Thursday 27 July 2017
Morning class again today. I only slept 5
hours again, but it was one of those day when it didn’t affect me. Instead of
going to the caves though, I went downtown to buy gifts for family, and flowers
for Helene. There are so many flower shops in French cities, they are
everywhere. Being a florist in France is a serious occupation. Silly me, I
thought that certain flowers have certain meanings so when I went inside the
florist shop I told the woman that I needed a bouquet to say Merci, and au
revoir. She looked at me funny and said any flower will do, what’s my price
range, and then she asked me what colors I wanted, and if it was for a woman or
man, and helped me arrange a beautiful bouquet of purples and pinks. It really
was quite striking. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. Helene was
also very energetic when I gave it to her, very excited and jolly. She even
greeted me the French way. I think I finally worked my way into that woman’s
heart. I think Helene and Rémi both are also kindred spirits and I couldn’t
have asked for nicer people to stay with.
Before I came home and gave the flowers to
Helene, I met up with Katrina and Kayla at the Falaffel restaurant we had eaten
at the week before. While I was waiting to meet them there, I asked the waiter
if I could have a glass of water for the flowers and he was very kind to
provide one, so they didn’t die before I got home. The girls showed up and we
had a great lunch, sitting on the sidewalk and talking about all the good times
we’ve had here. It was hard knowing this was the last time in France we would be
able to meet up for lunch together. I’m actually happy we did that instead of
the caves.
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| I loved this flowering bush in Helene's yard. |
I went home and began to clean my room,
put things away, and get ready for packing before I had dinner with Helene and
Rémi. Since it was my last dinner, we had drinks in the sitting room before the
meal. Fruit juice for me, and a beer for Rémi. The conversation this night was
about forest animals. I learned the French have Marmots and Weasels. We had my
favorite salad for dinner, those sweet tender green leaves with a little bit of
chopped onion and huile de noix with
cidre vinaigre de pomme for dressing. As per Helene’s usual style, she
cooked fish for dinner, a baked cod or halibut I’m not sure, but it was a white
fish, thin and flat, like the kind we catch when we go fishing in the mountains.
It was very good with lemon squeezed over the top of it, and for vegetable
there was baked cauliflower and potatoes in a creamy sauce. After the main plat
Helene brought out the cheese and knowing it was my last cheese in France I
tried to savor every bite. I had a hard chevre which was very good. Helene
surprised me after the cheese by bringing out another dessert. She had bought
petite gâteaux at the patisserie which had little golden medallions on the tops
of them that said succès.
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| The table where we had all of our outdoor meals |
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| Helene's little side garden with the tomato plants we enjoyed in salad so many nights |
The word means success in English and I
thanked her for wishing me success and for doing something special on my last
night. They were little cakes of a very thick creamy chocolate mousse, a layer
on top and bottom of some kind of crust and the whole thing dipped in
chocolate. They were so delicious and so thoughtful, I thanked her again for
wishing me success. Then I asked her what the little cakes are called, and she
told me the name of the gateau is succès. I almost burst out laughing, it was
so silly of me, but perhaps my French was so poor she didn’t even realize I
thought she was wishing me success, and didn’t realize it was the name of the
cake.
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