Make Time: Down by the River

Got up yesterday and grabbed the free breakfast that Virginie always lays out for me (bread, jam, and juice) and then as I was finishing up she said she was heading into town for the Saturday market. Nice. Apparently they have it every Saturday when the weather gets nice, so Aldis and I headed down with her and the dog, Lilly. We couldn't go more than 50 feet during our walk without Virginie stopping to say hi to someone. She's been here consistently for 27 years, and it's only a town of about 430 people so it make sense that she would know everyone. Plus, she is just a great person - always happy and smiling. We get down through town and come into the market area, which consists of a girl who's got eggs on the back of her four-wheeler, another girl with a small table of home-made creams, and a guy that has about four long tables full of different types of olives. Ok, so it's not the big city market, but it was cute and very sweet. Virginie bought some eggs and cream, and I got two bags of olives. We mingled for about a half minute before Virginie says - "So…a drink?". Love this woman. So we sit at this very nice/cute outside cafe and get a bottle of Rose. Of course Virginie knows the owner, who's spent time in NYC and SF, and she gets up every few minutes to say hello to passersby that she knows. It's a really lovely place. Such a relaxed atmosphere. We sit and talk and laugh a bunch with the owner before heading back towards the house. As we are walking back, we pass the area where I spoke with the old guys in town, who helped me find where I was going the first day I got here. That same English guy is sitting there drinking, so we say hello and before I could turn around Virginie is handing me another glass of Rose, this time from another restaurant owner. Classic. We sit and drink our wine and I speak with the English guy, as well as a Scottish hippie who's been here for 7 years. It really seems like everyone I meet had come here for a vacation and then never left. Trust me I see the lure. This place has easily gotten its grip on me as well, and I could really see having a vacation home here. It's so peaceful. So natural. Rustic. Real. After our drinks we head back to the house, though I had told Virginie earlier that I wanted to walk down to the river, so I veer off from she and Aldis and head down the most beautiful little path towards the river (pics below). I get to the river and jump on a few rocks to sit on a bigger rock in the middle of the river and just relax for a bit. I'm looking at an amazing old bridge and listening to the water rush around me, and I have to tell you it was one of the more peaceful places I've encountered in my life. I sit. Think. Enjoy. Relax. After about an hour of this I walk upstream a bit more and see an old abandoned house (or something like that), and then keep going and come up to a bunch of huge rocks. I climb down amongst them and see a woman sitting on top of a rock reading the paper. Bonjour :) I walk past her and come to some of the most beautiful tiny little swimming holes. Crystal blue water. Tiny rocks on the bottom. I walk down to the second hole and it's just too tempting. I strip down to my underwear and jump in. Shock hits me as the coldness of the water jolts all my nerves. I touch the bottom with my feet and feel the soft rocks rubbing my feet, welcoming me into this frigid paradise. As I come back up for air I feel the new life that's just been breathed into me. There's nothing like fresh mountain water to knock you back into your senses. I jump out - put on my shorts - and sit on a massive rock in the sun and just enjoy the sounds and warmth. Such a great way to spend an afternoon. I think of my sister, Rickey, and know that she would have loved being here with me as well. I think of how much fun my mom would have sitting on the rocks with her feet dangling in the water. They will be here with me someday. I know it. After another hour on the rocks I make my way back up to the house, where Virginie tell she that I have a visitor waiting for me. DOH! I had told Sandy the night before that she could do my tarot card reading. She had mentioned that she's written a book about how to read tarot cards, so I asked her if she could read mine. Totally forgot the time she said she was coming bye, and I hear that Virginie actually called my sister Taty to try to reach me (I don't have a working phone so I use Taty's number as my contact:). Ha. Too funny. Sandy isn't madd at all - she's hanging out smoking and welcomes me back. We go into the breakfast room and I have my first ever tarot card reading. Very cool. I shuffle the deck and she deals out about 10 cards and lines them up in a unique fashion, with the first few cards indicating where I am right now in my life, and the other cards indicating either what is coming or what is going out of my life. It's fascinating. Some of the insights are rudimentary, while others are spot on. I won't go into much detail, but the overall read was very positive for me and my life. I'm in a good place, so I'm not surprised by this, but it's very nice to hear it from a random third party too. Sandy heads off and I lay low around the deck here - setting up my accommodations for Nice. I found a good hotel that's cheap and in the city center, so I'm going to go with that. Very excited to check out that city, which is only an hour and a half train. I'll head out on a 12:30pm train and get in at 2pm.

Last night we headed to a bar in town to listen to some traditional music. Of course we went to the same bar we had drinks at this afternoon, and before we knew it we missed the concert and then headed home around 11pmish. I met Virginie's sister, brother-in-law, and niece. It was a blast. More interestingly, Virginie's brother-in-law is from Italy and he gave me a ton of suggestions. He also gave me his number and said if ANYTHING goes wrong, day or night, to call him. Love the good vibes. Got home and hit the hay, but not before some fun pictures with Virginie :)

It's hard to put to words my feelings of yesterday. I was in such a peaceful and meditative place, that I really didn't notice time or anything else occurring around me. This is indeed a very special place for me, and I only hope that some of my friends and family are able to come back with me one day. Everyone would love it.