Buckle Up

Wow, ok hold on, buckle up because this one is going to be a long one. When I Last left you I think it was over a month ago before I was heading to mexico, so since then I’ve had a long stint of travel, mexico, Belgium, and all around the north of Italy with girlfriends. So deep breath, here we go. ..

MEXICO:

Ok, so when I was home for my spring break (april…wow that feels like a long time ago) I visited with several of my best friends in NYC one of whom I’ve known since my college days. I got invited to go with his family (as in him, me, his mom, her new husband, his four kids, their four significant others, and grandparents…14 in toto) to cabo san lucas. So I said, what the hell, dropped way too much on a plane ticket and saddled up for a 39 hour voyage over the atlantic to the pacific side of mexico for a week of sun, sand and swim up bars. The trip over (39 hours, and I’m not kidding) was more than eventful. I was supposed to go via Dallas and have a wicked long layover there, which was good so I could see Graham for the first time in about 9 months…but bummer for me, it was raining in dallas, so I got to spend the night in the boston logan airport on the OTHER side of security, since I had to guard my checked bag full of wine (for Ollie’s mom..not me, I promise). Luckily I found myself a nice bar and went inside, promptly ordered an IPA on draft and started pretending to be interested in the Stanley cup finals. Not ten minutes later I had made myself a friend (are you shocked?) who was a nice older man named…well I forget his name for the moment, but needless to say he was a pilot staying the night in boston before deadheading back to Cali the next day. We chatted and when that bar closed he suggested (very innocently) that I come to the bar in the bottom of the Hilton (where he was staying) and get another drink…so I did. Anyway, long story short, he asked me later on if I wanted to “share his room with him” since he had the extra bed and all and I politely refused and wished him well thinking I’d never see him again…WRONG. The next morning I was flying rerouted through chi town, as the pilot knew because he was as well but on a later flight…or so I thought. 6.30 am after having slept for maybe an hour on the airport floor on top of my hiking backpack like a hobo, and taking a bathroom sink shower (I didn’t want to be too narley when I got into cabo) my pilot had changed his flight, showed up to my gate and brought me a coffee and starbucks scone for breakfast…can we say creepy??? When we arrived in chi town he followed me all the way to my cabo gate and then gave me his card and mentioned something about “infectious people” and how I was one of them and would I please email him when I got to cabo. I of course did not, and resisted the urge to give his business card to Ollie in cabo so he could send him a message or two. Ha.

So finally made it to cabo, where may I say, the people know how to hustle, you never know who to believe when you’re there or who is trying to just sell you something. 39 delirious hours later I stumbled into the airport and started searching for my party (however only really knowing Ollie and his mom…who I haven’t seen since I was 21 by the way) I couldn’t find anyone. Finally kim (oll’s mom) found me wandering like a lost child and we went to find olls who was wandering like a lost child at the other terminal (although he was wandering right…with a beer in each handJ). We crammed ourselves into the two tiniest rental cars there ever were, started blaring Mexican pop from one of the three raido stations and made it all the way to our resort. Our house, yes house, on said resort, had a hot tub on the balcony and golf carts to take you all over the place because it was just that big. I was literally in heaven, add in the swim up bar, greatest fish tacos known to man and a deserted beach (because the waves were so big it was illegal to swim) and I was about 1000 miles over the moon . I spent the week doing everything you could do, including being the only girl out of all the family who went ATV riding on the beach with the boys (where Olls of course went flying off of his atv and sprained his thumb)…I thought it was funny that while all the other girls had a spa day, I went and got dirty (I know this shocks you mommy). Kayaking on the ocean, jet skiing on the ocean, atvs, deep sea fishing (where I promptly got sick and was the first of three to lose it on the boat) and a sunset dinner cruise (I got to drive the freaking catamaran…seriously, and after several tequila shots) made for one of the most relaxing days ever. The deep sea fishing was fun at the beginning though because there was a great big bow off the front of the boat that you could hold onto and have yourself a little titanic moment, which of course, I did. However when I was sunning myself on the deck later on and the captain thought it would be funny to drive into a wave and drench me on the front of the boat, my feelings of sexiness definitely took a shot as I became more of a freezing drowned rat on the front of the boat rather than kate winslet. Oh well.

