Day 50

I wish I had some witty remark to begin this post, but my creativity is at a low this morning due to the stress of an ill behaved 3 year old.  That being said, Saturday was joy.  I received a call Friday evening from our friends in the Centre Ville.  Knowing that we were on the eve of a very long separation from Mom, it was suggested that I accompany them on Saturday morning to their favorite farmer's market.  They in turn would send their son over to our house for babysitting services.  A welcome break from the kids.  We have become quite close to this lovely couple and their generosity seems to know no bounds.  Some of our best experiences here have involved this family and they have managed to single handedly make this feel a whole lot more like home.  Their son arrived early and I was off for a morning of adventure.

The day would be a day spent in the company of friends and in the style of the region.  I would leave the trusty 206 nestled at the curb and make use of all other manner of transportation, both public and private.  I caught a city bus from a stop near our home and make my way towards the center of town.  From there I would walk into the heart of the city to our friends home which is nestled into a quiet corner of the Centre Ville.  Their home is amazing.  The first several levels consisting of nothing more than a very long staircase leading to an open living area reminicent of a NY loft.  The architecture is amazing and the color palate is one of a kind.  A nice espresso was offered and enjoyed on their terrace as they finished their own morning routine.  It was then off to the farmers market.  We abandoned public transit for my personal favorite . . . bicycle.  Cycling through the center of town in enchanting, exhilirating and hectic all at the same time.  It is was one of my favorite parts of the day, which just confirms the validity of my recent purchase.

After traveling down cobbled corridors and negotiating some buzzing boulevards we arrived at our destination down a very crowded city street.  Riding a bike through such a crowd is a bit like running with the bulls in Pamplona.  It is a bit like a large scale version of the game "Frogger".  A blast, but not for the faint of heart.  The street ended in a beautiful plaza with a gothic tower being its central feature.  It was like you would imagine from scenes you have seen in movies.  It was an ethnic market full of vendors selling the best of their lot.  Fresh fruit and vegetables as far as the eye could see.  Breads piled high on folding tables and crates of live chickens fresh for the picking.  Fresh milk also available for purchase out of empty Coke bottles, undoubtable fresh from the cow that very morning.  The sights, sounds and smells were intense, with a richness that can't be described.  Rare ingredients and spices could be found at every turn.

My friends have their favorites and gave me a very informative tour as they went about their shopping.  Soon I too had some favorites of my own.  The hospitality was grand despite the hectic pace of commerece.  A lovely conversation available at every stand and a number of vendors quite willing to practice their english even though my friends are quit fluent.  One stand in particular caught my attention.  The produce was certainly not the best I had seen, but the two women running the stand were worth the trip.  Recognizing my friends, they immediately set to a friendly discourse that I could understand a fair amout of.  Perhaps I am picking up the language after all.  They were sweet women that were quick to point out their location and let me know that I should remember that their stand was indeed one of the best.  This was a lie of course, but the relationship will warrant customer loyalty regardless of the quality of the fruit.

I really didn't have anything on my shopping list, but I didn't want to leave empty handed so I picked up some bananas for my youngest and some very nice tomatoes for my eldest.  With our baskets filled to the brim, we made our way back to the bicycles and set about the task of leveling the load so to speak.  There is an art to this process so that one does not make their mode of transportation so unstable that it cannot be pedaled back home.  Two more stops to make.  Assistance would be offered by my friends to learn the bus and rail system.  With multi trip passes procurred, it was off to a very quiet plaza a short distance from their home for a nice cup of coffee and conversation.  Again, our american accent gave us away and the nice young man at the cafe gave us a quick history lesson on the plaza itself.  We sipped our coffee and spent a half hour or so getting to know each other better.  I soon received a call from the house.  Our sitter, a marvelous 13 year old young man, advised that my youngest had requested a glass of milk but that we appeared to be out.  This much I knew to be the truth, but what was the reason for the call?  He simply wanted to ask if it was alright if he took the boys to the market down the street from our house to buy the boys some milk.  This young man is truly golden and is in many ways the type of young man I hope my children to be.  I advised that this outing would be just fine and sort of marveled at the quite mature nature of his inquiry.  We returned to our coffee and conversation, but I was on a time schedule, so soon we would have to be off.  My eldest son has made fast friends with an Australian lad and I had arranged to pick his mate up for an afternoon of play at our house.  I met them in front of the Grand Theater and shared a nice bus trip back to our house getting to know my son's new friend.  The boys spend the afternoon being boys.  Climbing trees, playing guns and playing video games.  The weather has been amazing and the afternoon was actually quite hot.

The boys needed beverages which had us once again running down to the market for a Fanta and some cotton candy.  My treat of course.  They boys returned home to spend the remainder of the afternoon in a sugar fueled video game frenzy.  I took it as a great compliment when my son's friend advised that this was the best day he has had here since he had moved from Australia.  If I can provide another person the same feeling that my friends had provided me early that same day, then I have given back in kind and that pleases me well.  My son's and I then spent the remainder of the evening hudled at home enjoying each other's company and the warmth of some soft blankets on the couch.  The day was amazing and I am hopeful that more will follow.  The only failing of the day?  Being the wonderful young man that he is, the sitter endulged my youngests request for bananas at the store when they went to purchase their milk.  Having purchased bananas myself at the market early that morning, we now have enough potassium in the house to satisfy a large troop of monkeys.  If that is the price to pay for such a great day . . . so be it.  Stay tuned for there will be much to more to follow.