And when I say hot, I mean over 100 degrees hot - for days and days. I felt bad complaining via
e-mail to my friends in Seattle, since summer has yet to creap its way into that corner of the world - but complain I did.
And goshdarnit, it feels good to complain sometimes!
And so it was in this 'Urghh! Enough already!!' state of mind that Yann and I decided to get out of town. This past weekend, we rented a car and hit the highway - direction north: Normandy.
We picked out a little town on the map called Houlgate (pronounced: Oool - gat...insert thick French accent and you have it). For anyone curious about Normandy beaches, there are quite a few and they are only about 2 hours away from Paris. Houlgate just so happened to be the most convenient and (almost)the most charming one of them all (second only to the darling village of Honfleur, decorated in colorful flowers and beloved by 19th century impressionists).
In Houlgate, we walked along the beach and took a nice nap in the sunshine, we went running and ate some yummy seafood and cidre. And Yann watched patiently as I searched for seashells to begin my own collection in memory of my mom, whom always brought seashells home with her from various vacations and decorated the house with bowls full of them.
As an unexpected surprise, Yann and I decided to take our little Ford up the coast to check out the 'faillaises' (a breathtaking expanse of large cliffs that fall into the Atlantic). The surprise being that, while we never actually got to see the cliffs, due to some minor technical errors (e.g. the boy got us lost), we did get to see a TON of quaint villages: from the chic-chic Deauville all the way to large port town of Le Havre.
The flowers! The trees! The country side! I was so happy to see some natural beauty I nearly asked Yann to stop the car so I could hug a cow. Instead, I was happy to stick my whole head out the car window and just let the wind run through my hair.
On the drive home, we both decided we'll be doing more of these weekend escapes - for some fresh air, a clearer perspective and a few more misguided adventures.
YAAAAAAY! I love the image of your head out the window, taking in your new life. I'm so excited to read about your adventures. Love to you, Madame Kelly B.
ReplyDeleteLove it - the enthusiasm and the visuals of hugging a cow and sticking your head out the window. I guess mainly because I can SO see you doing that. And - though it may not seem so - it IS a compliment. We miss you. I miss you. Brenda
ReplyDeleteKelly B! Tu me manques! I'm so glad that you're going to be doing this journal/blog to keep all of us abreast (insert childish snickering here) of your happenings. And rock that "Madame" status. xoxo, Susan
ReplyDeleteAt long last! So glad you're doing this, Kelly! And, don't worry about us PNWesterners....it's in the 90s this week!!!
ReplyDeleteI love ya Kel! I love reading your writings...it makes me feel like I'm right there with you! And, I'm sure Ryan would have hugged the cow with you! =)
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