La vie provencale
Salut, I'm blogging in real time.
We've settled in the south, not quite neighbors to Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie, but we're in the same region. (Think wine. Also, climbing: Chateauvert/Correns.) There are old, deserted stone buildings; row upon row of vines, still green but starting to flower; furry lavender bushes, their budding stalks dotting the fields purple.
We've been climbing amidst absolute beauty, that is, when it isn't raining! Honeysuckle blocks the path to the cliffs, and smells like heaven. Wild roses snag at my fleece shirt and pants. We've had to ford the river because we were too lazy to hike up, but at least it cooled down our feet! The rock climbing is excellent, old-school grading, a bit slabby for my taste, but it's not crowded at all, and the cliffs go on and on along the river.
I've been reading Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong: Why We Love France but Not The French by Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow, and it's a fairly good summary about the inner workings of French life, things like education, the government, WWII (eye-opener, that chapter) and the Algerian war, etc. As well, I'm taking advantage of the little English-language (yes!) library in the house and reading everything I can get my hands on.
I'm thinking of dinner. There's a bag of carrots in the fridge; I think I'll make my Toby's Carrots (named after a camp host). Two potatoes in the table bowl may be roasted, but maybe tonight it'll be couscous with leeks, diced pepper, and sultanas. We need more wine. We've finished the chèvre and need to go to market for more; the young bûches are so creamy I could finish one off with a bowl of strawberries. The mister likes the aged ones, 3 months or more, visibly smaller and stronger in taste than the young; there's a joke in there, you know it.
Anyway, just a pointless entry to say bonjour!
I am so jealous right now. Have a fab time!
Well, bon jour back to you and your green, languid provencale lifestyle, MJ.
Bienvenue en France! I hope you enjoy the South more than I do. Hubby is from Lyon and we go back "home" often (coz we're based in Switzerland).
If you have a garden, go nuts! One thing great about the South is that you can plant heaps of tropical plants! XD
What an amazing setting and sounds like the climbing is pretty good. We finally got out on the rock...a challenge as it has been raining in western Canada non-stop for weeks, even here in Alberta. It is depressing; however we did get out last weekend and the weekend before.
ich schreibe in deutsch - du wirst es (noch) nicht ganz vergessen haben:
ich beneide euch um dieses Leben - Chateauvert ist kletter, wein- und lebenstechnisch (fast) das Paradies!
Genieße es!
antje
Oh, wow, it sounds like you are having a wonderful time! I love this entry and I love the photograph that goes with it. I feel like I am on holiday myself (instead of stuck in an office, you know...)
Your days sounds perfect! so very enviable. The book you mentioned sounds very enlightening. thanks for sharing~ enjoy!!