France 2012 - Saint Vit

le 28 octobre

Thanks to mild jet lag and the end of daylight savings in France (they "fall back" a week prior to us in the U.S.), I awoke this morning at around 4:50 a.m.  Unable to get back to sleep, I began to get ready for the day.  As it turns out, it was a good thing we got an early start...

For all of our trip outside of Paris, Habibi and I decided to rent a car; it was economical, convenient and granted us the freedom to come and go as we pleased.

Our Peugeot chariot

In order for us to get to the local Hertz rental, we had to take the Métro, making one train change halfway there.  Now, for those of you who have taken the European subways and Métros, you know that they are less than luggage-friendly.  Unless you take great pleasure in hurling your suitcase over the gaps between the trains and the platforms, find joy in squeezing your belongings through narrow, rotating gates, or are invigorated from hauling what you now regret packing up and down endless flights of stairs (in front of God and everyone!) then you will encounter some form of stress if you elect to go this route.  On the other hand, the Parisian Métro is infinitely cheaper than taking a taxi, so pick your poison.  We are poor, so a-Métroing we went...

Add to all this the surprise that we encountered at our halfway point, where we had planned to change trains:  it was under construction.  We found ourselves clueless in the cold morning, dragging everything all over the 15e and 16e arrondissements of Paris.  As my elbow pits began to ache from pulling my rolling suitcase, I cursed myself for having spoken so highly of the Métro less than 24 hours before that old broad let me down.  Mais, c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?

As I found myself on the cusp of bursting into a fiery rage, paradise appeared before my very eyes:  Hertz!  At last!

After some minor confusion with our contract and the type of gas the car took (most cars in France take diesel, or "gasoil"), we set off on a four hour drive to Saint Vit, where my former host family currently resides.

Upon our arrival in this small eastern town in the France-Comté, we were greeted enthusiastically by my "parents," Bernard and Agnès; one of their five grown children, Eudes, his wife Marie-Reine and their three darling little girls Lucie, Clémence and Élise; and the local church priest.

The lovely French home where we experienced some of the most exquisite meals and hospitality

After our initial greetings and exchanges of la bise, we sat down to a pre-lunch apéritif.  Of course, I don't remember the name of the locally produced liqueur, but I assure you, it was a spectacular golden nectar of the gods.  We nibbled on crackers, pretzels and peanuts before gathering around the table for yet another incredible, home cooked, multi-course meal.  I won't tell you what meats I consumed in the past few days because you will judge me as a heretic, so that will remain my guilty secret.  At any rate, after everyone left, Bernard and Agnès invited us to stay for dinner...so we did it all over again!  What luck!  Once again, Habibi and I returned "home" full, contented, and brimming with the warm fuzzies that come only from good conversation with sincere people.  We then checked into our apartment-style hotel room in nearby Besançon (where I lived and studied) and promptly crashed.