Morys Musing

RLS Day Hike 4: Chasserades to Le Bleymard

Chasserades to Le Bleymard. Fourth day of the hike. This was going to be another relatively short hike of only 15 km with a starting elevation of 1175 m climbing up to a maximum elevation of 1413 m at the Forestry Monument and then descending into Le Bleymard at 1068 m.

You may remember the interesting clouds I had commented on yesterday. I was sure we were going to get rain during the hike day yesterday but it never materialized. That is, until about two in the morning, when there was loud thunder and a downpour that would’ve made Noah take notice. I was quite happy the rain occurred during the night as next morning the weather was much cooler. All hikers from this location had to depart by no later than 9 AM because one leg of the Tour de France was coming by this actual village on its way towards La Bastide and the roads would be completely blocked by the local policemen. I was happy to get an early start but that said actually missed seeing the actual cyclists on the Tour de France. Perhaps next time!

I had a very nice breakfast and wished my French co-hikers all the best. They were actually traveling the same trail I was traveling but I preferred to get a head start to enjoy the hike on my own. There was actually a lineup at the small grocery store as I went to pick up my sandwich. I had to wait in line as the grocer insisted that it be made fresh which was fine by me.

Just after departing Chasserades, there was quite a descent from the village and then the splendid industrial work of art that is the Mirandol viaduct came into sight. Certainly worthy of a picture.

The next stretch was a very pleasant walk on a track through the beautiful and extensive Goulet Forest [which extends over 1250 hectares and varies between 850 and 1416 m altitude] and eventually past the ruins of Serremejan [which means “spring”]. The trail then gradually descended alongside the River Lot which was arguably the day’s highlight. I think it is really stretching it to call it a river.

I then passed through Les Alpiers and enjoyed the final descent to La Bleymard. My gosh! I was getting quicker and got into town by 12:15 PM. Thankfully my room at the La Remise was available. I grabbed my packed lunch and enjoyed it by a local park. I then walked into town to explore the very interesting architecture as well as the local church.

What an easy day and enjoyable afternoon. This allowed me to catch up on some blogging notes, picture processing and relaxing!

Mirandol viaduct, Chasserades to Le Bleymard

Ruins of Serremejan, Chasserades to Le Bleymard

Ruins of Serremejan, Chasserades to Le Bleymard

Not “a lot” to the River Lot

A very old interesting cross, Chasserades to Le Bleymard

Beautiful golden fields, Chasserades to Le Bleymard

The descent to Le Bleymard

Panorama, Chasserades to Le Bleymard

Memorial marker, Le Bleymard

Old mission cross, Le Bleymard

Church interior, Le Bleymard

Church exterior, Le Bleymard

RLS Day Hike 3: La Bastide to Chasserades

La Bastide to Chasserades. Third day of the hike. I stayed up quite late the previous night trying to get caught up on processing pictures and making notes for the blog. The hotel room was almost unbearably hot with very little airflow. Just lying there, I could feel the energy being sapped from me as I typed away on the computer. I eventually fell asleep at about midnight. Thankfully, I was able to sleep the entire night. It was going to be a relatively lazy morning. I did not have to catch the train until 10:24 AM. Unfortunately, I was so relaxed I forgot that my packed bag had to be dropped off by 8 AM. I was in the shower when I heard the phone ringing in my room. At that point, I had not figured out that I had not brought my bag down to be collected. I picked up the phone and heard a barrage of French but was able to pick out the word “baggage!”. I quickly towelled off, packed the bag and brought it downstairs. Numerous “pardons” were uttered.

I had a nice breakfast at the hotel and then made my way to the SNCF train station. No one was there so I just parked myself and enjoyed a break. Unbelievably, over the next one hour a barrage of passengers showed up. I couldn’t believe this small out-of-the-way train station would be fully packed. Perhaps this was the only train of the day. The train definitely arrived on time and left promptly at- you guessed it- 10:24 AM. Now that is service! The train ride to La Bastide was only 18 minutes. By the time I started my actual hike it was already 10:50 AM and the temperature was quickly rising. The initial part of the hike involved a long sustained climb of about 3.5 km. I took my time as it felt much hotter than it did yesterday. I got on top of a large plateau and then had a wide forest track to walk through. Very pleasant. The path took me through Gardille forest en route to the charming hamlet of Chabalier where there is a charming effigy of Robert Louis Stevenson and his trusty donkey Modastine. Very cute. The rest of this very short 12 km hike was very pleasant. I arrived at the charming hamlet of Chasserades at about 2:15 PM. As I was approaching Chasserades I noticed the most interesting cloud formations, a drop in temperature and threatening skies. It really looked like it was going to rain. I quickly made my way into the hamlet but the hotel that I was staying at did not open until 3 PM. I parked myself on the side of the road in the shade and had a great packed lunch. The rain thankfully never materialized. This was the earliest I had ever completed my hike day.

