Sorede!

I have traveled with my friend Diane across the ocean many times. And just recently, I traveled to Warsaw with Barbara and her husband. But it has been 33 years since the three of us (Diane, Barbara and I) have set out to explore some corner of Europe together.

So isn't it thrilling that we should reunite in Sorede?

Now, granted, we could have come to better weather. Rain and low cloud cover in this French - Catalan village? Unheard of! Well, at least not a frequent happening.

As Diane and I drive up to the mountains, the clouds are so thick that you can barely recognize that most perfect view of cascading slopes...





Well, no matter. They will clear. They always do.

Our hosts open the doors to our home for the week...






I look out the window in my room: still hazy and gray, but still so very beautiful...






As Barbara and Shmuel drive up, we quickly dump our cases and head out.






...To the stores before they shut down for the week's end. (Oh! Those familiar trees that line the road to the market!)






And then by foot to explore a bit of Sorede. Oh! That grocer is no more! Ah! A new bakery opened in its stead. So that makes four bakeries here? Or is it five?

We're tired and hungry. We had quite the stormy crossings over the Atlantic. Some of us (me!) didn't sleep. The car ride from Montpellier to Sorede was long too. We just need a fresh and honest meal and of course, the place to go for that is that cafe bar that spills onto the Sorede square, only it's raining. We huddle inside.

There's a soccer match on TV and the men are here to cheer one team, or is it the other? Some kids are in their charge: the young ones play with their smart phones and mimic songs and gestures from video clips of coveted stars...





... while the four of us eat salads with goat cheese and pizzas with veggies and of course there is that local rose wine that flows so freely and cheaply here.

By the time we head home, the moon is sort of peaking out. Might it be sunny tomorrow? I'll bet yes!