Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

On the Path

On the Path, shrine in Provence, corey amaro photography

In October Chelsea asked me to do a run with her in Paris this coming March. Since running and I are not friends, I voted for the five mile walk that is offered for those who prefer walking. Since October I have been walking three to four miles a day… haven't lost a pound, though I am not walking to lose weight, but seriously? I haven't changed my eating habits. And I do not feel any differently. Maybe I need to tell myself I want to lose weight and feel like an Amazon woman, maybe that is what I need to do, give myself permission. Or maybe I need to attach three pound weights to my legs and arms. 

I cannot attach weights to myself, that would be brutal.

Maybe I need to walk faster? In Willows where it was flat I was walking a bit faster. A bit. But here it is not flat, I think I should roll down the hills as going up is pure effort.

 

On the Path, corey amaro photography, shrine in provence

 

Three dogs came out of nowhere to say hi, they barked loud enough that if they were speaking English I would have sworn they were telling me off. I noticed their tails were wagging so I tried to take comfort in that. I looked the other way and walked on. 

I should have lost twenty pounds due to fear. 

 

 

French Countryside, photography corey amaro

 

 

An entire field of dried fennel blossoms cheer me. Their crown like heads remind me each season has its message. Next season if I keep this up I should be stronger, and they will be dressed in green and white to sing to me. 

 

 

On the Path, living in France, shrines in provence, corey amaro photography

 

 

Along the single lane road I walk, at the foot of Saint Baume mountain, there are several stone pillar shrines. Each is to a different saint or the Virgin Mary, most of them are over 150 years old. A mile up the silence is deafening. Today I could hear the dew drop from the mossed covered tree branches. Pure gift.

 

 

shrines in provence, corey amaro photography, On the Path

 

 

Of course the occasional car comes barreling down the lane causing me to curse in front of the shrines and breaking the spell of the dew drops. But the quiet puts me back on track in more ways than one.

 

 

 

Saint Lazarus, shrines in provence, corey amaro photography

 

Do you have a path that you take to center yourself? 

 

French Countryside, photography corey amaro 

 

Heading home, downhill, snuggled up between the foothills covered with scrub brush, oak, wild lavender and thyme I beg it not to rain on my walking parade.

Comments

15 responses to “On the Path”

  1. Laurie SF

    Congratulations on your commitment of three to four miles a day that’s a win itself! If you want to drop a clothing size or two (not that you need to because you are beautiful and svelte) increase your speed with a power walking like technique ‘heel-toe, heel-toe, with pumping arms at a ninety degree angle’ pounds will melt away and your heart will thank you for it.
    As for those cars barreling down the road, add some hip sway. Cars will slow down real quick.
    Whistle, whistle.

    Reply
  2. WR

    I admire your committment… V. and I went for a walk three days ago and had to cut it short, black ice and ruts everywhere. We weren’t walking so much as shuffling trying not to fall.

    Reply
  3. Irene Thomas

    What a peaceful path, and oh those scary cars on the winding roads with no shoulders. Take care! Walking in itself, those 10000 steps a day, is the best thing we can do for our health no matter what our weight, and you look fabulous right now. How about some more photos of yourself? I love to see what you wear in sophisticated France. Do you dress “down” at Willows? Black and white and red is so impeccable! My favorite was the photo of you on the church steps in muted green and red and mustard. Or was it a dream….Your photos are so dreamlike, a daily inspiration, and coupled with your words, they take me away. Thank you for your wonderful blog, Corey.

    Reply
  4. Marilyn

    Your “walking parade” is more soothing and beautiful than any place I would walk here. I just walk in the neighborhood, look at their yards and gardens, then maybe walk by shop windows. Isn’t it frustrating when you think you should be loosing at least a couple pounds and nothing is shed? Good luck with the walk.

    Reply
  5. cathybockel

    Some route!

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  6. Lyn

    What a beautiful place to walk, I don’t like going up hills either but i love the downward stretch home.

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  7. Robyn

    Middle age & menopause Corey, makes it difficult to lose weight. Remember your eat less move more? I think I must get back to that!

