Got lots to tell you and tons of pictures, so hang on to your socks ! Note that I didn’t say it was earth shattering or even interesting. It was just a lot. On the 3rd we traveled by train to Brussels airport, flew to Madrid and then flew on to Vigo Spain for a wedding on the 4th. We left Thursday morning as Lille was preparing for its Grand Braderie weekend beginning on Friday evening and welcoming over 2.5 million visitors. It was our escape from the throngs of people.

It was a long travel day so we got to Vigo in the evening. Vigo is an autonomous city close to the Portugal/ Spain boarder with a population of nearly 300,000. The location of the church and our hotel was in a lovely area, within walking distance of the marina and the Ria de Vigo inlet of the Atlantic. Naturally it’s known for its seafood but it also is headquarters of the European Fisheries Control Agency. After checking in at the Gran Hotel Nagari on Praza de Compostela, we took a walk to the church to get a good idea of where we needed to be and were immediately charmed by the sights. By the time we returned to the hotel, it was time to eat. The evening was mild – in the high 70’s – so we grabbed an outside table at a near-by restaurant for a bite and a glass of wine. There were mostly locals out enjoying the evening as well and we saw a wide range of ages; from the elderly (yes damn it all, that includes us), singles out on dates, to families with kids all running through the park that the street abutted. It was picture perfect and if the weather was this pleasant all year long, I would love to live in Vigo.

The next day we walked through the town since the wedding wasn’t until 4:00 and the weather was equally perfect. The old town Casco Vello is a maze of narrow, hilly streets, with architecture a mix of Medieval, Romanesque and Modernist buildings. The church where Gabriela and Florimond picked to be married was the Colexiata de Santa Maria de Vigo, a neo classic design built in the early 19th century as the previous Gothic church had been destroyed by pirates. After some shop-looking during our walk and a rest back at the hotel, it was time for the wedding. We knew only Flo, his family and Gabby so the entire afternoon and evening was spent meeting people who intersected with their lives – a wide assortment of interesting characters.

When we got the invitation and it specified suit and tie for men and ‘vibrant colors’ for the women, I searched for something to purchase that fit the code. Guys don’t necessarily get this but I was determined to blend in. I did not want to have anyone say that the American’s had made any sort of faux pas. The only ‘vibrant’ color that would work with my coloring was a yellow. And vibrant it was. Nothing I would ever in a million years buy for myself (or probably ever wear again) but something that didn’t look terrible and fit the code. G had absolutely no problem with the suit and tie request. As we arrived to the lovely church and sat in the pew, I glanced around to see if I had met my goal. Most women had chosen reds or maroon colors although there were a few blues and greens. None wore yellow so I did stick out in that regard. Still, I consoled myself, I fit the code and was not garish. Then the procession began and my heart sank. All the bridesmaids fluttered in, wearing yellow. Yep, no matter my intention, I stuck out. Count that a big fat zero for the American. We took plenty of pictures of the various attendants before the procession for Gabby and Flo, which we will not post but did send to them afterwards. The entire wedding party was absolutely stunning as was the bride and groom. Leaving the church, throwing petals on the emerging party, it was a wonderful sight and event. The wedding was followed by a 30 minute drive to a villa where the families were staying and the reception was held. We were greeted by a lush property with tables laid out with champagne, wines and a dizzy array of tapas. As everyone trickled in, photos were being taken of the couple with various groups of friends while everyone relaxed and got to know each other better. The dinner started at 9:00 and we found our place cards at a table where we got to know more new people. The table was filled with English, Spanish and French conversation – a good time had by all, with an absolutely fabulous meal. It finished about 11:00 when the music and dancing began on the grounds.

As it was suppose to end at 4:30am, G and I (wild partiers that we are) had decided in advance to bow out at 1:00am. We were picked up by a chauffeur service we like to use called BlackLane and driven 2 hours to Matosinhos, in the northern part of Porto, where we arranged to visit a couple of close friends we’ve known for 45 years, for a few days. Of course we’d told the hotel we’d have a very late check in and arrival was a bit of a blur as we staggered to bed around 3:30am. Bed always feels like heaven when your body has been screaming for it for hours. The next afternoon we met our friends for lunch and walked to their apartment. They had moved during the Pandemic to Matosinhos when they retired and have been studying the Portuguese language since arriving. I believe they stated that they have reached the B2 level and we are so impressed with their progress. I have only achieved the A2 level in the 8 years we’ve been in France and memory issues have eroded that significantly. G has retained his and made more progress which I can’t help but be extremely jealous of. No violence is planned – I’m showing great restraint.

