I’ve discovered a spot where I like to go and write, read, journal, or just sit and stare at the mountains. I came across it on my second day at La Muse, when I continued on the path past the church and cemetery. I hiked up an incline to where the path met a track, and after following this for a few minutes, saw a plaque that read “La Croix de Viallele”. Sure enough, there was a cross on top of a pile of rocks. I climbed up and took in the view, snapped a few photos, and vowed to go back.

And I have, nearly every day. It’s a great spot to work- usually cooler and windier than in the village, and completely quiet and isolated. At least I thought it was. I was sitting up there a few days ago, with my notebook in my lap, when all of a sudden a little dog appears from behind the rock and runs over to me. He’s friendly: his entire body shakes when he sees me, and he runs all around, finally settling beneath my legs. I pet him for a few minutes, and as soon as I start to wonder where he came from, he runs off.

Five minutes later I hear a voice calling out (in English): “Megan! Meg Meg! Where are you?” The voice moves closer and then I see a man standing on the rocks to my right, peering out over the valley. He hasn’t seen me yet so I take the opportunity to call over to him, “Excuse me, did you lose your dog?” I nearly startled the man straight off the mountain.

We spoke for a minute, and then he went off to keep looking for Megan. About five minutes after this I hear his voice, this time calling out to me, “Hello, mysterious woman of the rock!” He is more settled now that he’s found his dog, and asks where I came from. I talk about La Muse, he talks about living in the village. He tells me that I have found his very favorite spot in the world. “I never see anyone up here, so you can imagine my surprise when I heard you call out to me.”

Megan runs off again, so the villager follows, calling over his shoulder that I should come down to his cottage, meet his wife, and enjoy a lemonade or apéritif.

I think about how I’ve stumbled onto someone’s very favorite place in the world. I can see why he likes it so much- after all, I saw it once and decided to go back every day.

Do you have a favorite place? Somewhere that you go back to, time and time again?