The most beautiful place I've ever been

Michel Quereuil goes mountain biking three times a week in the summer and skiis three times a week in the winter. When he said we were going hiking today, he wasn't kidding around. We hiked 15 km in 3 hours around a mountain range and up the tallest mountain in central France, which was about 6,000 ft tall. Apparently, a guide book says it should take 5 1/2 hours. We hiked the first hour non-stop, then took 45 seconds or so to drink a bit of water. After another hour and fifteen minutes, Michel stopped and with his limited English proclaimed "fucking wind" as we both put on jackets. We literally didn't break stride for the rest of the trip. What a bad ass. The top had a strong, bone-chilling wind which couldn't have been warmer than 40 degrees. This lasted almost ten minutes while we were in short sleeves and another twenty or so once we had on jackets. The massive amount of sweat I had accumulated disappeared rather quickly and I thought it would freeze to my head. This may not have been the best decision as I recover from pneumonia. Sorry, mom and Julia. I know you're probably worried.

Some of the views we saw were worth all of that and more. I don't even know how to begin describing this place. After a bit, I just stopped taking pictures because they weren't coming close to capturing what my senses were experiencing together. As a religious person, I looked God right in the face today. What a shame that we're destroying this planet with our excessiveness. It's a good one. We made several animal friends, including deer, cows, wild horses, and a viper that may or may not have been poisonous. We also passed numerous adorable puppies closer to the base of the mountain where families had decided to spend the day. One of my favorite parts was exclaiming "Bonjour!" to people as we passed. You don't have to speak fluent French to get that one right. Sweet. Coming here was a great choice and I'm really going to enjoy relaxing and reading my Kenya materials over the next three days. Dinner is almost ready and I'm starving, so I better go now. Bonsoir!