At 3 PM I was greeted by a very friendly French hostess and a fresh glass of fresh, homemade lemonade. Very refreshing! The hotel is very charming with uniquely inspired names and decor for each room. Mine was named “Cocoon”. How fitting!  I had a very leisurely afternoon and explored the hamlet. The Saint-Blaise church located in the hamlet dates back to the 12th century and it’s bell tower has been completely restored. On the way into the town I noticed a strange looking brick tunnel. This covered gallery is built along the line of the Mirandol viaduct which is the largest work of art on the Mende-La Bastide “Trans-cevenol” line and stands at a height of 1215 m-second in France only to the trans-Pyrenean. The covered galleries are built along the line and are located in places with high wind exposure that would otherwise cause a build up of snow on the lines.

One interesting story about this hamlet is as follows-apparently Robert Louis Stevenson stayed the night here sleeping in a room with some French railway engineering surveyors working on the Mirandol viaduct. He stated “there were four beds in the little upstairs room; and we slept six- but I got the window open. Hey, Bourgeois, il est 5 heures! was the cry that awakened me in the morning”. The line they were building finally opened 24 years later.

This was going to be a most pleasant afternoon in this charming hamlet and the order of the day was to relax and re-energize after the previous two days of vigorous hiking. The food served at this bed and breakfast was plentiful and excellent. Everything was made that same day from local ingredients. It was a full house but I was the only English speaking guest. This was the first time on the Stevenson Trail that I had seen and visited with so many other fellow hikers. A few of the French guests had some rudimentary English phrases so we were able to communicate. Again, they were most gracious and inclusive.

Earlier in the afternoon I had stopped by the very small local grocery store [which I believe is owned by the bed and breakfast owner] to buy a few items for the hike the next day and also to order a sandwich to be prepared for the next morning. The fellow in the grocery store mentioned a free concert that evening in the Saint-Blaise church starting at 8 PM. Dinner at the bed and breakfast was served at 7:30 PM. Dinners in France are long affairs! I was hoping to get through the meal relatively quickly but this was not to be. All of a sudden the hostess-who had little to no command of English- felt the need to have a long conversation with me. It was quite comical, but again, endearing. Dinner finally wrapped up at 9:15 PM. I quickly walked up to the church and went inside and was greeted by a beautiful scene. An audience of about 30 people were seated in the pews and the inside of the church was lit only with candles and two small strobe lights at the front altar. The performers were two male French folk singers one of whom was playing a guitar and both provided vocals. They were apparently on a tour of old French churches along the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail for most of July 2015. What an experience! The temperature inside the church was cool and the acoustics were amazing. I allowed myself to be enveloped by the music. After listening to one song I grabbed my camera, which thankfully I brought along, and recorded some video. The performance ended by 10 PM and even though it was free I quickly ran down to the bed and breakfast to get my wallet to donate some money to the performers. They certainly deserved it. I finished off my evening with a most pleasant walk through the village and then finally retired to my “Cocoon” and fell asleep reflecting on the amazing experiences I had that day.

