Driving to Spain
Just in the car
Up we go!
Hmmm, where are the mountains???
Aha! I knew they were around here somewhere. :)
Wow.
Wow.
You have got to be kidding me.
Is this real?
I don't think it is....
A hiker's lodge in the snow
Family picture <3
If I haven't given a thorough description of Guilhem's personality by now, this picture pretty much sums it up. XD
We only hiked around here for a few minutes just to see the snow. Then we got back in the car and headed a little further inside the boarder to find a Spanish market where Lionel and Christine could stock up on gallons of cheap olive oil and Muscatel.
I found the piment peppers!!
You know you're not in Kansas anymore when.......
=)
After shopping a little we drove a tiny bit farther to find our lunch spot: a lake that was surreal in its enchanting, fairy-tale-like quality and its distinct beauty. I could not believe where I was at first, and then I allowed a smile to break across my face at this again-consistant reminder that my life is full mostly of blessings and that here on this journey, the unbelievable happens to me on a frequency I can't grasp- and I have become so okay with that.
I would like to live there. If it isn't a mirage....
Oh no, it is DEFINITELY a mirage
We sat right here on logs and rocks for about an hour enjoying a nice lunch: slices of soft, moist wheat bread smeared with rotisserie chicken pâté (which was sinfully buttery and savory), helpings of taboulet (couscous salad with all the good stuff in it), cups of apple sauce, little lemon gel cookies, and cups of coffee. Yes!! (*pronounced with an Opera singing voice*)
After lunch we started walking around to the other side of the lake to visit that charming village. We ate just beneath the tip of the sign on the left
Beauty.
This town was pretty, quaint, enchanted, and was also the smallest place I have ever been. I think it would take me under five minutes to walk up AND back every single street in the town. It didn't quite seem real, but I loved being in it. Oh yeah, and we saw maybe three other people the whole time we were there.
The town's church
The bells were beautiful
Parts of it are very old. Lionel actually referred to these as "ruins"
The colors of a masterpiece.
Heading back to the car
It was time to head home. On the way, Lionel kept insisting that Christine drive faster (he usually drives, and he tailgates other cars like he invented the word) until she was riding one car to the point of parking our car on top of it. We got to a narrow street where that car started to pull over and Christine wasn't quite able to pass. As the car pulled over, the driver put the window down and waved her to stop. A police officer got out and told her that it would do well to not drive so close; it would benefit everyone if she wouldn't drive like that. Christine was calm and thanked him and all that, but she certainly turned that one on Lionel. It was hilarious.
Also on the way home, we got pulled over by two officers who were doing checks for driver's licenses and license plates. Everything checked out fine and we were able to leave without a problem. One of the officers even waved Christine back into the barren flow of traffic. After the officer handed Christine back her license, she started rolling up the window and said, "merci!" And nearly too loudly, Guilhem added under his breath, "pour rien du tout" (for nothing at all). I almost died laughing.
Once at the house, we all settled in and Christine, Lionel, and I shared cups of homemade hot chocolate with slices of Lionel's sweet bread. The hot chocolate was made with 4 tablespoons of dark chocolate cocoa mix, a tablet of dark chocolate, and 4 cups of creamy milk. This was all left to heat (not boil) on the stove. It was some of the lightest, creamiest hot chocolate of my life. For dinner tonight we had another fantastic zucchini soup and then shared slices of fresh chorizo, Spanish cheese, bread, and spinach salad. We topped it off with "crèmes" tonight instead of yogurt: mine was a coconut cream. A fantastic day.
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