Bordeaux Wedding - November 1, 2008

Hey Hey everyone! It's about time I wrote this blog. I'm one blog behind my adventures so I'll try to keep up better. On October 11th we woke up early in the morning and drove through the morning mist of the Rhone to the airport in Lyon. Our flight for Bordeaux left at 9 a.m. for the wedding of Adrien and Armelle. Adrien and Stephane met when they both first came to Lyon about ten years ago and have remained friends ever since.

So, we got there with enough time to eat some grub before we got on the plane. The plane ride was short and sweet to Bordeaux, basically up and then down again. Flying into Bordeaux is very pretty with the Garonne river winding around and shining in the sun. Stephane had no idea who was supposed to pick us up from the airport but he knew it was someone :( but eventually when we landed and picked up our bag he saw the future groom waiting outside for us. He had come himself instead of sending someone else. That was very nice and he speaks English actually so this helped a lot. He actually speaks English, French, Polish, Hungarian and German. I feel so inept even just writing that. I can't even get my hair cut if Stephane isn't with me. So anyway, we also had to pick up another colleague of theirs who had arrived early and was waiting in downtown Bordeaux to be picked up. I thought I would not see any of Bordeaux because I thought we would be inside the whole time with the wedding. But actually, by the time the two days was over, I ended up seeing I think just about all of Bordeaux. LOL Going back and forth across town for everything.

So, Bordeaux is actually a short city. Most of the buildings I saw were not above 3 stories. I say this because it's not like that in Lyon or Paris. It actually reminded me a lot of like a California suburb. Best way I can describe it. Low buildings, lots of little stores and even a few strip malls (I swear) and lots of fruit trees in peoples yards and yucca plants. Very much like southern California. Ok, so we went to pick up Thierry near a fountain by the river. I guess this huge fountain is the sister fountain to the one in the Place de Terraux here in Lyon, where we live. Don't know why. Perhaps they had a surplus huge fountain and no where to put it. I did not get a picture. It was down by the river so we got to see that for a little while but then it was time to go back and do the meet and greet at his future wife Armelle's family home. I was scared shitless. Not just random French people I didn't have to interact with , but someone's entire family who we were going to eat with and then go to the wedding with later. When we arrived , I asked Stephane to tell them that I didn't speak French, but he never did. He kind of just let everyone ASSUME it. I told him later that I thought I looked stupid the entire time because I was virtually silent the entire time....for no apparent reason. I think it was fine and that I didn't offend anyone or anything. It's a rare and difficult situation for me to not be able to express my personality. I'm pretty outgoing as you all know and just picture me, sitting quietly and smiling like a fool the entire time and nodding and laughing but having no fucking idea what was going on! LOL Not a pretty sight. So , for the first time in my life, I was thought of as a quiet person!!! L O fucking L! So, lunch was great but then when we went to get dressed we realized that our suitcase had been in the car still. The car that was now at the hairdressers with the future bride. YAY! So now, while everyone else was getting dressed we got to sit around with stupid looks on our faces and wait for the bride to return. Her dress was still there so we knew they would be back. But still. Then we had approximately ten minutes to hurriedly get ready while also contending with the bride for the bathroom. Of course, Stephane doesn't give a shit because all he has to do is put on the suit and shoes. I, on the other hand, had just enough time to pull on my dress and fix my hair but no time for makeup or new deoderant or anything. I could have killed him for not getting our stuff out of the trunk before they left for the hairdressers. But Mercury was in retrograde so what do you expect. After all of these shenanigans, the other parts of the family began to arrive. Must be some sort of tradition or something to come and watch the bride leave the house and all travel behind her to the Town Marie (Mayor). While at the house Stephane had told me that Adrien's Mom was Polish and his Dad a Hungarian. So, it was a French/Polish/Hungarian wedding. Some of the younger Polish people spoke English and thankfully they were seated at our table for dinner later. I was referring to them as the "Polish Mafia" because they were all young and very European looking and dressed extremely well. At one point they were sitting together and I wish I could have taken their photograph because seriously, they looked like an ad for "The Sopranos". It was certainly interesting all day and night to watch the French and Polish people interact. Polish people (at least these ones) seemed outgoing and loud and quite colorful. The French people were fairly reserved with children and Grandma's and just kind of watched everything happen. Very friendly but very reserved.

