All About Louise

Well, this first photo isn't about Louise, but I think it's the best one I've taken this year so am inflicting it on you whether you like it or not. May I quickly point out that the bee's delicate wings are perfectly angled to reflect the clouds; The Great Pastry Chef In The Sky has piped pollen rosettes onto the bee's little legs; and the whole scene is "pink-washed" --it just doesn't get any better than this (for me, anyway).

There was no May post because I hardly had any interweb access at all --not because of my tempestuous relationship with our provider, but because I was home a total of about 5 days. Louise, who lived in Tokushima with me 2000-2002, kicked off the month with her Bachelorette celebrations in Nice the very first weekend --13 girls descended on the city, wearing masks and wigs so as not to be picked out of a lineup (should the circumstances demand it). Aside from all the festivities (which pics do a good job of sketching out), I was SOOOO happy to be back in France --I could communicate without making ten million mistakes, eat mountains of navettes, and generally "blend in" a little more successfully than I tend to here in Italy. Bonus: I wandered through a handful of FREE museums because the first Sunday of the month is engineered to benefit starving students like myself! I've seen two or three other Chagall exhibits around the world, but nothing could beat the Musée national Biblique Marc Chagall --containing not only a Biblical-themed series of canvases and sketches that Chagall specifically left to the city of Nice (where he spent the last years of his life), but also statues, stained-glass windows, a mosaic and tapestry designed by him. I sat in the atrium built for the Song of Songs series for quite a while, discussing that day's Royal vs. Sarkozy election with its caretaker. I had high hopes for Ségolène --not that I agree with everything she stands for (too much community consultation, for one), but I admire her drive, believe that her motives are pure and would've liked to see her in power.

Filippo's Evil Bosses denied him his remaining holidays and made him stick it out until the 15th --so we packed up the car early and headed straight to an overnight ferry to Sardinia after his farewell party. Our "holiday" was mostly spent working on the roof and grounds of his roulotte that had been destroyed by winter storms --only 2 afternoons of the total 12 days were spent at the beach...but I did catch up on a lot of studying and take a couple great pictures. I also finally admitted to myself that I need a math tutor for my economics courses --too much calculus for my small brain to grasp, and I can't waste time learning basics when I should be applying these to "environmental valuation" concepts. YUCK. So am now on the hunt for a tutor who'll except payment in English lessons and/or homemade muffins.

We got home from Sardinia last Tuesday morning at 4am, and left for London the following morning at 8am --Anju and Charlie took good care of us during our 2-day stopover, and I'm now cleaning and planning in preparation for their Bergamo visit in two weeks! I heart houseguests! Back to the subject at hand: Rufus Wainwright, who you may know is tied with Joni as being my #1 favourite Canadian singer-songwriter of all time. On Thursday night, Filippo and I went out for drinks with Belgrade friend Vlada, who is a very successful Hairdresser To The Stars in a salon right near legendary Selfridges. If Hugh Grant and Sofia Coppola are having a good hair day, it is entirely thanks to Vlada. Anyway, he explained that through a series of ridiculous coincidences, he would be attending the final one of Rufus' 5 London concerts on Friday night, and would be partying with him afterwards --so I seized the opportunity to scribble down the things I'd always wanted to discuss with Rufus:

• When are you going to write me a goddamn musical?
• Proof that I am (non-scary) #1 fan: Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller

Must ask Vlada what Rufus had to say. If only I had been there, we could've retreated to a quiet table to co-compose a preliminary score together...

For a post supposedly All About Louise, this really hasn't fulfilled its claims --so I'll wrap up by saying that Louise's dream of a fairytale wedding really seemed to come true over the weekend. Her (very short, by Catholic standards) ceremony was in Llandaff Cathedral, then everyone was whisked away to Fonmon Castle for a sunny afternoon of drinking, nibbling and quartet-listening in its lush green grounds. I had gotten to know many of Louise's good friends during her Bachelorette weekend, but ended up spending 94% of the time with Clare and Anju --we just have too much fun together. The best part of the day was probably the speeches, which don't feature at all in Italian weddings --Louise's dad and Maid of Honour spoke on her behalf (making us all cry like crazy), with Henry and his Best Man giving funny responses. For surprisingly self-obsessed pictures, see this Flickr album.

Last but absolutely not least, I must say a few words about my most precious Babcia, mother of my mother, who left us on May 15. She had been in terrible pain for about three years since two strokes confined her to a wheelchair then bed; she has now joined my Dziadek and Uncle Ed in love and light. I'll always remember her able hands (busy garden-tending and pierogy-making); incredibly soft, kissable cheeks; inexhaustible pride in our achievements and the tender care she treated us all to. Final story that for some reason just came to mind: when Krista was the first of the cousins to bring home the chicken pox, everyone got together so we could suffer/recuperate at the same time --Babcia came in from Chilliwack to look after all the kids, and I was so disappointed that she was packing her bags to return by the time I finally came down with it, as I was 10 and supposedly "old enough" to entertain myself. Nobody is ever too old to be looked after by a Babcia.