Thursday, May 5, 2005 Nice, France

Sunday, April 24, 2005 My last day in France - A surprise for Sandi and a surprise for Bernard! Well, this had been an interesting day. Right now, I am sitting on the terrace of Hotel Marc-Hely in La Colle sur Loup looking over the hills to the walled city of St. Paul de Vence listening to the sound of traffic on the freeway (somehow reassuring to me) and the hooting of an owl. It is cool and cloudy today - although humid too - this morning there was a bit more sun and the temperature was higher I think - or perhaps it was just my temperature that was higher. The view is lovely - near me is very green - hedges and trees - some just beginning to bud out - farther, St. Paul de Vence is white and orange on its cliff, surrounded by trees. The neighboring hills are green and dotted with orange villas. Farther, are what I (and maybe the French) call massifs - big serious jutting cols, reaching for the clouds. And as I breathe in the mountain air, the fragrance of wisteria drifts on the wind and there are numerous birds chirping. It is quite pleasant here. You may wonder what I am doing on the terrace of Hotel Marc-Hely.... When I went to breakfast this morning, I had several things to discuss with Barnard: The faucet that has begun to leak big time in the bathroom What time I would need to leave for the Nice airport tomorrow morning to avoid rush hour traffic and get me there safely by 9:30. Somewhere nice to have lunch since this is my last day in France. Payment for our stay and getting the deposit check back. Unfortunately, when I brought up the time to leave Monday morning for the airport, Bernard brought up the fact that our reservation ended today - not tomorrow! I expressed surprise and we both had some bad moments while he checked the email - which indeed confirmed that I would be checking out today and not tomorrow! He was relieved and I was not - I don't know how I could have made such an error - but he assured me he could find me a place to stay for the night - this was comforting, but I was very disturbed by how I could have made such a mistake and the knowledge that I would have to go up and pack and leave by 11:00 or so. Then, it was his turn to worry - I informed him about the leak under the sink - he had already told me it would not be possible for me to stay another night because all the rooms were rented - and now, Sunday, he had to deal with the leak. It was a pretty bad one I think - I first noticed it yesterday when the faucets started spitting - like they do when the water has been turned off and then turned back on - but someone had been working on the room next to ours earlier in the day, and I just figured it was from that -wrong. It appears that there was a problem with the water coming from the pipe - instead of coming out the faucet, most of it was coming out under the sink. Barnard appeared horrified (as he examinded it, he said Oh la la la la - several times - each time in a more dolorous voice). He left and came back with a flashlight and a wrench - and was muttering to himself - evidently it is as easy to get a plumber in France on Sunday as in Los Altos - and he was very upset because the room had just been completely redone! I was sorry for him, but was more focused on me - because I had to pack and move. The morning was very humid, made more intense by my choice of clothing - a heavy chenille sweater and velvet jacket and scarf. I was trying to calm myself and think about the best way to pack - so I would only have to use my carry-on wherever I was going to end up tonight - as well as make a list of the stuff I had bought for customs - as well as try to pack up all my stuff and Sarah's stuff in a way that would make sense and protect everything - the wine, the olive oil, etc. It was hot and humid, the air was thick with tension and it was not a good environment to think in. I had planned on having the whole day to think about this and figure it all out - but now, I had to do it in a very short time. So I did and the only problem was that after I had gotten every thing packed up and was just ready to drag it all up the zillion stairs to the parking lot, I realized that the keys to the car were in the pocket of my jacket which was in the bottom of the suitcase that was all zipped up and ready to go. Aside...as I write this, I am sitting on the terrace looking out on St. Paul de Vence, and the yard of the hotel I am staying in is surrounded by terraces of various plants - all clipped neatly except for one area about 6 feet long that has a number of what look like honeysuckle or some vine growing up about 2 feet past the top of the hedge and waving in the breeze - the problem is that they are directly in front of the sightline to St,. Paul de Vence - spoiling my view! If I had some clippers, I would go clip them - as it is, I just have to Photoshop them out in my mind. Anyway, I finally got all packed and dragged all the stuff up to the car and loaded it up and said goodbye to Martine and Bernard and wrote politely in the guest book and for the last time, backed out of the worst parking lot on the face of the earth (that was the good news of the morning)! I set off down the road in search of Hotel Marc-Hely - which was just past the Marche-U. I found it and it turns out that, except for the fact that they don't have wireless, it might have been a nicer place to stay! A lovely view (except for the wild honeysuckle), quiet, no tortuous drive up the mountain via one way narrow walled chutes, and, best of all, big, easy parking! M. Ricard was welcoming and gave me my choice of 2 rooms. I unloaded the car, and after a brief tussle with learning how to lock the shutters, I was all set. I spent quite a while on the terrace breathing - trying to recover a bit of calm and figure out what to do for the rest of the day. Since it was after 1:00, I asked M. Richard for some suggestions about where to eat and he suggested 2 restaurants just up the street. I chose the one with native Provencal cooking - La Cle des Champs - and had an excellent lunch of magret de canard (duck breast) with a lovely sauce of cepes and something else that I can't translate. It was a large magret and came with a slice polenta (yech) - but on top were several sliced tomatoes with wonderful pesto and also chiffonade of basil and tomato and cucumber with a fantastic olive oil. There was also a roasted tomato stuffed with rice and jambon and topped with a sundried tomato. It was very good - the sauce was wonderful. I had a pitcher of red wine and coffee afterwards. The setting was quite interesting. It was full of French families having Sunday dinner. It appeared to be in an old Mas and the dining room was small with a wonderful large fireplace in the corner. Next to it sat a family with a father after my own heart - at least 5 times during his dinner, he poked the fire to try to get it roaring. The waiter came over twice and used an interesting instrument that looked like a narrow hollow log, which he used to blow into the fire and fire it up - but the fire never did roar despite all the attention. The room was full of interesting French antiques - there was a wonderful French door/window that opened out on the terrace that had leaded glass windows and a curtain that was held up by at least a 12 foot long spear and an interesting large painting that I didn't notice until after I began eating of a man fingering a huge knife in the jungle - it was very strange! But the best part was when I left. I was looking for the bathroom and it was painted into the wall - it was a very small curved doorway - probably about 5 feet tall -which led into another door which finally led into the toilet. All were painted in a fantastic way - perhaps by the knife painter! Amazingly, during the whole meal (and it took a while - as French meals do), there was no smoke except from the fire! So, even thought the day started out in a very unsettled way, it has turned out well so far. Now it is almost time to call Willie - another bit of good news - this room has a phone! And then later, I will go out in search of gas to fill up the car. So far, I have only put 20 euros of gas into it - and will probably need to add another 15 euros or so when I return it - it is a Citroen 3 - and it seems to get really good gas mileage - we have driven all over the Cote d'Azur for only 20 euros! But I do have some concerns about the transmission... From my Terrace Hotel Marc-Hely 4:19:05 PM