    Reply
  8. Sue Tripp

    Wow, I haven’t blogged for along time but tonight felt so inclined. Just wanted to congratulate you on walking. It’s the best exercise we have. Don’t worry about losing weight…your muscles are bulking up and adding weight, when they have reached their fitness level, then the other weight will start to be used up. Just notice how your clothes fit and don’t weigh yourself! Eat less, walk more! You have a beautiful place for your walk. I have a trail across the road from me here in the Calif. Sierra Mountains. It’s an old, abandoned, narrow gage railroad that was used for the lumber industry. It’s mostly level and most of the old ties have been removed. It has it’s ups and downs but it’s safe from cars and the views of the North Fork of the Tuolumne River are beautiful! We have occasional rattle snakes and mountain lions sometimes are sited, but I’ve never seen either. It’s a favorite place for early morning walks and evening walks so there are always people.

    Reply
  9. Leslie in Oregon

    “I noticed their tails were wagging so I tried to take
    comfort in that. I looked the other way and walked on.”
    Corey, just think how crestfallen you left those dogs. They were wagging their tails in hopes that you would pet them or at least look at them and address them in a friendly tone. I don’t know what happened to cause you to fear dogs, but I hope that that fear somehow dissipates so that you can begin to enjoy what dogs can offer. Maybe learning what to do if you encounter a truly ferocious dog would help. That helped me when I was 7 and had to walk past a big, untethered German Shepherd who, at least in my eyes, menaced me every day on the way home from school. Best wishes.

    Reply
  10. Sue Morris

    You are doing well with your walking…..I wish that I was walking around where you live….the scenery sounds and looks absolutely breathtaking and lovely……one day, one day…..it is on my wish list and in my drawer of dreams.
    PS. I would love to buy one of your lovely postcards please but I cannot find your email address….can you please send it to me at….susanawee@gmail.com. Cheers for now.

    Reply
  11. Linda P.

    Even though I need a cane, I walk 2-3 miles every morning, accompanied by my huge (90 pounds) dog. He needs the exercise, and I feel safer with him on a walk in which I’m sometimes trailed by coyote or encounter rattlesnakes. I obviously love dogs and especially big dogs, but even I am cautious around an unknown dog unless its a labrador or golden retriever who comes galumping up to me, barking and somehow grinning at the same time, bouncing around in that loveable, goofy way they have. Most other barking is just a dog saying, “Hey, just letting you know this is my territory, but you’re welcome as long as you realize that fact.” However, a wagging tail does not always mean a dog wants to be approached. You do much better to look at the whole dog. Is the fur between the dog’s shoulders’ raised? Is his posture stiff? Are his ears pinned back? If you see those things, the tail wagging is not likely a sign of friendliness but rather is the dog communicating some other emotion. And I’m always extra cautious when there’s a group of dogs.

    Reply
  12. Pam Norwood

    You go girl!! So proud of you for making this commitment! Precious memories you will make with Chelsea….etch them on your heart…………

    Reply
  13. Deborah

    Beautiful post! After working out in the gym for several years, I never lost a pound til I went gluten free.

    Reply
  14. amylia

    I admire you for walking so far daily. I have such a hard time when it is cold out. You have a gorgeous place to walk. I can picture it so clearly, even without the gorgeous photos, just your gorgeous words. This poem came to mind as I read your words:
    Winter Grace
    by Patricia Fargnoli
    If you have seen the snow
    under the lamppost
    piled up like a white beaver hat on the picnic table
    or somewhere slowly falling
    into the brook
    to be swallowed by water,
    then you have seen beauty
    and know it for its transience.
    And if you have gone out in the snow
    for only the pleasure
    of walking barely protected
    from the galaxies,
    the flakes settling on your parka
    like the dust from just-born stars,
    the cold waking you
    as if from long sleeping,
    then you can understand
    how, more often than not,
    truth is found in silence,
    how the natural world comes to you
    if you go out to meet it,
    its icy ditches filled with dead weeds,
    its vacant birdhouses, and dens
    full of the sleeping.
    But this is the slowed-down season
    held fast by darkness
    and if no one comes to keep you company
    then keep watch over; your own solitude.
    In that stillness, you will learn
    with your whole body
    the significance of cold
    and the night,
    which is otherwise always eluding you.

    Reply
  15. Ana

    I wish I could train with you and then join you on your walk. Keep going it will get easier, you have a beautiful, scenic walk, I have to walk around London, not so scenic in a concrete jungle, although at times you can come across a hidden gem. Good luck. Ana

    Reply

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