It’s 10.30 a.m. in Marseilles, and as could be expected, a hot, bright day. I have been to the Brasserie next door for a grand creme and a pain au chocolat, which was the only pastry they had left for breakfast this late. While I ate, the Beatles came on singing Penny Lane, and I remembered standing there a few months ago with my Liverpool hosts. The Beatles, like Wayson Choy, keep me company wherever I am.
I was so speedy, I took a sleeping pill last night, and woke late in this beautiful little room with its hot pink walls and shutters that could have been aged by Hollywood, so picturesque are they with their chipped, flaking paint. And there, sitting on the little desk, is my bag.
The hotel has a storage facility, so I’m going to leave my suitcase here for a bit and wander around Marseilles. Later this afternoon, I’ll try once more to get to Julie’s place in Montpellier. All of you have kept me company, too, during this adventure. How strange and marvellous that I’ve been able to blog my way through it. Onward, my friends. The trip is nearly over.
2 Responses to “morning in Marseilles”
oh those heart-stopping moments: I did the same thing last Christmas en route to my parents across the border – so busy getting myself and baggage and gifts through the snow to Nanaimo, flagging down a four-wheel drive truck, leaping out of it across from the bus station, waving goodbye to the kind strangers who were off to do their last-minute Christmas shopping in the malls – leaving my handbag, with cash, cards, passport et al in the cab. Phoning collect from a pay phone in a crowded bus station is an exercise in frustration, especially when everyone the operator calls is out or has the answering machine on. But at least I was able to communicate in English – I'm sure all vestiges of French would have deserted me in your situation. What is the French for Lost and Found?
Adventure: from the Old French Aventura, indicating something about to come, a hazardous undertaking, a perilous experience, risky activity,thrilling, daring, exciting, dangerous doings! Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers and railway employees.
I'm now receiving similar accounts from one and all – I guess we've all had those lapses of memory and near brushes with disaster. I bought three very small bottles of cheap champagne and took them to the Acceuil at the station here today, to say thank you, only different guys were there. I'll keep trying to find my guys, though – good to reward kindness, as a boost for the next poor soul who has a disaster en route.
Lost and Found in French seems to be … Lost and Found.
I did, and glad you did too.