Foreigner in a foreign land

I returned from a long weekend (or rather, a very short vaccation) from the south of France, left the family behind to do some more vaccationing and resumed the task of earning money (as every caring family father should do).

It was difficult at best to get back.

We had a wonderful lunch in La table d’Emilie (13 points Gault Millaut) and even the kids got their share of Foie Gras and other good stuff. They managed to sit through almost 2 hours of lunch and really enjoyed the food (well, most of it). Highly recommended (and for Euro 90 for the four of us with complete menus each, not expensive at all)

Then we got to Montpellier, where the family dropped me off at the station and I undertook the long trip home by TGV. I had to change in Lyon and promptly fell prey to some jerk stealing my wallet with Credit Card, Palm Pilot, drivers license, bank cards, 1 year ticket for the swiss trains etc.

The police seemed genuinely uninterested and suggested I make a report back in Switzerland, unless I wanted to miss my connecting train.

On the train, I almost finished The Con-fusion: Volume two of the baroque cycle[US | DE] and I’m happy to report, that Neal Stephenson is getting better and better at writing story-arcs. He was always a master of the short “stories within the stories”, but many of his books have left me wanting for some more “long-term” story management. This book, so far, is his best. I’m looking forward to part 3 (The system of the world) which awaits me at home.

Anyway, I arrived very early in the morning (00:45) in Bern, where thankfully M. picked me up. I stay at her place, when I work in Bern, and hearing of my trials on the road, she came to fetch me. (Fetching a taxi without money and without credit cards is a tad difficult).

Getting to bed at around 2, couldn’t fall asleep, got back up at 6:00 in the morning and started working.

I should have stayed in france. The family still enjoys itself down there, as I can hear from the occasional phone reports.

sigh