It was quite a summer, on our Villevieille terrace. We spent our usual 3 months,b ut we found that half-way through the summer, we both came to the realization that the novelty of our life here was wearing off. Basically, we felt like we'd spent the first month replacing or fixing way too much stuff. And "the summer of malfunctions" continued all the way through our final week. Nothing horrible happened, thank goodness. It was just a continual series of frustrations & "here we go agains".

One of the frustrations was the "canicule" which seemed to go on forever. Unprecedented heat in the Gard region made it hotter than normal, but I'm sure you've all had the same problem wherever you are. For years, we've raved about our view of the mountains, the green hills in front of them, & the olive plantation we overlook. Instead of multiple layers & shades of green, now we look at brown, brown, & brown.

It looked especially brown when we returned from a weekend of rain in the lush Loire Valley in late June. The contrast was extreme, & pushed us a bit towards facing our realization that we should consider changing our summer plans. We found a realtor we liked, & started moving things around to switch Les' first floor office space to a master bedroom. This seemed to work because on our return from our next trip (to England,) we had a solid offer, & signed the "Promise to Buy/Sell" before we took off for Greece. If all goes as planned, the new owners will take over some time in late October or November. (It takes quite a while to sell a French house.) They intend to turn the house into a holiday rental, & encouraged us to leave all the furniture & furnishings. This suited us perfectly.

Thankfully, the Loire Valley trip was one of 3 really interesting trips this summer, & enjoyed very much. However, traveling post Covid is much more difficult & frustrating than it used to be. For both England & Greece, airline & train travel proved to be full of frustrating delays & mishaps. We discovered that you can't really count on time-tables or luggage delivery, & have to do your best to be ready for last-minute changes and/or rerouting. Even our back to the USA flights were a headache. Thankfully we did arrive in Chicago somewhat on time on Tuesday, August 30, & back to SC on Sept. 4. By now, we are settled back in to life in South Carolina, & happy to be here!

Another travel hazard--you also can't count on NOT catching Covid. We got lucky, & tested positive AFTER we returned from Greece, instead of BEFORE. Talk about timing! We had some serious house purging to do, & spent our time sorting through all the stuff we'd acquired over our 10 summers in France. So many memories!

We have LOVED our time here, & still think France is a wonderful country. However, each summer we realized that some of the unique, old-fashioned things (like accordian concerts, classical music events, & intriguing events (like a "multi-era reenactment featuring French history through time) were giving way to rock concerts & bigger & noisier "fêtes". (This year's Villevieille fête, which consists of running bulls through the streets, loud music, & cars from everywhere lining our streets ran for 4 nights instead of 3). The art exhibitions, once coordinated throughout all France's many & excellent museums, were more localized, & not as spectacular. And even our favorite places had lost some of their charm. I think it's the inevitable change of popular pastimes. As we get older, the young people have a whole new set of favorite things to do.

And of course, a lot of this has to do with Covid. We lost our French summer of 2020, but like everybody else, we figured out a way to enjoy ourselves in a new way. We managed to travel carefully in the US with masks, & enjoyed 2 weeks in Chicago with family, & continued with a super road trip out east to Harper's Valley & the Civil War Battle fields. We now realize that spending 3 months here in France has prevented us from pursuing other destinations. It's time for a change, & we are ready for it.

We hope to be back on this blog next summer, with yet undetermined destinations. But we know our wanderlust will point us somewhere new & engaging. We have a lot of places on our list!

In the meantime, summer is over & fall is here! We hope you all enjoy & embrace the cooling temperatures & the joys of autumn, wherever you are.

All the best,
Elise & Les