Week one of 'le retour'

This week I have covered 23 km, which takes me to Herblay, one of the north-western suburbs of Paris.  It's twinned with Yeovil, but from what I've seen so far - streets of newish-build houses, a lot of construction - there is little else to recommend it.  I could be wrong, I may have simply taken a very un-scenic route, but I won't be lingering here for long.  Not sure that I'll cover 23k again this week as last week's total was boosted by a 10k charity walk and I shan't be doing that again in a hurry - it was tougher than I expected!

Never say never, though: I plan to walk to and from work at least 3 days this week, and do my Park Run on Saturday, plus wandering around Lymington Market, always good for a couple of extra k.

It's sad to say goodbye to Paris after spending a (virtual) Summer there, but the lure of my cosy home beckons as Autumn puts a nip in the air.  I can always run back next year and, in fact, I do have a vague plan about doing a Parisian Park Run to celebrate my 60th birthday in 2020!

A tout à l'heure!

La rentrée

For students of all ages in France, September means 'la rentrée' - back to school.  For me, it means I should start thinking of walking back to Southampton, after 4 months in Paris.  So today, 1 September, I will don my trainers again and begin the trek home.  I'm not sure it's going to be as easy getting home as it was getting here (not that it was terribly easy in the first place!) To be honest, I'm not sure how I managed to achieve it - it seems a lot more daunting now than when I started out, but that could be because I've had a birthday: I am now in my 60th year, having reached 59 a month ago.  August was NOT a great month - nothing to do with clocking up another birthday - but those are anecdotes for another time.  For now, I will concentrate on putting my best foot forward and heading north.

Adieu, Paris!