RLS Day Hike 2: Le Bouchet to Pradelles and then Langogne

Le Bouchet to Pradelles and then Langogne. Second day of the hike. I awoke by 6 AM feeling surprisingly refreshed. I expected to be much more fatigued and sore. After an excellent breakfast I said my farewell to the owner [Jean-Pierre and Chantelle were clearly sleeping in and I did not get a chance to say my farewell to them] and proceeded on my way. The hike today would be approximately 25 km with a start elevation of 1218 m and a final elevation of 920 m. There was much less elevation gain today. The walking would be fairly flat on a high plateau to start. I would be walking between the Margeride and Mezzenc mountain ranges to the west and east respectively. I would be passing several pretty villages that have been affected badly by the rural exodus that commenced just before World War I and has continued to present day. I felt fantastic!  Starting much earlier as the temperature was a much more reasonable 22°C and there was a nice wind was a great idea. I was able to stretch my legs and the kilometers just melted away. I quickly got to Landos where I purchased my lunch for the day. Usually, you could find a Boulanger open to provide freshly made snacks/baguette for lunch and a small supermarket to get fresh fruit and vegetables/cheese/meat for self made sandwiches. The food was of very high quality. Surprisingly, on the trail I saw very few fellow hikers but would see more when I stopped in the small villages. Clearly, most of the hikers were not doing the Robert Louis Stevenson trek. There were many other shorter hiking loops that they were likely doing as day hikes. As I found out from the innkeeper the night previous, the peak times for doing the Robert Louis Stevenson trek was May/June and September. The temperatures during these times were much more reasonable.

About halfway through the hike I had a lovely descent through the village of Arquejol and was presented with a lovely surprise of an aqueduct-a real work of industrial architecture- but, sadly no longer in use. The rest of the way was exceedingly pleasant and I must say the 2 km descent from the high point to Pradelles was heavenly. I walked through the fields of brilliant purple flowers and farmers fields and then descended without effort into the lovely, historic village of Pradelles. This ancient “castrum” or fortified market town is mentioned in records dating back to 1043. Its strategic location at the crossroads of ancient trading routes helped spur its growth. Pradelles lies on the path of the Saint-Gilles Way [Regordane]-Christendom’s fourth most important pilgrimage route in the early Middle Pages. It later became a small mountain capital in Viverais of both administrative/legal and ecclesiastical importance. In the town is located Notre-Dame Chapel, dating from 1623, with the retirement home next door, the former hospice from the Middle Ages.

I was thrilled that I had arrived at approximately 1:30 PM. I thought my day was done. When I looked at the name of the hotel that I was staying in for this evening I was shocked to discover it was in Langogne. This town is located an additional 7 km from Pradelles! The temperature was starting to get up to 32°C. I should have more closely reviewed my itinerary before I left. Most of the route descriptions are broken down per day and I had only packed the Le Bouchet to Pradelles notes. Therefore, I did not have a route description to get to Langogne on the GR 70, this meant I would have to walk on the hot tarmac!

I grudgingly started walking towards Langogne on the road. Thankfully, the route was a steady descent. About 1 km down I saw a side trail which appeared to be going in the general direction that I was heading. I decided to take it in order to get off the tarmac. Initially, it was a good choice. However, as I continued I started to notice it was heading off in a direction not matching the highway. I really didn’t know where it would go and there were so many trails in the area I thought I would probably just get lost. I simply hopped off the trail and did some bushwhacking to get back to the highway [I had to jump a couple of barbed wire fences so I think I was actually trespassing on farmer’s property].

I would just have to accept that the tarmac was the most direct route to get to where I needed to go. Of course, halfway down I ran out of water. I simply put the afterburners on and thankfully arrived at my destination at about 3:30 PM. The only glitch was that I had developed a blister on the bottom of the right forefoot. I was wearing hiking socks thinking this would provide additional cushioning in my trainers but I would have to switch to my trusty black running socks which thankfully I brought along.

I found my hotel quite easily and had a nice leisurely walk around this historic town. Langogne was a large market town. It was formally a fortified and walled town and has approximately 1000 years of history behind it. It was continually attacked by the English during the 100 years war of the 14th century, and in 1568 during the Wars of Religion it was ransacked by a Huguenot army of 9000 from Ales. The ramparts no longer exist and the town was rebuilt around 1600 with the Roman architecture being replaced by a more flamboyant Gothic style. Langogne is located at the junction of three departments- Lozere, Haute-Loire and Ardeche-and three regions: Languedob-Roussillon, Auvergne and Rhone-Alps. It lies in the Eastern Lozere a department that has two points of repute: the highest average altitude in France and the smallest population at just under 74,500 people or 15 people per square mile.

I had a nice walk around town before enjoying my meal and then settling down to catch up on some blogging and processing of pictures. I was going to have a relatively leisurely start the next morning as I had to catch a train from Langogne to La Bastide at 10:24 AM [yes, you read that right 10:24 AM, not 10:25 AM] in order to start my hike the next day in La Bastide. It was only going to be 15 km. It was nice to have a shorter distance. This time I bought extra water to supplement my 2L water reservoir that I carry in my backpack. Hard lesson learned twice!

