If you’d told me a year ago I’d be sitting in an apartment in Caen with the windows open, a breeze cooling the air, and a kebab on my dinner plate, I’d have called you some names including a liar. But, here I am doing just that. Unbelievable!

Today was ideal. I woke up when I was rested, took a shower, took my meds, ate some breakfast, made some coffee in my new pot, and enjoyed the quiet of the courtyard. This is pretty much as close to perfection as I’ve ever experienced.

As I was walking to the bus stop, I passed a fresh fish store. It smelled just like you’d imagine, but the fish looked fresh on the ice.

Before I got on the correct bus, a middle-school aged boy asked me if I knew which bus would take him to the Caen Memorial. Since I’d seen it on the bus I take, I told him I suspected the same line, but with a bit of research on my Twisto app, I found that the number 2 bus is the one he was looking for and, as luck would have it, it was arriving a short distance from where we were. It felt good, again, to help someone despite my navigational and language challenges.

It wasn’t long after that before the University students started piling on the bus. The body heat made the temperature jump up a good 10 degrees. A girl, maybe 18-ish or so squeezed into the seat next to me. We sat in silence for a while. I pulled out my bag of tiny little yellow ducks and gave one to her with a smile and the word “Bonheur” (It is pronounced kind of like Bon-oo) which means happiness. She smiled back and put the little duck in a pocket in her bag.

I arrived in Cairon Commerces at 1:30pm and as promised, my client’s fantastic wife was there to greet me with her grandson driving. I loaded into the car and enjoyed yet another ride.

The exercise with my client was better today, although not where he was. I asked if he wanted me to come more frequently for a while to get him back up to snuff. He politely declined and said that three times a week was ample.

Then I was told the news that my planned stay in their villa would be more complicated than originally expected. There was a discussion about introductions, building relationships, and then asking if it were okay. I was not okay with that uncertainty.

Airbnb helped me to find and arrange a place to stay in the two weeks that I’d already had planned. Both of the places I’m staying in already were already booked so I ended up finding a third place in Caen to stay. I’m not even upset about the extra expense, mostly because I’m moving all over the city finding new neighborhoods, new paths, and it’s freaking exciting!

From my bus stop to return home, I can see the private property chateau, a field that has construction taking place on it, and a Cairon memorial. The wind was around 25mph today. I contemplated talking to the conductor, but I thought better of it since I’d not understand his response. My hair was a massive knot when I got back to the apartment. It was surprisingly not cold though.

Of note, the roads are ridiculously narrow as I’ve mentioned before. It’s harrowing enough in a car, but to witness the conductors navigate the tight corners is really impressive and worth mentioning again. Two busses can’t comfortably fit side by side on the roads farther out from town.

The ride home was uneventful and felt familiar already which I found surprising. I arrived at my bus stop and searched for a pharmacie. I found one and asked for band-aids and some antibiotic cream like Neosporin. They sell band-aids that come in a long strip that you have to cut the length you want. They also sell the ones I’m accustomed to, coincidentally with an antibiotic in the pad. I was unable to secure some antibiotic cream because it requires a prescription here. WHA?!?! I’ll make do, but I was surprised to learn that.

The church bells have signaled 8PM. Typically I hear one church, or rather I’ve only noticed one. Tonight I heard three distinctly different bells announcing the end of day. When I lived in Grand Rapids on College Avenue, I could faintly hear a church bell ring at noon. Here, it’s like the melody of the day.

I will be sad when this time here ends, but I’ll think about that later. For now, this Dude is abiding in It’s a Wonderful Life.