Chez moi, à la française

It has been a little too long since I last updated this, safe to say the weeks following my last post were slightly more real-life daily adjustment than anything remotely adventurous or exciting. The odd motivated pupil and pleasant afternoon chatting to someone other than myself being as interesting as it gets. C’est la vie. The quest to feel “settled” (something I am beginning to doubt will happen) was however interrupted to my great pleasure by a visit from Maman et Hannah. Everyone I told about the visit assured me that ca me ferait du bien, and they were right. It did do me good indeed. We spent a lot of time sat around my kitchen table drinking the “proper” tea kindly brought over to replenish my supplies, cooking what we eat at home, and having lots circular conversations (the norm chez moi).  Thus the trip was more home-from-home than adventures in Alsace, but for me this was just right. It is funny how much we can miss seemingly trivial facts of existence, and even things that normally are more a source of annoyance than the substance of fond memories! 

We did of course do a little exploring - I couldn’t not show off Alsace’s finest picture-postcard villages. We also braved the cold to spend the day in Colmar, where it was necessary to do what the Graces do best and seek refuge in eating/drinking establishments. This was accompanied by what the Graces do even better – walking aimlessly for up to an hour each time in search of said establishments, increasing both appetite and tension in a prolonged and indecisive search for the perfect spot. Thursday lunchtime this spectacle commenced, but luckily as ever it was when we were on the brink of giving up that we stumbled across our refuge from the cold, this time providing hot soup, fresh bread, and even pots of tea to follow. Refreshments aside (though to us the detail of primary importance), it was 4 days I was sad to see come to an end. Un peu de chez moi at just the right time.