RLS Day Hike 1: Le Monastier to Le Bouchet

Le Monastier to Le Bouchet. First day of the hike. I awoke quite refreshed in Le Puy. After a relatively substantial breakfast, I was picked up by my taxi driver to be taken to the monastery about 25 minutes away. This would be the start point for my first day. I was provided with a day by day set of extensive and detailed directions so I would not get lost….hopefully! The directions did require some interpretation but were quite clear overall. I was quite careful and initially double checked every turn just to make sure I did not make a mistake. The weather was going to be hot today. The distance to be covered today was approximately 21 km. There was going to be a couple of steep ascents as well as descents. I started at 933 m and ended at 1213 m.
Robert Louis Stevenson stayed one month in Le Monastier. At that time, the town was full of lace makers selling their wares on street corners. The town’s history is intimately linked to the foundation of the fifth century Benedictine Abbey that had an importance at the level of Le Midi itself. In 732, it’s Abbott was killed by the Sarrasins. The Abbey is considered one of Velay’s major works of Roman architecture. Robert Lewis Stevenson began his 230 km trek here. He spent his first night at Le Bouchet Saint Nicholas.
The highlight of this day was descending into the Loire Valley and then ascending up the opposite side. The Loire is France’s longest river at 1012 km with its source in Ardeche to the southeast. Stevenson had lunch at the Hotel de la Loire [called the Hotel Senac at the time] which I passed at the bottom of the valley. Interestingly, Regis Senac emigrated to the USA in 1872 and participated in the American Fencing Championships in New York four years later. He opened a school to train elite American fencing corps and wrote a book on fencing still found in the Congress library. Apparently, Modestine [Robert Louis Stevenson’s donkey] encountered a male donkey near here and Stevenson was forced to “stamp out the nascent romance”. The incident saddened him, reminding him of his estranged American lover.
I was doing quite well and had lunch by a nearby stream. The weather continued to get hotter. I checked my thermometer which registered 37°C! The next section was all uphill and I knew I was going to pay for it. The next 11 km were tough. I was sweating buckets. I budgeted 2 L of water but ran out with 5 km to go. I was starting to slow down and my hiking boots [new… I know!] were really bothering my feet. The last 3 km seemed like 30 km!. I eventually reached my bed-and-breakfast which was completely empty except for me. The owner only spoke a little bit of English. However, over dinner we carried on a conversation for about an hour and a half!. What a nice fellow. He prepared an absolutely wonderful dinner which was preceded by an aperitif of white wine and chestnut. This went down very well. The quality of the food was excellent. Suddenly, two more guests arrived Jean Pierre and Chantelle. As I found out later, they were traveling by car and doing day hikes to complete a section of the complete French Camino trail. They expected it would take six years of their three-week holidays to complete. We then proceeded to chat into the evening even though I was quite exhausted. I was hoping to go to bed early but Chantelle wanted to show me absolutely every picture she and her husband had taken over the last three days!. She was so sweet and passionate about what she had seen that I simply made a choice to stay up until her iPad [thankfully] ran out of power. I finally got to sleep at about 11:30 PM. The room was basic but very comfortable. The owner even accommodated me by serving my breakfast at 7 AM the next morning so I could get an early start. I also decided that evening that hiking boots were not required for this trek. The ground conditions were dry and could certainly be handled by my trainers which I’m very happy I brought along.

The Best of the Stevenson Hike- Introduction

I am finally back in Bormes July 22nd 2015 and I need to blog! I have accomplished so much over the last 2 weeks but have not had the chance to share it with you. Even though I traveled to Corsica first, I have decided to relate my best of the Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS) trek experiences first. After each day’s hike, I was able to pick and process selected photos and also dictated some notes so I was much more prepared than I was for Corsica. I guess I was just not yet in “blog mode”.  Be patient with me, I promise you will hear all of the tales.

The RLS hike was from July 15-22 2015. The first day July 15 2015 simply involved driving from Bormes to Le Puy-en-Velay with Glenn and Maysan. We spent the afternoon and evening together exploring this historic village and then I was left on my own for my hike week. The hike actually started the following day on July 16 2015. I was driven to the Monastery, which is located about 25 minutes from Le Puy-en-Velay, by taxi. There the adventure started! Read on to find out how things went!

