By Friday evening, I was sick of people. I mean, I love my family, but some of them are loud. And two Thanksgiving dinners is pushing it. I had gotten up hours before dawn three days in a row to make sure everything got done. I made all the traditional favorites plus a couple of new kinds of pie. I was exhausted.
Just like everyone else's, my inbox had been inundated with Black Friday deals. Wayfair wanted to sell me furniture. Talbots wanted me to buy their clothes. Calendars and planners. Electric gadgets. Fruitcake, for crying out loud. But two emails had caught my eye. The first was for a cheap flight to France, good for Friday only. The second was for a tiny boutique hotel in Saint-Nom-la-Bretรจche.
I thought back to the tiny room I had had there while studying at the Sorbonne. My French windows--French windows in France!--had looked out over a field of grazing sheep whose lowing woke me gently each morning. I would love to revisit the village; walk the streets I had known so long ago.
I shooed everyone out the door around 6:00, grabbed my passport and a change of clothes, hopped in an Uber, and booked the flight on the way to O'Hare. Waiting at my gate, I made the hotel reservation. Juste ร temps, as they say. There had only been one room left.
For once I was able to sleep on the plane. It might have been from the overload of food. It might have been from all the activity. But before I knew it, the plane was touching down at Orly Airport. From the Uber in Illinois, to the plane, to the metro, to the bus that would take me to the auberge, I felt the only mode of transportation I hadn't taken was a boat. Who knew--maybe tomorrow I could take a tour of Paris on the Seine.
I reached St-Nom mid-morning with my fingers crossed that they'd let me check in. The room wasn't ready, but the owner promised to hurry while I had something to eat at the crรชperie around the corner.
Sometimes you think foods that are associated with a city or country are nothing more than cliches. Do people in Chicago actually eat deep-dish pizza? Is it just the tourists who order beignets in New Orleans? In Frankfurt do they gobble up giant wursts? Are crรชpes popular in France? You bet your beret they are! I counted over thirty varieties and that was before I saw the meals. I chose the crรชpes that were filled with smoked salmon, cream, and a touch of lemon zest.
It was the perfect start to my French holiday. When I got back to the inn, the owner said my room was ready and gave me the key.