And before you know it, the first half of the year is over. July is at the doorstep and June has just flown by. Since we spent a third of it on a road trip, it felt even shorter than usual. That road trip through France was something. We got crazy lucky considering June can be a flimsy month when it comes to weather. The rain never prevented us from visiting anything, even if we stopped somewhere for only one night. Nothing was forgotten, at the start of the trip or in any of the places we stopped in. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that everything went so smoothly.
Since I promised to write about each place in a separate blog post, I figured I can simply list the places here. Rouen, Étretat, Dinan, Dinard, Saint-Malo, Saint-Lunaire, Bécherel, Rennes, Mont Saint-Michel and Amiens. It seems like a lot but it was surprisingly alright. One thing is for sure, it was much less stressful than our city trips so far. Every place was either a small town or village. And the big cities felt small because we were mostly interested in the old town, the core of the city. And there were landscapes, so many breathtaking landscapes.
On the whole, some of my lifelong dreams came true during this road trip. In fact, this is a trip Grégory brought up years ago. He knew how much I longed to see the cliffs of Étretat and Mont Saint-Michel. And while it was unbelievable to witness Mont Saint-Michel with my own eyes, rather than only from college literature, I think I fell for the cliffs even more. I could’ve sat there for hours looking out onto the sea. Another highlight of the trip was discovering a hidden path that led to the beach in Saint-Lunaire. It felt like we suddenly exchanged France for Big Sur! The whole thing was unplanned and I was blown away by its beauty.
However, after ten days on the road, it was time to finally come back home. This was our longest trip together and it showed. Because getting back into our routine was no easy task. Slowly but surely, we managed to get back into bike riding though. That weekend we rode the trail around the Eupen dam and enjoyed the wind and the sun. I could tell summer was on its way! I even found peonies in our local shop and took plenty of photos with them. Not a single June ever goes by without peonies in our vase.
We spent the following Saturday visiting four different farms around Wallonia. This was part of the Journées fermes ouvertes, a day when farms across the region open their doors to visitors. We were both looking forward to this and it didn’t disappoint. First of all, we got to pet baby cows and baby sheep, which was probably our favorite part. We even drove in a trailer pulled by a tractor in order to visit the various fields. Plus, we saw a demonstration of border collies herding goats, which was impressive. And lastly, we tried out the possibly most delicious strawberry sorbet ever! It’s homemade at the farm and you can taste the actual strawberries in it. Simply writing about it is making me crave one right now!
I was definitely in need of a dozen sorbets the last week of June because the highest daily temperatures never fell below 30°. Honestly, it was horrible. Even though I remember my childhood summers this way too, I was never a fan of it. Basically, there was nothing to do but read books during the day and take refreshing walks at dusk. And a few dog walks with a Carpathian shepherd from the neighborhood. She was adorable and fluffy and eagerly awaiting us after just one walk!
In conclusion, June was quite possibly the most exhilarating month so far. That road trip was absolutely delightful and I already cherish every memory of it. I’ll miss those never-ending fields of barley and wheat. June, you were wildly generous this year by making my dreams come true. This will be hard to beat! But next month is my birthday month and I get to enjoy it for five days straight together with Grégory!
