I got home Monday morning, around 3 a.m. I’m sorry I took so long to write, but I really needed a few days to recover from it all.
The South of France, as I’m sure you can imagine, is a gorgeous and peaceful hub of green mountains and hills, vineyards at every turn, and of course, sun sun sun- and beaches! As for the Paris-South of France drive? Let’s just not talk about it.
It’s been nearly 2 weeks since I’ve landed in France. The internet hasn’t been on my side. Wifi? Even Starbucks has let me down… but I digress.
So. It’s been 2 week (almost)! Whoo! I spent my first few days in Eaubonne, just about 20 minutes from Paris via RER H (metro). I took a few days to settle in with family. There were already plans to spend half of the following week in the South of France, and I. Could. Not. Waaaaaaait!
By Wednesday eve, I was southward-bound to Béziers, a small town near Montpellier, for some fun in the sun. The drive was grueling, to say the least. Waze insisted on a 7-hour commute, but we ended up being on the road for nearly 11 hours! Yeah, we made a pit stop in Tours for a quick visit, but still! At least I was lucky enough to be traveling with musicians to the lovely sounds of Forró, a welcoming distraction.
Sleeping was nearly impossible on the bumpy and twisty roads of L’Averne (A71). The closer we got to our destination, the more difficult it seemed. We reached La Méridienne (A75) and it gave me a newfound respect for my French counterparts. Stunt driving professionals in disguise, they got us out there in one piece, with little to no vomit to account for our journey through the snakelike roads into the South. Bravo, I say. Bravo.
The views were incredible. I tried to capture them for you but photos did nature no justice. Rocky mountains, plains, pretty French cottages nested on hilltops. Just incredible. We eventually found ourselves in Béziers around 7 a.m., and stepped into the most charming 14th century castle.
Our host family was comprised of dogs, cats, rabbits and even horses, as well as humans of course. They were all very kind and welcoming.
Our first day was spent poolside and was followed by a delicious dinner made with home-grown vegetables and local foods. Besides the known benefits of living and being near the Mediterranean, the charm of a French Southern village like Béziers is the knowledge that your food comes from trustworthy grounds. The tomatoes were grown in the backyard, and I kid you not, I have never tasted such delicious tomatoes in all my 20-blah blah years. I don’t even like tomatoes that much- that’s how fresh the food was. I allowed myself to deviate from my meat-free diet and indulged in tasty sausages. I tried oysters again- and yes, I still do not like them, but I’m sure the average oyster-lover would have found these specific oysters delectable.
The ambiance was perfect. The meat was prepared over a brick oven in the courtyard. We sat at a large communal table and passed around plates of veggies, pasta, Basmati rice, and just about everything else you could want to eat. And eat I did. We drank homemade Caipirinhas and locally distilled wine. We spoke Portuguese, French, Italian, and English. We played the accordion, the guitar, various drums, and a peculiar Indian instrument I found quite intriguing. We danced to Forró, French Classics, and even Indian-inspired music.
We vibed.
I absorbed it all, trying to pick up words of Portuguese as I basked in the essence of music that was created For All. It was an exhausting but divine night.
A precious part of this trip is that I am getting to know someone I think will be a very significant part of my life. I’ve been told many a time that I’m too picky when it comes to men and that I ought to be more flexible. I decided instead that I’m perfectly fine alone if my needs can’t be met in a partnership, and I’ve enjoyed that for a quite some time. Now, I’m learning to accept the fact that someone wants to meet my needs.
So far, I like what I see.
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I love traveling with people, but my personality requires a certain degree of independence. I need to be able to break way from the crowd and do my own thing. So, on the second day my sweetie and I went off to explore the nearby Medieval town of Pézenas. Like the rest of the region, it consisted of the narrowest streets I’d ever seen and closely constructed brick houses. We discovered the cutest little candle shop called La Bougerie. These scented candles were made in the shape of scrumptious desserts and other stomach goods (a.k.a. foods), little Buddhas, and much more. We found Le Festival de Pézenas, where wine from various Domaines were masterfully displayed for a “dégustation.” There were delicious dishes available for sampling all throughout the square. We enjoyed an incredibly tasty vegetarian plate followed by dessert: a honey-fest! Honey ice cream. Honey pastries. Honey, honey, honey! If you’ve yet to eat honey straight off the honeycomb or taste locally harvested honey- without all the preservatives and crap in it, then you have NOT tasted honey. It is DE-LI-CI-OUS!
Unfortunately, our evening plans that night were foiled by the Bastille Day attack at Nice, as the French population gathered to mourn and join in solidarity with those impacted. We were devastated to hear of the killings and I am grateful to everyone who reached out to me to make sure I was safe.
We opted for a simple dinner at La Guinguette du Roy in the town center of Béziers. That’s when I discovered a major difference between my Euro buddies and my American self. Guess which plate was mine. We burned off the added calories with a 20 minute dance session in the nearby outdoor club. Was it New York partying? Nah, not at all, but it was nice. I plan on taking a peak at the Paris dance scene sometime this week- keep you posted.
