Yesterday was a slow, quiet day, catching up on the usual silly things and planning out the rest of my journey here,making reservations, etc. Then a lovely walk in hte forest near the ancient indigenous ruins again. The forest really does feel enchanted, like walking into a chldhood fairytale. Then a late night run through the rainy night to Nimes to pick up Diane and pick up our train tickets. Everything is a learning prcoess and we manage to make every possible mistake! We have done som wild things, like driving into a lane getting off a "motorway" that only accepted credit cards (European!) and then having to back up and get severa lanes over to pay in cash, only to realize that the earlier machine hadeaten  our ticket and cars lining up behind us, etc. Whoa!
Wonderful to have Diane here and she has turned on the heat. What a relief. I have come out of frozen mode. The first day of a week of rain. Wandered through Anduze buying food for a feast with friends. Diane is a gourmet cook, Coral and I chopped and cleaned like good sous chefs for several hours while Diane cooked and something outrageously delicious appeared. Discovering new foods--quinces and giant wild mushrooms--and. . .    Then off to dinner with a group of Welsh and British friends. Lots of fun. The group included two professional walking guides who take groups all over, including the wild mountains of Georgia (Russian). Heard all about the French certification program for guides, hugely arduous, including 10 days of snow time in the Alpes, learning mountain rescue and survival techniques. I love the superfluid mix of peoples and cultures that has arisen since the Eurozone was established and Europeans can live and travel anywhere in the zone.
Found out that the south of France (Camargue area) has a Lakota community, descendants of  the people who came over here with the Buffalo Bill show and decided to stay. Amazing!
Tomorrow we visit Diane's friend Andre who studied with a Lakota man and has a pipe. Also amazing. He is also a gourmer chef. More outrageous food on the way.

Thursday night. Where did the time go?
I will have to retrace our steps all the way back to Sunday. Sunday's highlight was an early birthday celebration for Kathryn. It turns out that our favorite restaurant in all of France so far is right in our little mountain town of Anduze. Fantastic vegetarian food. Each day something different. . .at least 5 different delicious vegetables creatively cooked on each plate and looking beautiful of course. Then we took a train ride through part of the Cevennes mountains, crossing gorges and clear rivers. This would be a heavenly place in the summer, with endless mountain hikes and places to camp and swim.
Monday, we drove Kathryn to the train station in Nimes. She is greatly missed! Then Coral and I drove to Arles, once home to Vincent Van Gogh and the site of many of his paintings. I tried to follow the tourist route from site to site for his paintings, but gave up. Let's just say that the light there is special and spectacular and it is  easy to see why Van Gogh loved it there, between the light and the Rhone River. Arles is a wonderful town, with absolutely no straight lines. Round and round we wandered through the ancient and beautiful circular streets, always aware of the sky, the light, the soft clouds, the water. It is one of my favorite places so far. And how I love Van Gogh!
Tuesday was a rainy day. The moisture so thick in the air, I felt like I was drinking it. The streets of Anduze were totally deserted. We walked here and there in the drizzle and then home for a quiet day.
Wednesday, we went to Pont du Gard and Avignon. Pont du Gard was a place of perfection. Some- times the way that the water (here, the crystal clear river) earth (cliffs and riverside) and heaven (soft clouds) meet, is almost too exquisite for words. There are many wonderful hiking trails there along the river and up the cliffs and we may go back. . .but we are in for a lot of rain. There is  a museum there  which shows how the Romans built this enormous structure (the biggest aqueduct they ever constructed), most of which is underground, carrying water from the town of Uzes to the city of Nimes. The engineering is so brilliant and precise. I still am awed that they could construct this system over a thousand years ago.
Then, we drive to Avignon, another lovely city, and once the home to French popes. I love the Medieval architecture and am jealous of the women who got to wear beautifully embroidered and colored long velvet robes or dresses. I want one. We looked at everything from the outside as there are many entrance fees and we had already paid quite a lot for Pont du Gard. It was good enough, tho we may go back.
Yesterday and today were warm, sunny and gorgeous,., which is fortunate, becos we have lots of rain coming. We went to the outdoor market day in Anduze. Such lovely food, fresh from the earth. People here really live so close to the earth. I enjoy that.  A hike through the woods  in the afternoon, and lots of laundry, taking advantage of the sun to dry it.
Diane comes tomorrow and we will meet her friends, including a French healer who studied with a Lakota medicine man!      

