France 2009

As some of you know several years ago I decided not to watch the news, listen to the news, or read the news.  It was full of disturbing information that I could do nothing about.   It has been one of the best decisions of my life as it has greatly lowered my stress level.  Information comes to me what I need  and when I need it.

 

My adventure begins May 8, the day before I am to catch my flight from SFO to JFK and then on to Paris.  American Airlines calls me with the message that my flight the next morning will be delayed for 40 minutes leaving me with only 40 minutes to catch my connecting flight to Paris.  I call, change my flight to that night for a flight leaving at 11:25 PM.  As I am confirming the change, the agent informs me she has just gotten a message that the flight is now delayed until 1:20 AM!  What is going on?  She doesn't know.  JFK is down one runway for repair so maybe that's it.

 

We take off at 1:40AM and arrive in JFK at 9:49AM.  I check into the Admiral's Club and settle down for the wait for Darleen's plane to arrive.  Hers is on time. As I am checking email and getting wonderful Happy Mothers Day calls American calls with a recorded message that now the flight to Paris is delayed by 2 hours.  O.K. we have a 4 hour wait in Paris before our train to Montbard is to leave.  No biggie.

 

Then I get a PERSON from American who calls and asks me where I am!  JFK I say.  She did not see that I changed my flight but she could see that my luggage was checked in!  Then she says that if I wish to stay in France for longer than planned just to call and say I was delayed by the ash and I can stay at no extra airline charge.  Ash???  Gee, are they still using that excuse from a week or so ago?

 

A message from Tom and Pat Jones pops up informing me that they are cancelling their plans for France and Italy later in May due to the volcano.  O.K. it is time to look at the news.  Aha!  So it isn't just the runway down at Kennedy that is causing the delays.  Time for plans B & C, train wise. 

 

Long story short we finally take off from JFK at 11:45PM 6 1/2 hours late.  By then I have plans C & D in pocket for the train.  We arrive at 1:25PM in Paris, collect our luggage, hit the ATM, get a taxi to Gare Lyon, buy a ticket, board the TGV to Montbard and are met by Michael at 6:03PM.  His face is alight with delight to see us, the sun comes out and all is right with the world.

 

So, my decison still holds well.  If I had known what was really going on early in the process, I would have been anxious, worried, angry or what ever else and the delay could have caused me not to have such a smooth trip.  By the information trickling in I was able to deal with it little bits at a time, keep a sense of humor and turned a "bad" thing into good.

 

I met Michael and Tom in Egypt in 1997 and we have seen each other several times since then, but each time it is as though we were together only last week.  It is so wonderful to see Michael again.  Tom will arrive on Thursday and it will be wonderful to see him as well. 

 

Their home is located in Burgundy in an area called The Morvan.  The Morvan is a national forest that contains villages, towns and hamlets tucked in amongst the woods (bois).  They live in Villiers en Morvan, a hamlet of population 50. We drive through the gate and stop by a large barn/garage across from a building Micahel calls the outhouse.  We laugh and tell him what an outhouse in American is like.  English VS English alive and well!

 

We walk around the corner and there it is, their lovely manor house.  Willoughby, their chocolate lab, greets us with much enthusiasm, licks and tail wagging.  We go inside where we are to choose our bedrooms in the guest wing that contains 3 bedroom, a bath and a sitting room.  I choose the French Room with a sleigh bed and a view over the 5 acre pastoral lands the house sits upon.  Michael's garden is all a bloom with tulips, forget me nots and other lovely trees and plants.  White cows, known for their meat, are grazing in the pasture with their babies frolicking about.  Birds are flitting about singing.  A cuckoo calls from the woods across the rolling hills.  Heaven!

 

With champange in hand we are taken on a tour of the house.  We go through room after room each one with a fireplace with one mantel better than the last.  There are many hidden treasures and nooks and crannies located on each of the three floors.  Darleen and I wonder how long it will take us before we learn our way around without getting lost :-).  They have done a lot of work on the house and have plans for more changes in the future. 

 

We stay up until midnight laughing, catching up and just generally enjoying each others company.

 

I awake on day two to the sounds of the birds and a donkey braying off in the distance.  Opening the window I breath in the crisp, clean air.  My lungs wake up and absorb all that oxygen, my mind is at peace.  The rising sun shines through the mist covering the distant mountains throwing a watery light over the landscpe.  Can it get any better than this?

 

Today we tour the grounds and listen to plans for expanding the gardens, the development of the "outhouse" to a Gite (a self catering house to rent for vacation usually found out in the country and for travelers who want a local experience).  Then we are off to the little village where we can shop for our breakfast.  The first stop is the Boulangerie/Patisserie for croissants and bread.  I spy a loaf of brioche and have to have that too.  As we walk further down the narrow winding street to the tiny farmers market to buy veggies for our dinner, I rip off a chunk of the brioche.  After all that's what the French do, walk down the street eating fresh bread from the baker, so when in France.....  Soon Darleen and Michael are joining me and we walk and munch.

 

Our next stop is the fromage shop.  As we enter our noses are greeted by many variety of smells and the array of cheeses make the selection fun but difficult.  I want to buy it all!  We settle on three and stroll away to the local cafe where we enjoy a cup of coffee.

 

In the afternoon we walk the hamlet, stopping at the Mairie (city hall) where I am to give a presentation on my journeys to Egypt on Saturday night.  Our wanderings take us into the next hamlet where Fafa lives.  Fafa is a magician who travels around Europe performing her act.  She is so fun and is enthusiastic about Saturday night offering to help in any way she can.  We chat about her travels and plan for the event.  Willoughby drys himself by the fire after his exploits in the stream running through the hamlet.

 

Back home Michael lights the fire in the largest of the fireplaces in the parlor.  The fireplace is large enough to roast a large boar and we enjoy the roar of the fire, great conversation over wine and bread and cheese.  Again we are having so much fun it is midnight before we say bon nuit.

 

I am loving it here.  It is so peaceful, the locals are charming, I can practice my french, am in great company, eating great food, drinking great wine - all is right with the world in this space.  Can it get better than this??