The promised list: Things I will miss about France even for just a one month vacation
1. Bread, bread, bread. We absolutely go to a bakery everyday and buy fresh bread. While there, Lily and Zack usually do get some sort of flaky, sweet pastry as a snack. (I demand from them and allow myself only one delicious bite of this buttery heaven). Wonder bread, just isn't going to cut it while in Ohio. I'll guess I'll go back to being a carbohydrate-phobic for a couple of weeks!
This is the inside of "our" little, corner boulangerie...please note the people in line...there is ALWAYS a line at this place no matter what time of day it is.
2. The scenery. The color palate here is so different from the lush, layers of greens of Ohio. Here we are surrounded by grey stone, brown dry mountains, and a turquoise blue ocean. The greens of the pine, cypress, olive trees are somewhat muted and speak to the fact that it does NOT rain in the summer for nearly four months. In case that sounds boring, the vibrant colors of purple bougainvilleas climbing up each house, the bright blue plumbago that spills over every wall take my breath away with their beauty.
3. The pace of life. Things move slower here...and most of the time, it annoys my "type A personality" to no end. But sometimes, like on Sunday afternoons when EVERYTHING is closed and you get to spend the day with your family at home or at the beach or at a BBQ with friends, it's sorta refreshing. At home I know we'll be going a mile a minute to see everyone...my family is very much a "go, go, go" activity focused group. And I'm so excited to be apart of that. I just know there are going to be days when I will miss my afternoon snooze.
And then there are the funny oddities of living in South France that have become endearing and a good, daily laugh-I will miss these things too.
like, women (OLD and young) wearing see through white linen outfits with black undergarments
like, cigarette smoke always blowing in your face
like cars stopped in the middle of roads, blocking a lane of traffic, flashing hazard lights, while the driver is inside the boulangerie buying his baguette without parking.
like man capris and man purses on the MAJORITY of guys
like hearing "Voilà" in nearly every sentence spoken by French people--an adorable verbal tick and one of Zachary's fifteen words!
I'm truly on countdown mode. Suitcases are strewn all over the house. Laundry is piled in every one's room. The refrigerator is nearly empty of all things edible. And I have lists in my purse, lists on the desk, and lists in my head that I don't have time to write down. It's still a toss-up as to who is more excited, myself or Lily. I'm dreading the traveling, but once we get there, I can not wait to take a in a deep, deep breath of everything that is comfortable, normal, understandable, and somewhat predictable. A sense of belonging, identity, knowledge of "the system", (things I didn't know I had in the US until I began living in another country), are priceless commodities that making giving up fresh bread for four weeks seem totally insignificant.
No comments:
Post a Comment