This year's trip to France was to be with our dear friend, Sue - the three of us renting a house somewhere in Provence where she could paint to her heart's content and Tim and I could complete our post-doctoral degrees in loafing. Sadly, Sue couldn't make this year's trip, but we assured her we would scope out Provence and narrow down where we will all come, Summer 2016.
Provence is to France what Tuscany is to Italy - the place name everybody recognizes and equates with 'la dolce vita' or life well-lived. It's easy to see why. Provence is blest with a lovely, 'Mediterranean' climate which translates into sunny, dry summers and mild winters. The terrain and terroir (that's French for soil) is perfect for growing grapes, and the towns are achingly picturesque. Nearly every one could be on a postcard. As a result, it's 'the' place to vacation and rental prices reflect it.
We stop in the Tourist Information center in St. Remy de Provence and find a lovely, funny attendant who spends a long time with us, trying to match their TI rental listings with our needs. One rental she dismisses as 'too much' and when Tim says 'What's too much?' she says 2,000 euros - a week!!!! Yeah sure you betcha that's too much - we just want to rent it, not buy it! But I get ahead of myself . .
Our current rental (for 9 days) is in a delightful small town called Eyragues (pronounced Ay-rak) which is equidistant from Avignon and Arles, perfect for exploring this part of Provence. Our host, Patrice, and his wife Laurence, speak wonderful English and are delightful. Doesn't this look like the archetypical Provencal home?? It even has a pool!
Like most Provencal towns, ours has a market which we are eager to patronize.
One of our first stops is at a booth where a young woman is enthusiastically chopping veggies with a device we've never seen.
Got our attention for sure! It's probably made in China, but this gadget is irresistible (won't take up much room in our suitcase) and it comes with the most wonderful vegetable peeler. Now we just need the vegetables . . .
We walk away with green beans, carrots, onions, potatoes, zucchini, pears, tangerines - enough for several meals - and it's just over 2 euros!!
Every meal needs a baguette so we stop at our favorite boulangerie (she makes almond croissants to die for).
Tim is a happy man, in the kitchen, frying up a French delight . . .
Tomorrow, we explore!
Provence is to France what Tuscany is to Italy - the place name everybody recognizes and equates with 'la dolce vita' or life well-lived. It's easy to see why. Provence is blest with a lovely, 'Mediterranean' climate which translates into sunny, dry summers and mild winters. The terrain and terroir (that's French for soil) is perfect for growing grapes, and the towns are achingly picturesque. Nearly every one could be on a postcard. As a result, it's 'the' place to vacation and rental prices reflect it.
We stop in the Tourist Information center in St. Remy de Provence and find a lovely, funny attendant who spends a long time with us, trying to match their TI rental listings with our needs. One rental she dismisses as 'too much' and when Tim says 'What's too much?' she says 2,000 euros - a week!!!! Yeah sure you betcha that's too much - we just want to rent it, not buy it! But I get ahead of myself . .
Our current rental (for 9 days) is in a delightful small town called Eyragues (pronounced Ay-rak) which is equidistant from Avignon and Arles, perfect for exploring this part of Provence. Our host, Patrice, and his wife Laurence, speak wonderful English and are delightful. Doesn't this look like the archetypical Provencal home?? It even has a pool!
Like most Provencal towns, ours has a market which we are eager to patronize.
One of our first stops is at a booth where a young woman is enthusiastically chopping veggies with a device we've never seen.
Got our attention for sure! It's probably made in China, but this gadget is irresistible (won't take up much room in our suitcase) and it comes with the most wonderful vegetable peeler. Now we just need the vegetables . . .
We walk away with green beans, carrots, onions, potatoes, zucchini, pears, tangerines - enough for several meals - and it's just over 2 euros!!
Every meal needs a baguette so we stop at our favorite boulangerie (she makes almond croissants to die for).
Tim is a happy man, in the kitchen, frying up a French delight . . .
Tomorrow, we explore!
No comments:
Post a Comment