Going to Die

We went to Die over the weekend! That is, the town Die (pronounced "dee").
I tried to keep from making that joke when we were there, because that would be such a cliché. I was kind of hoping that we would have a close call so that I could have titled this entry "We went to Die and almost died", but that too just seemed like the wrong kind of joke to make should one of us get hurt or in fact be viciously ripped apart by a terretorial wild boar when hiking through the Vercors mountains.
Die is a small town so we saw what there was early and then made our way to a winery where we sampled the local wine, Clarette, took the tour and then sampled some more wine. We ate dinner in our hotel room with a bottle of wine then went out for a walk and another drink. Die is a really small town, so the walk was cut short and Molly and I found the most lively pub in town. This bar also happened to be the biker bar in town and everyone was very interested in the soccer game on TV. If France did not beat Romania, they would not qualify for the World Cup in South Africa. France tied Romania 2-2.
I find it surprisingthat the first person Molly and I talk to just about anywhere we go, we meet the guy who knows the answer. This night we met the owner of the pub, a great guy who is married to an English woman and wanted to speak English with us. He also was tickled that such a pretty lady as Molly was interested in what he had to say and so sat with us to watch the game and have a beer. He then bought us beer and invited us to play baby-foot (foosball) with his waiter who is a huge fan of the band Motorhead and was there drinking on his night off. This man knew everyone in his bar and when 2 Belgians walked in he introduced us to them... now we have a better plan for our trip to Brussels.
As the night went on this great man told us about the rugby team he coaches, how he hates the cops ("Cops are pigs and pigs are cops," Molly told the man evoking the motto of Teresa McKellar), and how he had to through a drunk out of his bar one night and "give him a punch!" By the end of the night Molly and I were pleased that we were still standing straight and near our hotel.
Upon waking I was pleased that I felt great, but disappointed that the bathtub was just that and nothing more. I prefere showers.
Molly and I went on a 10k hike in the morning and took lots of photos. We encountered an old hunter looking for sanglier (wild boar, who knew there were still wild boar in France!) and later heard odd animal noises echo in the canyon. We only ran into two other people on the trail, no sangliers thank goodness, and spent most of the day in the quiet of nature of autumn.

We had a really relaxing time and for the first time really felt like we were in France! There is something about traveling that makes you more aware of your soundings. Die is a typical French town, we went to market, we stayed in the old part of town, we watched an international soccer game with people who were actually interested in the game and we met new people with whom we enjoyed speaking.
There is a small downside to this trip, however. We may have caught the travel bug! I have a school vacation in a couple of weeks and Valence is Windy. Sounds like a great excuse to leave for a few days!

Photos of Die will come soon!

- Patrick