We left the chateau with a very nice farewell. Lots of hugs and kisses. I was ready to leave. When I travel, I mostly have that feeling, when it is time to go, it is time to go. Yesterday was that day and I was ready.
A friend from the chateau drove us to Toulouse, the scenic way and it was beautiful along the small winding road through SW France, a great way to say goodbye and move on from our intense three-week movie-making experience. Our friend dropped us off in Toulouse near the bus station and for hours we sat at a café and had a nice lunch and nice French wine and slowly unwound. We talked about how we felt and I cried a bit to let go from the intensity. And then we made our way to the bus station. We took a bus to Barcelona because it is a straight shot, no transfers and we learned our lesson on the way to France, transfers with as much luggage as we have, is not a good idea.
The bus ride was strange and beautiful. Strange because there were about ten people on this huge bus, the driver was super anal about everything, like he wouldn’t let us take our carry-on on the bus, because it was too big, but there were only ten people on the whole bus, and then after six hours on the bus, we stopped at a truck stop for 45 minutes, when we were only an hour outside of Barcelona and the bus driver wouldn’t let us get to our carry-on below the bus, even though our food was in it.….A bit frustrating, but Steven convinced him. Then, he almost left without us.
The ride was gorgeous. We drove through the old part of the Pyrenees between France and Spain. It is harvesting time, August, so the fields were cycling through their life, the sunflowers had seen their peak, which we were lucky enough to just catch the tail end of when we arrived three weeks ago.
The rolling hills were dotted with old chateaus and old red brick homes with blue shutters. I think it looks a lot like Wisconsin although the old buildings and CHARMING towns with tiny streets really makes it a bit better…We drove through the rain and a fantastic lightning storm lit up the sky the whole way. I enjoyed thinking about our experience making the movie and thinking about what is next…
Samia Shalabi is a Seattle based artist & designer, yogi and traveler who has roots in the Middle-East, was raised in the middle-west and is drawn to India. She has a degree in geology, has traveled all over the world with a backpack, and believes in following her dreams. Samia does yoga most mornings, enjoys walks around Seattle, loves to laugh, and daydreams about where to travel next. She is working on a movie shoot in France.
