Far above the clouds.
Thursday, 17. September 2009, 22:14:25
A week in France, then.
Converted barn in the middle of nowhere? Check.
Croissants and coffee for breakfast? Check.
Ham, cheese and French bread for lunch? Check.
A barbeque meal and a couple of glasses of red in the evening? Check.
A view of four lines of hills, the furthest forty kilometers away? Double check.
I haven't been anywhere as remote in France since 1989, and there is something to be said for going somewhere where the view is entertainment enough. There was a small swimming pool, some books, and a little bit of non-taxing DS gaming (Dragon Quest V), but, mostly, there was the view.
And, at night, you really do get a sense of how remote you are. Sure, there was another house a couple of minutes up the road, with a nice French couple in it. But it's dark. So very dark. And the wind was howling around, and the owls were hooting in the valley, and, you know what my imagination's like.
The village of La Monestere down in the valley, that you had to drive through to get up to the Gite, seemed nice enough, but did appear to have a creepy abandoned monastery lurking at the far end of it. Old bell tower with no windows kind of creepy.
So I could go out at night, into the dark, and look at the stars, but not for too long, on my own. Back inside, shut all the shutters, sit back down, carry on with the book. The crickets were happy enough outside all night, though, and they sang and sang til dawn, which crept into my room through a tiny window set in the thick stone wall.
Converted barn in the middle of nowhere? Check.
Croissants and coffee for breakfast? Check.
Ham, cheese and French bread for lunch? Check.
A barbeque meal and a couple of glasses of red in the evening? Check.
A view of four lines of hills, the furthest forty kilometers away? Double check.
I haven't been anywhere as remote in France since 1989, and there is something to be said for going somewhere where the view is entertainment enough. There was a small swimming pool, some books, and a little bit of non-taxing DS gaming (Dragon Quest V), but, mostly, there was the view.
And, at night, you really do get a sense of how remote you are. Sure, there was another house a couple of minutes up the road, with a nice French couple in it. But it's dark. So very dark. And the wind was howling around, and the owls were hooting in the valley, and, you know what my imagination's like.
The village of La Monestere down in the valley, that you had to drive through to get up to the Gite, seemed nice enough, but did appear to have a creepy abandoned monastery lurking at the far end of it. Old bell tower with no windows kind of creepy.
So I could go out at night, into the dark, and look at the stars, but not for too long, on my own. Back inside, shut all the shutters, sit back down, carry on with the book. The crickets were happy enough outside all night, though, and they sang and sang til dawn, which crept into my room through a tiny window set in the thick stone wall.
WIDGETIZE
flatsky # 18. September 2009, 07:22
unclethang # 18. September 2009, 22:05