De Retour...

So I’m back in Den Haag.  I still feel amazed that this is ‘home’.  SUCH a pretty city.  Really, really. 

It was a fairly chill trip back from Montpellier.  I walked from Rue Gambetta through the Polygone to the Place de l’Europe where the 1.50Euro shuttle bus picked me up to take me to the airport.  I could resist a couple of cups of coffee and a pain-au-chocolat for the road to enjoy with my book on a terrasse one last time.  The flight from Montpellier to Paris was the longest of the two legs at just over one hour.  Paris to Amsterdam was about 45mins maybe?  Too bad because somehow I got bumped to business class.  Why does this only happen on hour long flights (once before from Calgary to Vancouver).  Not that I’m complaining but it would be just so much more delicious if it was over an ocean!

So yesterday morning I happened to wake up relatively early and went down for breakfast where I indulged in crepes, tarte au poire, a croissant, homemade jams and coffee by myself.  I was just wondering what I was going to do with the day when I heard an ‘’Oh, thank God’’ and looked up to see Deanna!  She’d had a migraine the night before and couldn’t make it to the hotel but had no way of letting me know.  They’d found me that morning and it was all good.  She’s resourceful, that girl.  The last time I saw her I was walking down a road in Goa in India and I heard a ‘’Chriiissssttttyyyy” go by as some crazy blonde chick whizzed by on a motor bike and then did a U-turn to sidle up to Jocelyn and me.  We’d made loose plans to meet; she knew the day and rough location where I’d be – I hadn’t had a chance to get any more details to her.  Didn’t matter!

Our reunion this year in France was a bit longer but not much.  We spent most of Saturday together in Carcassonne in the castle and around the ramparts.  I met her boyfriend, Steve, and the 3 of us started out with a coffee up in the old town.  We all went in to the castle to check it out.  It was pretty impressive.  As a Canadian, I’m always impressed with how old things are in Europe but I was pleased to see that Steve, from England, was also impressed.  The original 4^th century enclosure was still protecting the city during a siege in 1209.  After 1226, the city was fortified by a second enclosure, nevermind the moat!  During the life of the defences around the castle, it was never taken.  It’s no wonder!  I learned a whole bunch of new words on this tour like barbican and machicolation!  You didn’t want to mess with those guys!

It was such a warm hot day that after the castle we wandered over the old bridge and then bee lined it to the first ice cream shop we could find.  It was a nice way to end a short but sweet visit.  I do wonder where I will meet up with Deanna next!!!