And you think your week-end was fun...

Well let me tell you about my week-end. Where to start. Saturday morning I decided to go get my ticket for Amiens. I bought my departure for 12:01 and my coming back leaving Amiens at 9:50. My first clue to cancel should have been when I went to board, they said, sorry there is a strike at Lille so you leave at 1:40 instead. No big deal, went to the market and saw a co-worker, sat down and talked. I looked at the time and I had 8 minutes to get to the train station, I ran and made it with 1 minute 38 seconds before the train left (I timed it when I crossed the train door), this should have been clue number 2. When in a hurry, go home, don't live on the edge, however me being me, I love the rush.Made it to Amiens. What a beautiful place. Did some shopping, went to the movies and saw TU SERAS MON FILS. My main reason for going to Amiens was to see the lights on the cathedral at night. Movie finished at 3:30, went to see all the restaurants by the river, unbelievable how nice it is. While walking by the river and by the bushes, I heard meow, meow and I knew right away that it was a kitten. I get through all the high bushes and flowers and hiding underneath was a beautiful light gray, short hair, about 2 month old kitten. I looked up to the sky and said, oh my God, this is faith. A kitten that I can save, put it in my bag, bring it home. The plan was all visual, until I tried to pick it up and it became a Dracula the Vampire. It bit me on my left index finger and it went through the skin. My finger was bleeding and here I was on my hands and knees, going through the bushes with people sitting on the park benches looking at me. I grabbed the little darling (it's really not the word darling I want to use, however) it was hissing and the ears were low and it was putting up a fight. I must say, the cat won. My finger bleeding so I go to the convenience store across the street and ask if they had a first aid kit. The girl said, ah oui, nous en vendons, yes we sell some. I said, no do you have iodine or something, I was just bitten by a kitten. And we all know that in March, I got bitten by Minime and I ended up getting a tetanus shot plus anti-biotics However, I didn't get anything. So I leave the $%^%#&% kitten there and go to the cathedral for the night lights. I am sitting there with my camera and then the lightning and thunder starts. What a beautiful sky. Heat lightning and thunder until out of nowhere, the rain with drops as big as a golf ball. From the bench to the door way of this dental office, I was soak. From my jacket to my underwear to my skin, dripping from my hair, my sneakers squeaking, my jeans dragging. Oh what a feeling. All I did was laugh out loud and thinking, not my hair, I don't look good with wet hair. However, the electricity went, no cathedral light show, everything cancelled. The church bell rang and it was 9:00. I still had to get to the train station The sirens were going, I was running and I looked worst than what the cat dragged in. I made it to the train and waited. 9:40 a train comes in. I go down the ramp and the conductor comes out and I say, le train pour Arras, is this the train for Arras, oh non madame, no train tonight. I show him my ticket and say yes at 9:50. He says, poor madame, that is for tomorrow morning. Who uses the 24 hour time. Obviously not me. I had booked the wrong time. What was I going to do. I couldn't even sit down, I was wet from top to bottom, inside out. I remembered seeing a hotel across from the train station. I go out again in the rain. It really didn't matter anymore, I couldn't be any wetter. My paper bag with my stuff that I had bought was no longer a bag. All I had was the bubble wrap that they had put it in. I go to the hotel and I am standing in front on the hotel guy, on the carpet, like a rat, dripping and he looks at me. Now because I am soak, my clothes are stuck to me. You could see every roll, every fold on my body. At my age, things are not where they used to be. I said, how much for a room. He says 120 euros. I start to cry, I tell him I'm canadian, I booked the wrong time, I'M shivering and he says, OK 70 euros. See it helps to cry... He says, go up to your room and I'll go get you a toothbrush and toothpaste. I got to my room, open the door, turned on the light, put my bubble wrap on the table and there it was, the most huge, monstrous spider on the wall by the mirror. I jump on the chair, take my soaking sneaker in my hand and I froze. The phone ran, it's the bellboy and he says, madame I looked everywhere and we do not have anymore toothpaste\brush. I said, monsieur, monsieur, there is a huge spider on my wall. Without a second of silence, he says, I'll be right up. In a flash he is knocking on my door, I am still on the chair, he opens the door and sees me with a sneaker in one hand, he grabs it and kills the sucker. I asked him if he was sure it was dead, he says oui madame, I have it in my hand, just take a look. I believe that the spider was the brother of the other spider that was outside my apartment. Then to warm up, I take a bath. I had to force the plug in so after my bath, I couldn't get the plug out. I tried with my hotel key, my apartment keys, my nails, no it wasn't coming out. The water was still in the tub this morning when I left.

You might want to rest your eyes from reading now because it's a long blog. Go get a snack and a drink and come back. There is more.

I used the hair dryer to try to dry my clothes. Jeans and sneakers just don't dry well. Actually nothing did. I slept with the lights on in the bathroom because there was a bit of heat coming out of them so I thought my clothes would dry. It's very hard putting clothes back on when they are wet. Jeans and sneakers especially. My sneakers were still doing squish squish. I leave the hotel at 9:15 because my train is at 9:50 but it is only across the street. Still wet, jeans dragging, my bubble wrap under my arm, I go to the ticket counter. The woman says, oh madame there is a strike at Lille, your train only leaves at 5:00 tonight. Well after I picked up my jaw from the floor, I go back to the hotel and ask when check-out time is. She says noon. I said, can I get my room back until then. She says, oh they have already cleaned it. My jaw starts to shake, my eyes starts to get watery and she said, just a minute, she picks up the phone, talks to someone, gives me keys and says go to this room. I go up, it's a big double room, extra large bathroom and she says, it's yours, watch TV, get under the blankets. So up I go, with my bubble wrap, undress again, try to dry my stuff with the hairdryer. I leave at noon and decide to go to the cathedral and visit inside. Lots of people visiting and I can hear mass going on. I thought, well I'm here, I'll go to mass. They had the area to go to church closed with red rope. Well I could see the people, I could see the 2 priests, so this guy that works there was around so I called him twice, he never looked at me or came over. So by then 2 older ladies had joined me. They were from Normandie and they wanted to go to mass also. So I told them, I'll go under the rope and see if we can go in. Well who got caught, ME. the guy working there comes to me and says, do you see this and motions the red rope and says do you know what it means. Insulted was I. I said, well do you know what this means, and I motion with my hand come here. I called you twice and you never came over. I said I just want to know if it's a public mass and if we can go. He says, no it's a baptism and it's private. The 2 old ladies left and he escorted me out. I was NOT impressed. But before he escorted me out, I said, I'd like to light a candle. I asked God, please pray for him and Thank You for restraining me from hurting him.

After that, I went to the movies, again, and saw R.I.F. If I would have stayed with the church worker any longer, it would have been R.I.P. I finally got the train at 5:00 and was at my apartment at 6:15 and as soon as I opened my front door (on the first try may I add) sometimes I can be out there for a long time. Friends have seen me try but tonight on the first try, the door opened to my Home Away From Home and I knew I was Living the Life. Oh and you are wondering what was in the bubble wrap, well it was 3 little glass signs marked, toilettes, salle de bains et chambre d'amis. I still didn't see the cathedral at night.