The week was absolutely amazing, we had a great time hanging out together, cooking big giant family meals and drinking waaaay too many margaritas. I think my liver is going to need a break after this month of travel is finally over. I did try and go for a run on the beach one morning, misktake, and then tried to run the length of our long drive way up to the resort (about two miles one way) but the heat got the better of me and that was some of the last running I’ve done in recent weeks. Highlight of my week was when I illegally climbed the giant rocks on the beach and spent the afternoon singing into the surf at full volume because no one was around to hear me, nor could they over the crash of the waves. I had a few more titanic moments all to myselfJ

I bid my farewells to the Tandy clan and made my way back across the ocean (stopping in dallas this time for a layover and having some texas bbq…made my day) and then met up with Jen and Jon in paris and headed to Belgium. Jen and Jon are two friends that I made when I was hiking across the USA two summers ago with Graham on the green tortoise trip. She lives in Jersey, he lives in Belgium and two years later they are still making it work. Amazing. Anyway, I went to find them and we took on paris by storm and ate and drank ourselves silly the first night. As we were sitting on the patio out front of hour hotel we met a nice frechman who decided to chat us up about the US government, and at that point I decided it was time to go to bed. However, we had to be sneaky sneaky since they had only paid for a room for two people. So I decided to go up first and take the key so it looked like I was supposed to be staying there…since they basically gate check you at the door and come running out to make sure you’re not brining anyone illegal into the hotel. I got up to the room and was a little nervous that they wouldn’t have the key to get in and the doorman would give them hell, so being the resourceful woman that I am, I called jon on his phone and told him to come to the courtyard…I jimmyrigged the key (since it was a little plastic one with holes in it…old school paris hotels) to a bracelet of mine and literally romeo and julietted it down to him from our third story room. I decided it would be a good idea to sleep where I wasn’t visible…just in case there was a problem and the doorman came up with them. So I wedged myself between the tiny crevice of the bed and the wall and promptly passed out. Being as tired and jet lagged as I was I don’t even remember them coming to the room and freaking out because they couldn’t see me and had feared that I went out the open window they saw. Fortunately, and not to my recollection, I popped up from between the bed and the wall space (a space so small it seems impossible that a person my size could squeeze in there) and said no no, I’m here! Scared the crap out of both of them, and went back to sleep on the hard concrete floor and slept until the following morning. Wow.

We left to head back to Belgium and jon’s house the next day, where jen and jon and I spent the next few days gorging ourselves on the greatest french-fries known to man and the greatest beer as well. I have never had so much trappist in my life, and it was glorious. Jen and I took off for a day and headed to brugge to sight see since jon was working everyday. We found ourselves the French fry museum, ate chocolate, had waffles in the Verdi café while Verdi blared over the speakers (I was very pleased that I could recognize Alcina as it played above) and took all manner of ridiculous pictures that you can imagine. I bid fare the well to jen and jon and headed back to tours for a week of fun and catching up with friends (who were all pissed that iw as so glowingly tanned after my stint in mexico). I decided that weekend to take off to my best friend Marcia’s fiancées house to help make her up for her engagement pictures. I must say, I am going to need to start practicing for Marcia’s wedding next summer (which I am a bridesmaid in…and fearfully am the only one of the 6 american bridesmaids who speaks French…that will be an interesting post for sure). Because Sunday at the house in Bourges, for mothers day, I was shown up by every one in that family. French meals are something one must practice diligently for if you do not wish to die or have to retreat upstairs for an afternoon nap because you have consumed four bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne over the course of one meal, while keeping up with the massive amounts of French whizzing past your face at lightning fast speed. I deduced that after my weekend in Belgium and tequila soaked week in mexico I could totally keep up with the French. I was woefully, mistaken. Insert afternoon nap for sarah. I have to say the highlight of the weekend was when I first arrived and marcia’s sister in law was working on a costume for her friend’s bachelorette party (because in france they humiliate brides to be by dressing them in insane attire…such as a cow costume or rubber chicken suit, and parading them all over town). Marica’s sister in law however was in the process of making the largest orangina bottle costume I have ever seen. She however was not inside said large fabric bottle, her husband was, while she sewed it, and was yelling at him through it along with her mother in law because the face hole had yet to be cut into it. Enter sarah. Lovely French family home, large talking orangina bottle with no face on the living room table being sewn together while loud mother in law yells French from across the room…oh and tiny tiny dog runs around leaping from furnishing to furnishing wetting itself because it’s so excited about the new people that have come to visit. I am so excited for this wedding I can barely stand myselfJ

Alright, so that’s mexico, Belgium and a weekend in bourges wrapped up. Italy will be soon to follow I promise. I just don’t even have the energy nor the headspace to get started on that one yet. I need to marinate just a little bit longer on everything that happened to me over the last ten life changing days. I am still in bologna for the moment, but taking my first (and hopefully last) overnight train ride back to Tours where I will work for my last week at the university (YESSSSSSSSS) AND THEN head off to spain with mommy and daddy when they arrive next Monday. I can’t believe how much time has flown and that we’re already in the middle of JUNE???? When did that happen?

Alright, more to come later with pictures, after they’re uploaded, I promise.

I love you, I miss you,

Sarah

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