Okay, so in France, you have to get married at the Marie (Mayor) before you go to the religious ceremony. In fact, you don't even have to have a religious ceremony at all, they just had chosen to. Much like America I guess. So, we went to the Marie in a cavalcade of cars. The session is short but the room is big enough to accomodate all the guests. There was a picture of President Sarkozy on the wall ans someone had pulled a shear curtain over it. I don't think he has high favor among the French. Kinda like another President I know. SO, the cermony is short and then we travel next door across the street to the church for the religious service. Cute little church in the center of town. Everyone sits and we are welcomed by a priest who looks a lot like any drunk uncle you know. Stephane said the priest had warned that under no conditions were we to take pictures while he was giving his sermon. But after that was fine. LOL Demanding bastard! So anyway, the service was fucking dreadfully long. Stephane got up and read something and so did Thierry. It was up , down, up , down and then up again. I was so annoyed, I just sat for the whole last part. My feet hurt and I was sick as a dog, did I mention that? Yeah, a couple days earlier Stephane had the sniffles and I said, "don't get me sick". Sure as shit, he got me sick and then wasn't sick himself (mother *$cker) :) I mean, I love you baby. So, yeah my feet hurt and I sneezed about ten times during the service and my nose was beet red from all the random crap I was using to blow my nose. So, finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the service was over. We then proceeded to drive all the way across town to a park where there were pictures to be taken. Really pretty place. I don't think I actually have posted those pics yet, so I will after this. I only have a few. So, we were at the park for , oh, two hours! I was so hungry and sick of being on my feet. It was getting boring waiting for all the pictures (totally normal). Finally, the bride and groom appeared sans gay French photographer and we were on our way to the hotel where the reception and dinner were to be held. Also the place where we would finally get in to check into our room. We followed an uncle with a GPS and guess what? The GPS took us in some huge roundabout way of getting there and we were the last two cars to arrive. However, we did drive past like all of Bordeaux, beeping our horns. It's a tradition when you are in the wedding party cavalcade to beep your horns whilst driving all over town. Totally annoying when your not in the cavalcade but totally fun when you are. So, we arrived last and were greeted to a really beautiful reception out on the back deck of this hotel. Really nice area with trees and tables and chairs set up. Lit by subtle lamps. I was happy to see that the dance floor was wicked tiny, so, little chance of getting pulled up to dance. Besides, I think Stephane is like me...meaning he only dances when he's totally wasted. Since his stomach was bothering him, he wasn't drinking, so I was safe from a dance card invitation...from him. Okay so, we snuck away during the reception to pay for and check into our room. Then we took a brief break and returned to the party. It was about that time that everyone had started moving inside to sit for dinner. It was about 7 or 8 by then. Now, in America, they kind of rush you through your Prime rib and chicken and just get you to the part where everyone gets drunk and dances. In France, it's much different. On the menu board, there were something like six courses. Starting with a salad with Magre duck breast slices. A terrine of fois gras. Roasted potatoes with onions and mushrooms. A ton of awesome wine, which I drank quite readily. I could barely breath, or communicate, so what the fuck else do I do but get drunk. I am turning into a wino here and it's awesome! So, the main course was not memorable but after the main course we had a cheese plate, dessert and then more wine. I was chit chatting with the "Polish Mafia" whilst getting wasted and poor Stephane really was not feeling well. SO, during the last three courses for dinner they were having like periods of dancing and also some toasting. But mostly the DJ (who was totally getting drunk with the waiters in the kitchen - I saw them) was trying to cater to both the French and the Polish sides of the family. The first stint of dancing was for the Polish people. Apparently they like to dance to old fifties songs from America, Twist and Shout, I think was in there and of course, a POLKA!!Woo hoo! They got totally crazy on the dance floor. Especially the younger ones. So, then there was a break for the cheese course, then it was the Frenchies turn. The Frenchies started out with a waltz and then proceeded to dance like fools to keyboard eighties music. So, let me recap. Polish people (who were totally wasted) dancing to Oldies/Polka and Frenchies (mildly intoxicated) dancing to keyboard eighties music. It was really quite the scene. SO, I was so exhausted that right after the desert and champagne, we excused ourselves and hurried off to bed. I was so tired of running aorund for the last few days in Paris, being sick, not understanding hardly anything all day, all the terrible travel connections and being drunk, that I fell asleep so fast, apparently in the very center of the bed so Stephane couldn't sleep. :) Oopsie! Well, I was drunk and sick so, whatever.

We awoke right before the noon checkout and were whisked away to the French side of the family's brunch. Totally awesome food again which we had to eat rather quickly before going off to catch our 3 p.m. plane back to Lyon. A salad with Langoustine. Magre duck again, with some type of beef. More wine, of course, which I imbibed readily. A cheese course, which the bride's mother insist we did not skip and a dessert of profiterole, pastry puffs with creme anglaise and some cookie thing. Then we said our Au Revoirs to everyone and were outta there. The groom Adrien, took some time away from his new Bride to take us quickly to the plane and then rush back. SO, the plane ride back was totally un-eventful and then we were finally home to relax. Well, I got to relax but Stephane had to go to work the next day. So, not easy for him. But I needed to recover from being sick and tired and he needed to focus on work now. He had to write up this evaluation on the lab in Paris and get a bunch of other things done. Two weeks has passed since then and we went on a holiday finally. Stephane has had the last week off. SO, now I am caught up on writing the blog. Beginning of the week I will write all about the adventures in the south of France and meeting Stephane's family. Check out the albums for a few wedding shots!

A bientot!