Pink Slip Gourmet: What a Difference a Day Can Make

Right now I am cool as a cucumber, sipping some red wine and gnoshing on delicious comté cheese. Last night, however, was a different story. I had arrived (just barely since I caught the train literally two minutes before it left) to a rainy Provence from a rainy and cold Alsace and was not happy about the weather. Rain and cold temperatures have been following me since ten days ago and quite frankly I was getting sick of them both. In fact, so sick that I actually was sick. I've also had a cold for ten days and it has been relentless.

So when I arrived in Aix to less than perfect weather while still under the weather myself, I was a bit bummed. All I wanted to do was get to the apartment I had rented and access the internet so I could communicate with my husband. You see, for some unknown reason, my phone had been unwilling to receive calls from or make calls to B for several days. It would work perfectly fine for any other phone number, just not his. How lovely and convenient is that?

Of course, upon arrival the internet would not work. I felt defeated. The rain had followed me to Provence, I was still sniffling, and now my only mode of communication with home was broken. I called my parents to ask them to please let B know that I made it to Aix safely. During the call my dad asked if I knew that more flights had been canceled in Europe because of the (insert your favorite expletive here) volcano ash. When I said I had no idea what he was talking about, he said I could look it up on the internet. The Internet!Aaahhhh!!

Tired from traveling clear across France all day, exhausted from being sick for 10 days, homesick for my husband (and good Mexican food), frustrated by the lack of internet access, dumbfounded by the inability of my phone to call the one person I wanted to call, and horrified that my flight home would be canceled, I was primed for a breakdown. And it came full force - tears and all.

Luckily, the moon and stars aligned for me. Shortly after my (much-deserved, thank you) breakdown, B was able to get through to my cell, and I was able to get the internet fixed. Once I could take a deep breath, I realized that I have only a few days left in France, so I had better enjoy them regardless of the circumstances.

And look what today brought: sunshine, nice weather, less sniffles, fully functioning airports across Europe and a long conversation with my husband on Skype (not to mention the wine and cheese!). Here's to cherishing the bad times along with the good. Without them, would we ever know how good we have it most of the time?

Here are some pics from my afternoon in Aix-en-Provence today...

The apartment.

The kitchen - look how big it is! The sink isn't in a drawer and there's space to actually cut things. It's amazing how much more I appreciate those things after living in my tiny boite in Paris.

My lunch - straight from the morning market: a simple salad, avocado slices, some mango, ridiculously tasty cheeses, tatkizi (a mediterrean dip), and a good old-fashioned baguette. How could I have asked for more? It was simply delightful.