A chance encounter

Wandering around the village taking photos, we decided that a cup of tea was absolutely necessary

"Hey, did you graduate from Harvard?" This was from a man sitting outside with a renversé (cafe au lait) and a deep southern accent. Rick's Harvard T-shirt was visible.

We sat in the sunshine and chatted for almost two hours about everything and despite his "hillbilly" and my "New England Yankee" self-images found so much in common.

He is visiting his grandchildren, told us of a flat to rent (beautiful but out-of-budget by 30%) is also involved in aviation and, like me, during his childhood had an adult in his life that insisted on showing courtesy to others.

His travels exceeded both Rick's and mine.

The true richness in life are these moments be it the beauty of our village or the warmth of a new human contact.