Travel to France, Saillans to Saints-Maxime:
Dates: August 20-26, 2025
Travel came together smoothly. The girls visited the cockpit on two different planes, posed in the pilot seats, and collected Delta plane trading cards. Somewhere in there, our travelers turned happy after their emotional goodbyes to Gili and Atlas.
After more than eighteen hours of travel, we arrived in Lyon, exhausted and eager to start the 2 hour drive to Saillans. Unfortunately we had a mysterious snafu with our car rental and had to change agencies. But on the bright side, the girls discovered squishy foyer seats at Hertz and fell asleep. Three hours later, we were off!
In Saillans, jet lag still had a grip, but Arya wanted nothing more than to see her friends. First we had a lovely welcome dinner with one of her friends from Scout Camp, Suzon, and her family. Then the next day they played at Elsa and Noemi’s house (These were Arya’s best friends while living in Saillans last year). Their mom, Celine, invited both girls to spend the day. The kids pinballed between the trampoline, playground sessions in the village, and indoor games. They also took Arya to an intimate artsy acrobatic show in a medieval tower in the next door town of Crest. We all reconnoitered for dinner, and after several animated games of Twister in the living room, we ate at about 22:45, and we walked home just after midnight. Oof! A fun night but much later than planned!
The next day was off to slow start, when we all awoke at 11. But we rallied so that Elsa and Noemi and their cousin Leanne could come to our house to play for the afternoon. With five girls together, the language gap showed itself. Finlee does not speak French and sometimes feels outside the circle. Arya helps, but it is easy for Finlee to be left out. There were some frustrating moments, but mostly the girls spoke the Language of Play as they roamed around the narrow cobblestone streets of Saillans, chasing cats, knocking on random doors, and whatever else kids do in small villages.
Catherine, Francis’s mom, stopped by to hug Arya and left a bag of treats. The sesame cookies were the standout—the perfect fuel for our early morning departure the next day when we drive south to finally reunite with Manon and her family. (She was the French student with whom Arya did a year-long exchange, where they each spent six months together living with each other’s families).
We landed in the Mediterranean coastal town of Sainte-Maxime, and it felt less like an arrival than a gentle exhale. Their family house sits right on the water, overlooking rocky tide pools that spill into the sea. From the start, Magali and Francis wrapped us in their kind generosity. They cooked delicious meals, shared their water toys like paddleboards, little boats, and snorkels, and created the kind of welcome that left us wanting for nothing.
The rhythm there was simple and luxurious: swims in the calm sea, family style meals around a crowded table, runs along the Côte d’Azur, the occasional workout, and evenings with a book and a bottle of wine amongst friends. But the whole time here was certainly defined by the sea, where some of all of the kids were constantly swimming about or playing on the shore, where Arya and Finlee were ever present with their nets catching fish and crabs. Between the several families present, we had a lively little pack of 5-6 girls ranging in age from 9 to 14.
We could stay here without thinking twice. And yet we had to leave, carrying gratitude for Francis and Magali’s kindness, first in opening their home in Saillans and now in hosting us here by the sea. They have made the start of this sabbatical not just easy but luminous. Ahead lies the Camino. I feel nervous, yes, but also excited. The easy days here will give way to harder ones on the road, but with that will come a deeper sense of accomplishment. The reward will be worth the effort.
Pause and Wander 