Le Sud

Right as we crossed the border to Slovenia from Croatia, it started to rain. It rained when we drove through Slovenia on our way there, too.

A few days before we left Croatia, when we were waiting in line for one of the many boats we’ve taken, two guys came up while I was waiting in the van and said they were washing people’s windows. “I don’t have any money,” I said.

“For you it’s free,” they said, and they cleaned the van’s windshield, and then the guy with the swisher thing drew a heart on the window with soap. The residue stayed for days, but as we drove the Slovenia I watched the rain wash away the soap heart.

We stopped in Bergamo, Italy for a couple hours for lunch. This city is ancient and beautiful, just like everywhere in Italy, but there were far fewer tourists than in Verona and Venice, which was wonderful. A young man played an accordion on a street we walked down to get to a fancy ristorante called “Il Sole.” I had a pizza with gorgonzola. Afterward, I took a walk by myself around the courtyard and watched people stroll around speaking in Italian and eating gelato. I also got to see another Italian cathedral, Cappella Colleoni. Someone was playing an organ, and it felt very eerie standing under such high ceilings with elaborate painting and decorated with hundreds of little sculptures all done by hand and then put up there with a ladder…It’s overwhelming to think about the work that went into these religious places.

The rest of our drive through Italy took us through the Alps. We drove through a 12 km-long tunnel and came out on the other side in France.

We arrived in a small village in the South of France around midnight and were greeted by Maia’s friend Elise and her brother Jerome. It was dark, but I could see cactuses and mint permeated the air, reminding me of mojitos and mint tea. Elise led us down the driveway, through a tall iron gate, and into a stone cave at the bottom of their home. She showed us our beds. Beds! Actual beds!

A block party was happening a couple miles up the street, so after resting for a half hour we all hopped back into the van and headed there. I’m not sure what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t to see hundreds of people from ages 5 to 70 dancing to techno music in front of a stage of lights and smoke and drinking alcohol at an outdoor bar. Everyone was smiling. And stumbling. Mario and Luigi tripped past me, and two men in drag, their fake boobs hanging out of their dresses, smiled at me. Maia ordered a licorice-flavored drink that she only has when she’s down here, and I got a crappy beer. Even though we were exhausted, we danced harder than anyone else. It was past 2 a.m. when Matthieu, Maia, Jerome, Elise and her twin sister Marion and I piled into the van and made our way back to the house. I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow and didn’t wake up until 12:30 the next day.

Apparently this incredibly adorable, old stone farm house is typical of the South of France. It’s exactly the kind of house I’ve always imagined living in someday. We’re surrounded by hills and lavender. There’s a pool outside. The wind is powerful and refreshing in the South of France and even has its own name – “Le Mistral.” M&M and I ate lunch with Elise and Marion’s parents outside on the patio – silver fish that wasn’t filleted, pureed carrots, mashed potatoes, bread, and, of course, cheese and white wine. For dessert, homemade chocolate mousse and tiramisu and espresso with sugar cubes.

I’m going to spend the rest of today out by the pool reading. Our only plans for today are to clean out the van before we bring it back to the renting company.