a set of 8 CDs of 'Conversational French' language lessons.
There are real French people speaking at the pace and with the strong accents that can make a simple sentence sound like a complete mystery. It's not the slow, flat French I remember being taught by Mrs.Jackson at Greythorn High. But I figure I am very good at imitating French accents in a very flowery way so I am hoping that will disguise my inaccuracies. (According to my friend Jude, who endured sitting next to me in French lessons for years, my ridiculous style was the only reason I passed!)
The plan is to fly to London on Friday and make our way to an AirBnB that overlooks the famous Borough Market. It's a great location but it is on the 4th Floor ....and there is no lift. We may need the exercise from the stairs to counteract the great food available at the market apparently.
Ewan has never 'done the sights' of London, and it is some decades since I have, so we thought it was a good idea to stay for a few days and catch-up on all of the developments.
So now the question is: how many devices do two people need? laptops, tablets, phones, cameras, lenses....really it will be a miracle if I get to pack any clothes!!
your cleverly-packed correspondent
Dianne
