by Randy Aflen
The 1-1/2 weeks I spent in France was my most recent departure from the
reality of a Silicon Valley high-stress job. I had a great time & concluded
that that was my best vacation ever (even better than my 16-day trip to
Ecuador which held my previous record by a wide margin)! I dreamed about
paragliding/touring in France for 6 nights in a row after my return - that
should give you a hint of the imprinting that took place in my mind!
The weather in the Southern French Alpes was great: 70 & 80 degree
temperatures every day with only 1 day of rain, but we flew our paragliders
that evening after the ground dried. The scenery was awesome & astounding:
uplifted, broken ridges & exposed, cutaway faces of strata were a
geologist's (and rock climber's) fantasy! One of the guys in our group
chipped out 2 large marine fossils while waiting at launch one afternoon.
Some of the rock formations can be described as spires, towers, narrow fins
& (1,500 ft.) sheer cliffs; much more interesting in my opinion (and warmer)
than the more famous & crowded snow-covered peaks of Chamonoix & Mt. Blanc!
Our group of 12 (10 from the US, 1 local French guide & 1 local French
driver) went to 8 different flying sites where I had good to great flights
at all. I shot 8 rolls of film in 8 days (5 rolls from the ground; 3 from
the air) & often flip through the photos and relive the experience.
Our local hosts taught us the proper lip projection & pronunciation of
"bonjour." After employing this technique, a few strangers perceived me to
be a Frenchman until I couldn't reply to their next tirade. Fortunately,
most educated French can speak English...I went to France with the mistaken
impression that all Frenchmen hated Americans - something I've heard for 2
decades. That may be true in Paris, but in the S. French countryside, the
locals were outwardly friendly, gracious, considerate and a lot of fun!
I used my ATM card twice in France & out popped multi-colored 200 Franc
notes - no problem. The first time was a surprise - I'd never received
anything but green US $20's with my card before. At that time, I didn't
know how many dollars the Francs converted to, but didn't need to until I
returned stateside anyway.
For 6 of the 8 nights, we stayed at a quaint family-owned French villa on a
small farm which had 2 donkeys, 3 cats & coyotes howling in the distance.
The couple who owned the villa, Francois & Dominique, were very gracious,
sweet & fun. Their 2 kids helped prepare & serve meals & their nephew was
our driver (up the mtns. & retrieval at the bottom after we flew around &
landed). Dominique served 5 - 6 course meals of French Provincial food
every night complete with a variety of French breads, wines, cheeses, plus
fresh figs & grapes from the branches above us in the courtyard. It was so
idyllic that on only my 2nd day there, I told Dominique that I burned my
airline tickets back to the US & asked her if I could stay there forever -
she laughed & said in her French accent "Oh yes, you may!"
What's an international adventure without a little toilet humor?...On my
first day at the villa, I was stumped at how to flush the toilet the first
time. I looked for a handle or button on the front of the tank or on the
wall, or a foot pedal or something! For a brief microsecond, I considered
giving up & walking away, but, no, I have a conscience! Finally I noticed a
small ceramic knob in the middle of the tank lid (the same color, so not too
obvious). I pulled up on it & found the secret....Oh, the little subtleties
of international travel!
There are many more countries in the world that I want to visit and I rarely
return to places I've already been to. I will make an exception, though,
for Southern France because I just didn't get enough while I was there.
Next time, though, I'll bring my paraglider AND my rock climbing gear and
fly over on a 1-way ticket!
Bonjour!
