The sky was bright and blue both Saturday and Sunday. I went on several long bike rides and feel like I am really getting a sense of the surrounding villages and countryside. Everywhere I look I see rolling hills, cows, stone homes of various sizes and styles, flowers and promise

It’s interesting to me that in Maine I would bike 20-25 miles at a great pace and get off my bike feeling accomplished and well worn out. Here, I can bike 9 miles and feel just as worn out. In fact, my apple watch tells me I have had a better workout. It is the hills. I never really understood the need for gears until I got here. I am working!

On Saturday I biked out to Chatillon-sur-Colmont. It is a sweet town that still uses gas lamps to light up the streets at night. There is a restaurant there that is always closed when I ride by and a beautiful boulangerie/ patisserie that had a line out the door. I’m learning that every boulangerie has it’s own specialty. Some do just bread and pastry, while others play at delicate and fine desserts that are beautifully presented in glass cases.

On Sunday, Matt and Dave (my God-sent neighbors) took me to Fontaine Daniel which is a village about 13 miles from my own. They had never been before but heard it was beautiful and boy were they right. A large lake and mature, ancient, trees make this village spectacularly quaint. There are a few restaurants/cafes there and we stumbled upon an open, tea room/boulangerie that morning.

The smells of the bright, warm boulangerie were overwhelming. While we were standing in line, a lovely older French woman, brought out a tray of the most delicate looking pastry crusted with melted sugar. The poor woman was so kyphotic that she was nearly bent in half. She seemed unfazed by her condition and was so cheerful and kind. The bread looked amazing as did all the gorgeous desserts and pastries.

We sat in the tea room and ordered beverages and almond croissants. I started to feel a bit guilty about having a second breakfast with hot cocoa to drink. Almost immediately though I reminded myself that we only go around once and it was important to embrace opportunity! I’m so glad I did. The croissant melted in my mouth and the hot cocoa was richer than anything I had tasted before.

While we were sitting and enjoying our second breakfast, a gorgeous young woman walked in and waited in line to place her order. She popped her head into the tea room and asked me if I was American or British. I confessed I was American (which always makes me nervous) and she asked me what state I was from. I told her Maine (upper corner near Boston) and she said that was amazing as the man married to the woman who owned the epicerie across the street was also from Maine and named Matthew.

This woman introduced herself to me and explained that she had an apartment in the town but was soon heading to Paris and then New York to celebrate her birthday. Her accent was not French but I’m not sure where she was from. She asked for my WhatsApp and said when she returned she would organize an occasion for me to meet this fellow Mainer. I mean, that is really kind. Would that happen across the ocean? Maybe, but I kind of feel like many Americans are so worried about ourselves that we have become less open to others.

After I returned home, I took Sophie for a long walk around the town and ran into another acquaintance, Debbie, who is the Brit that invited me to join her French class. From 50 yards away, I heard her call out, “Hiya Sarah” and I felt so amazed that someone knew me and recognized me in the short time I had been here. It felt almost staged like a scene from the Truman Show. I am so happy here. I am so grateful.