Hello There, Metz | Metztorii | A Weekend in France

 

Hello There.  It says a day in my life because technically the event was only for Sunday. And it says week at the top because I felt like time was stretched in the three days I was in France. 

TOP MOMENTS IN METZ: ✦ ✦ ✦

• Richard saying “my dear” to me again. But I could not find my San Antonio Richard in Metz. I only half-found him. I don’t know where he is. My San Antonio Richard could hear me when I whisper. 
• The dad and his son I befriended in line when they kept changing the hours for the tickets. He was so nice even though he said he only spoke “few” English. They were both so nice. I felt comfortable around them. And when I was at the edge of Star Gate, he asked “You can see him?” And I said “Yes!” Because there were just too many handlers around the table. I’m glad he’s a fan of both Star Gate and MacGyver because I feel like there aren’t a lot of MacGyver fans back in the states. 
• I made a new friend: David. He’s an entertainment journalist and apparently he’s been following Star Gate since the early 2000s. He can speak a little bit of Tagalog and we talked about our travels which was so nice. We were both the only Americans that didn’t speak French in the convention and we bonded through that lol. 
• The volunteers were so nice by giving us water, madeleines, and chairs while we waited so long in line. They are the best. 
• This adorable French girl who tried her best to string up an English sentence for me asking if my Labubu was real. She was so cute. She said it three times because I didn’t realize she was speaking to me. I loved her smile. Small moments like that warm my heart. And I told her which vendor I got it from. I think opening blind boxes while waiting in long lines at conventions is going to be my new tradition. I didn’t get the grey ones I wanted, but I got a pretty light blue and it matched my Snoopy bag way better. 
• The pretty lady that walked me back to my hotel because Uber was restricted from entering the village. She talked to me and asked about where I’m from and she spoke English for me too even though she said her English is limited.  She was so nice; she welcomed me to her city and she wished for me to have a good convention. 
• All the other travel angels I came  across in the plane and the train station to Metz. I knew Hermes wouldn’t let me down.
• Mercure Grand Hôtel was definitely one of my favorite parts of my second visit in France. Every detail was just so well thought out. I fell in love. I loved the Trumeau inspired mirror the most. And I also loved the black and white stripes design of the restrooms. I hope I can get my vanity to look like that one day. 
• The pain au chocolat and scrambled eggs were so good. I wish I snuck some back in the plane when they let us eat breakfast at 5:30 before we headed to the train station. 
• Air France letting us rebook our flight when there was a suicide by the Champagne region and helping us get home that same day.
• I loved all the dragon motifs I saw in Metz. I can’t believe Graoully used to be on top of Cathédrale Saint-Étienne before Saint Clement tamed him . That Cathedral is beautiful. I love all the stained glass windows. I love folklore, history, and mythology braided in one. That’s why Metz felt so magical. 
• There was a mass on Sunday and it felt like a Resident Evil moment when I got the gold coins from the vending machine for me and my dad that had Graoully in it at the back.  
• The gentle hills and vast green landscape was so calming to look at during the train ride to Paris. 
• Every shop was closed on Sunday but I loved the light blue store I went to that sold soap and candy. 
• I got my mom and Miko bear Pierre Herme macarons as souvenir. 
• I loved my Chobits inspired outfit for both days I was in con and my lace ribbon tattoo. 
• I’m hoping I don’t get lost in CDG maze next time I’m in France.

I loved my simple, summer memories in Metz. But because Hermes tricked me during Gemini season, of course, I ended up crying in the train, train station, airport lounge, and the plane. The smell of hot chocolate calmed me down eventually. 

I still don’t understand how I fell inside this rabbit hole. After seeing young Richard’s face on a paused screen, I have never felt that wash of calm over me, like I was staring at the ocean. And then we ended up naming our new orange stray cat Magnum MacGyver. And then I went to France in 2023 after my grey kitten Vader died. I met Nicolas who looked like young Richard. And it felt like drinking my favorite red wine Grappa Amarone when I said goodbye to him in the garden wordlessly. And then I  met Richard when he was 74 in San Antonio. And he made me feel safe and stoked at the same time during the year of the Dragon in 2024. And last summer of 2025 was when I unraveled what happened that October night. 

So the thread I followed  was calm, wine, fire, and then cleaver. 

Love is a butcher. 

Well, it’s a good thing I’m bound by Saturn. I age backwards. Three years inside the rabbit hole is nothing to me. 

Summer Playlist: Maison Montefalcon 

     

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