I haven’t been on the blog for a while. I just read a comment from my friend in Ottawa: “Update your blog or I’m calling your Mum!”.
Oh. The shame! Mais, en fin, voila–an update.
BARCELONA
We went to Barcelona for a week. My cousin Nik won a cruise in the Mediterranean and she and her husband were in Barcelona for a bit before the cruise. It was colder than I expected it to be. I packed four skirts, four tank tops, one long sleeved shirt, and a pair of jeans. I ended up wearing the various shirts in various layers and the jeans the entire time. Oh. AND, my bag almost got stolen down on the beach. Ludo and I went to the Picasso museum in the morning and went down to the beach for lunch. Seafood pallela. Yum. but it made me tired. So tired, that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. So we went and found a comfy place where Ludo could look at the sea and I could lean on him and have a snooze.
I woke up because he was talking to somebody. Or rather somebody was talking to him–a decoy. As I woke up, I saw my bag being scooted around the corner. I jumped up and shouted: “HEY! THAT’S MY BAG!” I was lucky because the guy just dropped it and ran.
All-in-all, it was great to see my cousin and spend a few days with her and her husband. It was great to be in another space for awhile. I didn’t get many pictures. I guess I wasn’t in the picture-taking mood. (If you click on a pic in this entry and you’ll go to my flickr stream and see LOADS more pictures.)
GRUYERE
We also spent a day at Gruyère here in Switzerland one weekend. One day, we just decided to go driving and to explore a bit around Lausanne. We ended up touring a the castle, walking for a bit, then finding some Gruyère cheese to eat. Ludo had a croute de fromage (which looks like a heart-attack on a plate–but it was delicious. And I had a quiche. We finished with raspberries with crème de Gruyère, and meringue. I don’t know if I’ve tasted anything more divine. Honestly.
BESANCON
Last year, as I was driving to the Yukon from Alberta with my Dad, we stopped for lunch. As a web consultant, I was always on the clock. I brought my computer into the diner because they advertised free WIFI and I thought I could catch up on some email. I had a surprise in my email. My roommate from my second year in France (20 years ago) had found my site on the internet.
We’d lost touch over the years because well–was there even email 20 years ago? Nevertheless, I was so happy to get that in my email. Every so often, I would type her name into Google, just to see if she were out there. And, I guess, every so often, she would type my name into Google. Last year, I finally put my real name in my resume in PDF on my 9068Creative.com site and she had found that.
Anyway, that was last November. This May, we finally connected for real. She lives just outside of Besançon (only 136 kms from Lausanne). We spent a weekend with her and her family catching up on 20 years. We now have plans to see each other two or three times again this year. I love it. I love that she found me and we are able to meet each other after such a long time.
She lives with her husband and two children in a tiny village fifteen minutes from Besançon. They live in the renovated farmhouse (actually the former stable an ancient chateau). It was both impressive (as they had done all the conversion and upgrades themselves) and lovely. Exactly what you would expect a modern French family to be living in.
GARDEN
Summer started–I think. California spoiled me for weather. You never had to look at the weather. You just had to know it was going to be rather warm and sunny. All day. Every day. Over here, I don’t know if it’s going to be hot or cold or humid or rainy. I’m not complaining mind you. Not at all. I love the smell when it rains. And everything is so green! I love the green.
I started a garden. Well–I am going to call it a garden. It’s actually three tomato plants and a few herbs. But given my luck with plants, if any survive, I’ll be happy. I’ll be happy just to get one tomato from the tomato plant. I have a lavender plant too. Actually, I’m feeling quite encouraged by the plants. I bought the self-watering kind of containers. They have survived one week.
RESUME AND 9068CREATIVE.COM
I also spent a few days updating my resume and website to apply for a job at the World Economic Forum only to discover the job had already been filled. Bummer. Regardless, I think I got a better resume out of the effort. Click on over to 9068Creative.com and let me know what you think. I welcome all comments and feedback.
CONCLUSION
I guess I need to update the blog at least once a week to avoid bloated posts like this one. But, I won’t make any promises. Love to everybody and I hope to see you this summer.
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