Last night I finally got to meet some lovely ladies!
It was (sadly) a leaving 'do' for one of them - I always meet the best people as they are about to leave.
Tim dropped me off at her house and we caught the bus together. Which was just as well because I still have absolutely no idea how the public transport works here. She's Japanese so we had a wonderful time reminiscing about places.
First stop was a bar to meet the other ladies in the party. About eight of us altogether, but two left before dinner. One of those who left early had seen me at the school when I did my talks to the assembly! It's a shame that she is also leaving Berlin too as she seemed great fun. The other members of the group were from the office where Tim works.
After a couple of beers it seemed a really good idea to move onto tequila. I have no idea why I did this as it's one of the (many) drinks on my personal banned list.
The rest of the evening appears in a series of snapshots:
We went for an Indian meal in a beautifully designed restaurant. I was careful to order biriyani as most Indian food doesn't agree with me at all. It was delicious and stayed put...
Then three of us went on to another bar when I really should have gone home.
Frozen Margaritas for me. Oh dear.
Back in my much younger days, tequila would have me dancing on tables, being loud and rude (well, more so than usual...), and talking about men.
How things have changed.
We talked about the best ways to potty train children, schools and motherhood!
I did not dance, either on or off a table and I don't think I was rude, but I was loud - I always am.
And I do remember showing my tattoos off... luckily the bar was pretty much empty.
We made plans to drive to Poland tomorrow to go pottery shopping! No, it's not happening, it was just one of those wonderful, crazy, alcohol-fuelled ideas.
Thankfully, they other two had a much better sense of direction than me. I get lost just crossing a road.
They asked which bus I needed. No idea. Which direction do I live in? I waved in one direction.
"No!" they laughed, "You live that way", and pointed in completely the opposite direction. Oops.
I caught a cab; it seemed safer.
After a couple of hours sleep, the most appalling leg cramps woke me up so I came downstairs and stretched out on the sofa with the cat watching strange early morning TV.
I roused myself just enough to get Rhiannon out the door to school, then fell asleep on the sofa with both cat and dog on top of me.
It's taken copious cups of tea and several ibuprofen to get me to the stage where I can write this post.
My age is telling me to go teetotal, I think!