Winter is officially on its way out! Since I finish class at 11 on Thursdays, Sophie and I get together to wander around Nimes in the afternoon, before I take the 15.15 bus home. Only the last few weeks have been freezing (by Southern standards, freezing is anything below 15 degrees Celsius), so our touristy escapades have been restricted to places with heating and preferrably hot drinks. It certainly felt like my hands would never get over their permanent frostbitten state- I kept forgetting my gloves, and I’d finish the day with icicles in the place of fingers.
Today our dreams have come true! It was cold enough in the morning to wear a trench coat and breathe into my hands to keep warm, but since I leave the house at 6.35, that’s probably not a good representation of the weather. By noon, the sun was shining, not a cloud was to be seen, and I actually took my coat off. Sophie and I grabbed lunch (sandwich jambon beurre with a beignet chocolat and ice tea for me) at Monoprix and then went to Le Jardin de la Fontaine to eat in peace. We decided that since it was so warm and sunny, we might as well lie down on the grass and try to get rid of the fishbelly white skin we’ve developed. There was a palm tree about 20 feet away from us, the grass was soft and cool and soon our faces were burning from too much tanning. I’ve put some pictures below, the book is “Bonjour tristesse” by Francoise Sagan, a really great read.
Then came humiliation (which I’m going to describe here so that Sophie can’t blackmail me later). I was only half awake when I heard a mumbling that sounded like a question. I waited about 5 seconds, and since Sophie wasn’t saying anything, i opened my eyes and asked the (admittedly hot) guy standing next to us to say it again. He did, but I didn’t catch what he said (which still happens embarrasingly often, even though I’ve been here for almost 6 months), so I put on my glasses and asked him to say it again. This time he made a smoking motion and I finally figured out he wanted cigarettes. Sorry, nope, we don’t smoke (do I look like a smoker? Seriously, I get asked for a light or cigarettes way too often). According to Sophie, the awkward pause while I was figuring out where my glasses went to and putting them on was ‘absolutely hilarious’. Right. Make fun of my inability to understand gibberish while practically asleep, that’s real sporting 
We also got mobbed by an adorable two-year-old, who popped out of nowhere and landed practically in my face. He proceeded to pick up my camera, smile (cutest thing I’ve ever seen, by the way), and when his mom arrived, threw himself into my arms. I’m not sure if he was hug-deprived or just an incorrigible flirt, but either way, I’ve never seen such an outgoing kid.
Coming soon: A list of our gaffs so far 
