TWO Days in Another World and Two More in This One

Sometimes a few miles can barely be noticed, one field stretches out on the hillside much as another, but in the case of our Saturday, miles put us worlds apart from the bustle of Barcelona. We arrived at Saint Exupery airport in Lyon (yes, that Saint Exupery) and within moments of meeting our little VW Golf we were speeding away on an autoroute with all the signage intelligible. The fields seemed lush, cows were white, buildings of stone, clouds rolling in, and a most remarkable familiarity by way of the French language.

We didn't know how to get where we needed to be. We had asked at the car rental and they printed us a Michelin map, much like any mapquest, but instead of directing us to N7 as we wished, it took us to one autoroute after another. But we were happy. We whisked past such beautiful landscapes, rivers the names of which reverberated (like Loire and Rhin) and towns and abbeys likewise - Cluny! The closer we got, the more nervous we became without any kind of detailed map, but we found the B&B chain hotel, checked in, and bravely drove away in the direction of an even smaller target - a local restaurant in a former train station in a very small village, Chatelperron, the town hall of which would be the scene of the actual marriage ceremony the next day.

Happy encounters and reunions ensued - with a late night visit to the country home of our Belgian friends. The day dawned earlier than usual somehow, but we all got up and moving. Delicious local bread even in a lack luster environment.  What can I say? there is no place like France for a baguette. We wandered into the town of Lapalisse, an outbuilding of the local chateau of which would be the site of our fantastical festivities and feasting the next night. Our lunch was very modest and just what we wanted - fresh salads and cold water, a genuine "croc" - as in grilled ham and cheese sandwich - and good coffee.

Then the event of the moment swept us all away. After drinks and cheers for the bride and groom at home, nearly the whole village and twice again as many from Belgium, and the quartet from New York crammed into the small Hotel de Ville (the only official building in the village), where ordinances and laws were cited, vows made, and a marriage officially recorded in the annals of this ancient French place. Then we all walked up the sloping street for a quick tour of the medieval church, now the property of the community, attached to the chateau that now belongs to someone from Paris, overlooking the ancient family burial plot of the original family - that still owns it and uses it for its original purposes!

The clouds converged! Just as we were all arriving at the Chateau in Lapalisse, the skies opened, thunder and lightening! Pouring rain! But not daunted, we crowded into the beautifully appointed hall, each signing a small plaster gnome for the newlyweds' garden. Fun and pranks, in a family style, champagne toasts with a surprising delicacy: sparkling white wine from Washington state!! and a feast that went on until nearly after midnight when the dancing began.  By 1:30 AM the Americans were on their way to dreamland in a beautiful former mill with a purring of running water to lull us to sleep.

Morning was beyond belief with at least 10 fresh cheeses, yogurts, amazing bread and rolls, miniature croissant and pan au chocolat, local jams, well, we overate with delight (all except for the coffee which we all agreed had been much better elsewhere). So with bellies full, memories stocked with fun times, we discovered how to turn on the GPS system in the car and returned by way of the elusive N7 until directed to the autoroute once again.

Good to be back in Barcelona! Familiar with the airport bus, the metro, the walk, the apartment, already with laundry swooshing away, a couple of us resting, others investigating where we might have dinner later... much later ...