Last Weekend

Friday June 13th
• Invited over for lunch across way - paella Spanish dish
• Took scooter to bakery, bought French baguette and pastries for dessert, went on trail ride with Caroline

Saturday June 14th
• Polo game 2nd one in Paris,
• Prez Bush had lunch with French president and many streets were closed down
• Polo party in evening
• Tons of food, dancing

Sunday June 15th
•Polo Games
•Resting

Interesting Notes
• Get license when you turn 18 - for two years you have to drive with a red ‘A’ on the back window (like the girl in The Scarlet Letter
• Consume a lot of coca-cola, no diet or coke zero in sight
• French dinner time is later than the English (8:30-9ish as opposed to 6ish)
• Most shops and restaurants close around noon or 1 for a lunch break
• Laundry detergent comes in solid block cubes instead of liquid (although the liquid type is available)
• Avocados are eaten whole like the fruit that they are
• Bathrooms do not have paper towels - EVER - hand towels are a must (apparently) because any place there is a sink or place to wash your hands, there is a hand towel - public restrooms included - more germs perhaps but at least we're saving the trees while we're at it

This last weekend was very busy with meeting new neighbors, polo games and partying it up with French style.

Here are some of the highlights complete with photos . . .

Friday the 13th I was invited over by the other grooms (whom are all boys as Caroline has duly noted) for lunch. After having been given the short tour of the stairwell and dining room, I ran back to the main polo club room to grab my camera for a few group pictures. The dining room was cozy, complete with a table, several chairs an old television in the background (set on some international channel showing a Prince music video) and a small kitchen area where the chef was preparing several dishes. After a couple of photos they insisted I sit down and have lunch with them. I informed them I was waiting for Caroline and Virginie’s parents to show up but that I would sit with them for a bit. Only one of them spoke English and my three years of Spanish in high school was exceptionally rusty. That being said, we managed to have an enjoyable time over some stale toast crackers, white rice with mayonnaise, and paella. I took a big spoonful of white rice before realizing the white patches were oozing mayonnaise not melting butter, several crackers, and paella. The paella was a mix of Spanish rice, vegetables and sea creatures, including whole shrimp with antennas still attached and beady little black eyes on the sides of their heads. After watching one of the guys tear away the shrimp head and put the shell beside his plate - my stomach decided it had had enough sampling of ethnic foods. I thanked the boys numerous times - me gusto mucho! I declared despite barely touching my food. The boys laughed and told the chef that I did not seem to like it - no! I said - me gusto mucho! (as if repeating this phrase might erase the food on my plate). After waving goodbye I headed over to the other side of the building to the polo clubhouse where I had a much tastier lunch of bread, cheese, fruit and pasta.

Later that afternoon Caroline & I took two of the horses on a trail ride. This was such a welcome relief of riding laps around the tiny polo track that I was overjoyed when she told me the plan. The trail ride was beyond beautiful - it was gorgeous! Luscious trees and shrubbery all around. It was extremely dense and the main trail broke off into several smaller trails numerous times. Caroline led the way as we cantered and galloped (no walking here) along. The trails are located on land that is owned by the same guy who owns the polo club. This guy (I always seem to picture him as a prince in my mind - though I don't think he is) lives in a castle - I'm not kidding - we rode by his castle which is right next to the polo club and in the middle of all the trails. I swear the guest house or maids courters are larger than our house in Cali. From what I could see beyond the stone walls - its a real castle after all - it looked really neat. One of the trails took us by the owner's mini polo field where he could practice in private (because his huge club where we are just couldn't cater to his needs appropriately I suppose). Anyway, amazing - not to mention that Caroline got a bit lost - only for a minute or so though (nothing compared to my trek in Dourdan) and we had to backtrack a bit.

After the trail ride - I scootered a couple of kilometers (its the metric system over here) down to the local bakery where I bought a fresh baguette for dinner with Virginie's parents as well a two tarts (apricot and raspberry) and a cookie which I promptly ate as my reward for not getting lost.

Saturday June 14th

We had an early polo game and then zipped back to the club to unload the first set of horses and then load up the second set. Caroline and I then drove to Paris with the dogs and horses. We stopped along the way for sandwiches (I actually got a square piece of pizza this time - mayonaise kinda grosses me out) at another amazing bakery. She got a couple little cookies for dessert and I got a tiny berry crumble tart. Meanwhile President Bush ate lunch with the French President at a nearby cafe (or wherever) which caused many streets to be blocked off and annoyed Caroline because it made getting lost much more probable. Fortunately we made it to Paris where we unloaded the horses, tacked them up in game gear and played. Went amazingly well - Caroline and her teammates (including a great woman by the name of Sally - one of her patrons) played exceptionally well. They actually ended up beating the other team - a feat they had never accomplished before - everyone was quite excited.

Later that night was the polo party - and boy can they people party. Which makes sense when you think about it - combine the French with the horse people - one big haulabalooa! And it was - food, music, drinks and fun galore. After a whole day of work and polo the food was the first thing that caught my eye. Aside from the roast that was going on in the yard (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding style) the spread was to die for! Huge greens salads, bruschetta salad,fresh bread, cheese platter, nuts, meats, baked potatoes and dessert! For dessert there were several types of chocolate cake, a apple tartlet strawberries and whip cream - ahhhh. After food there was dancing - and lots of it. This gang was rocking out to 60's, 70's and 80's American music! Think YMCA all the way! Haha it was great - I watched for a bit at first - I mean how often do you get to see a bunch of tipsy French polo players bust-a-move on the club house floor?? But soon enough I was out there with the best of them - because you really can't keep a Kelly off of any dance floor - French or not!

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