Each day is so rich. I know I am leaving out much, but I hope you at least catch a flavor of the miraculous flow of gifts that each day brings. Friday, cold and cloudy again, but off we went to the Cathar castle of Montsegur.  Incredible climb to the top with spectacular panoramic views from the castle itself. It seems almost impossible that people built this place that felt like an eagle's domain, much less lived and worked there. The whole history of the destruction of the Cathars by the Catholic church is too terrible to tell. You can explore it yourself if you are interested.
Then we went into the town below for lunch at a most charming place, with Medieval tapestries and a garden full of delicate but brilliant flowers.  The Pyrenees were the fantastic background and they are already dusted with snow.
Then our wonderful host Steven took us to a grotto, known only to a relatively few people. All the journeys look short on the map, but the roads wind and wind through the most beautiful country. Rolling, winding, endlessly green. The grotto had a beautiful statue of Mary Magdalene in it, that conveyed as much about her sweetness and humanity as her sacredness. People had left candles and flowers. A special place.
Then rolling and circling to the tiny town of Bernac, where we met friends of Barbara & Steven. What generous, gracious and totally lovely people! They cooked us up a fabulous feast and we all talked and laughed for hours (half in French, half in English). We all felt like we had known each other for years if not lifetimes and exchanged addresses, emails, etc. One of the special blessings of this trip is that I am actually meeting people and making friends. Every French person I have met is so kind and generous, and at least in the Aude, spiritually committed on one path or another.  
On Saturday, Kathryn & Coral went to climb Mt. Bucherac,  a powerful place, but I was drawn to the town and Cathar castle in Puivert. More on that tomorrow night. Gotta get up early and take Kathryn to the train station. She heads home tomorrow.

Thanks again to all of you who have said HI!
I have missed a few days becos when we got to our new abode in La Hourne, we found that the phone and Internet had been knocked out by a big storm off the Cevennes Mts., which we face. Sind the town consists of only about 5 very ancient farmhouses, it does not appear to be a very high priority for getting fixed. . .tho I think eventually.
We live in a very charming but very old farmhouse. . .thick walls, about 400 years old! It is delightful now but will be cold by the end of the month and only one small wood stove to heat 3 floors. Our neighbors are very friendly and delightful. There is a wonderful wooden terrace in front of the house that faces the mountains where we eat our meals. The silence is profound. Right outside the door are endless trails through thick forest and spectacular vistas over the valley to the mountains. We have only just begun to explore. On Tuesday, we went to another part of the nearby forest to explore the "dolmens," ancient places of worship, mostly made of circular piles of rocks. The first felt like a kiva; the second grouping was in 3 contiguous circles which reminded me of Chaco. We sat with all the places and they were full of gifts. Further down the trail, we found 3 contiguous rock circles around trees. We found there the same spectacular Light that is in the birthing cave in Utah--a place for coming and going. It all felt so enchanted, with memories that felt like something out of the hobbits. . .ancient councils of men and elves.
We tend to finish our days by winding down to Anduze for coffee. I seem to be able to eat all things here that I cannot eat at home without consequences. Very strange.
Wednesday we drove to the Aude, Cathar country. It is so beautiful here; I barely have words for it. After getting lost in Narbonne and then Carcasonne, we made it to the home of Stephen Marcus and
Barbara Kroll, two of the most gracious people ever. They gave us a huge feast and made us so totally comfortable. A million thanks. They also helped us figure out the terrain and find some of the many local treasures. We would have had a hard time without their aid. Today we went first to Renne le Chateau, which for me was a place of total perfection. The physical beauty of the town, the spectacular vistas, the gently meandering streets and most of all the little church, where Mary Magdalene is honored. Kathryn, Coral and I all spent a long time there, with our eyes closed. Went back a couple of times. I could have spent days there. I feel like I was given the gift I came to France for and I am very grateful.
Then it started pouring, but we went on to Peyreperteuse, the Cathar castle to which I was most drawn. Despite the pouring rain and wind, we hiked up to the castle (after quite a long ride on very windy mountain roads) and I felt so at home there. I felt like I knew every stone. This was truly the one castle I was meant to visit and I feel very complete. Tho I am sure we will see more tomorrow. Nothing compares to these places so high up they touch the sky. They are full off serenity, despite the terrible massacres. Peyreperteuse was known as the "celestial Carassonne.'
Everyone else in the house is asleep, and now I should join them.  
                   