We visited Jill and Mike about 4 years ago and thoroughly toured Porto. This time around we were much more relaxed and spent the days just conversing as if we’d never parted. We went out to dinner every night and every night was a complete delight. The first night we ate at a very popular place called Lage Senior do Padrão, which served a wonderful and giant grilled fish, with potatoes and a vegetable which I’ve forgotten. The second night we ate a place called Leco at Miquinhas that served the absolute best octopus that we’ve ever tasted. I love seafood – always have – but octopus is dicy in that not many places cook it right. It is hard to find a place that avoids the end product from being rubbery or bland. This octopus was so tender you could cut it with a fork and incredibly flavorful. It has absolutely ruined the dish for us anywhere else. The third night we had drinks at the Lince Santa Clara Hotel in Vila do Conde. It is a stunning place, built as a monastery in 1894 and renovated in the 18th century, overlooking the town, the Ave River and the sea. We each picked a different cocktail (all were wonderful of course) but Jill had mentioned a smoked cognac drink that I also decided to try. So decadent and delightful.

Our meal after drinks was at a cosy little restaurant in Vila do Conde called Bastardos. The owners and the cook were all terrific and very personable. We had a great time and ate more octopus. Couldn’t help it – we were officially hooked. After four days of chatting, a more than adequate amount of Negroni’s, more food plus more food, meeting a few of their in-town wonderful friends, even a Thai massage that Jill arranged for us, we began to reverse trek home, Porto to Madrid to Brussels to Lille. BlackLane service to our door and we arrived satiated and done in on the early, early (1:30am) morning of Thursday, the 10th. G had managed to book a quick dental appointment for Friday morning for me because my temporary crown came out – that was an easy fix.

But we didn’t have a lot of time to ourselves because on the 12th, Jim – a high school buddy of G’s and his wife, Anita arrived. We’d gotten the studio apartment ready for their stay and as soon as they settled in, we went downstairs to Yume, a new Ramen place that opened a month ago. The food was very good and they had vegetarian choices too for Anita.

Anita’s a big fan of the Bee Gees and a well known repertoire group was performing a Tribute to the Bee Gees at the Sébastopol Theater in town, which G had gotten tickets for. The walk was 20 minutes away and entrance was seamless. Our (rather squished) seats were on the third tier but the stage was very visable. The group was fabulous, their singers were a great tribute act of the originals and they played a great 2-hour stint. It was truly impressive and Anita was thrilled.

G picked up baguette and croissants in the morning to put on their door, then accompanied them on a few walks as I am using a cane at this point – hopefully not for long. They took in the Palais des Beaux Arts but unfortunately their great painting collection wasn’t available as the second floor was roped off. We had them over for dinner, and all too soon, they left for more further European traveling, the next day.

With all the partying behind us, we were faced with reality in the task of seeing to our limping refrigerator. G called the company, equipped with a preset speech in French but soon ran into problems. Fortunately at the time, Hassene, who cleans our place once a week, was currently in our apartment and G was able to have him come to the rescue. End result was a scheduled visit from their technician who declared in less that 2 minutes that the freezer was beyond saving. We were issued a gift card which basically paid for 3/4th of the price of a new one and we were off to pick out a new refrigerator. It will arrive on the 3rd and the memorial for our old one will be held at noon.

The rest of the month was filled with doctor appointments and laundry – two constants in our lives. I told a friend recently that taking care of your body after the age of 70 is more work than it was taking care of our 1984 VW Westfalia van. And about as costly.

There was a part of a citywide fun festival that happened on the Place du Théâtre at the end of our block, called Journées du patrimoine or Héritage Days. It is held annually in France and is a unique opportunity to open the doors of monuments, museums, sites and places of worship that are usually closed to the public. In Lille, it also showcased the crafting of statues and monuments so forging, carving, molding, welding and textile weaving were demonstrated by expert practitioners for two days.

It was great weather and a good time. G even caught the police taking a picture of some visiting tourists, which was fun to see. All in all, this month we enjoyed great people and good weather.