Football and French Launderettes

Oh Laura, I got part two on Saturday and it answered all my questions that I had been about to ask you!

Now on Sunday I woke late and dragged myself into church (I LOVE that it's next-door!) and looked about for people I knew from last week but saw NO ONE. So I went and sat in a vacant pew, but then realised that this was a stupid idea and as everyone seemed to be taking the "personal space" route and not really sitting together at all, I took a look around and made a move towards a kindly-looking elderly lady sat across from me. Her name was Solange and she was very nice indeed. We talked a lot and it turns out she had a English pen-friend called Peggy when she was young. She has also been around since the war and during one song we sang she leaned over and said "We sang this during the war, you know!". I actually love her. Also, practically every song we sang was an English one translated (I presume) and I was surprised to see some really quite modern ones in there!

Afterwards, Kathryn came over and introduced me to a thousand people whose names I neither caught nor whose faces do I now remember, but the majority took my email address, which will be interesting...

In the evening I went to watch the World Cup final at the Eiffel Tower with the guys from work. I met a very nice French girl at the metro station who sat and chatted with me while we both waited for friends and lent me her mobile as mine had run out of credit.

We were at the back and Chris and I (being tall) could see perfectly however the others (being not as tall) couldn't see at all, so after running up and down the hill we decided at half time to watch the rest at one of the girl's flat. There, she told me of how she had been followed home by a scary man and then on the metro home, Diana told me about how the northern end of my line brings all the troublemakers into the city and is quite dangerous and then merrily waved goodbye at St.Lazare utterly oblivious to the chaos she had just wreaked in my heart!

I made it home fine.

Then Monday I came home from work and asked Ode next-door if she'd mind showing me the nearest launderette. She very kindly obliged and having lent me her fabulous old-lady shopping trolley to put my washing in, we headed out onto the streets. It was a little weird in the launderette we went to; I'm used to sticking the money into the machine itself but with this one you put your washing into the tiny drum (I was a little concerned it was packed too tightly but Ode assured me it would be fine) and then close the door and cross the room to a magic red box. Here, you select the number of your machine and insert the money it asks for and then black magic makes your washing machine in the other side of the launderette begin to make noises and wobble!

Whilst it did its thing, Ode showed me round the neighbourhood supermarkets and where was cheapest and was best stocked, etc. and then when we came home, I had a belated dinner and Amel had made cake, so I ate some - it was GORGEOUS and I miss cake and I could have eaten it all, quite frankly. In fact, I still could.

When I got into bed to go to sleep I read my post from Gragry and Grandad, which again made me very very happy indeed.

Oh and Monday I woke to a thunderstorm which continued sporadically for the rest of the day and all started to cool down and then today I woke and was almost chilly! I even wore a top with half sleeves today - but now I am too hot again!

Today for tea I made this Italian thing that Dino (who has Italian roots) told me about: roughly chopped oval-shaped tomatoes (no idea of their name but they're big and flavoursome!), garlic, lemon, salt, olive oil, basil and oregano and a bit of water left to marinate served with fresh bread - beautiful!

Tomorrow is Bastille Day and hopefully I'll be meeting up with people if I can just get my phone topped-up! I've bought the credit and have the code but when I call the woman speaks at 90 miles an hour and asks me to press something and I just need to be near a dictionary...

Oh and this is what I bought on Saturday:

She's saying "I, I shall be the prettiest of them all and you, you will bring me flowers" - I love it!
(It's by one of the guys who did Asterix!)

I like the pictures in this book:

Oh, and I almost forgot! When I got my washing home last night, I discovered an old french sock in amongst my things! I have decided to turn it into a sock puppet but I can't decide on a suitably french-socky name for it - suggestions?