The story continues. The next day was the day of Bradley’s Bar Mitzvah. We got dressed up and then set off for the synagogue, collecting Chuck en route. The service lasted two hours as it was a double ceremony: Bradley’s Bar Mitzvah and a girl’s Bat Mitzvah. Bradley stole the show when we got to the point where he had to discuss his thoughts on the section of the Torah he’d been given to recite. He commented on the human tendency to never be satisfied with what we have got, stating that, if you have a thousand dollars, you want a million, if you have a million, you want a billion, and if you have a billion, you want to be President of the US. This drew an appreciative chuckle from the attendees.
After the ceremony, there was a buffet meal in the synagogue, for which Jan had spent days preparing lots of dishes. Most of the family was in attendance, including Jan’s brother Steve, his wife Kathy, and their son Addison. I’d not seen either of them for about 10 years, but as readers with good memories may recall, Addison came to stay with us for a few days in November last year as his band was on tour in France. We sat at a table with some relatives from Ione’s side of the family whom I’d not met before, and our upcoming nuptials was the main topic of conversation.
After the meal, we set off with Suzy, Steve and the girls to spend the evening at their place. We stopped at a supermarket for dinner supplies and then, as it was a hot and sunny day, walked to a nearby outdoor swimming pool to cool off. Back at theirs, Suzy whipped up an excellent batch of guacamole which we washed down with some margaritas.
Dinner that evening was a BBQ, which we enjoyed out on their terrace. It was such a lovely temperature that we stayed outside after the meal chatting and playing games until 12:30. Our jet-lag got us up at 6 the next morning and we sat in the lounge waiting for the others to get up. The sky started to darken from grey to black, and then finally to an ominous shade of green. The storm hit suddenly while Matt was taking a shower. By this point, Maddie had gotten up and between the two of us, we rushed to bring in all the cushions from the outdoor furniture. The lashing rain, whipped about by a strong wind, woke the rest of the house up.
We had a brunch booked in for 10:30 that morning but pushed it back an hour to allow the storm to pass. It didn’t last long in the end and there was no damage done. We later learned it had hit other parts of the city with a lot more force, felling branches and even the odd tree. Brunch was at a restaurant called the Roasted Pear, and was an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. Judging by the size of some of the other diners, it was clear that the “all-you-can-eat” concept was interpreted as a challenge. I think there were about 20 of us including all the out-of-towners who’d come for the ceremony.
Jan then dropped us off at Mike’s in her replacement hire car and we spent the evening there hanging out. We went to a Taco Truck for dinner. Taco Trucks are mobile vans that sell very authentic-seeming mexican food. We gorged on tacos which were spicy and delicious, and then Mike took us back to Jan’s.
The following morning we had an early breakfast with Matt’s friend Carolyn at a nearby restaurant called Fat Nat’s Eggs, a place with a comprehensive breakfast menu. We all had variations on a theme of eggs Benedict and it was excellent (and copious). Carolyn dropped us back at Jan’s and we then spent the day with her. It was sunny so we started with a very pleasant stroll around one of Minneapolis’ many lakes, followed by a trip to a nearby waterfall called Minnehaha Falls. We stopped off at a deli in neighbouring St Paul for lunch, although I was still far too full from breakfast to eat.
We hit a couple shops on the way home at which Matt scored some new shoes and flip flops, and then we returned to Jan’s where we played games and used up some leftovers for dinner. That evening, Mike came to get us and took us to their friend Ron’s place. He lives close to Jan and I’d met him once before. He’s a big sports fan and was largely absorbed by a basketball game. We spent a couple hours there and then Mike returned us to Jan’s.
Our last day kicked off with a breakfast at a restaurant called Perkins, which we went to with Chuck. This too, you won’t be surprised to hear, was delicious but far too large to finish. Afterwards, we went to Chuck’s appartment so Matt could install a new PC that he and his siblings had bought to replace Chuck’s very old one that needed a good throwing away.
This took a couple hours and then Mike came to get us and took us to an italian restaurant called the Olive Garden. Here we met up with Mike’s dad, Tom, who is quite a character and in great shape for a man in his eighties. I was again too full from breakfast to partake of food, but it did look very tasty. After the meal, we spent the afternoon at Mike’s, which is conveniently close to the airport.
Our first flight was at 8pm and was uneventful. Matt still has some of his very strong painkillers left from when he had his herniated disc, so we took one each to ease the tedium. They make you feel pleasingly warm and fuzzy. We landed at Reykjavik to learn that our connecting flight was delayed so we had some hanging around. This was actually convenient as we were otherwise due to wait three hours in Paris for our train but In the end, we only had about an hour to wait.
The train ride was uneventful and we arrived in Angouleme at 7:45pm, semi-delirious from lack of sleep. Lee took us back to his where we collected our car and drove the final leg home where two very happy cats were waiting to greet us. And as this is again a tome, I shall end here.