And we’re off!
Got stung in three places by a wasp during
my Melbourne stopover. Resulting in me
taking some drugs. Although, as I sit writing this as we fly from Doha to
Paris, I’m struck by the realisation that if I handled the situation (even if
that meant calling my mum*). I didn’t fall asleep in the airport and miss my
flight because of the anti-histamines and the pain during both flights hasn’t
been unbearable. Plane food was nice- glad I brought extra fruit though J
It hadn’t quite hit that I was overseas
until I realised the shuttle around Doha airport was driving on the wrong side
of the road. I let that moment get me a little excited. Hearing a myriad of
languages on the plane is nice too. Watched a lot of movies, read my book and
chatted to a French guy, Damien, for a while during the flight. Getting into
the country was pretty easy, although I got the sense that being Australian
helps a deal. They checked my passport for less than five seconds, but the two
Chinese girls in front of me had theirs absolutely scrutinised, checked with
magnifiers etc. Finding the train station and checking my tickets were in order,
getting money out, sitting down and then realising there was nothing left to do
for two hours.
Damien showed up again, his train to
Strasbourg wasn’t until after mine, so we talked a while (in English, I’m
ashamed to admit). He had been living in Uganda for two months as part of his
uni degree in telecommunication engineering. We talked about that, about uni in
general, about France and travelling. Then the train and trying so so hard not
to fall asleep. I kept drifting off and starting myself awake- as well as being
paranoid that someone would take my bag (but it really doesn’t seem like that
kind of train, also, no one EVER could lift that thing sneakily). The heavy bag was a disaster, lugging it up
and down stairs in the connecting train station must have been incredibly
comical to watch…
But- I won’t have to lift it at that weight
again! Met Olivier at the train station, had promptly arrived and realised I
had no idea what he looked like and that he probably wouldn’t be able to pick
me out (being blonde in the visa photos he would have seen). Fashioned a
make-shift sign, and he appeared from the crowd. Genius. À faire la bisous-
kissing on the cheek- big here, have done it a few times now.
Tried to get in the wrong side of the car.
Olivier lives 25 minutes from Tours.
Driving through, I can see that it is a beautiful city; everything seems out of
a postcard and of course, undeniably French.
I got those amazing taxi flutters- the ones where you just want to press your
nose up against the glass and look at everything. The drive was good, Olivier
has fluent English and is also funny and kind (bonus). We talked about my schedule- still undecided,
as he wanted to talk to me about it, but probably with a three day weekend. We
talked about work, home and uni and his wife Estelle and his three children.
The house. Oh, the house. He told me on the
way that it was a restored farmhouse that used to belong to Jean, Estelle’s
father. But it is the house I dream about. It is all sandstone and wood, with
beautiful décor and a big fireplace. It overlooks the field where Estelle keeps
her horse and is surrounded by fields and trees. I am in love. Along with being
beautiful, it is also homey and I feel relaxed immediately. I met Estelle, who speaks no English** (she
and I skirt each other, terrified and silent). The children were already in
bed, but on my way to the shower, this happened:
Tiny voices: “Allo?”
Me: “Oh, um, allo.”
Tiny voices: (to each other) “Ouais, c’est elle!” “Oh” (lots of laughter and whispers) “Allo! Allo!”
Me: also
laughing “Allo!”
Oliver: coming
up the stairs (something along the lines of: you naughty naughty children,
go to sleep. No, you cannot meet her now, you are asleep. You should be asleep
anyway. Yes, you can meet her tomorrow. Yes, Salomé, she is sleeping in your
room. Go to sleep.”
Ate, slept.
*Big shout out to mum and Anna for their
advice. When one is taking anti-histamines, sipping water regularly should
stave off most of the drowsiness. Although, I think the adrenaline rush of leaving
the country may have helped.
**I have since learnt that she understands
a lot more than she lets on. She translates to the children what I have said to
Olivier.