A trip to the South of France wouldn’t be complete without the beach! Our beach of choice was Valras-Plage on the coast of the Languedoc-Roussillion region. The cool Mediterranean Sea did not disappoint. We soaked up the sun and enjoyed the chilly blue waters before making our way to the docks for some boating.
A full house awaited at the castle with friends from nearby towns visiting. As you would expect, oysters, meat, good wine and musical selections were a must.
We left right before 2p.m. the next morning, and once again made a pitstop in Tours for dinner. I then continued my road on the infamous BlaBlaCars, a carpooling service which at first freaked me the fuck out, but turned out to be just fine, followed by a Heetch ride to Eaubonne, where I am residing.
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Southern France, as you can tell, was a delight; a highly recommended destination if you have the chance to make your way over.
I’d like to leave you with some tips and tricks I picked up during my travels thus far. I hope that they will help make your own visit abroad easier and more enjoyable.
THINGS TO DO WHILE ABROAD
- Make friends everywhere you go. Go ahead. Start a conversation. Make a new friend. Don’t be afraid. It’s great to go at it solo, but if you’re like me, there are things finances and lack of knowledge will limit in terms of activities. By staying open to meeting new people, you’ll allow yourself the opportunity to discover things you otherwise would not have, as I did Forró and the South of France, and you’ll make travel buddies for those days when you do not want to be alone. Be vigilant of course, but be a people-person. After all, that’s what travel is all about: connecting.
- Invest in some type of cellular data plan. If you expect to make your way through a country for a long period of time on a prayer and wifi, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you risk heavy disappointed. No need to get a subscription plan in your country of choice, but do invest in a chip such as Free Mobile (20 Euros/month for unlimited data) for guaranteed connectivity, especially for a trip that will last more than a couple of weeks. I went ahead and purchased a Cellhire chip on Amazon before leaving the States and installed it before departing for the South. I ran through the whole thing during my week in the South! Madness. Obviously, I’m switching over to Free Mobile. I used Cellhire in conjunction with apps like WhatsApp for calls and texting, iMessage for non-WhatsApp users, FaceTime for the people I really love and of course Facebook and just good old Safari web browsing. Essentially, everything I need while traveling in a world where every other day there’s some form of insane attack which could cause my family back home to worry sick about my safety.
- Have cash, always. For the most part, you’ll be able to get by on plastic, especially in Europe. But the moment you find yourself in rural areas, away from the big cities, you’ll want the option of paying for food and other necessities in cash. Your card may not pick up at a station/store, or there may not be a credit card machine or ATM machine at your disposition. Be ready and be careful with your money. Do not carry huge sums with you, but just enough for a day’s activity. Leave the rest in secure areas where you are staying. You should still carry your credit card- I personally prefer to pay via plastic so I can have a trail of my spending, but always have a few bills with you as well. Also, be sure to warn you bank/banks about your travel plans so you can actually have access to your money!
- Black and Brown people (and possibly others), carry your passport. As a person of color (sadly) it is advised you keep your papers on you. You never know when you’ll be asked to show your documents to prove you’re legally allowed to be where you are, a.k.a., not an illegal immigrant. This may apply to some Caucasian people as well. Definitely Arabs. Maybe Yellow people too. And Green ones. You get my gist. Thankfully, I have yet to be stopped and questioned, but everyone tells me it happens regularly, so it’s best to be prepared. The world isn’t quite as open as we’d like to think. Martians, you don’t stand a chance.
- Get a taxi app. I learned, after my first experience being “stranded” at the wrong metro station at night, that all cities are not made the same. If you come from NYC like me and are accustomed to stepping out onto the sidewalk, raising your hand, maybe whistling, yelling out “taxi,” and watching that beautifully yellow carriage roll up to whisk you to any place you’d like to go, you’re in for a hell of a wake up call. Taxis do not quite work the same in other countries. And neither do subways. You may very well find yourself lost after hours, with no running trains and no access to a cab. I recommend Heetch and Uber. Uber tends to be quite pricey in France since it’s been successfully taken over by licensed taxi drivers. Heetch fills the gap by working as Uber does in NYC, where anyone with a car can sign up and pick up commuters in need of a ride for a nominally low fare. No taxi license needed. That means you can get home safely, and help the local man/woman say “fuck you” to big business. That’s a win-win in my book. Just remember, Heetch drivers only operate after hours(10 p.m. to 5 a.m. I think) so plan accordingly.
- Think Ikea. French supermarkets function like Ikea- you will do all of the work. No, really. You will have to grab your own items, grab your own bags, weigh your own produce, price your own produce, bag your own produce- essentially the only thing you will not have to do is charge yourself for your groceries- unless you want to. Clearly, you can hear how delighted I am about this. Think Ikea. Just. Think. Ikea.
That’s all I’ve got. I truly hope that this article has helped in the smallest way to inspire you to travel the globe, your globe and see as much of it as possible. because it does indeed belong to you. God created it for you. So go. Discover it.
With all of the Love I can muster,
A-M
A-M's Tea Room 