Final French Adventure
Well the final chapter of FJ’s French adventure has drawn to a close. I am now in New York City at my mother’s place and will soon be traveling back to San Francisco and starting school again on January 28th.
The last couple of months were filled with different adventures then the first couple of months. My mother came to visit me during some of the coldest, wettest times in French history, I think. My poor mom, what a trooper, she just got over major surgery and then she gets on a plane and comes and visits me on the other side of the “Big Pond.” However, her constitution was not sufficiently strong enough to handle the cold, wet winter France is having. I must admit I’m having difficulty handling it myself. We visited several tearooms in order to keep ourselves warm and hydrated. Each team room had it’s own special take on serving tea. The first one was very much like an English Tea house with covered chairs in green and red, matching teapots and cups with little placements for everything to sit on. We had silver tea strainers for our tea after it had steeped to just the right color. We would add sweetening using this cool, flat, oblong silver sugar spoon. It was very prim and proper and very British. We took the chance of ordering food. I thought we had ordered winter fruits and we got winter fruit crumble with cream. Let’s just say it was an orgasm for your mouth, mom and I both agreed. We had some nice teas there and mom even bought some loose tea to take home.
The second teahouse was more along the French style. It was post-modern with molded plastic pastel red and green chairs with nice tables and red gauze hanging over the main window. They played jazz and there were watercolor prints of Chinese symbols on the walls with a heavy woven rope for a rug. This was what I expected a French teahouse to be, avant-garde, chic and trendy. I liked it; mom wasn’t so keen.
The third teahouse was a compromise of the two, it had the rope floor covering and nice wooden cabinets set into the wall with tea tins all stacked nicely in neat rows. It had rout iron chairs and tables and the music was classical. Over time I grew to like this one the best. The clientele was much more diverse and it was located on le rue Colbert which wasn’t far from the University so the crowd around the place was much more my walk of life and style. They had a nice assortment of teas and many yummy things to eat.
The fourth teahouse that mom and I visited was up scale and the queen herself might be seen there. It was a candy/chocolate store and a tea salon. Yes ladies and gentleman, let your imagination run wild. Charlie and the Chocolate factory meets Buckingham Palace. Gold foil as far as the eye can see with white washed high back chairs and red velvet cushions. The tea was served with a side of chocolate and a smile. It was the most extravagant teahouse in Tours and not the cheapest by far. It’s worth visiting with friends and family and so I did again with my friend Chinyere when she came to visit. Actually Chinyere and I visited all the teahouses that mom and I visited. I wanted another point of view and I was curious what she thought about them. Chinyere came to about the same conclusion as mom however for different reasons.
Mom’s visit was spent shopping, eating and enjoying the sites. She was able to relax and recover a little bit and I was glad that we had that time together. I still had school and therefore was unable to spend all day, every day with her. But the time we did spend together was excellent. She got to meet many of my French friends and classmates, which was excellent because it gave her a better perspective of who I was hanging with and what life for me was like here. Mom’s an excellent shopper and she found many bargains from Touraine embroidery to Amboise lace to French scarves.
My mom’s final hours in France however were not as pleasant. As you may or may not know I have an African brother who lives here in France named Char. I love him dearly and everyone who knows me and knows him, pleads with me to leave him in a ditch somewhere and run the other way and don’t look back. I unfortunately have never heeded that advice and have always ended up in some sort of drama or catastrophe. I’m sure we all have or had a friend like this at some point in our lives. I just happen to be holding onto mine longer then most. Char is a really good kid with really bad luck and extremely poor judgment. So since he is like my brother in France I gave him the task of finding us a cheap hotel room for one night for my mom and me. The next morning she leaves for the states. Well I screwed up, and Char fucked up! He took us to this room, which he reserved outside of Paris. This was a good step because the next morning my mother didn’t have far to go to the airport. The fuckup came from the room. My poor mother had been walking all over Paris that day and she was extremely tired. This is when the comedy of errors started and the “Char Curse” came into full effect. I did not know where the hotel was except that is was in the suburb I had stayed when I stayed with Char. Mom and I got as far as the train station in this suburb (Le Bourge) and then waited for Char to show up. It was about midnight at this point and about -3 F. So we’re talking cold. I do some quick thinking and find out the address of the hotel and we start walking and walking and walking. At one point I thought I’d have to carry my mom. Char shows up behind us. He shows us the last 5 steps to the hotel entrance and then takes us up to the coup-de-grace. The room smells of fungus and human shit. There is fungus on the walls and the shower room should have been destroyed after WWII and rebuilt. The toilet is in the hall and the bed has a Mickey Mouse cover on it. The bed as you lay on it sucks you down and you need the help of a forklift to get you out. Needless to say we were unimpressed with my African brother’s Econ-O-Lodge choice and I separated him from my mother so as not to add a murder to the already horrible situation. She made it back to America fine only to loose her job because her boss is a psycho bitch. No worries my friends she’s found other employment and my even be starting her own transcription company.
