There are a few things I would like to note on today. First of all, I just got back from watching the 2009 Champions League Championship game. On that note, I would like to refer you back to my post entitled, "Les Personnes et La Culture". Notice the jersey hanging on my wall? Yes, that is mine.
If you read that first paragraph twice and are still trying to understand, it's ok, after all, it is European football.
Onto another subject. Here in the Rhone-Alps regions of France, specifically in the Rhone Valley, there is a mysterious force that comes and goes as it pleases. The people here call it "Le Vent Mistral". Translating to "The Mistral Winds", it is basically a wind current that runs throughout all of France, but decides to get really angry right about here. So, our home being on the top of the highest peak overlooking the Rhone Valley, gets hammered. Last night around midnight the wind started howling, and right now it is still going, non-stop. These winds are well over 90kms/hour at times and can cause some serious damage. For example, someone opened the driver's door on the base van just as a gust came and bent the door the opposite direction on the van, causing significant damage to the side panel and door. My small camper gets thrown around at times, rocking me to sleep (not really). Today I heard that amongst the men here, supposedly once the winds come, bets go around as to how long they will last. Bets can only be made in intervals of three, starting with 1,3,6,9, etc... What I now noticed that I hadn't before is that the tall church towers and other large structures in this valley area are built to allow these winds to pass. Church towers will have spaces in them to provide less resistance. Also, did I mention that at some point last week it was 33 degrees here? That's almost 100 fahrenheit. Well, the minute these winds started, it dropped to below 20. That's a huge difference in a matter of hours.
For more information on the Mistral Winds, check out this link:
Mistral Winds
The third and last subject of today is a little sad, but worthy of making news I guess. One of my friends from Berry, Barbara, lives in Spain. Another friend from Berry just happens to be visiting her at the moment and they are spending a few days in Madrid, starting tomorrow. Well, they invited me to go join them. Originally I was on my way, until I realized that a ticket from Barcelona to Madrid and back would cost about $400. That's on train. Why? I have no idea. Well, I found a plane flying from Lyon to Madrid for a round trip price of 200 euros, but after some consideration decide that 200 euros + food + hostel would not be worth a 2 night excursion. My plans to get to Spain at some point still remain however. So, I will try and do something eventful this weekend, and I will be sure to keep you all posted.
Au revoir
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