This is my final day of pleasurable leisure in France before my painstaking 13-hour flight back to 30 degrees tomorrow morning.

Etienne sent me to the train station. And so, I’d be wandering in Paris alone, just like in the movies. I know you’re smiling big reading this right now, Etienne. I had Etienne’s phone. I was fondling with it while waiting for another hour for the train to come as I had just missed the previous one. And for some reason, it did an auto shut down. I switched it on again, and it requested for a pin number which I totally did not know. And by then, Etienne had driven off to school, and I was sitting alone, out in the cold, waiting for the train which is only coming in another.. 50 minutes, holding on to a useless, locked phone.

Putain.

It wasn’t what I wanted my day to be like especially when I’d be alone. It wasn’t that bad. I knew how to get back and manoeuver around the metro in Paris. It was just the thought of being incommunicado that put me in the uneasiness. I had already promised Etienne that I’d leave him a message once I’d be in Paris, and I knew that I’d cause him unnecessary panicking and worrying if he couldn’t get through to me.

So I just did everything quickly and as fast as I could. I went to the Galleries Lafayette – it is the same like Orchard road. I did some gift searching, took photos of hotels, museums, operas and sunsets. But what I did worst was to walk around for an hour and a half searching for Laduree which was there right under my nose right from the start – but I still didn’t manage to find it still, and so I went back home. There goes my wish to bring back a whole lot of Laduree macaroons.

When I reached Bois Le Roi, it was already dark. And I knew that Etienne and everyone else would have been worrying about me since I was uncontactable. It was nerve-wrecking, in the cold and in the dark, to come up to a stranger who speaks the least English in the world, and ask for help to use the phone in order to call home. Upon hearing my voice, his mental burden was alleviated. He fetched me home from the train station but I still felt the worrisome feeling lingering. It took him a whole night to shake it all off. But I don’t blame him. The thought of losing someone you love is scary, especially when it was my last night.

Etienne showered me with treats of good food at Chez Elle. Je t’aime, Etienne.

From Day 11 in France, posted by Miza Ahmad on 1/05/2011 (20 items)

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As you can see my days are getting shorter and shorter. I hate this feeling. It means it’ll soon be over. I wanna stay here. Singapore is just too chaotic. Here is pacifying.

We drove to Versailles today. It was almost a 2-hour drive. We had tea before leaving. The aim was to just see the big castles in Versailles. The weather was expected to be very windy and cold. But instead, I still put on a dress. Upon reaching Versailles, I got too hungry and persuaded like a little kid for crepes, again. It is the best choice of food, I think, if I can’t think of anything else. If it wasn’t for being in France, I don’t think salmon would be a preference at all. Now I am totally in love with salmon. I don’t feel nauseous anymore smelling it. I can stand it now. As you can guess, I took some salmon filling with truck loads of cream sauce for my choice of crepe. 3 words – IT WAS GOOD. As if I wasn’t full yet, I greedily asked for the greediest dessert in store of all. Knowing that it was my last few days here in France, I wanted to have all the best things I could get.

The huge castles are indeed, huge. Bathed and embroidered lavishly with gold. If I was desperate, I think I would scrape the gold off the gates and walls. And so that was the only attraction for the day.

Came home to Patrice and Therese-Marie and joined them for dinner. It was a big round plate of pizza just for me! I’ve never eaten this much pizza at all in my entire 21 years of life. I was in heaven. Anything goes as long i have my chilli. My salad was totally bathed in the spicy dressing. Therese-Marie thought that it was too bad for me, but I wholly thought the opposite. Over dinner, we were discussing about how it would be for me tomorrow as I would be alone in Paris. Etienne has this big test which in the beginning he wanted to bail from, and after much persuasion and assurance from me, and of course the persistence of his parents, he decided to sit for it. And that leaves me ALONE, in Paris.

The night was still young. Etienne wanted to show me off to his last batch of friends that I’d see. I was the rose amongst the thorns. But it was cool. It wasn’t that awkward or anything. I did some boy/men stuff. It was slacking fun. And also, it was because Etienne had to meet his friends for their last me discussion for the big group test tomorrow.

Then midnight came striking. It was way past after midnight and I was feeling quite famished. Oh well, honestly, I was craving like a pregnant lady. If it wasn’t that bad, I wouldn’t have begged for Etienne to cook for me pasta, again.

From Day 10 in France, posted by Miza Ahmad on 1/05/2011 (21 items)

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