I must say, the months are flying by here. It freaks both Olivia and I out to think that we’ve already been married for 9 months. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great 9 months – its just that the wedding seems an eternity away.

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of visiting Paris for the first time. As I mentioned in my previous post I fell in love with the city. The weekend was made even more special by the fact that we spent it with my brother Eric and his wife Sophie. having been away from home for 5 months now it was great to hang out with a family member.

Paris is simply beautiful. The buildings, tourist attractions, approach to food and drink – all had a profound impact on me. I know you can’t really gauge the quality of life a city offers in just a couple of days, but from what little we saw I can’t help but feel that the French enjoy life a hell of a lot more than the English. Perhaps I’m right, perhaps I was just having a good time on holidays. I think I’ll need to spend a little (hopefully a lot) more time in France (not just Paris) to research this hypothesis further.

Our hotel was in Montmartre, just around the corner from the Moulin Rouge, where for a mere €160 (AUD$250) you can do dinner and a show. Montmartre had all sorts of cool shops. We really enjoyed wandering around seeing what the area had to offer. The food shops were amazing. The charcuteries with their amazing meats and pates. The bread, THE BREAD. Oh my god the bread was good. I’m afraid that people here in London are accustomed to a fairly crappy standard of bread, so going from that to a superb french baguette was pretty mindblowing. The fish shop across the road from the hotel was among the best I’ve ever seen. I’ve taken a few photos which will make it into the photo gallery shortly. The fillets were as fresh as I’d ever seen. When we got back to London I was horrified at the dried out, discoloured fillets which appeared before me in the supermarket. If you’re getting the impression that I think the food in the UK is shite… well it’s not quite that, there’s a lot of great food here – you just need to look for it, and be prepared to pay for it. My kingdom for a $6 bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup!

For the first time since we got over here I have to admit to being a little homesick. Seeing Eric and Sophie, and talking a bit to my folks has led me to ask a lot of questions about exactly what the hell we’re doing here. I assume that I’ll be asking such questions for the entire time we’re here. But for now, despite missing my family and friends a lot, I like being in Europe, and all the travel opportunities that it offers. This coming week I’ll be going to Frankfurt, Germany for work for a few days. Then at Christmas I’m excited to report that we’re going to Udine, Italy to spend a few days with my Uncle Toni and his family. This will be our biggest ever opportunity to experience a white Christmas. Can’t wait!

In other exciting news, after more than 5 hard months I finally have an internet connection at home. Gods be praised. I didn’t realise just how much I’d miss it until I had to do without it for so long. But then again (and here comes the soppy part of the post) I suppose I’m currently feeling that way about all of you back in Australia.

When I’m in Frankfurt this week I will apparently be going on a tour of the Christmas night markets. Am not sure what to expect, but it sounds awfully cool.