My Last Post .....for now

When I first decided to write this blog, I thought it would be a great way to communicate with my family, friends and aquaintances. My memory leaves much to be desired so I also thought it would be an excellent means to journal my experiences. Now I have a legacy with words and photos that has captured my French Adventures. What I didn't realize was the pleasure that I would have writing this blog. Despite the time and some of the headaches publishing (I lost several posts and had to redo them), it has been a labour of love. During difficult times, it was almost cathartic writing about my struggles. It gave me the opportunity to take pause and really think about how I was feeling and what I was doing and seeing. It also forced me to do some research into some of the history about the places I visited which turned out to be most interesting. It really was an incredible life experience and I am so grateful to have spent the last seven months living, studying and traveling in southern France.

My computer/blogging skills are extremely limited and one of the things I hope to do in the near future is learn how to format my posts differently. There are ways to do that to make it more inviting for readers, but my attempts to date have failed. Another thing to add to my "to do" list. 

If you have read my posts, you'll know that I am definitely not fluent in French. That is still my goal.  Now that I am back at home in Edmonton, I plan to seek out opportunities to continue my language learning. Keith, Brian and I have also begun preliminary discussions about returning to France in the late fall to pursue further studies in French. If our plans come to fruition, I'll let you know.

It is noteworthy to acknowledge how important all my new friends that I made in France are to me. Their friendship and comraderie made it possible to get through some very difficult moments as well as have some fun while I was there. Patricia, above all, was my "rock" of support. She is a terrific person and I hope that she will come to Canada for a visit next year so that she can experience some of this part of the world. 

Last, but not least, I want to thank all of my family, friends and aquaintances for reading my blog and for your ongoing support. A special thanks to my dear friend Brian, who wrote to me every few days without fail. Thanks also to Cathy, my mom and dad, Robin, and especially my wonderful husband Keith for your regular contact. I cannot express in words how much that meant to me. I love you all.

Until next time, au revoir!

Paris

This is our final destination before travelling back to Canada. It is hard to believe that "My French Adventures" are coming to an end, at least for now. Although I will miss this beautiful country, especially the wonderful people I have met, I have to admit I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and reconnecting with friends and family.

Paris is a vibrant and magical city filled with so many things to see and do. This time we are staying in a boutique hotel in one of the suburbs south of the heart of the main attractions, but there is still plenty of action in the streets. We have been fortunate enough to visit Paris a couple of times before so we decided to take in some of the places we have not yet seen. Luxembourg Gardens was first on our list. The gardens boast 25 hectares of green, statues, large basins of water, flowers and orchards of apple and pear trees.

At the north end of the gardens, there is the Luxembourg Palace which is the seat of the French Senate. 

Once again, I was struck by the number of people who come to sit and just be. Chairs were set up around the water features and the garden beds so that people can take advantage of the peace and tranquility. It was a lovely spot to spend a few hours walking along the paths admiring the flowers and the trees. We even took time to sit and people watch for awhile. 

From the gardens, we headed towards the Le Marais district. En route we passed by some of the major sites like the river Seine and several of the bridges...

Notre Dame.....

The Hotel de Ville...

 and the Tour St-Jacques.

After lunch, we made our way to the Centre Pompidou Beaubourg which houses the Museum of Modern Art. It took us several hours to to take in the multiple galleries.

From the top of the building, there were some amazing views of the Eiffel Tower...

.... and Montmartre with the Sacré Cœur.

In the Centre itself, there was an interesting photography exhibit by Henri Cartier-Bresson as well as a display of modern art. 

Although I like contemporary art, particularly naïve art, I must admit that some of the modern pieces left me cold. I much preferred the art in the Musée D'Orsay or the Musée du Louvre which we had visited on previous trips. 

By this time, it was Happy Hour so we found a lovely spot off the beaten path to enjoy a cold beverage. On the way back to our hotel, we passed by the Louvre.

Keith had read about a restaurant with rave reviews from the New York Times that was just around the corner from our hotel. Reservations were highly recommended, but we thought we would just walk over and see what are chances were. Lucky us! Even though the place was small and packed, they were able to find one spare table for two. Dinner was superb and included a glass of champagne to celebrate my birthday.

On our last day, we noodled around the neighbourhood, did a little shopping including the purchase of a smart scarf for Keith (all the men here wear scarves) and packed up seven months worth of clothes, books, wine and assorted items. Tomorrow we leave early in the morning. Au revoir Paris! Au revoir France! Merci pour une bonne aventure!

Provence to Paris via Montpellier

Just before we leave Provence, I wanted to show you a few more photos. Below are the gîtes we stayed at in Mirabel-aux-Barronies. Ours, shown below, faced east and the view of the hills and vineyards was lovely to wake up to. 