My next visitor 1 hour after my mother left was my friend and former co-worker from the Population Fellows Programs, Chinyere Neale. We spent 2 weeks together as well. We visited about the same things as my mother but Chinyere is more into Jazz and she’s the one that taught me to appreciate Jazz. My first Jazz experience with Chinyere was in the States at a club called the Dakota. It was awesome. So being in France we had to do the Jazz thing and we found some. One club we went to was called the Seven Lizards in the old city. It was a nice evening and my former housemate joined us. He was in town to visit his sister who recently had a baby girl. The three of us agreed that the women we went to go see was all right but in Chinyere parlance, “made some bad musical choices.” Meaning she was FLAT as a pancake Child! We then went back to Tours and visited the usual Tea Salon spots, museum, cathedral, castle, etc., etc., etc. Chinyere is also a wonderful cook and I introduced her to local market here. She was kind enough to bless me with a couple of excellent meals. Let me tell you that women can cook! Unfortunately Chinyere and I were also affected by the Char curse but we were able to minimize the damage. He had booked us another hotel room but this time he promised it was clean and safe, which it was. However it was about 3 kilometers from the closest know point of civilization! The bus dropped us off and we walked what seemed like an eternity to Formule 1, which is a local chain. This local joke in France is the reason it’s called Formule 1 is because the rooms are as big as a Formula 1 racecar. They were ok as far as I was concerned, I was just glad that they were clean and safe. The bathroom and shower were in the hall way but the sink and bed where behind a locked door and that was good enough for Chinyere and me.
Following Chinyere’s visit was Marcus. His visit was also excellent! We did the normal tourist shit but at different places this time because I was getting a little tired of seeing the same old, old stuff in Paris. So we went to the Musee d’Orsay and Sacre Coeur, Mommart and the outside of Moulin Rouge. We hit a nightclub in Paris the second night and had a wonderful time. Back to Tours for another round of museums, castles, and countryside and don’t forget the cafés. Marcus was nice because he likes to take things in at a slower pace and I appreciated that. We got to see less things but in greater detail. The weather was as accommodating as when my mom was here and it even snowed at one point.
Christmas was uneventful together. We had a nice dinner and rented a movie. New Year’s however was the BOMB! We did a quick run up to Paris just for the evening. We left Tours at 10 pm and returned at 8 am the next day, spending all night in Paris. We made it just in time to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up. The metro was free for the New Year so we saved some money on transport BUT they were packed. It was incredible. Have you ever seen the Japanese footage of people pushing commuters into the subway on their way to work? Well that was us in Paris on New Year’s. We fought our way onto three trains only to finally gain a very very tight spot on the third one, just 15 minutes before midnight. It was well worth it and part of the party atmosphere we felt. We then quickly jumped onto the next metro going towards old Paris and went to a club called Le Club. It was a Hip-Hop, Rap, Reggae club but it turned out to be an African Zook, Zaireois, Trip-Hop club and I loved it! Good omen for the coming year and my business in Africa I thought. The other cool thing was for the 20 € we paid to get in they had food baby! We ate to our hearts content and then ate some more. By 5:45 am Marcus had had enough of the smoke and noise and we left. We made our return train no problem and then slept the first day of the year to our hearts content! Well worth the travel! Paris for New Years is the bomb!
Well my French saga has now drawn to a close and Marcus went back to San Francisco without a problem. I am in New York at my Mom’s because I need to support her for a bit and I only got a flight as far as here. My friend Charles from Chapter II is also now in New York along with Heather so we’re going to continue what we started in France. I should be back in Frisco by Jan 11, 2004.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone and I wish everyone health, wealth and happiness in the New Year!
