Back home again...

April 2nd, 2009

I wanted to arrive at CDG early enough to catch the 7:25 train to Montpellier. I used Rail Europe to purchase my “Anytime, Anywhere” France pass (which sounds more like a service Elliot Spitzer would be in need of), and once I cleared customs (hah, “Cleared” is the wrong word…there wasn’t a soul there when I arrived, not even inspectors) I made short work of the short walk to the train station in CDG. I was trackside by 7:10 with my International Herald Tribune touting the economic summit in London and the handsome and intelligent face of the US President on its cover….thank God some things do change.

But I never read the paper. I got on the train, saw to my bags, sat down and nodded off. I remained that way until we passed Lyon and then I got nervous that I would sleep through my stop in Montpellier so I stayed awake gazing at the rain outside in a state of near exhaustion. We arrived about 10 minutes early at 11:35 am into Montpellier and I hauled myself and my baggage up to meet Christian, who was picking me up.

By 12:30 I was sitting with he and Corinne over a hot lunch and planning the rest of my day which included at least a few hours of nap time. In the rain that would have been conscionable but by now the clouds had cleared and in their place was nothing but warm Mediterranean sun. So, first some provisioning in Sommiere. I thought. Driving to and from Sommiere I could feel the fatigue creep through me, into every muscle and fiber. By the time I reached the farm and opened it up, leaving the door open to ensure a good airing, I was running on fumes, despite the glowing sunlight. I finally lay down at 5:00 pm for a nap that had seemed a long time coming.

I woke at 8:00 pm and made my way to Christian and Corinne’s for dinner where we spoke of the work to be done this week and who I should be seeing. It all went by in a flash and by 11:30 I was home in bed again with no thought of reading anything. Still, a few pages of “Travels with Charlie” by John Steineck saw me to sleep.