The French Connection

My friend Nigel runs a yoga retreat in the south of France. I met him in 2000 and every summer I told him I was coming to his retreat. But something else would inevitably come up and I didn't make it. Finally, I sold my condo in NH and had the money with no excuses. So I booked my trip a year in advance :0). And I am oh so glad I did!

                                                                   

Entrance to Nigel's place

I hadn't seen Nigel in 15 years, but it felt as if no time had passed. We had kept in touch with emails and Christmas greetings. I was still amazed at how comfortable it felt to be in his presence. I imagine it is like that with him and a lot of people!

Nigel enjoying a cup of coffee

The retreat was exactly what I expected and more! La Roane (pronounced La-RO-awn) is a peaceful, beautiful, serene hamlet to spend time in. I highly recommend it. Even though it is a hamlet, only Nigel lives there now apparently.

We started our mornings off with some fun exercises with Nigel. He is fun and playful even in the mornings. It was a mix of slow motion stretches, laughter yoga, and spiritual en"light"enment. We did one exercise where we imagined holding a large ball of light and then running that light up and down from our heads to our toes. It truly felt energizing, even if it might have just been my great imagination.

Morning yoga

After exercises we ate breakfast. Then we divided into 2 groups. One group did yoga and the other took a cooking class for vegetarian cooking. In the evenings the groups reversed. Enzo was our chef extraordinaire, and what a delight he was! To me he looked like a cross between Robert Downey Jr. and Danny Devito. Charming and sultry, with fun animated facial expressions. It was so much fun to watch and learn from him. He not only taught us about cooking, but about history of food. For instance he will not cook quinoa (keen-wa) because of political reasons. Apparently the people in Bolivia, where quinoa originated, have to pay outrageously high prices for it because it is exported at a high price. Gotta love a French speaking Italian who lives with passion!

                                                 

Enzo and his animation

Whatever the cooking class made in the morning, we ate for lunch. Whatever the class made in the afternoon we ate for dinner. The food was abundant and delicious! Pumpkin soup, eggplant parmesan, apple tarts, and much much more! Enzo says "the really good chefs use their hands a lot and "feel" all of the textures in the food. It is very sensual and that is what makes the food so good".

                                                                     

Sensual preparations

Between lunch and dinner we had 2 to 3 hours to ourselves. You could relax by the pool to read, nap or go for a walk or a bike ride. One afternoon my friend Nikki (who joined me on the trip) and I went on a bike ride.... through the south of France!! Now how many people can say that? Ha Ha.

Not a bad place for a bike ride

We also went for a few hikes around the area. La Roane is about  0.5 miles from the gorge. We walked around with amazing vista views, with the Aveyron River below and St. Antonin as well. St. Antonin is a semi famous medieval village that has an incredible Sunday market. Made a little more famous by the movie "The Hundred Foot Journey". Cute movie if you are looking for something to watch on a rainy, lazy day.




St. Antonin as viewed from the edge of the gorge. 

We went on a couple of excursions as well. Picnics by the river, and a trip to St. Antonin on market Sunday. We went to St. Antonin on Friday for an hour also, and the disparity from Friday to Sunday was incredible! Few people on Friday, to wall to wall people on Sunday! So much fun to see the difference and feel the energy of a Sunday afternoon there.

Friday

Sunday Market

The whole experience was wonderful. We met some incredibly interesting people as well. An opera singer, a writer for a wine magazine, computer genuises, artists, wiley Welsh women who travel the world solo, silly British men who travel all over to ski, and much much more.

Nikki and I stayed a couple of days after everyone left and got to enjoy Nigel's company when he didn't have guest to attend to. What a treat! We were giving a nice tour of the area, with castles on hillsides, walks thru small medieval villages, and we had coffee with some friends of his who live in an 11th century castle! Coffee was served with gold spoons. Not gold plated, but GOLD. We almost felt like royalty. Nigel has a way of making people feel that way! Thank You Nigel!

There is always so much more to tell than what I can put on paper, so you will just have to go see it all yourself if you can.  www.nigelshamash.com

Now Go Out and Hug Someone!!!