Guestcard 002 - Working in Vitré

 

Postcard from Vitré, sent to [Barry].

I normally travel with Barry, my other half and handfasted-partner-in-crime-to-be.  But this being a work trip to a conference, no Barry. Sad times.


I was in Vitré, in northern France.  23C in September, coming from a Glasgow that after a last gasp of sunshine had just started to get the first chill of autumn.  Some summer we had, barely anything at all, but we say that every year and every year we manage to eke out enough rays to make the contrast with the oncoming cold and creeping dark.  I like autumn.


First thing in the morning, drinking hot chocolate from a café on the corner of a junction between the old town and the new.  To my left the old town, all winding streets and medieval architecture; straight out of Fable.  Pointed castle turrets and overhanging houses.  Legacy of textile merchant wealth, made by ships' sails and good marriages.  To my right the train station, half an hour to Rennes and then back the same way to get to Paris.  In front of me a small modern fountain.

Three day trip with two days of conference, mostly held in French.  The immersion's done my vocabulary a world of good, but I felt my lack of practice.

Travelling without him just isn't the same.