Earlier start. Arrived in time for the 7.58 bus, but either that was late, or my memory of bus times serves me poorly, for when I arrived there was only one going at 8.13. As you can imagine, having rushed out of the house once more sacrificing the morning meal, I was mightily miffed.
So I tried the baker’s on the next road.
My landlady has sung its praises before, and I can confirm, having had a croissant, and now suitably sampled their chouxquettes and un chausson aux pommes (an apple turnover, to you), it is good, it is more than good.
I think I may be traumatised by ticket buying at this point, because I got on the bus, anxiously produced the cash, and said “Un ticket, s’il vous plaît.”
I was duly reminded of my manners – In France, you MUST preface all interactions with a greeting – in this case, “bonjour”. Needless to say, I feel really bad. I was told to buy an SMS ticket, because he had none to hand. I sat down. I tried to change my SIM with a needle from the sewing kit I have in my bag. It didn’t work.
And, oh joy. The heavens opened whilst I was on the bus.
I got out and thought that maybe today’s the day I take the RER. The ticket machine desired the precise quantity of 2,15€, and couldn’t provide change for 5 cents, so braving the deluge it was. I arrived at work soaked. My boss had managed to just miss the rain, though she came by bike.
We hoped to be able to have some time for practical training, but my boss had task after task crop up. We had a technician come in to fix our fire alarms today, and so he asked for her often. A lovely chap who I managed to use my few phrases of Romanian with. Now, the alarms, on the other hand, were not lovely. Definitely not.
I recycled the loose staples, I did four training modules, I changed two water filters, printed, replied to emails. Felt very officey. I took a short lunch break and went to the traiteur’s, which is like a deli. The local one is quite good. I’ve been enlightened in the ways of making peas and beans interesting – it looks like they boiled the legumes (chopped French beans, loose and podded peas) and then sautéed them with some red onion. So simple and effective. Part of adult life is very much learning how to spruce up your vegetables or not at all. Some people will never know this joy. I also had an île flottante for the first time, which is not as deadly as it seemed. It’s a French meringue floating in a sea of caramel and custard. The meringue is very, very light. Almost like a marshmallow, but not chewy. It melts on your tongue.
This is one of the few local eateries that does a lunch meal deal. It looks like it’s a French thing to do – to go out and get lunch. Some companies will partly subsidise your food. In my case, they pay 55%. It goes on a card, whose name I forget. I can’t use it until the end of the month, but that’s ok.
I took the long way home. I got some stamps from the post office that I can use to write home with, which are valid for always, as Marianne is eternal, and our heads of state are not. My bus passed me, I don’t know why. My blog is becoming a daily complaint about the bus. One day we will grow to love, respect, and understand eachother, but today is not that day.
But I saw stuff I haven’t seen before this way. I passed a nice clothes shop and tailor’s, I perused the menu of a good-looking sushi restaurant, I took photos of the river, I saw two local versions of tk maxx (one, clothes, the other, more appliances), I found one awesome establishment overlooking the Marne, with a hip looking organic shop adjoined. It reminded me of one in Durham I went to with someone I care about. The lunch deal is priced at 7,50€, when the average is 9€. The produce looks good. I like the vibes. They have an entirely respectable coffee machine. I’ll have to go and see what the craic is.
Advice (perhaps cliché): Take a new perspective occasionally. You may learn valuable or fun things. Quite literally, travel in a different way to the one you’re used to. There’s so much you miss when going fast.
2nd advice: Check the weather forecast before going out. It may not look like rain now, but it could look like it very soon.
3rd advice, with little context, for now: Sometimes the memories we make are just the memories we make, and we are responsible for that, not anyone else. You may think that someone gave you the best time of your life, when it was just you, and they were willing to sit back and take on the ride.
4th advice: Keep your friends and family close. I can’t stress this enough.
Right, I will love you and leave you, chaps, but definitely not for long 🙂
At Least Afloat 