I was up with the doves, off for a quick walk with Chris and a day of exploring with JJ. We both woke up about 3 AM local time and were able to immediately fall back to sleep both of us seemingly, conveniently ignoring the realization that the other had woken up. Not that we don’t mind chatting at 3 AM – well, OK, “chatting” is more like a “why the F are you awake?” look we give. Jet-lag induced sleep (the wine had NOTHING) to do with it had us up and ready to explore around 9 AM which translates roughly to we left at 10 AM in a desperate foggy search for an espresso (or two).
After wandering some side streets and by following our European exploration rule, we landed ourselves at a cafe and market surrounded by a plaza. European Exploration Rule (EER)? Yes, when in doubt walk uphill (most cities were all mostly fortified anti-invader bastions) and walk towards the Church spires. At the cafe, I enjoyed a croissant and a cafe and a stern talking to from Chris about how I really do need to listen to the selfie-stick rules. Yes, this year has rules. It is going to be hard to be charming with rules holding me back.
1- No selfie stick in a bar.
2- No selfie stick in a church.
3- No selfie stick on a mode of transportation, though I CAN selfie stick and walk at the same time, which feels a little bit like a mixed message.
4- No Selfie stick in a restaurant.
5- No Selfie stick when I say no selfie stick.
I might just work on ways to push his buttons and see if we can round this list off at a solid 10. The balance here will be an effort to NOT get hit by the selfie stick.
Today we also had a lovely time with local host JJ and his boyfriend. In addition to the joys of seeing the sites through the eyes of an adopted local (he’s from Paris), we had the joy of enduring a cellular store clerk attempting to help me buy a SIM card for my global data, roaming, calling and Social Media needs. We had a short work diversion and were able to have a HD video call from France. Yes, I know this is the developed 1st world country, but it was nice to see the technology we sell aid us in our work from 1/2 way around the globe. It also means I can run the company from anywhere or at least have meaningful work from anywhere.
Tomorrow? Saint Emilion, the surrounds of this lovely region and a little local market near the house sort of the local’s daily farmer’s market at the Plaza Victor Hugo. JJ had a cat named Ferioce (for ferocious) who is adorable, so we’ll get our kitty fix too!
randy marcotte - uncle randy writes here 