I spent this past weekend with friends in a small village near the town of Vimoutiers in the region of Pays d’Auge, Normandy. It was a relaxing weekend of sleeping in, cooking in and basking in the sun as it played peek-a-boo with us through the frolicking clouds. We were far from the hustle and bustle of Paris, and although it was a brief visit with nature, we did witness the births and deaths of various poultry residents of the premises and even spotted two young fox pups whose mother may well have been the culprit of the latter. We took a revitalizing walk through surrounding hamlets at dusk on Saturday and motivated ourselves to run on Sunday morning (if not for the fresh country air, in order to burn off the three barbeques of the weekend.) The Normand-style homes (those of us who are more anglo-centric might say Tudor-style), with their manicured lawns and cheerful rose gardens on the backdrop of green rolling hills, pastures, church steeples and fields of wildflowers, are characteristic of a region that is far more peaceful than many of the crowded seaside destinations of Normandy, and still only 2 to 2 1/2 hours from Paris.
Thanks to A & B for your warm welcome and kindness!
