Artful about Food As I write this, I am reminded of the title of a Rod Stewart song from 1971, "Every Picture Tells a Story" as it is apropos of this post (but not in the context of his lyrics). Do the French eat to live, or live to eat?  When you visit France you can not escape feeling their inherent fascination with food and drink.  It is in evidence in their DNA at every turn, in every town, in every moment of their days.  The French … [Read more...]

 at Jardin du Luxembourg - Do I abhor gloomy weather?  Is it despicable?  This one picture may just have fundamentally changed all that I believe, when it comes to weather……. Can a city cause you to question the very foundations of your belief system?  Can it change your outlook, fundamental elements of your personality and the perception of what makes you happy, how you look at beauty?  I have found that Paris has the power to cause a … [Read more...]

When I was anticipating what I might be lucky enough to see on our first excursion to Provence, I confess I was consumed with those grand and ever-stretching fields of Lavender and shops filled with iconic pottery selections and Boit Glassware.  But, a completely different experience unfolded…….. Perhaps the one sentiment one can most hope for when staying somewhere on a vacation is "extraordinarily rewarding".  Moreover, to shortchange a … [Read more...]

When you leave home to go away for two weeks, it seems like you should have quite a lot of time to do and see what you want to.  You imagine long, lingering days moseying up and down cobbled streets, eyes stretched ahead or up to see and soak in all the richness around you. Sunday, October 4 was our last day before taking the train back to Paris.  Part of me was wistful, part of me anxious to get back to my beloved Paris.  That Sunday before … [Read more...]

 Did someone say Romans? Time is getting away from me now and so, I should hurry up and finish my posts from our trip before I completely forget what happened there.  It is the 22nd of October already….. When in France and especially around Paris, it is easy for someone with a head-of-the-pin-sized focus-orientation to keep in perspective that the entire world didn't begin around the period of Barron Haussmann and his dramatic re-vamping of … [Read more...]

 famous Musquee de Provençe pumpkins At first I was a bit disappointed with Aix, as it is not an especially inspiringly-looking city from its edges.  After where we had come from in Tourtour though, anything would have been a letdown.  We knew how special from whence we had come had been. Aix en Provence provides more of a little challenge, one to find the charm.  But, once you realize this, there is plenty to be found.  That's how I would … [Read more...]