NORMANDY!!! :)

I woke on Saturday morning after about 3 ½ hours of sleep- having worked the night before at Paddy’s.  I had prepared all my stuff on Friday (though apparently not all that well because I seem to have forgotten shower gel, a razor and a comb… lucky for me I was able to use my hair clip as a comb, the soup that was in the bathroom already and I have light colored hair on my legs, so while wearing my skirt it’s not too noticeable).  So on Saturday when I got up I didn’t have much to do to get ready.  I was out the door and on the train on time. 

 

I trained from Lyon to Paris, switched train stations- taking the metro in Paris is kind of like riding a bike- once you get the hang of it it’s easy and the routes you’re used to taking come naturally despite the time that’s passed since you’ve taken them last- and took another train from Paris to Caen- arriving here around 2:00. 

 

Clare and Bernard picked me up from the train station and we came back to the house to have a late lunch.  Hamburger patties (no buns… just the steak haché) with fries; then there was cheese for dessert obviously.  :D

The afternoon passed leisurely enough.  Lise, my host sister, went out with a friend for a while; Caroline, Bernard’s daughter who is visiting for the weekend, and her boyfriend went to go see a movie; Clare and Bernard and I just sat and chatted in the living room while I knit some.  It is such a pleasure to be here!  Being in the house that was, for 4 months 3 years ago, my home; seeing that not much has changed; the place is still lovely and comfortable; chatting with Bernard and Clare (better than I probably would have been able to 3 years ago as my French has indeed improved)—it was all just so nice and homey and wonderful.  It’s like being in my home away from home and it has left me feeling very peaceful.

In the early evening we went into town to run some errands.  Clare and Bernard each had a couple things to do and I had mentioned stopping by the SNCF office, so we did that too.  I decided that since I don’t work until Thursday that there’s no reason to go back to Lyon right away on Tuesday like I had planned- instead I’m going to spend a day and a half in Paris.  It’s been 3 years since I spent any real time there and although I know well enough that a day and a half isn’t nearly enough time to “do Paris”, I have been there enough to know that I just want to go refresh my mental image of a few wonders the city has to offer.  I’m thinking I’ll stop by Meusé D’Orsay and see my favorite painting: 

Eglise D’Auvers by Vincent Van Gogh and then just wander the amazing city- going wherever the wind, the sunshine and my heart decide to take me. 

We popped back home briefly to relax before heading back to the train station to pick up Kim, a friend and assistant working in Lyon, living about 7 minutes walking from my apartment.  (She’s the one who traveled with me in Spain too.)

 

We had a super fun evening, chatting and then playing Wii!  We took turns testing our balance via skiing, tight-rope walking, and hitting soccer balls with our head- all through the virtual games of Wii and the Wii balance board.  We laughed a lot and together amounted up to about 45 minutes of “exercise”… according to the Wii.

For dinner we had Raclette—melted cheese on potatoes with assorted meats.  Delicious!  Here’s a picture: 

(lies... I'm having trouble transfering pictures from my camera to my computer... I'll make a new post with all the pics).  

The white thing in the middle is a raclette oven-type-thing.  You plug it in and then you take the these little baby pans, put slices of special raclette cheese in them and stick them in the oven-type-thing, which heats from the top and melts the cheese.  Then you take potatoes and assorted meats and put the melted cheese on them and tada! Yummy food!

If you recall… my parents ate Raclette in Swizerland… but they’re experience was a little bit off… haha.  This is the REAL was to do it and it actually is very good. J

This morning I woke up comfortably after, truly, one of the best night’s sleeps I’ve had in a while… perhaps it’s the homey-peaceful feeling, perhaps it’s the stomach full of good food, perhaps it’s the fact that I’m not sleeping on a mattress of the floor but rather a bed; regardless, it felt good to wake up, well rested, in this house.

Church was an experience.  The cantor sang in a high pitched, mostly falsetto voice that sometimes, but not always, was on time or on key with the organ high above us.  It was one of those times when you watch the joy on someone’s face and you realize that it doesn’t really matter, but at the same time you’re like, “wow… this is terrible.”  Other than that, and the fact that I was joined at mass by almost only elderly folks- no one near my age to speak of, mass was mass as it is in France. Nothing all that special but not a waste of time either.  I liked the homily- mostly about rolling the stone away from our lives; the stone representing all the obstacles, worldly things and view points that get in the way of our freeing relationship with Christ. 

I left the eglise feeling good and proceeded to take pictures of flowers on my short walk back to Clare and Bernard’s.  Not long after everyone seemed to be up and showered and dressed.  Clare’s mother, Michelle, came over and we chatted some and then we all sat down together in the living room: Clare, Bernard, Michelle, Lise, Caroline, Yan (Caroline’s boyfriend), Kim and I.  We had an apero (a drink before you eat)- either champagne, which is what Kim and I drank, or punch, which is a white rum, lemon and sugar drink that’s a touch on the strong side.  Then we all went looking for easter eggs that Yan had hidden in the yard.  It was fun for all of us non-children to be like children again- wandering in the garden and looking for hidden eggs in the trees and bushes. :D

We finally sat down to eat around 1:30 or so.  We had lamb with some sort of white beans, then cheese, then café, then chocolate (the eggs) and tiramisu- homemade by Clare and absolutely delicious!!  Drinking wine throughout of course.  It was a delicious meal.

Caroline and Yan had made reservations for a lane at the bowling alley in town and so after eating, around 4ish, we all, except Lise who opted for the nap instead, to the Bowling Alley.  I can honestly say that it’s the first time in my life I’ve A. bowled in France B. bowled on Easter Sunday.  But it was great fun all the same!!  Kim and I were clearly the worst of the group, despite being the only Americans playing a game invented in America.  The first game my final score was 66- top score by Yan at 121- and the second came my final score was 69- top score, I think again by Yan, was 108.  Please notice on the photo below (again, lies... I'll have upload these later since I can't make it work) that it’s entirely chance when I play: you have a round when I got 0 pins down, followed by two rounds of spares, followed by a row where I got 0 pins down again.  Fail.  Apparently I need to practice a little.

After bowling we headed into town and walked around the Chateau for a little bit.  It wasn’t raining and that constitutes a nice day in Caen. It was fun to see this place where I had lived and walked through every day 3 years ago.  It had only changed a little- the part they had been doing construction on.

We returned to the house around 7:30 and I decided it was time to call my family.  I spent the next hour and 20 minutes on the phone with my favorite people exchanging news and whatnot.  Skype is a wonderful thing!

Some of us were a touch hungry in the evening, so light omelets were made. Then Clare and Bernard watched a movie on TV. Kim and I watched for a little before retiring to our room to read (in my case) or chat with friends online (in hers).  It is nice to feel so at home here that I can excuse myself without feeling like I’m hiding or be with them without feeling like I’m intruding.

I went to bed and slept well once again last night- waking to the sunshine coming in the window.  Kim and I ate breakfast with Clare- the same as I ate every morning when I was here 3 years ago- toast with salty butter and Clare’s homemade black-current jam and hot chocolate.  Yummy!

Now we are showered and dressed and headed out for another day in town.  Being Easter Sunday everything will be closed, but the plan is to take the bus into town and wander around- showing Kim the sites and reminding myself of how much I loved this little city.  It’s a spectacular day for Caen- few clouds… but knowing Caen, the weather will most likely change several times today- so we’ll be heading in with scarves and coats- and a camera of course.

More to come- I’ll try to keep you posted. Love and Hugs all!