This great artwork is the work of Aquarelle de Christian Hirlay, illustrateur au Grand Village, 2 impasse du Chene 36600 Vicq-sur-Nahon; 02.54.40.38.19It was St. Patrick's Day afternoon and with much trepidation, I headed off to meet a veterinarian within walking distance of our house. Chi chi in her wonderful travel bag, and I mounted the bus to make the trip to see Dr Legassy. Cheech was very quiet (well, quiet for her) as we walked to the bus stop and she saw the world outside her yard for the first time. She made a little noise on the bus, but I think she was asking what stop we wanted. I had carefully typed up her history, and my French teacher had translated all of my questions for me. However to my complete delight, Dr Legassy spoke english. He was very easy to understand, and clearly understood me.
The bad news is that Chi Chi has lost quite a bit of weight in this adventure, and is now on multi-vitamins and some homeopathic pain relief for her arthritic hips. I am looking for healthy ideas for bulking her up.
St. Patrick's Day has always been a true holiday in our house, but in France they recognize why it is definitely so to Pat. If you read "What is the difference between cream cheese and creamy cheese?" (March 6) you know I made cheese cake for Pat to take to work. I used St. Moret which worked great as a substitute for cream cheese. Pat said his colleagues were initially surprised he brought anything at all, then their curiosity was peaked when he told them "gateaux fromage" and then...when they tasted it - they loved it. "C'est tres originale." Several want the recipe. I think I will let them convert it to french units, but FYI - I used ~450 g of St. Morett and ~420 of Ricotta. Of course there were other Patricks in his workplace, so some of the others bought the wine for lunch and provided the espresso in the afternoon...
On Saturday we went to another Salon de Saveurs...to pick up the long awaited wine from the last festival. The aromas at these events is amazing. Wine, strawberries, cheese, mushrooms, grilled duck, foie gras, lavender it all co-mingles to form this wonderful scent that will always define France to me. With his wine safely stowed, we went to the airport to pick up some weary travelers, who had made it, but were 6 hours late with no luggage.
Next stop -- the mall for underwear.
I have learned that jet lag coupled with the shock of being in France is really overwhelming for most people. The first day, which is very difficult in any new venue because of logistics, is particularly hard here. So add on any complication - losing your luggage, sleet and snow, having your things stolen... so completely compounds the situation that everyone is overwhelmed. So -- I made an executive decision, we are going to the most american-esque mall we could find, grab a few necessities, get some basic sandwiches, and get grounded. A little mall wandering, make a few purchases, get some caffeine, and voila, my weary travelers were good to go.
Tips to travelers, be patient with yourself and your travel companions, know that this journey taxes every thing you have, and keep your medications in your carry-on. Everything else is relatively replaceable, or at least suitable substitutions can be located.
The luggage showed up about 24 hours later, safe and sound.
