experience: normandy

benefits of making friends with the locals in paris: they may invite you to their country homes in normandy. =]

if such an invitation is extended, you may feel rather inclined to seize the opportunity and hop in a car randomly after class one day to make the drive north. then, if you’re really lucky, you might just have a few of the most relaxing, gorgeous, and awe-inspiring days of your summer. or life, for that matter.

MY EXPERIENCES IN NORMANDY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

--riding in a normal vehicle like a normal person, loving it

--stopping at a grocery store to buy a few days worth of delicious sustenance, including frozen pizzas, fresh fruits and veggies, and some of that mighty fine french cheese [also, nutella… obviously…]

--driving through the countryside, getting all-too-excited about the farmlands and greenery, rolling down the window and smelling idaho all over the place =]

--arriving at my friend’s adorable little countryside cottage in the woods, unpacking for the night, learning that the house is ACTUALLY a seventeenth centurty abbey [built in 1632... the adjoining chapel still stand on the neighbor's property...] !!!

--eating some of the best homemade raspberry and apricot jam that i’ve every experienced in my life, singing and dancing to old show tunes with esther in the kitchen, getting laughed at by our french friend, victor…

--listening to regina spektor’s new album while lying on a grassy hill and staring at the stars, alllll niiiiiight looooong [not a single bit of light for miiiiiles]

--waking up to eat freshly picked strawberries, heading into the local village [which seemed to be more like the opening scene of an old disney fairytale than a place real human beings actually live], eating the best chocolate croissant pastry i’ve ever had [for only a euro!], and enjoying the company of my dear friends =]

--buying fresh baguettes and making sandwiches to pack in a picnic bag for lunch

--taking the two hour drive to etretat, an absolutely stunning little beachside village near a breathtaking collection of cliffs/rock formations... I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU HOW BRILLIANTLY GORGEOUS IT WAS

--listening to the tide coming in over the rocky beach, letting the sun freckle my face

--hiking up the cliffs, finding the perfect ledge/clearing, having a traditional [ahemdivineahem] lunch of bread and cheeeeese

--hiking even higher to the upper-most part of the cliffs

--watching my friends walk down to the beach to nap and play, while i stayed up top to meditate for a while

-- being utterly consumed by the absolute magnitude and beauty of the cliffs, the ocean below, the sky above, the seagulls beside, the wild grass, the flowers, the cute little couples walking along the water’s edge, the sun, the wind [oh the wind…], wondering if i’m actually experiencing reality, realizing that it doesn’t matter because, regardless, everything’s perfect for a moment. absolutely perfect. [in every wonderfully cliché and absolutely perfectly perfect way].

--realizing that i’m a really cheesy human being because the lyrics/song “colors of the wind” from pocahantas won’t leave my head…

--realizing how terribly dangerous it is to sit so stinkin close to the edge of such a high cliff, but not caring… staying put to enjoy the risk =]

--staring at the same weed blowing in the wind for ages, wondering what sort of wonderful choreography mia michaels could make of that movement…

--eventually getting up from my little spot on the edge of the cliff and moseying on down to the beach

--taking a nap in the sun, letting it warm every last bit of me, using the nutella jar as a pillow

--waking up to the sound of a seagull poking his beak at the carton of orange juice sitting next to me

--reeeealllly waking up when the said bird started eating my finger for dinner… !!!
--collecting rocks and putting them in my pocket to take home, like i used to do when i was a small person

--being continuously BLOWN AWAY at how absolutely GORGEOUS the french countryside is… like, UTERRLY blown away

--realizing that normandy is certainly one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been… it feels simultaneously foreign and enchanting, yet absolutely homey and familiar [a mix of eastern idaho, southern idaho, and a fairy tale…]

--driving home during sunset… rolling hills, talllllll grass, old farmers, strange cows, winding roads, the strong scent of freshly cut hay, cozy villages, timelessness, and on and on.

--arriving home in the woods JUST as a summer storm was coming, heading inside to make yummy pasta, showering in time to sit next to an open window, watching the lightning, listening to the thunder and pouring rain, stepping outside to smell the storm, hiding under my blanket in my pjs…

--falling asleep feeling like everything is right in the world, knowing that it is =]

--getting up bright and early, eating breakfast at another pastry shop in the local village, exploring for a bit, seeing more of the countryside while driving back to paris, wanting it to never end… ever…

--reliving it all again by posting this silly blog… being remarkably happy about it in every way…

=]

[if you have the chance in your life to go to normandy, you must. it’ll fill your heart right up.]

[and that’s all, folks.]