I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.
~James Baldwin
Tuesday, January 20
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| Au revoir, ma petite <3 |
So excited to return to my cherished France! While teaching I was always limited to traveling during school vacations, but since leaving teaching high school last June I have been organizing my life to be able to travel and do my art. It's going to be hard to leave my sweet granddaughter behind and miss three months of my older daughter's pregnancy, but today there is the wonder of the Internet. When I first went to Ecuador at 17, it would take three to four weeks for a letter to go one way and the same amount of time for another to return. No instant communication like there is today. It makes my plans to travel easier on me since I can keep in touch with family. We can FaceTime and keep in touch daily while I'm across the ocean.
Thursday, January 22
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| Logan, Boston |
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| Charles DeGaulle, Paris |
As always, the least favorite thing about travel is the travel itself .. hours in airports and on a plane and waiting in lines and not being able to sleep on an overnight flight. I did meet a wonderfully sweet 75 year old lady who sat beside me flying out of Paris. She had lived in the States for years, married to a judge who asked her "where do you want to live? Let's explore and then decide." Which they did. After he died of cancer, she has been living in various of her houses between France and the US, with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren mostly in the States. She is returning to France to stay at her home in Dordogne where she grew up. So exhausted, both of us, and rushed when we landed, we failed to get names or information ... now I so wish I had, but perhaps that was the beauty of the moment.
Upon arrival at the Bordeaux airport, my sweet friend Vivi's face smiles at me through the glass near baggage claim where she came to find me! That is worth it all. The sunshine as we drive into Bordeaux, spending a bit of time helping her finish moving the last bits of items from her daughter's apartment, and riding with Denis back to Payenché and chatting, thankfully, in English (since I am so tired my brain can barely function in my native language!). The green of the fields - yes, not as intense as in summer, but still quite green - and flowers and other plants still surviving January. It's such a shot in the arm! Revitalizing! Crashing at the house, in "my" room (that I had 2 years ago), having a quiet dinner of delicious left-overs with Denis, and a "petit fond" of rich red wine, with conversation that ranges from adopted cats to terrorists in Paris. A warm shower to wash the "travel" away and a moment in the living room, with a fire humming in the wood stove, as I type up my first impressions of this trip. Catch it in the moment now because it is fleeting - but so wonderful.
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| Payenché |
This amazing house. Built in the 1600s, deep golden limestone walls (we're talking over two feet thick of ancient stone with recessed windows), deeply worn and polished walnut stairs and tile floors, hand-hewn wood beams and door trim with heavy iron hinges, rich antique furniture and an ancient grandfather clock, the comfortable subtle heat in the rooms whose doors are closed to retain heat - and keep a comfort-seeking cat out (they would take over your room if allowed). These are wonderful details that bid me "welcome home" to this place that is not my home.
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| cozy living room in this beautiful home |
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| my spot to write, edit and read, and companion Seccotine |
To bed early. I have missed enough of this wondrous place already by taking that mid-afternoon nap. I shall not miss a moment tomorrow!
˜
