Soulagement

Nothing like a good cancelling of trams due to god knows what, a spider creating a web over one of the tracks or a cat insulting the tram driver, so getting to the station to get Andy was a bit of a nightmare. I was pretty calm somehow; maybe because there were many more angry French people getting vocal (my favourite included an old lady repeatedly shouting putain at the tram driver)!

This might not come as a shock to those who know me well, but Andy and I have broken up and joined the pretty long list of all those couples for whom the year abroad pushes you apart rather than together. I wish him the very best in life, and want everyone to know it was neither of our faults, nor anything to be sad about. I think we had reached a point that if we carried on we would have ended up hating each other. I am more than happy to have him as a friend, and it has really come as a relief that it has ended this way. In a way I feel like we've let everyone down by not managing to stay together, but I guess it's just something that people will have to get over. Although he will have a special place in my heart always, I just didn't love him in the same way anymore, and being together was causing way more stress than it ever should have. The break-up went better than I could have ever expected to be completely honest with you. I think it's probably going to feel strange for a while though...but I feel I must repeat, do not worry about either of us!

Between the two of us we decided that he would stay a few more days before getting the ferry home, so today was spent showing him Caen. I hope he was impressed! We wandered round all of the streets and I showed him my usual haunts...so Café Latin, Tour Solidor, Dolly's and some of the shops around and about (inc. the chocolate sculpture shop!)...and of course, Saint-Pierre. We chased a sunset to the castle and ended up rather precariously on a frosty castle wall taking this photograph! We then went across to the Mairie to watch the light show projected onto it...there really isn't any way to describe it bar that it really was great, and this photograph (taken by Andy). After this we went home for a meal and watched some comedy before bed.

Today has been hard, but ultimately rewarding.