Aqueduct on the way to Le Puy

Vineyards everywhere and on the way to Le Puy

Le Puy architecture and cobblestone roads

Glenn and Maysan climb towards a religious experience Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy)

Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy) Interior

Peaceful scene, Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy)

Le Puy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy)

The iron statue of Notre-Dame de France (The Virgin Mary) overlooking the town of Le Puy

Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe Chapel, Aiguilhe

Close-up Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe Chapel, Aiguilhe

The iron statue of Notre-Dame de France (The Virgin Mary) overlooking the town of Le Puy, close-up

Church scene in Le Puy

The iron statue of Notre-Dame de France (The Virgin Mary) overlooking the town of Le Puy, another view

Le Puy scene and cross

Interesting church scene, Le puy

The iron statue of Notre-Dame de France (The Virgin Mary) overlooking the town of Le Puy, yet another view

Le Puy scene and cross

Colourful building façade, Le Puy

Bon Appétit in Bormes!

I am back after a brief absence. My first week in Bormes was drawing to a close. Glenn and Maysan had organized a meal with their neighbours Linda and Raymond the evening of Saturday, July 4, 2015. Linda is originally from the United States but came to France over 30 years ago and happened to meet Raymond who is from the area. Raymond currently spends his time hunting wild boar which are quite a nuisance here. They are very destructive to the local habitat. Raymond gets special permits when the population gets too high and takes others out in order to hunt them. Linda and Raymond live in a quaint, refurbished Provence  farmhouse which is absolutely beautiful. We were joined by another couple from Norway for a wonderful, multiple course meal that extended over three or four hours. It is not uncommon for dinners in this part of France to start at 8 or 8:30 PM and then finish at 11 PM or midnight. We had absolutely beautiful weather with no wind and lively conversation. This area of France is very international and it is not uncommon to meet people from all over the world who come here to spend summers and enjoy all that southern France has to offer. A most enjoyable evening.

As I stated in an earlier blog post, the evening prior we had eaten at a very quaint and lovely restaurant in Bormes with Glenn and Maysan’s other ” French family”. I can state with absolute veracity that I have not had a bad meal in southern France. The act of sharing a meal with friends or family is very important and runs like a connecting thread in the social fabric of this part of the world. I am most happy to participate!

Soon we leave to go to Corsica. Here are a few pictures from Bormes for you to enjoy.

The next time I blog I will be enjoying the sun and all that Corsica has to offer. Stay tuned.

The First Week in France…….Tres Bien!

My life the first week in France is pretty much as I listed in my previous post. This is the perfect preparation for my four-month adventure. I am starting to relax and adopt my natural state which is really nothing like the way I am in regular life.

I will comment on a few experiences that occurred the first week.

After catching up on my sleep, it was time to start some activities. Maysan and I enjoy running together in Calgary so why not in France? I was allowed to sleep in after traveling to France through England the morning of June 30, 2015. When I got up Maysan had already done her run and Glenn was just coming back from his bike ride. I felt like such a sloth! The plan the following morning, July 1, 2015, was to get up between 730-7:45 AM and then drive down to the beach in Le Lavandou to do a short run. I must have still been somewhat sleepy because by the time I got up to the kitchen at approximately 8 AM Maysan had already left. She was being very sweet thinking I needed more sleep but I really did want to join her on the run. Glenn said I could simply run down from the villa “on the path” to meet her at the parking lot beside the beach as she was likely coming back from her run. He texted her smart phone to let her know that this was the plan. I must have still been recovering from jet lag because Glenn clearly stated I just needed to go down “the path” until I got to the roundabout with the dolphins in Le Lavandou and then proceed straight into centre ville to find the parking lot beside the beach. Maysan would be parked on a side street beside the parking lot. It was all a perfect plan if I had listened to it! Also, I had never been on “the path” (many would agree with that statement) so I proceeded up the back stairs and then began my run on the road as it enters Bormes and took the road route down towards Le Lavandou. I was relatively familiar with this route but then I decided to take a side street which clearly demonstrated a bike route thinking it would take me straight down into town. I got somewhat turned around and as I proceeded to the main road I should have turned left but unfortunately turned right. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this took me further away from where Maysan was waiting. I ended up in a separate part of Bormes I had never been in before. I found a lovely boardwalk on a beach and then a massive campsite which seemed like one of those cornfields you can never exit from! The temperature was getting hotter and hotter and running was becoming more difficult. I didn’t bring any extra water with me because I thought the run down would be relatively short. I was not yet acclimatized to these conditions. I eventually found my way back to the dolphin roundabout and even though I knew Maysan would not be waiting for me, as I was about 45 minutes later than I should have been, I found the parking lot I was supposed to meet her at (for future reference). I then had to proceed back to the villa which is straight up the side of a mountain with relatively steep roads and the temperature was probably 33 C. It was like walking in a desert! I got back to the villa without heat stroke and proceeded to quickly down several liters of water. The infinity pool beckoned. We all had a good laugh about the short run that turned out to be 17 km. I do have a better appreciation of the size of the entire village.

