This weekend I was invited, along with my friend Marie, to the 40th birthday party of a friend of ours, Max. The party was in a big cottage not far from Le Mans. Max is a cameraman for channel 3 TV in Paris. I think that's cool. Anyway, I always know that when I'm invited to these weekend extravaganzas, that I'm going to be sort of like a fish out of water.
I've lived in an urban environment now for almost 10 years, and whenever I'm invited to get-togethers like this, I really feel a wimp. For 24 hours I tried not to be a wimp. First of all, everyone, upon arrival was oohing and aaahhing the "charming" little cottages we were to stay in. Ok, ok, the woods, the antique feeling of everything, the bonfire, the turn of the century wedding photos on the wall, the marble sinks and the amazingly picturesque countryside. Yeah, it was nice.
Upon arrival, I had a welcome committee of 8, yes count them 8 "frelons".. ......not sure of the spelling and not sure how to say it in English, due to the fact that I've never seen such incredible monsters. Like something out of the book of Revelation. Enormous bee-like creatures. All buzzing and droning around in my cozy little cottage room. I was then informed that they can be dangerous, even fatal, if one is allergic and if one is stung. Then I got to listen to all kinds of Ripley's Believe It or Not stories related to deaths and handicaps from frelons -- as a team of 6 men tried to rid my room of them.
There was also the fact that we had no running water or toilet anywhere nearby. It wasn't outside the cottage, but it was down two flights of steps and across the length of the building. Egads. Also, when I finally made it to bed I realized that the mattress was about as thick as a pancake, and it held me in a horizontal position just as well.
In the morning there was no more bread or coffee. Or anything for that matter. And I realized that I had been bitten by mosquitos on my head, the only thing poking out of the sleeping bag as I "slept", if that's what you want to call it.
As we packed our things and readied ourselves to leave this paradise, I saw that my purse had been neatly wrapped in a spider web during the night. Very weird and very Lord of the Rings-esque.
so we left this placed, called "La Daviere"........and I thanked God that I was leaving it and on my way back to my Paris. Behind me, I could hear the voices of all the others who were trying to figure out ways to eek out more time to stay SOMEHOW....I was hearing things like, "can your mom watch the kids for a few more hours? ......honey, we can eat on the way home that way we can stay longer.....oh, I guess all good things have to come to an end........blah blah blah blah blah.
And I'm thinking, thank you God that we also wake up from nightmares.
Recent Comments