Each year as we travel the trip seems to take on its own life as we learn new words and terms. This year's terms arose from completely different people and experiences.
The first word arose from D.'s car obsession. It is almost equal to his bread quest. Since he was a teenager he is obsessed with cars, buying them, fixing them, driving them. This year he became interested in a quintissential French car that we still see throughout our travels in France, a Citroen 2Cv, made after WWII, until the 1970s, then evolved into other small cars and trucks. It was made as a two-door, two-cylinder car, diesel engine without real seats, just straps across a frame, no bumpers, definitely no AC, a truly paired down mode of transportation. We learned this year that Citroen also made this vehicle in the form of a "trucklette", on the same undercarriage with a very small truck body. Remnants of the trucklet are seen everywhere here in the very small trucks that would never sell in the US.
The other word of the trip was "basin" or in French "bassen" which is how the French refer to an above-ground swimming pool or pool-lette, even one which has been sunk into the ground. It is as though the pool-lette is barely worthy of being called a piscine, it is worthy only of dunking oneself, like you would in a basin of water or a sink.
As we begin to close this trip there is so much to remember, and to add on to for our return next year.
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