Fire and Rain with apologies to James Taylor
Normally it is a six to an eight hour drive depending on pee stops and if we decide to have a sit-down meal. We delight in the views of Grenoble mountains, check out all the new solar farms and solar roofs, stop to look at some of the intriguing information at rest stops. There is one wall we especially love seeing in autumn with its incredible red leaves.
Despite all that, we do it so often, we wanted a change. Rick suggested, while we were circling around major construction in Perpignan heading for the autoroute, that we go through the center of France.
So we did.
Around the Narbonne turnoff, the blue sky and the bottom half of white puffy clouds were blackened by smoke. When we opened the windows, smoke smell entered the car. We weren't stopped by the fire but later learned it was in Fontfroide. Some 1000 firefighters and 260 vehicles were battling the 1000 hector (1 hector is 2.47 acres) blaze. The area is a tinderbox with little recent rainfall. No deaths have been reported to date.
On we went and further up the autoroute: in the distance we saw another fire but the autoroute took us away from it.
If one only visits Paris, they would never realize how much free land there is in France. On our trip saw almost no towns, villages or cities just kilometer after kilometer of forests and fields.
We drove over a plateau with bluffs planted here and there rising like some afterthought. Beige fields contrasted to green fields.
We wanted to cross the Millau Via Duct which was built to ease traffic. Some stats:
- Length 2400 meters or 8,070 feet
- Masts at 87 meters or 250 feet
- Weight of the bridge 290,000 tons
It's not the stats, but the feeling of being on this beautiful tribute to man's engineering talent with blue skies and amazing countryside all combined that so pleased us.
Then there were the mountains, the highest being 1100 meters. Small compared to the Alps, but with their own character and beauty. The road was a roller coaster of up and down, but not scary. (Trivia note: roller coasters were a Russian 17th century invention.) As for the roads themselves, like most French autoroutes they are in pristine condition.
Trees, mainly pines, grew so close together, that it would have been impossible for anyone to walk through them without a good machete.
At Clermont-Ferrand we took a right still on a perfect autoroute. What wasn't perfect it started to rain. Sprinkles alternate with a torrential downpour. The wipers had trouble keeping up with the water. The frequent tunnels offered a respite to Rick at least for a few kilometers.
If only the rain could be transferred to the south to put out the fires.
Although I normally fall asleep in a car, there wasn't a moment I wanted to close my eyes. I read signs for Rick. We noticed strange construction around the telephones placed regularly for motorists with problems, talked about writing projects, politics, and many more things. Although we are together almost 24/7, the concentration without functional homemaking type of diversions was lovely. There's no way either of us could ask if the dishwasher was clean or dirty and the hundreds of other little daily things that make up life. This is not a complaint, just the comforts of a good marriage.
A little before two on Monday, we reached our flat, unloaded the car and collapsed into bed. The trip had been 12 hours of a scenic experience combined with the idiosyncrasies of nature.
Despite my 35 years in Europe and Rick's 13, we still revel in the experiences while doing the normal things people do in life. What I hope we never forget is how lucky we are.
James Taylor in his song mentioned sweet dreams. Even being totally knackered, I had sweet dreams.
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