April was(and is) one intense month.
After moving into our new apartment on 1 April, we left it in a state of disarray while we travelled to France. While the weather in France was hot and muggy, New York was drenched to the bone in 8 inches of flood water from the hurricanes sweeping through the East Coast. It even snowed 6inches in New Hampshire! I am hardly complaining about the lovely weather we had in Paris(blue skies, sunshine and warmth!) except that the nicely embroidered pair of gloves n the scarf I had bought for the wedding(to fight off any spring chill, just in case) were rendered unnecessary by the almost "Singapore heat" of 31degrees celsius on my wedding day. Damn! I had so wanted to wear gloves on my church wedding!!! :( Haha...
Alor! Meeting the family for the 1st time. That's intense, isn't it? Given that his entire family is only a tiny fraction of my extended family in SG, the stress is greatly reduced. =)
His father, Commander-in-Chief Georges Planel guards his fort like an army general. Taking charge over his precious greenhouse, cat shed, garage(housing a 1970 BMW brroom-brrooom motorbike), rhubarb plant, white and red grape vines, fig/prune/apple/cherry/cassis trees, his herb garden filled with basil/mint/thyme/citroenelle/parsley plants and of course his domain full of vintage furniture and household items including a 100 year old large copper pot handed down from Emmanuel's grandmother, a 50+yr old hairdryer which i was using, and a vintage dustbuster he used to vacuum up the bread crumbs after every meal.
Monsieur Planel the elder is one hell of a retiree. He makes prune confiture(jam) using the prunes ripe & sweet from his own garden, serves us lunch with freshly picked lettuce only 5mins ago was just sitting in his greenhouse, and for a 73 year-old, he has a cool Macintosh laptop and even an ipod! French people really know how to enjoy life after retirement and they make it seem so natural. Ce'est la vie!
And of course there were more family members like his brother's beautiful family, his mother whom I had met in SG, his extended family of cousins, uncles, aunties and nephews. And of course, his best friends from school and "Dungeons & Dragons" playmates. But first, let me continue about the intensity of April.
A wedding church mass in FRENCH. My dear husband was not even an altar boy when he was young and he had attended only one wedding in France his whole life. The last Catholic wedding I attended when I was like 10 years old. Naturally, we both fumbled in front of the French priest for the mass preparation.
Which reading or gospel to choose? Which psalm? Which Alleluia to sing? Which vows? Which, what, when!?!?!?! If everything was in English, it would have been literally a piece of cake. Initially, the priest said I have to memorise my vows in French. I panicked and nearly fainted. Finally, we decided to combine the whole mass in both English and French. I get to say my vows in English! Alleluia!!!
In the end, I ACTUALLY FORGOT MY VOWS!!! But I dun feel bad actually. Even Mr. Phd Planel had to write his on the inside palm of his hands to help him with the vows! Chant: Cheaterbug like a 5th grader!!! The joke is - we were holding hands during the vow exchange so he couldn't read them!!!! Muahahaha....!!!
To top it all off, I was late for my own wedding! Yes, me the bride! The driving directions given to us were literally useless(avoid mappy.com like the plague) and with terrible phone connections, we got lost in the small town driving around in circles until we found a kind soul to lead us the way to the church! Fritz, my friend who is kindly driving me to the altar,cuts a dashing figure in his fancy suit, and with me sitting in the front, i suspect it kinda confused the poor old French guy we flagged down on the road. He must have been wondering what is this bride and groom doing in this town, not speaking a single syllable of French and lost on their way to their
own wedding! Haha... We must have provided this old man with a story to tell for weeks... Even when we got Emmanuel finally on the phone, he himself doesn't even know the way! We must have been the most unprepared Catholic Bride & Groom ever! Stress factor: 9/10
French Service is like a yo-yo. It can be impeccable or it can be shitholeland. The service at our reception and dinner was of escargot speed. The service staff were very nice actually, but at the rate they bring out the food, most people would have starved by then! We actually only got the "piece monte", the traditional French wedding cake, at 1am in the morning. Put aside all notions of 3-tiered wedding cakes. This piece monte is a monstrosity. I was aghast when they carried it out like one of those 90th Birthday Longevity Peach Tower cake for Chinese grandmothers' "Da Shou" celebrations.
Then they stuck in some pyrotechnics display above the "Bride & Groom" statue and the cake exploded. Well, I wish it did so we didn't even have to eat it. Whatever caramel coating they used to drench the choux pastry cake in, it was as hard as marble and almost inedible. Whoever tried must need an appointment with the dentist the next day. I think even Emmanuel was shocked at this cake cos it usually is not made of choux pastry(oh oui?!?!?). This hotel probably hosts more celebrations for those above 60 years old so making a piece monte must have come naturally for them too! Just like in chinese customs!