The next morning July 2, 2015 was much more straightforward. Our plan was to do a bicycle ride of approximately 30 km starting at 8 AM. I was right on time this time! Cycling is so popular in France. Everybody does it. I have been amazed with the age of most cyclists who appear to be older than 60 years of age. They fly up those hills like 30-year-olds. As Glenn has stated, the people here age very well and looking much younger than their stated years.

Thankfully, we had three bikes two of which were road racing bikes at the villa. I was given the high end racing bike owned by one of my hosts’ sons Iskander (but, as Glenn reminded me he had purchased the bike!). Maysan preferred a hybrid bike with wider tires. There is a beautiful paved country road located approximately 1.5 km up from the villa that I absolutely adore for running. It is also amazingly good for cycling. The first section climbs continuously for about 6 km until you reach the top of the climb which provides wonderful views of the local area and the Mediterranean sea. Of course, a picture of my accomplishment had to be taken.

Steve with Grey Jersey at the top of the Pass….Victorious!

One then travels along the top of a plateau until one reaches a steep right hand turn and then proceeds down a road that has up to 15% grades! What fun! Maysan was a bit trepidatious about descending those steep roads but did a great job. 90° hairpin turns ensured you paid attention on the descent. You then ended up on a beautiful flat ride before you had to start the ascent back to the villa. Maysan led the way up the climb. She did a great job! Before we knew it, we were back at the villa to enjoy a wonderful breakfast. Cycling and France make a pretty wonderful combination. The only glitch that I had on this ride relates to my Polar multisport watch computer. This watch has been on numerous adventures with me over the last several years. The night before this epic ride I had noted some condensation building up within the watch after my evening swim. Maysan noted it as well. During the ride the inner watch face became completely occluded with condensation and I noticed the watch was no longer functioning. It had lived a good life. It died in a beautiful part of the world. However, now I was without any sense of time and I did need a watch with GPS to document my upcoming adventures. Shopping was in order!

Other experiences I would like to comment on relate to the wonderful cuisine and wine of this part of southern France. Each evening we would go to a different restaurant in order to sample the local cuisine and to re-energize after our preceding activities. The food was uniformly excellent. The local village has many wonderful restaurants as does the surrounding area. Sometimes fate intervenes when it comes to restaurant choices. The evening of July 2, 2015 we were going out to a small village close to Hyeres in order to have some wonderful seafood. After driving there for 20 minutes and arriving at the restaurant we found it closed.  Glenn was shocked as this had never happened before. Drats!  We proceeded to walk into the central part of the village. Luckily, technology came to our rescue. Glenn recalled his neighbors, who have become very good friends, always raved about a small restaurant located in this village. He was able to call one of his neighbors on the smart phone who gave us the name and then started to give us the directions to the restaurant. It was comical because as she was giving us the directions we realized the restaurant she was referring to was right in front of us! It was an unassuming restaurant and looked like it would serve regular pub food. Were we ever mistaken! The seafood was superb and to die for. What an amazing meal we had. We were also blessed the following evening after traveling to Nice for some shopping (I now have a new Polar watch with GPS and bought it at an amazing price-50% off!). We returned to Bormes to meet Glenn and Maysan’s  “other French family” for an amazing meal as we sat out on a setup table beside a roadway on cobblestone as starlings fed in the darkening night sky above us. The food and rosé wine went down very easily! I wish I knew more French. Our guests appeared to be very engaging and wonderful people. One guest spoke some English to me and included me in portions of the conversation. Very sweet!