Bonjour!
We finished out our last 2 days in Paris on the museum pass, which means going to as many museums in 2 days as one can manage. Whew! We started at the D'Orsay (Impressionisme and pre- and post- Impressionism). My second visit, but I could never be there too much. In fact, I felt like I would be happy to live there and wake up to all my favorite painters each morning. I got really focussed on Van Gogh again, especially his self-portraits. My sense is that his vision was opening (had opened to) the realms of energy and light, but he just thought that meant he was mad. You can virtually see his  head pressure in his self-portraits. Going to Arles while I am here for sure. Long walk.
Then we wandered in Rodin's gardens. The sculpted plants intermixed with the wild collections of beautiful flowers--his powerful bronzes--the day in general--clouds and  light playing to perfection in the sky. All perfect. Turns out that the beautiful building there that is now a museum was once a church school for the daughters of the elite. It was shut down and taken over by artists, including Rodin, who had studios  and  living quarters there. (Isadora Dunan, Jean Cocteau). The carefully sculpted gardens went wild, which Rodin apparently loved. The whole thing was about to be shut down and bought by the city, but Rodin fought to keep it...et voila! We can enjoy it today.
Finally to the Louvres (which I said I would never visit again--Ha!). Went happily throught the endlessly graceful (how could they carve all that flow into stone?) and sometimes huge and powerful (especially Athena) Greek & Roman sculpture. Felt very fulfilling to wander there. Then to the grand rooms of Napoleon III. The dining room for about 50 people was my favorite. Beautiful paintings (of the hunt) everywhere including the ceiling, of course; gold everywhere and cupids holding  up the fantasticly huge and sparkling crystal chandeliers. Long, magical walk home along the river. So warm. No one in Paris goes to sleep until 2 AM at the earliest.
Museum day 2. . .the Cluny (medieval). I love that whole period (They got to wear beautifully colored velvet robes, yum. That's  for me!) . Loved the building perhaps more than anything in it. The ceilings with geometric patterns of arches  flowing from central pillars. The unicorn tapestries were closed, unfortunately, but others depicting the very nice life of the elite were still there. In this period they depicted as much about their delightful lives, hunting, romancing, bathing, playing in the woods, as all things religious. Finally, walking, walking, walking, across the river to the Pompidou, which was largely closed, so we had ice cream instead. At that point, it was a good tradeoff.
Yesterday, a travel day to Numes. Things went quite smoothly until we started driving to our hotel. We got 2 hours worth of lost. But the place where we are staying is so lovely. A refurbished ancient family estate, well outside the city. I so love Paris, but it is good to be somewhere quiet. I slept like a log. On Sunday, we head up into the mountains, my abode for the next 2 months.    

Well, today I took off on my own. My travel buddies took off to Versailles, and, as with last year, I had no urge to go. I needed to get back into my own personal rhythm, off the tourist rhythm and just enjoy Paris--which I did. I just wandered, which I love to do, discovering new streets, new enchanting configurations of architecture and trees and cobblestone and shops and endlessly curving small streets. Sent time in the Jardin Luxembourg again (it is very close to where I am staying)  and did a very Parisian thing; I just sat and enjoyed the beauty. I was filled with a deep sense of the perfection of things. Such a wonderful feeling. Also observing the perfect ways that human art balanced with Mother Earth's art in the parks to create so much beauty, peace and sensory richness.
The sky was so soft tonite. Walked along the river and took a zillion photos, because the sky and clouds and water and bridges and buildings all came together in such exquisite ways. Still haven't figured out how to share the photos. I'll have to share them all at once when I get home and on my computer.    

Bonjour, mes amis!
Thanks to those of you who have let me know you are enjoying this, because it is a discipline to write regularly. On the other hand, it helps me remember what I am doing.
Yesterday, we spent more time contemplating with the French queens in Jardin du Luxembourg. Quite fun! Then lunch (alas, the first failure in French food. . .kinda yucky). Kathryn & I went to explore Montmartre in a more thorough way, following the guidebook instructions for a change. We found Van Gogh's Paris residence. . .the one he shared with his brother. An interesting neighborhood. Sleaze mixed with an art energy that holds on. This was the same block where the first cancan place existed and the famous Chat Noir, artist hangout. The buildings were beautifully preserved and maintained: the intricately carved balconies with potted geraniums, big windows, leafy streets winding upwards always beckoning you to explore and explore. One could feel what a thoroughly social and delightful place it was to live at the time of Van Gogh.
Climbing and zigzagging upwards towards the magnificent heights of Sacre Coeur, we found more enchanting places. . .Place d'Abesses, a cobblestone enclave with merry-go-round and the only Art Nouveau  church in Paris (maybe anywhere), a whole new take on stained glass. Rosetti in stained glass. Kathryn had a wonderful communion there with St. Theresa de Lisieux, whom she prayed to as a child. Winding and climbing more through cobblestone streets and gardens, we came to a magical spot, where Picasso and others (Modigliani and others) had their studios, many in this one building that was designed like a rabbit warren.  Fabulous views of the city there and such a sweet feeling. Around the corner, more 19th century studios. What a wonderful feeling this area has. The center is a cobblestone circle, with maple trees scattered throughout. Around one more corner, and we came to the home of Erik Satie. What fun it must have been to have all these brilliant beings as neighbors!
Finally, to Sacre Coeur, which continues to feel like home base for me in Paris. It feels like being held in God's heart when I am there. And with that strength, I go out into the world and bring that love with me to share.
Finally, an evening boat ride on the Seine, and watching the lights ofParis come on, a magical time of day, light on the buildings, light on the water, dancing, the Eiffel Tower all lit up sending its beacons over the city.
Sorry I can't seem to transfer the photos here. . .