Beaujolais Nouveau and some unfortunate accidents (made better with homemade crepes!)

In spite of fighting off something that I REALLY hope isn't swine flu, I managed to have a pretty good week, beginning with France qualifying for the World Cup on Wednesday (albeit playing like crap and culminating in a hand ball that led to the decisive goal). That late night didn't help my cold at all so I ended up calling in sick--for perhaps the second time in my life--on Thursday morning and spent all day sleeping. Still not sure what the protocol is for sick days for us...

Babysitting for Aurore and PE was a little eventful on Thursday because PE, I THINK, pooped in his pants. Apparently, he was just following the guinea pig's lead... I say I think because we were playing Uno (and I was about to win) and he went running from the table straight into the bathroom calling for his sister. I was then not allowed in that part of the house for a really long time, and Aurore told me he'd had an accident (meanwhile, PE was screaming bloody murder from the bathroom because he didn't want her to tell me anything) and had to take a bath. He came out later in the most adorable blue bathrobe to finish the game, and I just pretended nothing had happened since I think he was mortified. As he should be at NINE YEARS OLD. But I blame his mom for putting him under ridiculous pressure and stress at his age. Anyway, it turned out fine, and no one said anything else about it...

Then I headed to Vieux Lyon to meet up with a huge group of assistants and others to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau, which is apparently a pretty crappy wine but is the first of the wines to come out each year so there's a big celebration. Luckily, it was a really nice night so everyone was congregated outside.

The restaurants were all selling wine by the glass and bottle for really cheap, along with hot wine (sooooooooo good here) and really random food...including hot dogs, and because I hadn't had dinner yet and thought it would be hilarious to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau with a hot dog, I got one. It was perhaps the most delicious hot dog I have ever eaten. Mostly because it was on a baguette and they make a little hole, pour some ketchup in, and slide the hot dog inside. Amazing. Try it. Oh wait, Americans are incapable of making good baguettes. Sigh. Anyway, it was a great night and the wine was even pretty good! 

And because I FINALLY got my Velo'v year subscription (it only took a month), I biked home and it was awesome.

On Friday, again taking advantage of my new Velo'v access and the fact that it was a beautiful day, I went to meet Sarah, another assistant, in the park. Alas, on the way, I maybe took a minor spill on my bike. I don't think I've fallen off a bike in 20 years. Seriously. I forgot how much it sucked. Completely mortifying too. And not one single person stopped to see if I was okay. I WAS, but still. I think it was because I swore extremely loudly in English as I wiped out... I still don't know exactly what happened. I was moving over into the bike lane, and I must have caught my tire on the lip of the curb. Almost caught myself but didn't quite and did the whole bit with the bike ending up on top of me, both of us a little worse for the wear: I made it out with a couple cuts and a really sore knee, but the front of the bike got a little bent and for the rest of the ride it had to be turned to the left in order to go straight... Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. But I made it to the park finally and got to soak up the sun for awhile before going to tutor and babysit.

PE, who's been having a pretty rough week it turns out, had a meltdown while we were doing his homework yesterday. His sister was harassing him, and he just started sobbing. I couldn't understand everything he was saying because he was crying so hard, but he kept saying that Aurore treats him like her dog and hits him and then he gets in trouble, and on and on. I just wanted to wrap him in a big hug, but I'm not sure we're at that point yet. Somehow I managed to distract him and get him to finish his homework. Then he proceeded to beat me at Uno 5 times and at another card game 3 times. Then Aurore put some old records on (yes, they have a record player!), and we danced around the living room. I taught them some swing dance moves, and it was adorable.

Because it had been kind of a rough week what with being sick and the bike accident and PE's issues and all, I decided that I deserved something delicious. So I whipped up some homemade crepes for me and Rachel when I got home, and they seriously hit the spot. Crepetastic!!!