The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Americana in Old Roman Provence

Well, now we've seen everything: an American diner in the south of France, tucked away where you'd never think to look for one. Read more →

New Port

We finally got a gorgeous sunny day yesterday, so we all hopped in the car and went out to lunch. My sister-in-law wanted us to choose a place we'd never been, so Georges found a very nice restaurant on the "new" port in Saint Raphael. The "old" port has been mainly a "big dig" for the past two years, as the city decided to dredge the bottom deeper so that bigger yachts could come in and dock there. I doubt it will all be finished by next summer but I could be wrong. In any event, the old port is not picturesque at the moment. But the new one is: What could be nicer on a late December day than having lunch along such a tranquil harbor? People don't even usually bother taking their boats out of the water in winter, as you can see; that's becuase this port was created with storm protection in mind and there is actually a high sea wall to keep the docked boats safe even during the worst winter storms. I want to remember how that sunshine felt when I was walking around out there. Because the rain is back today. :( Read more →

Into the Woods

We went on a Sunday picnic yesterday up in the hills between La Bouverie and Bagnols en Forêt (the beaches being far too crowded on Sundays). I love a nice picnic but here is where I have to admit that despite growing up in the country, I am not a nature girl. I like the IDEA of nature. I like LOOKING at (and photographing) things in nature. I enjoy the quiet nature of nature. But otherwise I'm not so good with actual nature. The bugs drive me crazy, for one thing: flies, ants, mosquitos, spiders -- they adore me but the feeling is not mutual. And If I were ever lost while hiking (a virtual impossibility since I'd be unlikely to be out "hiking" alone in nature anyway), I assume I'd end up as the following news headline: NATURE-CHALLENGED WOMAN DIES WHILE HAVING HYSTERICS AFTER LOSING HER WAY IN A PUBLIC PARK 50 YARDS FROM NEAREST MALL. That being said, I do enjoy a day out in the country with my family. The French really know how to do a picnic, that's for sure. Le Garçon got to work on the cabane that he and his buddy had built back... Read more →

Oncle Sam veut VOUS!

I enjoyed the time we spent yesterday at the site of the débarquement of 1944, 69 years ago. There were no actual veterans of that action present as I'd hoped (which didn't surprise me as, if there ARE any surviving American or French troops who were there then, they would be quite old today). But there were plenty of French men and women dressed in costumes of the era: soldiers uniforms sporting American flags on the shoulders, nurses uniforms, women in 1940s hats and shoes with white cotton ankle socks (because nylons were really hard to come by). There was even a "priest" in the robes of that period because there was one present to give a benediction during the landings. There were a lot of original Army vehicles and vendors selling collectibles (I came very close to buying an American flag made of wool with the stars -- only 48! -- individually stitched on BOTH sides of the blue field, but he wanted 100€ for it and although I'm sure that may have been a fair price, it was more than I was willing to pay for something I wouldn't even be able to display regularly). And there were... Read more →

Up on the Roof

I just love the red tile roofs you see all over the south of France. Then, when you toss in the colors of the painted stucco -- golden yellows, pinkish reds, sunset oranges -- it just warms you right up, no matter what the weather. Read more →

Gorgeous

Doesn't get better than this. Read more →

Making waves

Can I just say... that it has been a LONG time since I had sand wedged in places where sand should NEVER be on an adult female. There were actually decent WAVES on "Melon Beach" today. Which normally never happens, because the Mediterranean isn't the Atlantic, but we had bad weather yesterday and today there was a lot of leftover wind whipping up some surf. And some of that surf actually knocked me on my can-can! I think I was maybe 16 the last time that happened, back home in NJ, down the Shore where there are some serious waves happening. Too bad the Garçon missed my graceful wipe-out (he was too busy wave-jumping and diving himself) but Georges and I had a good laugh. Took me forever to get all that sand off me in the shower tonight. I felt like a damn contortionist. Tomorrow we're going to a beach with no waves and where the water is so salty that you can float VERTICALLY without moving a muscle. Yes, I am officially old enough to NOT want to spend 30 minutes digging sand out of my nether regions. Read more →

And rain will make the flowers grow

The météo promised us some bad weather today, and it delivered on that promise. I'm not minding the cooler air at all, and even the boy's tennis lesson -- which we thought was cancelled -- was suddenly reinstated by the availability of a covered court. I'm planning a big nap later today, if this weather keeps up. Or even if it doesn't. Read more →

A whole lotta nuthin'

We're doing nothing on this vacation. And it's wonderful. Well, not "nothing". The garçon is taking a morning tennis lesson every day this week (and maybe next as well). Georges celebrated a birthday yesterday so we made a nice little party (where he cooked the dinner because he wanted magret de canard) with champagne, a light but rich cake made with merengue and an almond praline cream, and a few little gifts. We go to the beach for at least a couple of hours in the afternoons, but it's been pretty hot so we've been going at the end of the day, after 4pm. This is a typical day: We sleep as long as we can (tennis lessons are cutting into that a little on the weekdays), eat breakfast, hang around the house doing nothing much, eat lunch, take a siesta, then go to the beach, then eat dinner. Then if we have any energy, we watch a couple of episodes of "Mad Men" (we finally discovered it a few weeks ago and we're totally hooked; just started Season 4 so DON'T TELL US ANYTHING.) There is a lot of pastis. This is Provence, you know. A lot of our... Read more →

Travels and Tribulations

Along the Côte d'Azur near Saint Raphael We returned home from Saint Raphael last night and had a very quiet and peaceful trip on the train; in fact, we had the whole back of the train car to ourselves until Avignon when only one young woman got on. For once, there were no screaming babies, people with cell phones ringing or loud music blaring from crappy earphones, or dogs whining. Just quiet. It was lovely. Tonight, Georges is getting on a plane to Sao Paolo, Brazil to attend a huge conference. I have no idea when he'll actually get into his hotel room upon arrival (which is very early in the morning), as apparently the hotel chosen by his organization's travel team is in an area smack-dab in the middle of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix race circuit -- and it's race weekend! No one was apparently aware of this until just a couple of weeks ago, when it was too late to change anything, and it's very possible he'll arrive in town and be unable to check in until many hours later. Luckily he's traveling with just a carry-on. Maybe he'll score a ticket to the race; if... Read more →