Greg and Brian's gite faced west and you could see the village of Mirabel from their patio.

Another great view of the landscape in Provence.

An old pont in Nyons.

In less than two weeks, the grape vines were beginning to leaf out. Apparently harvest occurs in October. I'd love to be here then.

These trees, les arbres de judée, bloom right after the almandiers and are so pretty with their deep pink blossoms.

The wisteria also began to bloom while we were here. The blooms last about a month and then the vines leaf out creating magnificent arbors and hedges.

It was an early morning for Keith and me. We had to drive back to Montpellier, pick up my large suitcase from Patricia, drop off the rental car and then hop the train to Paris. Below are my final pictures with my good friend Patricia, at least for now.

Hope to see you again soon. Bisou! Bisou! 

Last Day in Provence

Yesterday, we took our good friends, Brian and Greg, to the train station in Avignon so that they could catch their train to Paris. We so enjoyed our holiday with them and look forward to hearing about the rest of their trip when we meet up with them again in Edmonton. On our last day in Provence, Keith and I thought we'd head west to the market in Buis les Baronnies. We hadn't gone in that direction previously and the countryside was so beautiful. About 15 minutes outside of Mirabel we noticed a pretty hilltop village called Faucon. It was still early so we turned in. What a find! We both liked it more than some of the other places we've visited on the list of most beautiful villages in France. It was quiet, authentic and filled with delightful surprises. First was the boulangerie. As we walked in, we saw a woman busy making a fresh strawberry tart while talking to someone in the back. She told us that all the bread was made by hand by the boulangère who was the gentleman she had been talking to. Then we noticed all the beautiful tarts and biscuits which are also made on the premises. As good as they looked, we only bought a baguette which really was exceptional. Believe it or not, there are significant differences in the quality of the baguettes. Nowadays, many of the boulangeries bring in frozen baguettes made in a factory and then just cook them in the boulangeries. Below are pictures of some the homemade tarts, both sweet and savoury.

Once we left the boulangerie, we took a walk around the town. It was positively charming. There were old ruins with colourful flowers growing out of the walls....

churches and chapels.....

beautiful homes and gardens....

.......spectacular views of the countryside 

.. and animal life. These horses were eating grasses and plants in the front yard of this home. You can see the patio table on the right.

France still has public telephone booths. I haven't seen one quite like this though.

There was a very nice restaurant in the village called Le Laurier where we thought we would stop to have lunch. My entrée was a velouté de chou-fleur with proscuitto and parmesan shavings.

Keith opted for the foie gras de canard.

My plat was cabillaud (cod-like fish) with "je ne sais quoi", but it tasted good.

Keith had the agneau (lamb)with fresh vegetables cooked to perfection, pumpkin purée and polenta.

For dessert, he had a combination of a pureed pear with chantilly in the shooter glass, a chocolate gâteau and a scoop of cherry sorbet on a crushed biscuit. Of course, I had a bite of everything and they were all excellent.

By the way, the crisp white wine we had with our meal was superb. It was made from grapes that came from the field just diagonal to the restaurant. Here is Keith looking pretty comfortable post déjeuner.

We had invited Juliette, our lovely host and owner of the gîtes over for happy hour. We wanted to get back to Mirabel to do a bit of packing before she arrived, so we headed back. What a beautiful spot!

Un Dîner d'Anniversaire pour Greg

Greg, the birthday boy.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, we had booked a dinner to celebrate Greg's birthday at ProvenSol.  When we arrived, Dominique was busy working in the garden, but quickly ushered us into the wine cave. It was warm and beautifully decorated with ambient lighting and candles for the table.

She had used Limoge china and monogrammed linen serviettes for our table settings.

Dominique had prepared a special meal with wines to accompany each course. Initially, we were served olives, a specialty in this region, and a dish of anchovy butter that we ate with slices of crusty baguette. This was accompanied by a refreshing peach aperitif. Next course was Soupe au Pistou (in this case a fresh vegetable four bean soup) served in a beautiful tureen with a silver ladle. The soup was Keith's favourite. 

Her son, Emmanuel then arrived and opened a bottle of 2012 Cléduny - a wonderful, smooth red that paired beautifully with the main plat, sanglier (wild boar) in red wine, and a purée de pommes de terre et céleris. 

Our final wine of the evening was the Prelude No.7 served with a platter of cheese - brie, camembert and comte - all were good.

Last, but not least was a delicious birthday gâteau made with almonds, dates and chocolate complete with birthday candles.

Dominique, our fabulous hostess and chef from ProvenSol.

La fête anniversaire - Greg and Brian are on the right and Keith and I are on the left.

After the meal, we spent a few minutes signing the guest book.

Happy 48th Greg! I hope it is one you will remember. I know I will.