In retrospect: the tale begins

My blog has just woken up from a long nap. Posting was tricky while travelling in the Balkans this summer, and after a few unsuccessful and very frustrating tries, Claude and I gave up. I am now comfortably settled in an appartment in Lens, a small town in Northern France, and in the next few weeks I will write my blog in retrospect, drawing on a records that I kept during the summer.

My journey began on July 5th when Claude (the wooden claw, for those of you who have forgotten) and I arrived in England. After thinking of nothing but this trip for a long time, it felt oddly surreal to finally arrive with all of my things for the next six months plus. My six days in and around Brighton were characterized by delicious food (compliments of Maria), a newly discovered-yet surely genetic-addiction to scrabble, and breathtaking scenery. I made the essential Brighton stops, which included afternoon tea and clotted cream in Lewes, a photo in front of the carousel, and a visit to the eccentric Royal Pavillion. The pavillion was transformed, by a flamboyant George IV, from a simple summer palace to an eccentric "pleasure palace" with oriental decoration (although none of the interior designers had ever been to Asia). The Pavillion is quite representative of Brighton itself, which seems to be the San Francisco of Britain, in that eccentric people flock there and fit right in. All in all, a very pleasant beginning to my European sejour.