In Summer

I blog so often about far-off places and exotic locales- like Paris and Edinburgh and Paris again and Edinburgh again- that it's easy to forget about my own base-of-operations, Laon.
I only actually have one weekend left in France now, and this weekend will hopefully be spent with Jari, so I decided to spend these past few days exploring Laon and taking a few photographs, if for no other reason than the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

First, I discovered that Laon has a Tennis club. And a dog training club. And they share a facility.

Note that, despite the proximity to a main road, there is no road leading to that complex. I have yet to figure out how one accesses the compound, or, indeed, see anyone there.

I get the feeling that maybe once upon a time, there was more life in Laon and that we're in something of a dead period at the moment, so maybe the tennis/dog enthusiasts will come back in force one day.

My next discovery was a delightful little park wedged between two of the more hidden streets in Laon. Emphasis on little.

It's really just a glorified path between two roads, but I like that they put in the effort so you can't see the rest of the two while there and maybe even relax a little in the middle of the lower town.

Finding this park reminded of this time last year when Poppy and I would laze around in the meadows and get sundrunk. We'd read, tan and bitch about our employer, a can of cider in our hands, a worry about the future in our hearts. I became wistful. As Poppy put it:

"I want the meadows and a long summer with nothing to do and a vague reality of a good job in the background; one that would involve me smiling at people and them instantly feeling better, I think I want my life to be like a cartoon."

Can you tell she's a poet?
I sat in the park for a while and tried to recapture that feeling of epic fecklessness but without a friend there, it fell flat.

And, my final discovery: a pony in somebody's front garden.

There is really nothing else to say about this. Someone is keeping a pony in their garden. For all the world to see and, potentially, touch. I did not touch it. Frankly, the poor thing looked a bit stressed out and maybe a little sick, so I snapped a couple of pics and then left it to its own devices.

And that was my weekend in Laon. I know, I know, no grand adventures or fun cameos, but sometimes life is a little more placid and you just have to enjoy the sunshine.