A Change is as Good as a Rest

Yesterday evening my husband and I arrived home from a short holiday in Paris and Amsterdam. We've been feeling the need for a holiday for some time, what with my husband completing his MSc, my change in job, and the other hectic happenings of twenty-somethings who struggle to say "no" to stuff!

Last Monday morning we set off with full rucksacks to the station where we took a train to Newhaven. There we hopped on the ferry to Dieppe where we took a train to Paris, changing briefly at Rouen. We arrived in the evening, and after a slightly overwhelming walk through busy streets in the pouring rain from St Lazare Station we eventually found the side street that housed our hotel.

We stayed in Paris for two nights, and on Wednesday morning we set off with our rucksacks again to hang out at Montmartre until it was time to get our train from the Gare du Nord to Amsterdam. The fast train took us speeding through French and Belgian countryside and on into Holland in just under three hours, and worked out cheaper for us both than peak tickets from our hometown to London (which takes just over an hour)! We then stayed in Amsterdam for three nights, before flying home yesterday evening.

So, we did lots of exploring, lots of walking, lots of eating, and lots of attempting to dodge the autumnal rain. We are both feeling the need to rest again, but in truth a change from the norm has definitely been what we needed. We haven't had to wake up early each day. We haven't had to travel to work and put up with the daily stresses. We haven't had to cook dinner for six days. We have had the opportunity to sit back and watch the world go by. We've been able to enjoy being somewhere different, to wander around with little pressure for time, and no demand for our attention or domestic responsibilities to concern us.

It's been great to have a rest of sorts, and now we both feel refreshed (if full of cold, sadly), and ready to go again. And I hope to write a little more about our adventures in the next couple of weeks.