Et alors, c’est fini. That’s it; it’s all over for another season. Zoom, zip, swoosh. It went by in the blink of an eye. How did it go from summer to autumn so quick, and why did it feel like I was only in Provence for a week?
The beautiful changing vines near Caromb.
Well, the answer is, it always feels like this. So as usual I tried to hold on to every last moment of sunshine and blue sky I could. I was very lucky indeed, while the weather continued cooler than normal, it was a beautiful last week, and we still had some summery days full of warmth and brilliant sun.
Even though my cold persisted, I was equally persistent in going out each day for a bike ride. No way was I going to let clogged sinuses put a short end to my season. Thankfully my friends put up with my constant snuffling and came out with me for some amazing final rides around the neighbourhood. It was such fun showing my favourite routes to someone who’s never been there before, and seeing his enthusiasm reminded me again why it’s such a special place. It’s impossible to ever get tired of cycling somewhere so magnificent.
In addition to the glorious cycling and weather, I indulged in many market roast chickens, cheeses I can’t find in Canada, gorgeous local wines and toothsome bread as much as I could. And when the rain came I conveniently hopped on a plane from Marseille and made my way to London.
I have wanted to go to London for years and my girlfriend Tara was willing to make the journey and met me there. We spent hours on the tube, walking, talking, eating, drinking and enjoying. It’s an enormous city with a matching population and I certainly wasn’t prepared for it after all my quiet time spent in the country. It was quite shocking. But much of the delicious food we ate set me right as rain.
And now I am back in Paris for one more day. It’s grey and raining and rather fitting. It’s time to go and the weather is showing it’s season, whispering to me “on y va”. Time to head home and start dreaming about next summer in Provence. I can't wait. À bientôt ma chérie!
