Spring in the south of France
Marseilles to MontpellierThursday-Friday 4-5 April 2008
The Mistral, the legendary wind of Provence, pushed our little jet out to sea as we flew into Marseilles. We could see the whitecaps in the wind-tossed Mediterranean below as the pilot did his best to bring us smoothly in for a landing. Tossed around in the air, tipping from side to side, we could feel the struggle against the gusting blasts tunneling down the Rhone valley to the sea. Several of us clapped as we rolled down the runway, applauding the excellent job of the crew – a challenging landing!
Kirk and I picked up a tiny Twingo – I think it’s Renault’s smallest vehicle – and headed southwest towards Montpellier, eager to see his brother Vance and family. Now KIRK is the pilot as we’re roughly tossed around on the Autoroute, fighting the wind. Boy am I glad that he’s driving – last visit here it was just me and I’d really have a rough time holding the car between the yellow lines of the road.
After months of winter browns and grays, my thirsty eyes are gobbling up the greens, yellows, and lavenders of springtime in the south of France. It comes earlier here than at home – lovely lilac-blooming redbud trees adorn the roadside, and Kirk describes the light as a pink glow that you could see from outer space.
Vance and Patty talked us through the last few turns to find their house in Lattes, a suburb of Montpellier. It’s always a huge treat to spend time with them. Patty and Mary Ann had prepared a delicious feast, and waited til we arrived, after 8 pm, to enjoy it with us.
Tired and jetlagged as we were, we kept talking til past midnight!
After breakfast the next day, we all walked towards the water, past horses,
flamingos and spring flowers, basking in the welcome sun and taking deep breaths of wonderful countryside French spring air. So happy to be here!
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