the Medieval fest

i'd heard about it a few years ago but then forgot about it until i saw an ad in the paper. the Medieval fest was back. it was a 3-day weekend, so i had ample time to go. and it was great! sword fighting (and explanations on how best to slay an armoured opponent), jousting, horse-riding, tales, honeyed wine, costumes, catapults, tents, stalls selling all things medieval... you name it, it was there - including elf ears, for some reason. luckily, it was also a gorgeous day (although we did enjoy the shade of the woods), but after 5 hours of standing up, we were all pretty tired, so we headed home and missed the apparently great evening stuff. well, there's always next year!

the guy

i had been looking forward to seeing people again, now that the course was over. also, this wasn't my event but a friend's, meaning i'd get to meet different people. and i got to meet S. and this story starts like a movie plot.

not only had S. not been invited, he wasn't even supposed to be in the country. he'd booked himself on a flight to Kosovo for his 4-day weekend. only he'd missed his flight and the alternative had turned out not to be viable. so he called his best friend and suggested a road-trip to Slovenia. the friend said no, but took him to this social instead. where we were introduced and started talking. about his failed trip, lobbying, Mads Mikkelsen, movies, travelling. a lovely half hour during which we basically ignored everyone else. the problem was that his friend had 2 events going on at the same time, so he'd gone back to the other crowd (luckily, this was all in the same bar). after a while, S. went to join his friend. i thought he'd be back. that was apparently not to be. maybe he'd just been polite. maybe he was always this nice. funnily, a friend, whom i'd totally ignored when she'd walked in, was outraged on my behalf. after spending all that time with me, she said, he'd just left me there! it was only then that i realised he was sitting at a table on the other side of the bar, with a crowd reduced to just 4 of them. maybe that was why. or maybe i hadn't shown enough interest. or maybe he couldn't care less. 

anyway, i walked over on my way out and said my goodbyes to the guys (even the one whom i'd only talked to for about 20 seconds) whilst, i realised later, completely ignoring the girls. i said i hoped to see them again. i didn't think to give him my number - i wouldn't have known how, anyway, i'm absolutely terrible at this sort of thing. plus, i have the habit of knowing everyone in Geneva knows everyone and thought he'd be easy to find again. wishful thinking, i now realise. 

the wedding

the day started in torrential rain. really. i was doing 50km/h on the motorway - i couldn't see a thing. it was such a shame, as the day before had been lovely and hot. but it was to be a wet wedding. it took place in the castle in Aigle. it was small but gorgeous. the castle, i mean.and the bride was stunning. i don't think i'd ever seen her wear a dress. and what a dress! the nicest i've seen so far, i think. 

after the ceremony, the organiser (a friend of the couple's, who'd volunteered to help) had come up with lots of games to make us meet the other guests. it was it very interactive and also ensured that the two sides (the French-speakers and the Russian-speakers) mixed. the dinner was fun too. in fact, i was having a great time and for once, would have been more than happy to stay way past my bedtime. my father and my sister, unfortunately, were rather tired. my sister, who dances to morning light! so we had to leave. still, it was a really nice wedding and really lovely to see what C. has found herself a nice man.

ants!

i am not an ant killer. i like ants. they're important, in the scheme of things. but i'm getting just a little tired of seeing them in my kitchen every spring. this time longer than usual. i thought killing off a few would help them get the message but apparently not. then i thought i'd found their nest and destroyed it. but apparently not. so they're still having a field day on my counter. i'm gonna have to take drastic measures and actually buy some ant poison, which is just really annoying. i don't want to buy poison. i don't wanna kill those ants. i just want them to go away!