Février

2017, France

By Dog Willing Publications

July 3^rd, 2018

We've been to France at least a dozen times, but never in the dead of winter. So last year, desperate for a break from the brutal Manitoba cold, Lisa and I decided to spend the month of February exploring parts of France that we'd never seen before.

In February, Manitobans agree to enjoy a few hours of intense golden sunshine each day, in exchange for hours and hours of darkness every night. In the south of France, things were similar: sharp, raking rays greeted us every morning and fading shards of light joined us for dinner. The difference is colour. Blinding whites, bitter hues of blue, and hints of yellow-gold dominate the scene in Manitoba. In France, a mix of deadfall and new growth provides a palette of greens, blues, reds and yellows, without a hint of white.

And then there's the sky. In Manitoba, it's everywhere. In France, it appears in fragments, but only if you look for it.

I've never understood my love for France. In the heart of Paris, or on the outskirts of Saint-Middle-of-Nowhere I'm a stranger in an alien place that somehow feels like home.