About 2 hours into the trip, we got stuck in horrible gridlock. We did not know whether to attribute it to holiday traffic or an accident, but regardless, it was bad. Less than 10km (about 6 miles) in 4 hours ... Needless to say, it was frustrating. But we were amazingly calm, patient and kind to one another. Wow. I don't know whether to attribute it to my mad ipod DJ-ing skills or the fact that I had the (lucky) foresight to download a few podcasts before we left, (This American Life, Fresh Air, German language lessons, BBC comedy and Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me - yes, I am square) but my darling husband and I laughed through almost all of it.
The driving conditions were pretty awful as we had precipitation of one sort or another the entire way but Mark actually wanted to keep driving through it all so I remained navigator, silly song maker-upper and doler-outer of snacks and Mark held fast at 10 and 2.
France was fabulous. Anushka and Fred live in Laurens, about an hour north/west of the coast at Montpelier. They have terrific little house in a village that looks as though it has not changed in a century. There is a butcher, a baker and tiny grocer in the village and that is about it. Fresh croissants every morning - (this is where I'm sure I found the 10lbs I gained on my honeymoon. I ate chocolate croissants everyday ... no self-control.) fresh chicken and vegetables at night and cheese, wine, bread, fruit and naps during the day. Lovely.
We went antique shopping in Pezenas on Saturday and found a few peices we may purchase for the new apt. (things are cheaper than in Switzerland and you can actually find non-Ikea style items made with real wood!) Now we just need to find a way to get everything to us...
On the way back after shopping and lunch, we stopped at Anushka's tiny masse, the stone house she bought when she first arrived back in France from Portsmouth, NH about 8 years ago. She lived there for 9 months alone, no water, hot or cold, no electricity and no toilet. She says it was the best time of her life. She is amazing. I would be so afraid of the dark and quiet I wouldn't last more than a night.
The rest of our relaxing time was much of the same - sleeping, eating, laughing, drinking, walking, Mark and I practicing our (limited) French and Fred practicing his English and watching their new dog, Altier, a rescued Spanish greyhound, chase Fred as he taunted her with a teddybear. Ahh ... France.
After sleeping in on Sunday, we wished one another a Happy Easter, dunked our croissants in some fabulous coffee and headed out to their 'country house', about 20 minutes away. We had been here when we visited during our honeymoon about 2.5 years ago and it was just as great as we'd remembered. They have 2 horses that live out there and Fred and Nushka have spent just about every weekend for the past year creating new corrals and fencing for them. With no proper pile driver or post hole digger, they surely had their work cut out for them as the soil is not so much that as red clay. Very beautiful and unique looking, but tough to dig into.
They just got approval to expand this stone house and will begin work on it soon. They will rent their place in the village and live out in the country full-time. It's really a great site. Inside there is a fireplace and a loft, just perfect for a weekend getaway and soon, a life-long getaway!
The land around the house is red clay and there is strata everwhere that makes it look like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon. We joked about making a movie with Barbie Dolls and GI Joe's - but it really would be a cool location to film somthing in miniature - the trees are tiny replicas of life-sized trees, the stones could be boulders and the small depth variations, huge canyons and cliffs. If only Anushka and I were more sci-fi types ... (we met on a movie set over 10 years ago and she is working in the documentary realm now)Determined to break the land speed record for travel between Laurens and Zurich, we got a good night sleep on Sunday, slept in again, ate a hearty brunch and hit the road, this time with me in the driver's seat.
I must admit that I was slightly worried that the mood might be different with me at the helm. Both of us would rather drive than be driven, he often prefers silence to music or talk radio and we have set into place that the driver chooses the 'entertainment', and I know we were both a bit anxious that history would repeat itself...
It did, but only in as much as the weather being terrible and challenging once again. (Snow, rain, ice, rain, snow, sunshine, rain, etc...) Even with 2 pit stops and nasty weather (and a pretty crappy car) we made it home in just over 8 hours - and we were still smiling and laughing. A true test of a partnership - we passed!
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