Love and Respect,
FJ
The last couple of months were filled with different adventures then the first couple of months. My mother came to visit me during some of the coldest, wettest times in French history, I think. My poor mom, what a trooper, she just got over major surgery and then she gets on a plane and comes and visits me on the other side of the “Big Pond.” However, her constitution was not sufficiently strong enough to handle the cold, wet winter France is having. I must admit I’m having difficulty handling it myself. We visited several tearooms in order to keep ourselves warm and hydrated. Each team room had it’s own special take on serving tea. The first one was very much like an English Tea house with covered chairs in green and red, matching teapots and cups with little placements for everything to sit on. We had silver tea strainers for our tea after it had steeped to just the right color. We would add sweetening using this cool, flat, oblong silver sugar spoon. It was very prim and proper and very British. We took the chance of ordering food. I thought we had ordered winter fruits and we got winter fruit crumble with cream. Let’s just say it was an orgasm for your mouth, mom and I both agreed. We had some nice teas there and mom even bought some loose tea to take home.
The second teahouse was more along the French style. It was post-modern with molded plastic pastel red and green chairs with nice tables and red gauze hanging over the main window. They played jazz and there were watercolor prints of Chinese symbols on the walls with a heavy woven rope for a rug. This was what I expected a French teahouse to be, avant-garde, chic and trendy. I liked it; mom wasn’t so keen.
The third teahouse was a compromise of the two, it had the rope floor covering and nice wooden cabinets set into the wall with tea tins all stacked nicely in neat rows. It had rout iron chairs and tables and the music was classical. Over time I grew to like this one the best. The clientele was much more diverse and it was located on le rue Colbert which wasn’t far from the University so the crowd around the place was much more my walk of life and style. They had a nice assortment of teas and many yummy things to eat.
The fourth teahouse that mom and I visited was up scale and the queen herself might be seen there. It was a candy/chocolate store and a tea salon. Yes ladies and gentleman, let your imagination run wild. Charlie and the Chocolate factory meets Buckingham Palace. Gold foil as far as the eye can see with white washed high back chairs and red velvet cushions. The tea was served with a side of chocolate and a smile. It was the most extravagant teahouse in Tours and not the cheapest by far. It’s worth visiting with friends and family and so I did again with my friend Chinyere when she came to visit. Actually Chinyere and I visited all the teahouses that mom and I visited. I wanted another point of view and I was curious what she thought about them. Chinyere came to about the same conclusion as mom however for different reasons.
Mom’s visit was spent shopping, eating and enjoying the sites. She was able to relax and recover a little bit and I was glad that we had that time together. I still had school and therefore was unable to spend all day, every day with her. But the time we did spend together was excellent. She got to meet many of my French friends and classmates, which was excellent because it gave her a better perspective of who I was hanging with and what life for me was like here. Mom’s an excellent shopper and she found many bargains from Touraine embroidery to Amboise lace to French scarves.
My mom’s final hours in France however were not as pleasant. As you may or may not know I have an African brother who lives here in France named Char. I love him dearly and everyone who knows me and knows him, pleads with me to leave him in a ditch somewhere and run the other way and don’t look back. I unfortunately have never heeded that advice and have always ended up in some sort of drama or catastrophe. I’m sure we all have or had a friend like this at some point in our lives. I just happen to be holding onto mine longer then most. Char is a really good kid with really bad luck and extremely poor judgment. So since he is like my brother in France I gave him the task of finding us a cheap hotel room for one night for my mom and me. The next morning she leaves for the states. Well I screwed up, and Char fucked up! He took us to this room, which he reserved outside of Paris. This was a good step because the next morning my mother didn’t have far to go to the airport. The fuckup came from the room. My poor mother had been walking all over Paris that day and she was extremely tired. This is when the comedy of errors started and the “Char Curse” came into full effect. I did not know where the hotel was except that is was in the suburb I had stayed when I stayed with Char. Mom and I got as far as the train station in this suburb (Le Bourge) and then waited for Char to show up. It was about midnight at this point and about -3 F. So we’re talking cold. I do some quick thinking and find out the address of the hotel and we start walking and walking and walking. At one point I thought I’d have to carry my mom. Char shows up behind us. He shows us the last 5 steps to the hotel entrance and then takes us up to the coup-de-grace. The room smells of fungus and human shit. There is fungus on the walls and the shower room should have been destroyed after WWII and rebuilt. The toilet is in the hall and the bed has a Mickey Mouse cover on it. The bed as you lay on it sucks you down and you need the help of a forklift to get you out. Needless to say we were unimpressed with my African brother’s Econ-O-Lodge choice and I separated him from my mother so as not to add a murder to the already horrible situation. She made it back to America fine only to loose her job because her boss is a psycho bitch. No worries my friends she’s found other employment and my even be starting her own transcription company.
