I went to the campagne for the first time in a while, but it was probably the last time I will go there while I am here in Bordeaux. As I have expressed before, I love the french countryside, it is by far my favorite place I have ever been. It is beautiful and calming, rolling hills and rivers, small villages with the nicest people. It’s so dear to my heart that I don’t believe I could ever fully express my love for it. This time we (Patrick, Maylis, Mayli's mom, Mayllis' sister, her husband, their daughter, her boyfriend, and I) ate a delicious meal of rôti, haricots verts and the best pommes de terre I have ever eaten. For Dessert we had gotten a bunch of little gateaux from a bakery so I had the tarte framboises which was to die for! After lunch, I was slowly slipping into a food comas so I took my book (I am reading Hemmingway’s A Moveable Feast, which my mom got for me for Easter, thanks mom!) and sat underneath a tree to read. The cat came by and laid on me, purring. It was perfect temperature, on the hotter side of warm, with a slight breeze blowing over the vineyards. The tree was lush and green, but let a few speck of sun light through. After a solid hour of reading, I was obliged to take a nap, so I curled up next to the cat and just slept. I listened to the silence of the countryside, the wind, the horses, the dogs, the grass—it was beautiful. When I woke up, I took a little promenade around the house. It looks so different now that it is spring. Everything is green and in bloom, it all just looks so much brighter (not too mention warmer, when I first visited I had to wear my northface!). My host parents and I went to visit one of their clients in Dordogne (This client also happens to run a family-operated foie gras business, so we got our own little tour of how it’s made! Plus my parents bought a bunch, I guess I will be eating good tonight!). It is beautiful in Dordogne, there is a gorgeous river, beautiful villages, and a chateau where Michel de Montaigne lived in for a time! We started heading back home as the sun was setting and I almost cried. I was looking out the windows of the car and I didn’t know where to look. All of the views were so gorgeous; it was overwhelming. The sunset over the river was beyond breathtaking, and the shadows cast over the hills were glorious. I have no more adjectives to give; no more words to describe the utter beauty of the campagne. I will miss it dearly, but I know that some place as moving as that cannot be forgotten and will not be left unvisited.
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