YDYtravelers: Everywhere she goes, Jenny pisses off the French and George and I have a lazy day

We’ve been action-packed for several days now, so George and I decided to have a lazy day. In contrast, Mom, Jenny and Eliza took the train to the hamlet of Angers, France to meet up with our relatives (Bougeres!) on Mom’s side of the family. They live in an ever smaller hamlet(let) outside of Angers called Moze-Sur-Louet. The trip consisted of a few hours on the train, which was spent in a four-pack seat that consists of four seats facing each other with a table in between. On the trip there, the three were joined by a sulky teenager (not including Eliza, who really doesn’t sulk much) who didn’t speak at all to anyone. (On the way home, this character was played by a very angry business man - more below). Eli slept all the way to Angers, which was good because the day was long. Annie, our fellow Bougere, took the trio to the town market, where Jen purchased an eight Euro mango. Better be tasty, I say. Eliza ate a croissant, which gave her a bit of fuel. Then they toured the castle and cathedral in the town, quite a bit of walking and looking for all. By the time they drove to Annie’s house (where she lives with the wonderful Michel, who recently had dental surgery and who speaks no English at all, not that Annie speaks much, but they all got by) everyone was hungry and tired. Eliza needed to take a break under a tree when she realized that lunch was far away and her reserves for stress were low. Also, she was harboring an ear infection that made everything harder. After some expert cooking from Annie, who made an entire meal without running water in the house, Jen and Mom sat down for a tasty lunch of fish and a peach tart. Yum. Apparently this fish was the best that either of them had ever tasted. And they’ve tasted many a fish before.

After lunch and some talk around the table it became clear that Eliza needed to see a doctor for her ear. Annie helped get everyone to a French urgent care in Angers (pronounced ahn-jay, sort of), where absolutely no one spoke English. Confusion was had over how to pay for the visit and how to diagnose without having a conversation. A doctor who know a bit of English was found, the ear was examined, and antibiotics were prescribed. The tired crew then boarded the train for the return trip to Paris. During the ride home, the three joined a single rider in the four pack on the train. He was none too pleased to be sharing the three other seats he had to himself the the misfit crew. Scowls and grunts of displeasure escaped the Frenchman’s face and mouth, and he drank beer and slammed nuts to muscle through the experience of sharing his train ride with three card-playing Americans (and those Americans, fearful of upsetting the Frenchman, played cards silently, with no emotion or zeal). Jen realized that in her two days in Paris, this was the third French person that she’d pissed off. She has so much more time to do so much more damage to U.S./French relations. We wish her well. Sounds like a lot, huh? I think it was, and it was the exact opposite of the day George and I had.

We, the lucky non-travelers, slept in. I started a load of laundry and we watched Netflix, as you do when in one of the most spectacular cities in the world. I think we needed the decompression time, and so no regrets at all. Later, we took a quick walk down to the Seine and visited the Holocaust memorial that is opposite the back yard of Notre Dame. It’s another in a series of monuments for the victims of the Nazi genocide during World War 2 that we’ve seen on this trip. George is doing a project for school on the subject and has been earning credits as we’ve traveled. This particular monument is a memorial to French citizens who were deported to internment camps across Europe. There were several exhibits showing the atrocities committed and also the strength of spirit and humanity of those who suffered at the hands of monsters.

We shopped a little on the little island of Ile Saint-Louis, finding a few things to bring home and others to eat. We also had our first lunch sitting outside a Parisian cafe. It was a short and lovely trip into the center of the city. Back at the house, I finished up the laundry while George worked on homework. We ate a few chocolates purchased on the island, and then, at dusk, we set out for a quick bite to eat. I had a salad and wine, and George found a croissant at the bakery. More Netflix happened and the weary travelers finally made it home with their story of sad ears, tired legs and weary minds. It was a tale of two days. And one ear infection. And fish.