France Trip Chronicles - Part III in Bourges!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Happy birthday to the most wonderful husband in the world! We celebrated with the world's best champagne from the last winery we visited yesterday.

We spent the day traveling on two impeccably brand new trains to Bourges, where we met up with a beautiful, smiling Marcia at the train station (I have known Marcia since elementary school and consider her to be one of my oldest and dearest friends. She asked me to be a bridesmaid and vocalist in her wedding, which I am honored to be). She drove us to the bridal headquarters, an expansive, dorm-like, mega big house in the tiny, charming village of Berry-Buoy. The rest of the day was spent unpacking, reading, walking, eating, drinking, meeting another lovely bridesmaid from NYC named Sarah, and catching up over smooth, French beer that I actually liked. What a relaxing day!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Following my morning run, we ate breakfast and relaxed while Marcia had important bridal errands to run. I finally had the chance to get my 27 postcards written and mailed. Yay! We walked, read, enjoyed a fried chicken and pork skewer lunch prepared by Sarah, and prepared guest gift bags when Marcia returned.

Then it was finally time to see the groom, Rudy (1st time seeing him in four years for me!) and meet his family at their house in downtown Bourges. While Marcia got her nails done and ran a few other errands, we relaxed, walked into and around the city, copied bridal itineraries and directions (a ridiculously slow and tedious process in France!), attempted unsuccessfully to find non-sugary snacks, and napped back at Rudy's parents' house while waiting for Marcia. I was quickly reminded of being on "Marcia time" in many ways. But hey, at least I got the chance to check my email for the first time in days!

Then it was girls' night time! We traveled with Marcia's amazing Aunt Susan from Florida to an Italian restaurant in downtown Bourges called La Pasta. We met up with the other newly arrived bridesmaids, Lindsay, Shani, and Kelly, along with Marcia's other close girlfriends from the United States, England, and France. We all enjoyed lots of red wine, bread, pasta, photos, and delightful, energized conversation. I especially enjoyed catching up with Kelly, whom I graduated high school with a whole ten years ago. Wow! Where does the time go?!! I have not seen her since graduation. Dessert was Susan's treat and consisted of fresh ice cream from a nearby cafe. Yum!

Luckily, the boys were still having a blast drinking, eating manly meat, and playing cups (a lawn game outside) upon our return to bridal headquarters. Yay for male bonding!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

After my morning run, shower, and breakfast, Marcia, Kelly, and I headed to Rudy's parents' home to tie up some loose wedding ends. Kelly and I enjoyed playing with Rudy's 3-and-a-half year old niece, Naomi, who is FULL of personality and schemes. I also tried to befriend their Mini Pinscher named Efe a bit unsuccessfully.

Then it was off to the grocery store to pick up a few food items and then to the wedding reception location, a castle in Bargonne which is stunning! The French boys, Rudy, Marcia, Kelly, and I set up the ceremony courtyard area and reception hall. It all looks beautiful! We also got the chance to eat lunch and explore the castle before discovering that Marcia had forgotten to finalize the contract for the food tonight. Oops! This crisis caused Leo, Ben, Sarah, and Shani to miss part of the rehearsal to buy and prepare enough d'hourveres for 93 people. Talk about stressful!! We still managed to get through the rehearsal, thankfully, with the help of the ever-soothing and calming Aunt Susan.

On the way back to bridal headquarters with Marcia, we stopped to get the most beautiful-looking French cheese platters ever at the local formagerie (cheese shop). Even the French tourists stopped to snap photos of the platters as we loaded them into the car!

Luckily, we had just enough time to change, set up everything, and help the great chefs finish food preparations. Phew! It all worked out just in the nick of time.

At the welcome wine and cheese reception, Greg and I aimed to be social butterflies and talked to as many people as possible from all over the world. I especially enjoyed catching up with Adam, an old friend from high school, and Tia, who just arrived this afternoon after over two grueling days of travel and delays. The food and wine were delicious, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The only bump in the road was when Rudy's obnoxious, immature cousins decided to set off several annoying firecrackers in the road. Luckily, they finally stopped upon Rudy's request.

Thursday, July 28, 2011 -- Marcia and Rudy's Wedding Day!

Wedding day is finally here! After a morning full of hair, make-up, and dress preparations, we all headed over to the Bourges town hall for the civil wedding ceremony.

And what a wedding it was! Everything went beautifully, Marcia was beaming, my song went well, the rain held off (barely!), and ALL of the extensive seven-course French dinner was delicious. Check out all of my photos online on my Facebook page to tell the rest of the story...

Friday, July 29, 2011

Not having gotten back and gone to bed until after 4 a.m., Greg and I were exhausted and easily slept until noon. Leo told us to get our butts in gear, so we quickly showeredm finished packing, cleaned the room, and drove in Leo's rental to the post-wedding brunch/lunch. The food was OK, Marcia and Rudy received a thunderous round of applause, and the photographers even displayed hundreds of wedding photos available for purchase. They looked wonderful!

After saying our goodbyes, we dragged our luggage 10 minutes down the road to the Bourges train station to board the 5:40 p.m. bus directly back to Paris. Napping and reading ensued -- happily! Once in Paris, we crossed the river on foot to the other train station to board a shuttle bus to Charles de Gaulle Airport. We checked into the Ibis Hotel and ate tortellini at an acceptable Italian restaurant in the hotel. Time for bed!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Sadly, after our buffet breakfast and packing, it was time to check out of the hotel and make our way to Terminal 1 of the airport. We flew from Paris to Dublin, where we had a seven hour layover -- but manged to keep ourselves fed and entertained throughout! We then flew to JFK.

What a wonderful, magical time in France we had, despite the colder weather and rain. I was impressed with how well Greg and I made it around the country with so little knowledge of French. It does feel good to speak English full-time again, though!