Crestfallen

I'm in Paris. It's the first time I've had a chance to see the city the way I wanted to see it, and I have to admit I liked what I've seen. There is a sense of history and soul in this place that not many other cities posess.

The two days of training in Trappes were good, it was great to finally have a face for some of the telephone conference voices. Thursday evening I had beer in Versailles with our Ordering and Allocation contact, also this great. Friday evening I spent exploring Montmartre, with specific focus on Sacre Coeur (the stained-glass windows in that place...) and small wine bars in the backstreets away from the mass of tourists.

Saturday I dedicated to the fabulous Notre Dame and the areas south of the Seine. Notre Dame is not even a church, it is an unparallelled monument to man's ability to bring beauty into being. Does God exist? I do not know, but I know I did not find one in that church, nor in the also stunningly beautiful gothic masterpiece St. Germain l'Auxerrois. What I did find, was a message from a friend inviting me to a disco party this evening. Turns out he has an appartment on the street right behind where I'm staying :D

All in all, Paris is lovely. I did, however, clearly not think this weekend through properly beforehand. Unless you are happily numbed by the throes of romantic bliss, this city in spring will tear your heart to shreds and feed you the pieces. Like on Friday, I picked a winebar where they played very loud, generic French rap, but when I sat down the cutish bartender decided to change the tune, and what do they serve? Smashing Pumpkins - Crestfallen. Man, I almost drowned myself in the fruity red he brought me (which was very good, by the way).

The rest of April will be rather travel-free, as I have loads of reports to develop and routines to improve. May will take me to Denmark, Estonia and Sweden, and it holds a couple of concerts. June hopefully has a longer vacation in store, but will also bring me to Norway, Newcastle, London, Riga and Sweden (again). Love that the travelling is kicking off again, have been climbing up the walls with the lack of new sights. Now, champagne and dancing!

I just wish I could patch this chest of mine back together again.