Paris - after what felt like forever

After 24 hours in transit to get from Melbourne to Paris, I’m finally here in my gorgeous little accommodation. It’s tiny. Lucky it’s only me because if Greg and I were both here, it might be a bit of a tight squeeze.
Everything getting here went smoothly. Got through the airport, jumped in a taxi, no worries. It was a fixed price to my accommodation.
When we pulled into this neighbourhood where I’m staying right near Notre Dame, we drove down this tight little laneway that was absolutely alive. It was buzzing. People everywhere, lights, conversation, energy. It felt really exciting. It’s 11 o’clock at night here though, so I’m going to bed. I was so tempted to go straight out and explore, but I need to try and get my body clock in sync.
On the flight from Singapore to Paris, there was this beautiful older silver-haired woman sitting behind me. We’d had a few little chats during the flight, nothing huge, just brief conversations here and there. As we were walking off the plane, she noticed my backpack and said, “Oh, are you off walking?” I said, “Yeah, I’m off to do the Camino.” She smiled and said, “You lucky, lucky girl.” Then she told me that ten years ago, when she was 70, she decided she wanted to do it too, so she did the last 120 kilometres. She said one of the best parts for her was the anonymity of it all. Not owing anything to anybody. Having conversations when you felt like it. Doing your own thing. She said after years of accommodating others and being responsible, as you are when you’re a mother, a friend, a daughter, a sister, everything really, there was something so freeing about just being there to look after herself. Not in a selfish way. More in a way of recognising where she was at in her life. And I think that feeling is probably more common than we realise. Maybe particularly at this stage of life. That yearning for a bit of time on your own. Not to escape your life, but to reconnect with yourself within it. It was a beautiful conversation to begin this trip with. And I’m pretty happy to be here.Read more