I just realized that France is the home country of Jeanne D’Arc, my personal heroine and logo mistress of Mighty Brave. At fourteen years old she charmed the King of France and she led the army to save this very country.
It is a breathtakingly beautiful here in Biot, where the condo is located. (There is a nearby town called Biach, which made me laugh when I saw it on the car GPS.) From here is a short drive to the Cannes Film festival along gorgeous French country roads. It is lush and green with fragrant blooming flowers, interesting architecture, birds, rabbits, frogs and fountains everywhere. Bentley’s and other fancy cars line the streets and the one thing I can honestly say I am not keen on are the rich French folk who live in this area. They are not really my kind of people. The wait staff and workmen are more my speed than the snooty rich boys at the country club who radiate their belief that they are god’s gift to the world. Yuck.
I had another rough sick day, stayed in bed and sweated and slept through most of it. I remember Carlie trying to wake me. I tried to take a bath but was instantly too hot. I still haven’t made it to the festival, although I found out where there is local free parking from another producer and got a good party invite, unfortunately for when I’m gone. I also got offered services free from a concierge company.
Today I was intending to drive Carlie to the train station but kept waking in and out of delirium having strange obvious dreams. I was freezing and then sweaty and couldn’t keep food or drink down. I had a dream I was trying to call on an old rotary phone and it kept dialing the wrong number and then the dial melted. I tried to meet a friend and kept missing busses and was led astray down wrong streets.
I really feel cut off without a local phone. Carlie took the French cell because she didn’t want to travel without it. The lovely receptionist here who is less that cheerful still hasn’t given me an internet password so I’m still piggybacking my neighbour’s password which is patchy as a quilt. I tried to send Kim an email for about 40 minutes and feeling like I was going to cry then gave up. I tried several different payphones and the hotel phone but none can call out. I feel a tad helpless and cut off but have had lots of support through sporadic emails that do come through. Also the lobby of the nearby hostel has free internet that works. So I have walked over there a few times with my laptop. And the traveling students are much kinder.
I am in the lap of luxury here. Beautiful lush countryside, with a closet full of designer gowns and a BMW and I can’t make a phone call to save my life!
After sleeping and eating a bit, I feel more human and just took another of my late night walks and after raiding the BMW of the toll change I bought chips and a latte from the vending machine at that youth hostel. The chips did the trick to make me thirsty, I wanted to drink a bunch of water. I know coffee might not be the best late night beverage but c’est la vie! They don’t seem to have decaf coffee in France.
Carlie has left, she took the train from Cannes and then is flying home tomorrow. Kim is arriving tomorrow and the best news is producer John Davidson is joining her and he will be staying in the condo with us. He is a good friend of hers and a well known producer who was asked by Jen Luc Goddard to produce the master’s last film. He told Kim and I all about dining with The King of France at Cannes and all kinds of other useful and interesting tidbits. Gracious kind and fun, he is my favourite kind of people. He’s not pretentious at all, despite his acclaim.
And I also got a Cannes travel donation emailed to me from a friend. I am the luckiest girl in the world.
Tomorrow I get the condo in order, wash my sweaty pajamas do my best to get clean sheets and finally get to the darn tootin’ festival. I am going to be so happy to see the lovely Miss Poirier and Mr. Davidson. They will be like a vision of an angel and a knight in shining armour, the deus ex machina in the story of this last week.
A few other noteworthy tidbits from today:
It’s a lot quicker to use the emergency exit of the condo to get the hostel so the last time I went there I stuck a Tick Tak box in the door to prop it open. As I was walking away the alarm went off and I imagined the receptionist popping out of the bushes and accusing me.. When I got back the door was shut and my minty little whities were nowhere to be seen.
The first time I went to get snacks at the hostel I ran into French frat boys watching bad porn and they gave me change for the machine. The second time I went to use their lobby internet a sleazy guy in tight pants and pointy shoes offered me cocaine. Now that is just what I need. Last time I went out two cute well spoken French guys driving a real mini stopped me asking if I wanted to party. I was wearing Little Miss Giggles PJs and I just stared at them until they drove away.
I will end on a completely different note. My friend and writer Catherine Jenkins just found out that she got accepted into her chosen PHd program (www.catherinejenkins.com). She is working with Kate Meier and I on a little passion project of Mighty Brave’s about breast cancer entitled THE MOMENT. Kate is already working on her PHd so I have two very smart ladies backing me up on this one. Do two PHd candidates balance out one university drop out?
And that’s it. The sun is rising and I’m going to nap again before getting up for the day. It truly is beautiful here. Thank you all for the endless support and encouragement. This truly has been one memorable week.
Lisa Anita Wegner,
Mighty Brave Productions
www.mightybrave.com
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