Uganda Days 26 & 27: French Spies and Rainy Saturdays
It was strange not posting a blog yesterday, but as I'd anticipated, there really wasn't much to tell you. The most exciting thing was going out for lunch with a couple of other Canadians in our building. One is an expat and York grad who works full-time at one of the other organizations here, and the other is a York student doing an internship. The four of us went to The Little Donkey, which I've written about once before. This time we were a little smarter, opting not to order a three-course feast for lunch. Broke my heart not to get more churros. I ordered a quesadilla, which was really good, and I managed to stop myself at the halfway point and bring the rest home for dinner. In typical form I didn't think to take any pictures...next time!
Yesterday evening was uneventful, though in a surprising turn of events I was proactive and did two loads of laundry so my morning would be free the next day. I figured they'd also get more time to dry. Which is no easy task, in here...last time it was hard enough finding spots to lay out just one load of laundry, and this time I had two. Every chair back, flat surface, and armrest has been covered in wet clothes for the last 24 hours.
Other than that, I treated myself to some Nutella on toast and then spent the night reading. I'd been hoping to finish my book this weekend. Even though I was less than halfway through yesterday, I was so engrossed in it that I read right to the end. I can't remember if I've described the book on here before...it's called An Officer and a Spy, by Robert Harris. It's a novelization of the so-called Dreyfus Affair, which was a huge scandal in France at the end of the nineteenth century revolving around the wrongful conviction of a Jewish army officer on falsified evidence. As a history major whose favourite topic is modern France, it couldn't have been more appealing to me. Obviously, it's not a history textbook, but as a novel I really enjoyed it. Whether that's because it's a good read or because I'm biased, I don't know. I learned about the Dreyfus Affair in a history class at Guelph, and I remember it being really interesting (of course), but I hadn't remembered many details about it. So I have no idea how accurate the novel is, but it really made me realize how much I miss studying history. I would love to be back in Guelph, sitting in one of Professor Cormack's history seminars talking about the French Revolution or the Belle Époque.
Anyway, I guess the point is that if you have any interest in this period of history, I'd recommend giving this book a try.
With no laundry to do, this morning I got up, got ready, and walked down to La Patisserie. My original intention had been to stop first at the restaurant next door, which I've heard does a pretty good brunch. Then I saw a sign saying it was 40 thousand shillings and I decided just to go straight to La Patisserie and grab something there instead. So I ordered a latte and a pain au chocolat and settled in to work on some photos. Finishing my book last night was great and all, but it foiled my plan to spend the day reading in a café. I know I've written about La Patisserie on here about a hundred times, but I don't think I've ever shown you what it looks like. I actually remembered to take a picture!
It's nothing too special, really. To be honest, it's a terrible place to work on a laptop, since all of the tables are like the ones in the picture. But it's close, so I'll take it. This is actually their second location...their flagship is at Acacia Mall, and it's more of a sit-down place and really nice. I haven't tried it yet, but I might find myself there tomorrow.
Oh, and I even remembered to take a picture of my breakfast!
I ended up having lunch at La Patisserie too (they have good meat pies) and staying until early afternoon. You would think I could get a lot of work done in that time, but I only did a few of the Hungary photos. It would have gone faster, but I ran into some problems with wonky colours.
It was blessedly overcast all day today—I actually wore pants, and shoes, and even a cardigan, and I was comfortable. That hasn't happened here yet. It was raining for much of the time I was at La Patisserie. I was ready to leave a bit earlier, but the downpour kept me inside. Once it had subsided into a drizzle, I made my way home. Since then, I've been here, not doing anything terribly exciting. Listened to some music, read some news, made some tea, did a bit of research on safaris. I just finished dinner, which was eggs. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to be able to make eggs here anymore. I made them for dinner earlier in the week, too, and both times I nearly couldn't finish. The eggs themselves were fine, but I think bad eggs may have been the cause of my very rough Thursday night last week, and it's put me off entirely (when I make them, anyway).
All of which brings me to the present! I am going to make some tea so I can forget the taste of eggs, and possibly watch a movie, and I may or may not have more Nutella. Tomorrow, I think I'm going back to the crêpe place at some point and then to Acacia Mall (I need a new book and maybe some more movies). There's also a theatre in the mall and I'm tempted to go see Finding Dory, if it's playing there. And of course, I'm quite certain I'll be stopping in a couple of cafés throughout the day.
Thanks for reading!