Due to their excargot speed, about 20 of our overseas guests had to leave early to catch the train back to Paris centre and
MISS the rest of the evening. I was actually sad they had to miss the pyrotechnics cake, the champagne and also the dancing!!! The hotel should be burned down for all the grief they had caused us. Stress factor: 7/10
The week before the wedding was a mish-mash of meeting family and friends who flew in specially for the wedding.
I was so happy that my dear friend Cat and her husband finally decided to come to France and Italy for their honeymoon and attend our wedding. Emmanuel's brother and sister-in-law took one week off from work to also spend time with us and we went off to visit Brittany & Normandy with the 2 adorable kids - Alexandre and Vassily. My parents and sis came from Switzerland after their tour ended and together with Kim & Michelle from NYC, the whole big bunch of us hung out from visiting the opulent palaces of Versailles, picnicking in front of Eiffel Tower to eating Moules & frites at Leon's and taking the romantic boat ride down the Seine River.
Everyday before the wedding was packed from dawn till dusk with activities that by the time we came home, we were literally poofed!!! Evidence came in the form of 3 ghastly pimples that decided to show itself at my wedding as univited guests. Thank god we have Michelle who disaguised them masterfully by wielding her brush of magic.
After the wedding ended, we were a lot more relaxed(no more vow memorising!) and began to enjoy spending time with family and friends leisurely. It was an emotional moment when I had to bid farewell to my Dad, Mom and sister shortly after.
I am happy that this is also an excuse for them to visit Europe for the first time(and not last!). From all their excessive shopping to the expanding width of their faces, i believe they had a grand time. Afterall, they all went home smelling so good with their french perfume and all! Keke... ;p
Finally, we had 2 short days on our own in Beaune, Dijon and Champagne. It is all too short as his mother came to join us in Lille and after to Brugge in Belgium. Once we returned to Paris, the entire Planel brood came over for a last dinner as we depart the next day.
His brother and kids who sent us off to the airport were so emotional like in the movies. The nephew wanted to follow us to NYC and his usually strong brother were tearing as he waved his last goodbyes.
Wow. Talk about intense.
And then, and then, right just before we had to board the plane, we rushed to finally write and stick a stamp on those postcards we had been meaning to write before we step off the soil of France. Whew!!! I am so glad postcards have such small writing spaces. Sad to say, this is like the only time we had in the last 2weeks to do such leisurely things. And we still had to rush through it.
Oh. I almost forgot. Air India. NEVER, EVER take this airline if you can avoid it. First, they lost my luggage with all my clothes, underwear, make-up, shoes, contact lens and jewellery when we arrived in Paris. 4days later, it arrived from Mumbai. The bloody thing went all the way to India and back! Of course, the bastards ransacked my luggage and took my jewellery - one of which is a gift from my mom. This gold plated kerongsang is a chain of 3 linked floral pins meant to hold my wedding kebaya top together like a true Peranakan. There is no freaking way I can buy a replacement in Paris. I had to use safetly pins instead. *embarrased* Apart from losing my luggage, they have no Fragile check-in service at the counter. This is the first time I have encountered such a bizarre airline service which is flying international, mind you, and it is not even a budget airline.
We have artisanal champagne, Sancerre wine and Mere Poulard apple cider from Normandy which we intend to slowly savour at home and I swear to god, if these AI Idiots break a single one of them, I will certainly raise hell. Already, they have tried to murder us by not answering our desperate service calls for water in the long flight so I am pretty sure they have no qualms in breaking my wine. Very surprisingly, the alcohol were intact and not a single thing was stolen on my return flight. They have managed to salavage whatever shred of humanity left in their service by this last act. Still - I do not recommend to use this airline if you do not want to end up ranting like a crazed woman like me. Stress factor: 9.5/10
In a way, we were both so relieved to enter our apartment and for the first time in weeks, to truly relax and empty our minds. Sadly, after visiting France in all its spring blossom and architectural glory, coming back to NYC only rendered bile in my throat as feelings of sadness washed over us in waves. Emmanuel and I both agree Europe is so much more beautiful, vibrant and the quality of life there is way up higher than whatever NYC can offer us. Even a walk through Central park yesterday did nothing to change my mind - and you know how much I do love Central Park yah.
We are both glad...and sad to be home for sure.
P/S: Pics and travellers tales coming up soon!
An introduction to this popular French/Spanish singer: Manu Chao.
amidst huge cries of support and frenzied nods from the euphorious crowd. Of course, by that time, a cloud of marijuana is floating above my head and the unmistakable smell of this grass lingered on my hair, my clothes and my bag. Surrounded by potheads who are enthusiastically jumping up and down to Manu's eclectic mix of music, I fervently wish I can swig some alcohol into my blood stream instead of just spring water....grrr... Still, we were both grooving to the music and having fun.
