Beyond la rentrée

Hello dear readers,

Unless you are French speakers, you are probably wondering what “la rentrée means. It is a word you hear a lot in France, especially at the end of summer vacation just before school starts. Literally, it means “the return” and although there are many vacations in France and hence many returns, “la rentrée” refers to September and back to school for kids and work for the grown-ups.

My last post, I see, was in July, the merry month that my husband and I hightailed it out of Paris to avoid the Olympic Games and spend two quiet months in Brittany not far from the salt marshes and the sea. When we returned, everyone told us how absolutely quiet and perfect it had been throughout the Games, how the Metro ran so smoothly, how joyful both tourists and Parisians were, how clean the city was.

We almost regretted taking flight – well, almost.

It was restful to be away from Paris near a lake and golf course and woods. Time slowed down in a way it doesn’t and can’t in a big stressful city. There was time to cook and time to read and time to climb the 100 or so steps to my little maid’s room/office where I would spend hours working on a project that will probably never see the light of day. There was time to see friends and eat crêpes and drink cider and travel to the seaside. There was time to watch the waves, admittedly a passive thing to do, but one of my favourite “activities”. (I grew up in Iowa and never even saw the sea until I was 20 years old which may explain my fascination with it). And of course there was plenty of time to sit in front of the tube and watch the Olympic Games which ran just as smoothly as all the naysayers predicted they wouldn’t.

Our summer memories are of this magical castle which, believe it or not, is our second home! It is one of the only castles in France to have been divided into condos. We knew the castle because we lived in Nantes in the 1970s and played golf on the adjacent golf course. We saw it from afar, never dreaming that one day we would own a part (a small part) of it.

Now we are back in our Paris home, a ground floor apartment with its own little “garden”. It is a haven of peace and quiet in a lively neighborhood right next to multitudes of shops and a metro stop. We step out the door into a world of activity. We shut the door and it’s almost like being in the country!

We weren’t back in Paris before long when we took off again. As you’ll see in the picture below, the TGV (fast train) was overcrowded with people and luggage.

lWhen we arrived at our destination, Hyères, we were told that there were no cars left so we had to take what we could get.I never thought I would see Philippe behind the wheel of a van, especially a van with HERTZ splashed all over it. But there he is, and even smiling!

Our next stop was the wonderful Presqu’ile de Giens with family, then it was on to Cannes to visit friends who have a million dollar view of the sea. If I lived in their apartment, I would spend the entire day sitting on their terrace gazing at the boats (including those awful huge cruise boats) and the clouds and the palm trees and the water.

Too soon, it was time to return to Paris where my “serious” life takes place but where I always feel on vacation because continually surprised by new views, new streets, monuments I haven’t as yet discovered, and stores that pop up in place of ones that were there before. As I walked back from my yoga class to the metro at Opéra, I did a double take as I peered into the doorway of a brand new shop where on three floors you can find every kind of sweet under the sun, including every variety of my favorite Swiss chocolate bar (Villars). Too cruel!

I bravely resisted the temptation and brought home a beautiful bouquet of dahlias instead.

That’s it for now. A la prochaine!