Bonjour les amis!  After 23 years of flexible travelling to Paris I still cannot contain my excitement each time I return. Being born here and holding half a french identity whilst having family based here has always allowed me to call this beautiful place home. I get asked countless of times why I'm based in London rather than in Paris and well...It goes without saying that France is a big part of who I am and sometimes it takes me returning to my childhood place to realise certain things and to get to understand (& know) myself  better and stay connected with the way I grew up. The truth is that the excitement I share with you all as I write this, I fear would no longer be the case if I had to bring my everyday life into the equation.  It would no longer be my little escape, a place where I can come to refresh and relax. - you know what they say too much of a good thing, just like every thing else it would lose it's charm and I am not ready to give the love I have for Paris up and the sensation it gives me, it holds a place too close to my heart. I have plenty of childhood memories that I cherish everyday when I return and I somehow feel right in my element and can forget the world and stress around me whilst I'm here (sure wine gives me a hand at doing that but hey I'm not complaining) 

5AM  I usually never catch the eurostar very early, it's always a later train but there was a good deal going on and catching the early train meant catching a bargain. Ofcourse, I usually would have caught a taxi this early like I usually do when heading to the airport early morning.. but let's just say with December's salary it's always a stretch especially after the Christmas period. Roll on payday - - x3 days to go! (& counting) I have to admit despite it having been -3 degrees celsius & freezing waiting for the night bus to arrive, it was quite pleasant and on the whole it was a not such a strenous process to travel. I suprisingly enjoyed it and with no traffic on the road made getting to my destination faster and with no problem. 

Since moving to London it has made it easier for me to travel back and forth to Paris. It's a hop on, hop off process where you don't even have to wait for your luggage after the journey. You collect everything as you get off the train et voila les vacances commence. It takes about 2hours and a half journey in total if not slightly less. which is absolutely nothing if you think about it. Either that or I just got used to it.

I just seem to always be lucky when travelling to get no one next to me. It's always the case on my way to a destination and find myself sitting next to someone on my way back but I don't mind. I like to see it that I start my holiday in style and end with it going back to reality. I  love to spread myself, having my essentials on hand rather than underneath the seat (who doesn't) so it's quite fortunate to always have more than one seat available - the plus side to that is also having the luxury of resting diagonally to take in a better nap, not my first time I've managed to do that with ease.

I've been using the Eurostar for so many years now and I will continue to use it in the near future.  I might consider the early train more often as not only is it hassle free but you gain more of a day when you arrive at your destination. I usually always come for a quick few days and I'm always sad to leave but I know that I will be back again soon enough. For now I'm going to switch away from technology, relax, kick back and enjoy the next few days to really be in the moment and I will speak to you all when I'm back. 

A très bientôt. 

X

I can't believe that my holiday has come to an end. Malta is obviously home. So when it comes to looking at it as a holiday we don't quite do the same things as we usually would do in another foreign country. However, due to having a friend come over from England we got to play more tour guides and explore the Maltese Islands with him, which made it a nice balance of home and holiday. it's true that if it was summer we would have had even more things to do to make the most of the Mediterranean sea but we still managed to do various things, such as Go - Karting, Horse Riding and visiting some key areas, that just makes you fall in love with the country all over again.

I have to admit - I was nervous at the beginning, I haven't ridden a horse since .. well never. I used to ride a white pony named Arabesque back in Paris when I was younger but this didn't quite measure out to be the same. Her name is Delilah, yes I stayed singing the 'Hey there Delilah' song all throughout and quite frankly she grew a liking towards it & that's how we bonded - Thanks Plain White T's.

You know what they say when in doubt follow the sun

Another true beauty is Dingli Cliffs. I have to admit out of the whole two weeks that day was the coldest - the wind had really picked up.  In the horizon, the first and only thing you get to see is filfla  - the tiny rock in the middle of nowhere that no one is allowed to step foot upon however, it's more the sea, and beyond that catches my eye. a true vision - the reflection of the sun was almost silver reflecting upon the sea which almost made it heaven like. You don't have to spend hours here to take it all in , it affects you instantly. 

I'm just going to come straight out and say it - Mdina wasn't so much for the heritage that we went but more for Fontanella coffee shop and the iconic chocolate cake that we knew was waiting for us. Ofcourse, we did a good stroll around - but our coffee break took the cake! (Literally)

We did manage to catch the view which you can see whilst sitting down and I was completely amazed how I got to see half of the island in the shade and the rest in pure sunshine, it's something I had never seen before and I am so glad that I got to catch it in the moment, it was way more striking off camera though - as are most things!

When I'm back home, there's always so much food involved, from grandparents cooking, to home cooked meals to going out meeting and catching up with friends, this time I went for a late brunch at U-Bistro for a catch up with a friend -  safe to say we did not eat all of this food! The omelette was amazing, and perhaps was our favourite part from this brunch (& the healthiest too) We both got super excited when we saw pancakes & waffles on the menu and couldn't make up our mind as to which to get; it was like Sophie's choice. We compromised by deciding to get both! We both managed to take a pancake each but struggled immensely with the waffles -  the coffee on another note was fantastic.

I went to one of my favourite restaurants which happens to be Gululu, it's Maltese cuisine - and I go for the same thing every time, the L-Gharbija Ftajjar Pizza. I crave this when I'm in London and never bother to change my order. It's made with traditional Maltese dough, hummus, lamb & topped off with feta cheese ; any one drooling yet? Half is enough, My friend took the fresh calamari with gluten free pasta, and I have to say after tasting it, it was absolutely divine - get a glass of wine - sit outside with the blankets like we did, stay by the sea and take in the breeze and the night is absolutely complete. We walked off our dinner by walking on the sea front, which we do often here and is an amazing way of helping digest, I love how easily accessible my little town is.

My spine right now is so bruised .. I wonder why. I have to say I'm an exceptional driver and I am questioning why it is I hadn't gotten my license the first time round! In a matter of fifteen minutes I managed to over cross the tyres to end up on the other side of the track, did a complete 360 twice whilst turning, and going full speed without taking my foot of the pedal - I am quite the adrenaline junkie , I love these things although I didn't quite follow the proper technique I had loads of fun. I could have come close to first,( that is of course, if I didn't get stuck in a pot hole for two minutes had to be rescued!) I haven't done Go- Karting in so many years & unlike horse riding, you are in control. Definitely, keeps you buzzing for a while after! It cost 25 euros for half an hour. In the UK its double that price at £50 so was definitely worth it doing in Malta!

One of my good friends Claudia took part in an exhibition, where she worked closely with the photographer & Stylist  - this art exhibition was inspired by a number of fairy tale stories such as beauty and the beast, little mermaid , sleeping beauty et cetera and twisted the story line with current social issues - bringing social commentary and awareness to problems such as abuse, arranged marriage, portrayal of beauty in the media, abortion, sexuality, malnutrition and so on. The was a description for each photo in Maltese but quite frankly the photos spoke strongly for themselves. I was very impressed with this exhibition, I love photography, and appreciate a good art piece, this was well put together and  looking forward for future works.

that's a small preview of my week, I was constantly on the go trying to make the most of my time, and with that naturally I saw the time pass much faster.  It's funny how I woke up in one country, and ending the day in another - I enjoyed being back home and being able to spend quality time with both my family & friends, however, I'm slightly content being back in the UK simply to get back into a routine. I am currently in my onesie, sipping on a hot yogi tea & adjusting back to the cold -  Tom and I decided to order some chinese for the evening & we're ready to knock out straight after. I better quickly recuperate because I start work again tomorrow, back to reality ... Next up is our seven year anniversary coming up today week!