On the 5th of June I left for Paris. After a layover in Rekjavik, I arrived and settled in with my friend Pauline's family (she is my darling friend who went missing and was found dead last year). They put me up for the night and it was good to reconnect with them. I spent the next two days with friends from the States, showing them around and helping them navigate. They were nice enough to let me stay in their hotel too. I spent one more night with Pauline's family, and then went to my friend Benjamin's apartment until I left for Rome.
Benjamin and his girlfriend were so nice to put me up for ten days in their little flat. It was nice to just wander around all day and then reconnect in the evening to make dinner together and catch up. Benjamin was Pauline's best guy friend, and his girlfriend also knew her very well. We had a little reunion dinner of all of the friends of hers who are in Paris, and had a nice time catching up and remembering her. If you are friends with me on Facebook or follow my Instagram, you'll know I've been taking quite a few photos of my trip so far... My Instagram is sashoemaker if you are interested.
Right now, I am in Rome, however. A friend of mine was teaching a workshop and living in an apartment here for to weeks and invited me to tag along. He is a sculptor, and he and his friend ran a two week class of sculpting and learning about sculpture in Rome. The location of the apartment and the studio are both great and central. I was afraid I would never learn my way around Rome, as it is much more confusing than Paris, but in fact I have a decent handle on things now. Unlike Paris, where I just wandered without agenda, having done a lot of tourist things in the past, here I was on a mission for my first few days. I saw the Borghese Gallery, visited the Vatican, and the Colosseum/Palatine/Roman Forum all in three days. In between, I went to see great sculptures in a handful of cathedrals throughout the city. The students in the group were so much fun and it was great to hang out with them and not bother my friend all the time. They ranged in age from 22-55 or so, and had a wide variety of professions, and were from all over the world. Typical me, I had a few Mexican guys keeping me company until they left this morning. It was of course, flattering, but I miss Allan.
So what about food and exercise? Well, I've been eating more than usual at mealtimes, for sure. But, I have or been snacking whatsoever since I left the US. I have, on the other hand, not been running much (I was better with it in Paris, but Rome has been scorching and my days have been packed... I'll probably go tonight). I have no scale and brought mostly jersey dresses and things that don't show if I've gained, so I really have no idea. Have the miles and miles of walking in e heat balanced out the food and wine? I guess I should take some measurements today. That will help. My only trouble is that I have been eating wheat almost every day, which leaves me with a bit of a swollen belly. Regardless, I need to gauge. And, Allan and I are starting Insanity on July 5, when I am settled again in France. I know that will help a lot too.
Even though I've been eating and letting myself go a bit, I haven't been feeling too down. Maybe I'm just distracted a lot, and have had a lot of flattery from the guys around here... I don't know. I do know I am in no shape to be in a bathing suit on the 5th, but I'm trying to just keep myself generally relaxed. That is the whole reason I am here, after all. To distress and heal.
I hope everyone is well... My Internet availability has been sporadic, so I am quite behind on blogs. I managed to send out a few postcards to my lovely friends here, but Peri, I am missing your address and I sent you an email that you ignored! Over wise, LuLu, Mich, Ruby, and Cinnamon should have seen some mail by now. If I didn't send you one, don't feel left out... Is mainly just whose current addresses I was sure I had... And they cost a lot in the end! I send about 20 total, which is €0.95 each for postage and then the post card too! Yikes!
I am going to try and catch up on a bit of blogs reading today and hopefully will post again when I'm in France.
Much love <3
