It really shouldn’t have taken me so long to publish this post since there are very few photos to caption and not so much to report on. The week was largely spent in the processes of relocating and packing. We started the week in Remoulins near the Pont-du-Gard, drove to Le Thoronet, took the train from Les Arcs to Nice, then flew from Nice to Dubai and on to Auckland arriving home in Auckland on Saturday afternoon. Since then I have been struggling to get a decent night’s sleep. The only thing that has been inducing me to sleep is sitting down at my computer and that has not been helping me get this post completed! Anyway…
We awoke to rain still on Monday morning in Remoulins after our visit to the Pont-du-Gard on Sunday evening. By the time we arrived at Tarascon for a short break and breakfast the sun was shining again and it was getting hot.
By the time we got to St-Rémy-de-Provence the skies were clear and it was a scorcher. We had a bit of a walk, trying to stay in the shade, around this home of Impressionism then found a nice cool restaurant with a very good plat-du-jour. Next thing we had another Kiwi couple, from Winchester just north of Timaru, at the next table! They were an older couple on a six week holiday and were spending about a week here. After lunch we had a quick look around some of the shops before setting course for Le Thoronet.
Tarascon is a small town near Beaucaire where we stopped for a break after leaving Remoulins.
On the drive from St-Rémy-de-Provence to Le Thoronet we were just awestruck by how clear the air, skies and scenery looked. Looking towards Sainte-victoire, an iconic mountain in Provence near Aix, from the A8 it looked like it was so close you could have reached out the window to touch it. Sadly, being an ‘A’ road there was no place to stop for a photo and at the nearest service centre there were trees blocking the view – typical! This outstanding clarity is one of the reasons that places like St-Rémy-de-Provence are so favoured by painters. It was also one of our first impressions (excuse the pun) when we arrived in Le Thoronet in late March last year.
Our hotel in Le Thoronet was “Sue’s Place” and we arrived about 4pm. Spent the evening chatting, sipping Rosé and dining. It was nice to be ‘home’.
We spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday repacking, visiting and relaxing. We did go to the Lorgues market on Tuesday morning and even got there early enough to get a park right in the centre and before all the stalls were set up. Being summer holiday time the place was busy and the predominant language in the air was English.
On Wednesday evening Sue put on a dinner and invited Han & Rens and Virginia. It was a very nice evening and the meal was excellent. It was a real bonus to see Han & Rens again so soon too. They have come down to look after Tutu while James & Lavinia are away for a month and Lew & Jean are also away for some days.
The scene at Sue’s place set for dinner on Wednesday evening.
Sue’s back garden is now almost complete. The perimeter is protected by an electric fence to keep the sanglier (wild boar) out.
We had an early start on Thursday so that we could leave the house at 09h20. Sue very kindly dropped us at the train station in Les Arcs. Everything run to schedule and there is really not much more to say until we arrived home. Except perhaps to comment on the merits of the Boeing 777 vs the A380. The sector from Nice to Dubai was on the 777. In my opinion this is a dreadful aircraft – economy is overly cramped, it is noisy, the power outlets are not available in aisle seats, the overhead space seems lacking. I just don’t like it. On the other hand, the A380 is a magnificent machine, the opposite of the few things listed above and more. Doing the 14-odd hour sector from Dubai to Sydney in economy doesn’t seem like a hardship at all even when you are 6’2″. At least that is my opinion.
Steven and Darryn collected us from the airport on Saturday afternoon. It was nice to be back home but it really didn’t seem like we had been away. I probably made the same observation last time, but this trip was only five months. The first thing to surprise us was just how warm it was. Not bad for winter. We spent the evening talking, Dad came around, the phone kept ringing… It was also the final of the Super 15 Rugby, Chiefs vs Brumbies (so that’s why we saw all those Brumbies tee shirts on the flight?!). What a close match. Gladly the Chiefs prevailed 29-22 but it took a while for my blood pressure to stabilise.
Sunday was a nice warm day again. We slept OK, not great so were feeling a bit tired. We spent the day quietly and did some visiting. In the evening, after sunset, Steven and I went up to the summit of Mt Eden to take some photos and managed to get a few keepers.
The view from the summit of Mt. Eden on Sunday evening at 18h40.
That’s about it for now. I will be away this coming weekend so that means next week’s post will also be late, hopefully not as bad as this one!
Mid-Life OE 