A New Holiday

Ok, I’ve come to realise that Easter Monday is about the best day ever!!!

Some background…France calls itself a Catholic country (I believe) and Easter Monday, Ascension Day (Holy Spirit goes up to Heaven) and Whit Monday (day after Pentecost ; Holy Spirit comes back and breathes on the people / talks to the people and all understand in their own language) are all public holidays. But, no one seems to go to church. All shops are open. In fact, people see it as a three day weekend – parties, trips to the beach, even bachelor parties are common on Easter Weekend because it can be a three day event. Oddly enough, though, Good Friday is NOT a holiday here. Even stranger, in the U.S. it is not a holiday, but the Markets (i.e. NYSE / trading) are closed.

For me, since I take Holy Week and Easter seriously, it’s not so much a weekend to party and celebrate. Instead, I go to church Thursday and Friday evenings. Saturday I was at church 2 hours in the morning for choir rehearsal (bells). Sunday I was there at 7:20 for rehearsal and then both the 9 and 11 services. So it makes for a somewhat tiring weekend. Lo and behold though I am now living in a country where Easter Monday is a holiday!

Anyway, I slept in – not setting an alarm (I cannot remember the last time I did that. Seriously.) I woke up about 7:30 and then drifted in/out of sleep until 10. It is now 15:30 and it’s been a great day! Cleaning, organising, throwing things away – just an overall sense of productivity. Now, I am sitting down to do some work (ugh), but I have a wonderful glass of 2006 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay with me.

Aside : my friend Robin first introduced me to this wine several years ago (2003 maybe?). At that time it was delicious and still affordable at restaurants, say $30/bottle when everything else on the menu was $23 to $32. Now, it is much more expensive and still one of my favourites. I was so excited when our Christmas gift in the London office included this wine. (Further aside : it is custom in England to give alcohol as Christmas gifts ; no wonder the country has a drinking problem and is known for it Europe wide. Our box had 2 whites, 2 reds and 2 champagnes. I traded my reds for whites.)

In my cleaning / organising / sorting, I realise I’ve been moving some of the same papers for years now. Really, why was it necessary for me to keep the 2004 Boston Film Festival schedule? I didn’t even go to it! Some things like cartoons, quotations, photos, I like to keep and I like looking through them from time to time. I did come across many things I had kept in hopes to do in Boston – like the Harbour Islands tours ; Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum ; visit the restaurants in Brookline’s Washington Square more often (some great finds there!). Maybe those of you living there can do these things for me?