A leisurely breakfast with Dennis and Gloria
A month or so after we came to Provence for our long stay in 2004/2005, we went walking in the Colorado Rustrel with our friend Kevin, his son, and his parents who were visiting from America.
“How do you know Kevin?” his mother asked, as she and I walked together through colorful ochre pathways of the Rustrel. It was clear that our two families were already very good friends.
“I met him on the Internet,” I replied.
His mother did a double take, shocked I’m sure that her married son in France had hooked up with a married woman in America on the internet—and that our spouses approved. As the words came out of my mouth, I realized I felt a bit uncomfortable too. It sounded like something a teenager would say, or a pathetic lonely heart, or someone pursuing a secret life.
But Kevin isn't my only "internet friend,” just one of the first. I now have many friends I’ve met on the internet—people from all over America… and France, Canada, Australia, England, and Italy. We’ve come together through a wonderful internet site called “Slow Travel” that focuses on traveling more slowly using vacation rentals. In addition to being a highly-informational travel website, Slow Travel has a very active message board where travelers ask questions and share information—about travel and life in general. The community of “regulars” is extremely supportive of one another. Some of my closest friends are people I’ve met on Slow Travel.
I've been lucky to meet many Slow Traveler members in person—thirty-four to date… plus spouses and children too. In Slow Travel-talk, we have GTGs (get-togethers) where we connect over drinks or a meal, in small or large groups, on our travels or closer to home. This past January our family was part of a GTG on Lookout Mountain in Georgia, bringing together 19 travelers from Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
This weekend we had another Slow Travel GTG, one that lasted three days! Dennis Michael Martin is a fellow Slow Traveler who has his own love affair with France. Dennis and his wife Gloria are English professors in Tacoma, Washington, who have a house in the Dordogne in southwest France. They spend every summer in the Dordogne and have traveled extensively in other areas of France. What an ideal life they’ve created! Dennis and I have corresponded via the message board and in private messages for several years, and during our long trip he was one of the most faithful readers of my Grand Tour blog. It’s a bit unsettling to realize that a college English professor is reading your writing!
A few months ago I suggested that we connect in person in France this summer. The generous friends who own this house have encouraged us to have guests, so I extended an invitation for Dennis and Gloria to stay with us here for a couple of days. Dennis and I joked back and forth about hoping we'd like each other since we were planning to spend couple of days together, but I was certain that wouldn't be a problem. They arrived on Friday afternoon and left on Monday, staying in the ”gîte” where we had slept when we first arrived.
We had an instant connection with the Martins. They are interesting people and great conversationalists. They know how to relax and savor life and friendships. As usually happens with Slow Travel people, we feel like we’ve known them a long, long time.
Because they know France so well (and have visited this area before), there was no need to dash off on sightseeing excursions every day. We spent most of our weekend together sitting under the umbrellas on the back terrace, enjoying the view up to Bonnieux. Each afternoon when the rain came (which it has—thankfully—for the past several days), we moved inside to drink the pommeau we'd brought from Normandy and continue the conversation. Charley and Dennis went for long early morning walks to Bonnieux and Lacoste, and when we got too hot we all jumped in the swimming pool. We’re definitely people who have embraced the concept of “Slow Travel.”
We did venture to the Saturday morning market in Apt (more on this in another posting) and drove up to admire the views across the Calavon valley from the Fôret de Cèdres. We took them by to see the area where we lived last year and the house we had rented for our six months. After dinner one night we walked up through Bonnieux to admire the view from another perspective at the “table d’orientation” near the old church. We had meals at our favorite spots: Le Louvre in Apt and Le Terrail and Le Tinel in Bonnieux.
It was definitely interesting being with my internet friend Dennis. He knows me—knows our family—exceedingly well because he’s read my Grand Tour blog in detail. And he’s looked at lots of our photos too. I hope it wasn’t a let-down for him to meet the real us!
Slow Travel friends - me with Dennis
“Let me tell you about the most unusual meal we had here at Le Terrail,” Charley said over dinner, launching into one of his favorite stories about our time living here in the Luberon. Sometimes Charley doesn’t remember what stories I told in the blog.
Dennis just looked at me and smiled. He knew all about Le Terrail, our favorite waiter Michel, and the time we ate kangaroo. He knew how much we enjoyed the Apt market, Kelly’s apprehensions before her first day at the village school, and the time we paid 103 euro for the Thanksgiving turkey.
It’s great to have a friend like Dennis who knows me so well, and even better now that we've finally met!
