Quincampoix toujours m'inspire

After a hot and stuffy backwards train ride, we arrived at the gare de Rouen Rive-Droite where we were met by Isabelle, who has a new short haircut that Dominique doesn't like. She took us straight back to the house, which, as always, was under some form of construction. This time it was a new driveway being put in, resulting in us having to enter and leave the house by way of the back yard - fine in the day, a little awkward in the dark. Last month's project, expanding the pond in the back garden, is nearly finished; Isabelle now has upwards of 20 fish, including a sturgeon named Chirac, and has picked out a pair of ducks from what I understood to be a Bizarre Pets Catalogue. The ducks will be officially ordered once the pond remodel is officially finished.

We watched the Germany-Argentina match on TV before Isabelle and Dominique had to leave to go rehearse for the concert they had that night. (She plays the trombone in a jazz ensemble; he plays the tenor sax in a harmonie [brass band]; her ensemble had a concert and their tenor saxophonist was out of town.) Clément made us a quick dinner of soft tacos - I introduced him to the wonder that is sour cream in Mexican cuisine - then drove us to the church where the concert was taking place.

I have to admit that old French churches don't make the best concert halls. The straightbacked wooden pews are fine for hearing about how you're going to hell, but not so accomodating for enjoying music. We got there late, and so had to sit all the way in the back, which was fine in accordance with my need to know I can get out of any given room at any time (it's not claustrophobia so much as what-if-I-suddenly-have-to-pee-ophobia), but meant that we couldn't see the musicians. Still, we could hear them, and that was all that really mattered as they played songs such as "Sentimental Journey", "L-O-V-E", "Smooth", "Mambo #5", and "Tuxedo Junction" (something I learned with my choir once, but never performed and don't really remember). The concert was long, we were tired, and Lui started complaining towards the end, but I loved it anyway. I theoretically know the value of music from years of singing, but it still surprises me every time I experience it up close.

We had juice and cookies at the after party in a nearby hall, then headed back to the house and went to bed, windows open, no blankets. A few hours later (I think), I woke up completely panicked from a dream that my dreams were being haunted by a demon, and I couldn't remember the words to any prayers to expell him. It sounds silly now, but at the time, I woke up Lui and made him say the Lord's Prayer with me, then hold me tight in spite of the heat.

Saturday afternoon, we headed into Rouen to go shopping: I wanted to find a Fossil watch I'd seen online (I rarely buy things online because I can't try them on), and Lui wanted to replace some sunglasses he bought in France last year, then promptly lost. We'd made the mistake of reminding Isabelle and Dominique that our birthdays were coming up, so the understanding became that we would not be purchasing these items ourselves.

The watch hunt was fairly simple. We went into a few shops before finding the exact model I wanted, but find it we did. I tried it on, debated as to how well it fit (two links off is too loose, three links off is borderline too tight), then decided I wanted it anyway. Isabelle bought it for me, and we walked on.

The sunglasses hunt was slightly more complicated. After going into a few actual glasses shops, which Lui said put too much pressure on the buyer, we ended up back at the same men's clothing store where we'd gotten his glasses the year before. Miraculously, we found the same pair, but when Isabelle saw the price (€30), she declared they weren't fit for his 24th birthday present, so he bought them with some birthday money his aunt had given him.

We met Fabien and Thomas for lunch; I had a big salad and a Mystère - I'm devastated that I can't get them outside of France, by the way. So many good memories of eating them with Emma while watching Sex and the City in her messy room. Afterwards, we went to another men's clothing store so Thomas could get a new suit for the summer, and after a few minutes of standing around there, Dominique suggested that Lui and I accompany him to the Fnac... where he insisted on buying Lui a digital camera for his birthday. Isabelle and Thomas soon joined us to help pick out the right one, and after much argument on Lui's part (I'm reluctantly used to this open-wallet policy by now, and quietly excused myself to go find a French-language Bible: we're having a reading in French at the wedding), bought him a nice little €300 appereil.

Back at the house, we watched the devastating England-Portugal match (there is no justice), had a lovely barbecued dinner outside on the terrace, then watched the fantastic France-Brazil match. It ended just after 11, which meant we still had time to go back into Rouen and see the Cathédrale de Monet spectacle. Some background info: Claude Monet painted a series of, um, paintings of the Rouen Cathedral. In order to get the best view of the cathedral, he sat in the window of the shop facing its front. That shop is now a pharmacy, but used to be a women's clothing store, and Monet painted from the dressing room. Anyway, during the summer nights, the city puts on a show wherein these paintings - and other artists' interpretations of the cathedral - are projected onto the actual front of the building. It is awesome.

What was even more awesome was the reaction of the French to France's quarter-final victory. Horns were honking, people were singing, flags were flying out of car windows. We heard several chants of "Allez les bleus!" and even one "Qui ne saute pas n'est pas français", which is totally not how I learned that song. After the spectacle, and a quick drink at the self-same cafe where my dad and I had a post-SDCC-concert drink with Isabelle and Dominique's family eight years ago, we drove back through the celebrations to my last night in Quincampoix.

Maybe I haven't quite been clear. The city of Rouen means a lot to me. The village of Quincampoix, with its delicious bakery, cheeky shop owner, and boules court, means a lot to me. These people, who have adopted me as their American daughter in a family of French sons, mean a lot to me. Their house, their dog, their cat, and all those fish, mean a lot to me. The electric toilet in their upstairs bathroom means a lot to me. This environment inspires me, it is the France I was thinking of and looking for when I first decided to learn French. This is where I came last year, whenever I needed a break from my English-speaking city life. I am constantly in awe of every aspect of this place, and never leave it without stories to tell. If ever there was something to write a book about, it's Quincampoix.

I'm just sorry I haven't been able to spend more time there. God only knows when I'll get a chance go back.