Going home...

14 days of exile have come to an end and I am heading back to France for the weekend, and this is not just any weekend, this is the weekend of the Sigogne vendage festival, a tad early but I guess they do it for the weather, however the forecast does not look that handy.

The B&B is also full this weekend so we will doubtless be running between the festival and the B&B. We are due to do the usual eat in tent on Saturday night with the rest of the village, and luckily we are only providing dinner on Sunday night for some of guests.

Over the last 14 days I have managed to move from Southend back to South East London to the street where we used to live before moving to France. I am looking after the house of some friends of ours who have also moved to France, though nowhere near us. It was handy being in the UK last weekend so that I could get my self sorted out and organised. Living in SE London means I am only on the train for 20 minutes each way so I get 2 hours of my life back, thought most of that time is spend washing, cooking and cleaning, though this is preferable to commuting for an hour and half in each direction. Though I do miss my family when I can’t get back to France for the weekend it is useful sometimes to be able to sort a few things out.

It seems very strange to be back in the same road where we used to live, especially as I am on my own, but very handy. I have already met a couple of our old neighbours, the gossip network had already heralded my arrival, so they were not surprised by my sudden appearance. Most things have not changed a bit in the 18 months I’ve been away, not that I had really expected it to, which was reassuring.

This is my one and only run on Ryanair, in the coming weeks, as I use it to switch from La Rochelle to Bordeaux. The BA flights have already come down to the level where I can afford it and the convenience of the Monday morning flight is wonderful.

Some of my fellow travellers have uncovered a very cheap way to use the Eurostar/TGV to travel back and forth for only €49 each way. The French railways have a certain amount of cheap seats which if you book at the right moment are certainly are good value, and since I like travelling by train I will also look into this as an alternative to flying.