My GOD, how could we have done this? Hilary and I work with a start at 10:00 AM. Clearly, we are still recovering from jet lag. I found myself up until the early hours of the morning, unable to sleep. So, if some of you received email messages at strange hours of the morning, you know why. However, what I failed to do was to set an alarm... and we just HAD to get across Paris to the train before it left for Valence, our first destination in Provence, at 11:20 AM!
Fortunately, we were able to get our act together rather quickly. Having no other alternative is a great motivator. Actually, we got out of the hotel, grabbed a taxi, and arrived at the station a half hour before it left.
Whew. Hilary and I settled down to play a game of Scrabble.. which, despite my being regularly trounced by her, I still find rather enjoyable. That iPad of Hilary's is terrific for this. Although the touch and feel of the old fashioned board game is still great when you are at home, I bet we'll never go back to it when we're traveling... it's that good.
 |
| The train station in Valence |
The time passed by quickly. Before we knew it, we had arrived at a very modern train station in Valence, about fifteen minutes away by taxi from Chateaudouble, our destination for the night and the start of our cycling tour.
When the taxi pulled up to the Bed and Breakfast, I wasn't sure if it was the right place. There were not signs indicaing this was a hotel... just an old and very authentic looking farmhouse set off the main road. At the door, an old woman appeared who looked down, smiled, and waved us in.
Her name was Madeline, and, yes, she was expecting us. We climbed up the stairs and were shown into a quaint bedroom with a fireplace and a very comfortable bed. Madeline spoke only a few words of English. Hilary spoke only a few words of French. I spoke, to my embarrasment, even less than she. But somehow, we managed to communicate. Although we had arrived early, Madeline saw we were famished.
Before we knew it, she had brought out a delicious lunch, a zuchini, rice and cheese risotto (or something like it), fresh tomatoes in a Djon maironaid, together with vine ripened peaches. We sat on the porch overlooking the sunlit courtyard below, taking in the beauty and utter peace around us. We had arrived.
Properly speaking Chateaudouble is not part of Provence, but in the Drome region to the north. And, as we found out, we were not actuallly in Chateaudouble, but were within walking distance. Refreshed, and seeing we still had much of the afternoon left, we set out on a walking tour.
Along the way, we met some inquisitve donkeys that, I'm sure, would have apprecaited some fresh fruit, had we brought some along.
Farther along, we passed by oat, barley and young corn fields. And, of course, we managed to get lost, or, more accurately, 'bewildered' as Dad used to say. The most obvious signs are simply not there.
The reason? I'm sure it's because EVERYONE knows where Chateaudouble is. So, you'll find signs for everything except that. We flagged down a passing cyclist, then, following his directions, wandered up a hill before we realized it was ending in a dirt road...then doubled back and figured out where we really needed to go. I have a feeling we'll be doing a lot of this over the coming week!
Chateaudouble turned out to be a lovely little village. Hilary said the population there is 473. We counted eight. Fortunately, there was a store with ice cream, which made up for it.
I took far too many photos of stone buildings that looked like they had been here since the middle ages. The reason? As we went along, we saw more and MORE of them... just about every builidng, it seems dates back at least a hundred years. Madeline, the dear old grandmother who greeted us today, said that her farmhose, which she moved to in 1956, the year she was married, had been refurbished in 1840. Refurbushed!! The actual age of parts of the building, she thinks, dates back to the 1600's. Many of the buildings in Chateaudouble seemed to be newer than Madeline's farm house, but not by much
We made our way back to the farmhouse with plenty of time before dinner. We're getting used to dinner meals here in France... nothing really happens until at least 8:00 PM. It was 8:40 PM before we actually sat down to dinner. But what a dinner it was. Five courses, most which was from food raised on the farm. Madeline's daughter, Elizabeth, had prepared the meal for us. She, her husband and two sons (they have four children) run the farm. Madeline mentioned that the Drome farming region was one of the first in the world to openly endorse organic farming. She had been part of this movement, which began in the late 1960's, long before organic farming became a worldwide movement. With a smile, she said in her broken but perfectly understandable English, that everyone back then thought they were crazy. The wholesome food was delicious, and a wonderful end to a lovely day.
When the taxi pulled up to the Bed and Breakfast, I wasn't sure if it was the right place. There were not signs indicaing this was a hotel... just an old and very authentic looking farmhouse set off the main road. At the door, an old woman appeared who looked down, smiled, and waved us in. 
I took far too many photos of stone buildings that looked like they had been here since the middle ages. The reason? As we went along, we saw more and MORE of them... just about every builidng, it seems dates back at least a hundred years. Madeline, the dear old grandmother who greeted us today, said that her farmhose, which she moved to in 1956, the year she was married, had been refurbished in 1840. Refurbushed!! The actual age of parts of the building, she thinks, dates back to the 1600's. Many of the buildings in Chateaudouble seemed to be newer than Madeline's farm house, but not by much 
We made our way back to the farmhouse with plenty of time before dinner. We're getting used to dinner meals here in France... nothing really happens until at least 8:00 PM. It was 8:40 PM before we actually sat down to dinner. But what a dinner it was. Five courses, most which was from food raised on the farm. Madeline's daughter, Elizabeth, had prepared the meal for us. She, her husband and two sons (they have four children) run the farm. Madeline mentioned that the Drome farming region was one of the first in the world to openly endorse organic farming. She had been part of this movement, which began in the late 1960's, long before organic farming became a worldwide movement. With a smile, she said in her broken but perfectly understandable English, that everyone back then thought they were crazy. The wholesome food was delicious, and a wonderful end to a lovely day.
No comments:
Post a Comment