We returned back to the villa and had a great sleep. The following morning July 4, 2015 we had the most amazing bike ride from the villa down to the beachside right at the entrance of the Hyeres Airport. A good portion of the trail was multi use repurposed “rails to trail” pathway. Once we reached our midpoint and were starting to head back we heard a loud pop almost like a gunshot and then realized that Glenn’s front tire including the inner tube had pretty much exploded. Thankfully, he did not fall. He had to ride a 10 km return trip in order to pick up a new tire. Thankfully the bike shop was open on Saturday. We repaired the front tire and had an uneventful trip back to the villa.

What a great first week. I am now officially relaxed! We have a wonderful dinner planned this evening with the neighbors I referred to earlier. Tomorrow will then be a relaxing day at the villa as we prepare to get ready Monday for our weeklong trip to the island of Corsica.

The fun just keeps coming!

Villa Life in Southern France

Ah….life in Southern France! I arrived early evening June 29, 2015. I was greeted by my hosts and friends Maysan and Glenn at the Hyeres airport. As expected, the weather was hot and humid. Perfect! Generally the weather gets up to 29-35 C in the afternoon with greater than 60% humidity. Things grow well here and one does start to accept the logic behind midday siestas.

On our way from the airport back to the villa we stopped to pick up some fresh fruit. This is France by the way! A local farmer had set up a small stand and was selling very petite but extremely delicious strawberries. We just had to pick up three cartons to happily consume over the next few days.

My friend’s villa is actually located in the very picturesque and quaint village of Bormes-les-Mimosas which is approximately a 20 minute drive from the airport. Bormes-les-Mimosas is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It has a Mediterranean climate. Bormes-les-Mimosas is a city in bloom and won the 2003 Gold Medal awarded by the Entente Florale. The Fort de Brégançon, located in the commune, is the official retreat for the President of the French Republic.

I stayed here previously with Anna in 2011. It is a perfect place to experience the French Mediterranean life and to completely disconnect from the hurried pace of North America. What I love about the villa is the fact that it is off the main beach district and roadway which can be unbelievably busy during the summer months. The infinity pool located at the Villa is far superior to the crowded beaches. There are panoramic views from the deck surrounding the infinity pool looking out towards Le Lavandou and the Mediterranean Sea. If you want to go down to the local beaches it is simply a walk down the hill for about 40 minutes.

The villa itself is extremely beautiful and has all the modern amenities one requires. The pace of life here is much more considered and allows you to truly appreciate the beautiful surroundings, aromas, people and life as it is in the village.

I was given my own private air-conditioned room which is very important to get a good sleep in the evenings. It is called the “Africa room” based on its design motif and has the best shower in the villa.

My first week in France was not about trying to squeeze in as many activities as I could. Maysan and Glenn insisted I adopt the southern French lifestyle which can really be summed up as follows:

1) Get up at a reasonably early time to do your physical activities before the heat of the midday. Don’t aim to destroy yourself but enjoy the activity as the heat of the day starts to build. This either involved a 30-50 km bike ride on beautiful country roads, rail to trail multi-use pathways or a run of about 10-12 kilometers.

2) Come back to the villa for a quick cool down by dipping in the infinity pool and then having a leisurely café au lait with fresh chevre cheese, yogurt, freshly cut fruit, a croissant or baguette with fresh preserves. Wonderful!

3) Change down into and stay in one’s bathing suit for the remainder of the morning and most of the afternoon poolside with frequent dips into the infinity pool in order to cool down while one is either sleeping, reading a book or just contemplating how great life can be. Lunch would be served about 2-3:30 PM and would involve a cool drink and fresh fruit salad.

4) Proceed to walk into town or get into the car and explore one of the local villages for an amazing meal at one of the local restaurants. Of course, this was often preceded by aperitifs, olives and crackers as well as relaxing conversation.

5) Return to the villa (possibly followed by a moonlight swim in the infinity pool) and then a plunge into a cooled down bedroom to drift away into slumber ready to do it all again the next day.

It will be very difficult to leave this lifestyle to return to the one that unfortunately we have adopted in North America. Mind you, because life is so busy in North America I appreciate the lifestyle here even more.

Just a few pictures to show you my home away from home in southern France during the month of July 2015.

I want you to be envious!