The speed of time

Time goes faster in France than in Sweden... or so it seems. I can't believe I've been here for more than a week now. Even less believable is that I have only 5 days left before I fly home. On the one hand I am really excited about starting my new job but on the other, a few more days here would have made it possible for me to go to the beach for a few days in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, on the Atlantic coast where we have our summer flat. But I can't complain, a new job AND holidays, not everyone can have it and I am thankful for it.

Last week I was in Montpellier with my brother, his wife and their soon-to-be-1-year-old son. The weather was quite good and the temperatures around 30 which seems to be "cold" for the locals who complain that there is no summer this year. Well, it was just perfect for me, warm enough to feel that it actually is summer but not too much to force you to stay at home the whole afternoon and wait for the temperatures to cool down somehow. We didn't do anything special but took it easy: played with the little prince, went shopping, had some long "aperos". An apero is a short word for aperitif, something typical french; before dinner (or lunch), you have a drink a few small things to eat like olives, chips, peanuts, etc... and you take it easy and talk. It can last from 10 minutes to hours, the point being of just it, taking it easy and enjoying life and the holidays. We also had some nice food and especially fruits and vegetables because Montpellier's region is famous for its peaches, watermelons and etc. On Sunday we went to the beach and not even 2h hours gave me more colours than what I had gotten the whole summer. I wonder how I would look like after a week on the beach there...

Now I am back at home, in Pau where life is steared by the Tour de France. Pau is one of the most classic host-town and this year the Tour stays here for three days. I wanted to go downtown and do some shopping but the Tour is leaving from Pau tomorrow morning and some streets will be close around 17 and the whole center will be a big mess... so shopping will wait until Friday. Instead I am watching it on TV, writing here, and reading the 7th and last Harry Potter that I bought on Monday. I wonder how many days it will take me to read it and how little hours I will sleep the next nights.

Left for me here are: a day in the mountain, some time by the pool and in the sun, some reading, meeting my dear old friends Mattieu & Helene, seeing my grand-father, time with the family, some shopping, eating & drinking of course! And then a whooole week-end in Paris with my friends and drinks & food again.

There might be only a few days left, but there's still a lot to do!