My next visitor 1 hour after my mother left was my friend and former co-worker from the Population Fellows Programs, Chinyere Neale. We spent 2 weeks together as well. We visited about the same things as my mother but Chinyere is more into Jazz and she’s the one that taught me to appreciate Jazz. My first Jazz experience with Chinyere was in the States at a club called the Dakota. It was awesome. So being in France we had to do the Jazz thing and we found some. One club we went to was called the Seven Lizards in the old city. It was a nice evening and my former housemate joined us. He was in town to visit his sister who recently had a baby girl. The three of us agreed that the women we went to go see was all right but in Chinyere parlance, “made some bad musical choices.” Meaning she was FLAT as a pancake Child! We then went back to Tours and visited the usual Tea Salon spots, museum, cathedral, castle, etc., etc., etc. Chinyere is also a wonderful cook and I introduced her to local market here. She was kind enough to bless me with a couple of excellent meals. Let me tell you that women can cook! Unfortunately Chinyere and I were also affected by the Char curse but we were able to minimize the damage. He had booked us another hotel room but this time he promised it was clean and safe, which it was. However it was about 3 kilometers from the closest know point of civilization! The bus dropped us off and we walked what seemed like an eternity to Formule 1, which is a local chain. This local joke in France is the reason it’s called Formule 1 is because the rooms are as big as a Formula 1 racecar. They were ok as far as I was concerned, I was just glad that they were clean and safe. The bathroom and shower were in the hall way but the sink and bed where behind a locked door and that was good enough for Chinyere and me.
Following Chinyere’s visit was Marcus. His visit was also excellent! We did the normal tourist shit but at different places this time because I was getting a little tired of seeing the same old, old stuff in Paris. So we went to the Musee d’Orsay and Sacre Coeur, Mommart and the outside of Moulin Rouge. We hit a nightclub in Paris the second night and had a wonderful time. Back to Tours for another round of museums, castles, and countryside and don’t forget the cafés. Marcus was nice because he likes to take things in at a slower pace and I appreciated that. We got to see less things but in greater detail. The weather was as accommodating as when my mom was here and it even snowed at one point.
Christmas was uneventful together. We had a nice dinner and rented a movie. New Year’s however was the BOMB! We did a quick run up to Paris just for the evening. We left Tours at 10 pm and returned at 8 am the next day, spending all night in Paris. We made it just in time to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up. The metro was free for the New Year so we saved some money on transport BUT they were packed. It was incredible. Have you ever seen the Japanese footage of people pushing commuters into the subway on their way to work? Well that was us in Paris on New Year’s. We fought our way onto three trains only to finally gain a very very tight spot on the third one, just 15 minutes before midnight. It was well worth it and part of the party atmosphere we felt. We then quickly jumped onto the next metro going towards old Paris and went to a club called Le Club. It was a Hip-Hop, Rap, Reggae club but it turned out to be an African Zook, Zaireois, Trip-Hop club and I loved it! Good omen for the coming year and my business in Africa I thought. The other cool thing was for the 20 € we paid to get in they had food baby! We ate to our hearts content and then ate some more. By 5:45 am Marcus had had enough of the smoke and noise and we left. We made our return train no problem and then slept the first day of the year to our hearts content! Well worth the travel! Paris for New Years is the bomb!
Well my French saga has now drawn to a close and Marcus went back to San Francisco without a problem. I am in New York at my Mom’s because I need to support her for a bit and I only got a flight as far as here. My friend Charles from Chapter II is also now in New York along with Heather so we’re going to continue what we started in France. I should be back in Frisco by Jan 11, 2004.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone and I wish everyone health, wealth and happiness in the New Year!
Love and Respect,
FJ