rural france

spent this weekend in the mountains and forests of rural france. was perfect. the beauty of the landscape was astonishing. on friday i took the train to a small town in the counrty where my parents picked me up. was good to see them again. they are still traveling through europe. having the time of their lives. as they should. i can not think of two people who deserves it more. so we drove the thirty five kilometers to the stone cabin in about an hour. no easy drive this was. dad handled the left hand drive pretty well around the small lanes. what a legend he is. mom the back seat driver of note and watching them navigate themselves was a cry. on arrival the ambiance of the surroundings just swallowed me. it was breathtaking. perfect place to relax for the weekend. away from the city and the rat race. we had dinner with the other people. european friends of the family. a real little home coming n france it felt like. saturday morning we got up early. the planning was to drive through the gorge de tarn. this was only a fifty seven kilometer drive in the mountians but took us almost three hours. spectacular. the peace and tranquillity was too much to capture in words or even on film. we stopped often to absorb as much as we could. still did not manage to take it all in. the small ravine that followed all along the gorge had the perfect water for fly fishing and canoeing. the afternoon we went to see how the world famous roquefort cheeses are made. they took us fifty meters into the mountain into caves where these cheeses are made and matured. incredible. the presentation was magical. felt like having a cheese tasting in the kango caves. for those that dont know where that is. it is in south africa. that coming from someone that does not even like cheese. but now i like roquefort. yum yum. especially the real ones made from skaapmelk. back home we were all of a sudden surrounded by hunters and their dogs looking for wild boars. it was funny seeing that at that time i was sitting on the stoep reading the french version of asterix and obelix. the shots went off all around the cabin and dogs barking and bells clinging as what sounded like world war three was happening. the weekend was made perfect by the steak braai the evening followed by potjiekos that dad hammered together on sunday. it felt like home. it was good. it made me think of all the friends back home. a real home weekend it was. it made me realise how many great friends i have back home. with how many of them i would love to share these experiences. this weekend. the stone cabin. the ravine. the gorge. the hunters. the atmosphere. the peace. the joy of being out there.