Chapter 65: 2008, 2000GREAT

nerd blog post #70

I'm back. As I figured, nerd blog posts over the holidays will be scarce, as I'm not able to get on the internet very often... I'm on the road. Like a rockstar. Vodstar. Okay here we go..

But first I would like to thank everyone for their warm Christmas wishes... Though I haven't had the chance to thank some of you personally (yet!), I was a very lucky to have people thinking of me.. On that note, I apologize for the lack of correspondence lately.. I will be back on the good train soon enough.

Here's a quick update. Doctor and I arrived in Paris early morning on the 24th. We checked into our 1 star hotel, located near Montmartre, and after dropping off our things and taking a quick nap, we met up with Raffi and went to a clown's apartment for dindins. We had a wholesome meal of rice and chicken and veggies. It was the three of us and two other Canadians, one of whom is also at clown school. After dindins, we took a couple of bottles of wine to the Eiffel Tower where we watched the sparkle and sipped wine in the park. My mom reminded me what kind of people drink in parks in Canada.. Oopsies. It was a beautiful and memorable evening.

On Christmas day proper, we slept in and then enjoyed walking around and seeing Paris. We ate Thai food and talked to family and got a bit nostalgic for home. But it wasn't as lonely as I thought it might be. I was lucky to be around good men who love their homes as much as I do and who also felt grateful for overseas opportunities, even if it meant missing Christmas..

On the 26th, in the morning, Steve arrived. I went to the airport to pick him up and was very excited. His brother, Michael, came as well, but is spending time with his French gf, so we parted at the airport. Steve and I made our way to Raffi's, where we met up with Doctor and left our bags for the day. The goal was to keep Steve up all day to cure his jetlag, and it worked. We did a ton that day. We saw Champs d'Elysees and Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame and the Seine.. We walked and walked and I purred all day. In the evening, Doctor and Steve and I took the train to Rennes.

On Saturday, we did the typical Saturday Rennes thang. We went to the market and had a cafe and walked through some beautiful gardens. It was amazing having the two of them there, and reminded me of how much I miss friends from home... It will be very hard going back there alone once this vacay is over..

Later that afternoon, we went to a fair. It was very cool. Big and scary rides and cool prizes and delicious looking food. We chose to ride Toxic, a giant and scary ride. I refused to sit alone and was scared I would pee my pants. I didn't. But it may be the scariest ride I have ever been on.

In the evening, we made a delicious feast of mussels and fries and a huge salad. We made curry, red wine and white wine mussels. Amazing. Then we hit the town, seeing Thirsty Street and a couple of night bars. By the end of the night, everyone was very tired. We had had an exhausting couple of days.

On Sunday, Doctor left to go back to England. It wasn't a very sad goodbye as Steve and I will be reuniting with him in Amsterdam in a few days. Very exciting! That afternoon, Steve and I went to Saint-Malo. Remember when I took the rando carpool ride from Rennes to Paris? Well, that interesting man I met on that ride lent us his apartment for the night. We got a ride into the town by roomie Alexandre and then a friend of the man from the car came and gave Steve and I the keys to the apartment. Man from car was away, so we had the run of the place. It was a beautiful apartment, just steps from the ocean. Steve and I explored the town, which was bustling, and bought two crabs, a bunch of shrimp, and fish soup base. Back at the apartment, we ate a delicious fish soup, drank hot wine and had a good catch up. It was really nice.

On Monday morning, we trained back to Rennes and then to Paris and stayed at a modest hotel near the Louvre. We met up with Raffi and Talia (good friend from Queen´s) and her bf and then Michael and his gf and we all had a coffee together. SOO many worlds colliding! Normally, world collision makes me really anxious, but it was actually very fun, and so good to see so many close friends all at once! That evening, we went to the Eiffel Tower with Raffi and Viktor and, once again, enjoyed wine and the sparkling lights.

The next day was spent trying unsuccessfully to wait out the enormous lines of the Musee d´Orsay and the Rodin. Eventually, we went to Montmartre and to the Dali museum there. It was really good, and a nice thing to do on a grey and rainy day. That evening we went to a bar on a bustling street with Michael, his gf, Viktor and Raffi. Steve and I were close enough to walk home, stopping for chicken on the way.

Wednesday was New Year´s Eve, and we went to the Latin Quarter to check out the Canadian bookstore and meet cousin Claire! With her friend and Raffi, we all went for lunch and to the Centre Pompidou. It was great seeing Claire in Paris, and we made plans to meet up later in the evening.

Ringing in 2009 was magical. We decided to join the crowds on the Champs d´Elysees. We met Claire and her friend, Viktor and several other clowns, and Benito and his friend. We saw the tower sparkle at the stroke of midnight, and then fireworks and bottles of champagne began to pop! It wasn´t very cold out, and I was so happy to be surrounded by good people.

2008 was a great year. Eight months in an amazing apartment, a Master´s degree, a return to L´Arche, many great parties, the longest time in the city with my parents since I was a teenager, and a move to France. I was grateful to ring in a new year having been very happy the year before. Last year, my resolution was to get some mileage on my passport and to move away for a bit. This year, it´s to write more letters, and to return home. Having Steve here makes me quite homesick. I dread having to say goodbye..

So where am I now? We are on the beautiful island of Ibiza.. More on Spain and 2009 very soon.

With love,
Hincks.