Tomorrow I have been traveling for two weeks – that feels unreal, because time just flies by and it absolutely does not feel like I have been on the road for two weeks. I have seen some incredible places during this journey and I am going to see so many more great places, but yesterday when I arrived to Chateau d’Alteville in Tarquimpol, Moselle (Lorraine) I was blown away – I found paradise. Below is the route I have done so far.
You know when you sit and plan dream destinations and what you want to see during your trip – well for France I had Paris Motor Show, WRC, local food, and if possible, a genuine French countryside castle / château. We have seen them in movies, we have seen them in photos, and we have imagined what they would look and smell like when we have been reading books. And it is everything and more of what I imagined it would be – the look, the feel, the smell, and it is just so beautiful that I am ready to move in. More photos of this place coming later. To be in this building is already a dream come true for me, but what I did not know when I arrived was that the owner is not only one of the nicest hosts I have ever met (this is a place I want to send my whole family to – next year!), but he is also a great chef… yesterday’s dinner was wild pig from the local forests together with the owner David and guests from all over Europe. This is a French dream.
Tomorrow WRC Alsace starts and I am going to be in the area and go check out a few special stages in some nice areas on Saturday and possibly Friday too. Sunday or Monday I will visit Cité de l’Automobile (Schlumpf collection) in Mulhouse – it is said to be fantastic – and after that it is time for Switzerland. Some of the guests I met yesterday just came from Northern Italy and Switzerland and said there might be snow already… then down to Northern Italy and 15.10. I have to be in Genoa to take the ferry to Olbia, Sardinia. What I will do after Sardinia (I will be back in Livorno 23.10.) – no idea yet. Still time to plan the route after that, now I will focus on the weeks before Sardinia.
Before I left I talked with my grandmother about this trip and at first she obviously thought I am a little nuts for doing this alone. Then when I explained my reason for going I said something like “I am not happy here right now, so I have to go find happiness somewhere else”. She answered me “You can’t search for happiness, it will come to you.”. Either way – I searched and found it, or it just came to me, but for the first time in a long time I feel I am happy with what I am doing. Obviously it is not a permanent solution to be on the road without a home, and probably after this journey I will also appreciate the idea of having a permanent place – a home base – more. But right now, writing from a château in beautiful Lorraine, France… almost feels like I could go on forever.
