Month: January 2014
The market at Ventimiglia
PS. A tip for the wise: when dining out with a vegetarian friend, if you are given a plate of focaccia and prosciutto for the aperitivo, well then that means prosciutto jackpot for you!
Banon in the sun, part two
Banon in the sun
The good life at la Buissonade in the Luberon
I was just writing out a list of suggestions about where and what to visit for a friend’s upcoming trip to la Belle Provence when I stopped still, fingers paused over the keyboard. Up at the top of the email, I added what is my most important advice: DON’T PLAN TOO MUCH.
That is a little bijou of wisdom that I often offer up to vacationers and yet fear that it is seldom heeded. And I understand, I do. You have saved your pennies and planned for months. It is normal to want to “take it all in” and to “make the most of it” but alas, I am here to say, that is an attitude that is appropriate for discovering Manhattan. But for Provence?
Why I so treasure our time at La Buissonade, our cottage rental in the Luberon, is that it is where we settle into the Good Life. We go there to seek it out. Now, I understand that is a relative concept. Very, very relative. But for me, the essence of living in Provence is to take time and be appreciative. To feel the sun on my upturned face. Have some wine at lunch, take a nap. Listen to the birds and watch the flowers bend and sway. Read. Get Lost in the Looking.
And while all of those moments can be achieved nearly everywhere in the world, there is something about this particuliar environment that just makes it magic to me, that makes my heart sing. Do you remember playing with your hands when you were little: “Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people”? There is joy in the moments when it all comes together.
An almost in my Secret Provence
This week’s “almost” was visited by chance.
Remi and I were taking the puppers on a walk in my Secret Provence, when my thoughts turned to the ad for a house that I had seen for sale there. It was recognizable from far due to the unusual slanted roof on the terrace.
It usually Remi who is the King of gathering clues from real estate photos but this time I took the prize of the hunt and we approached closer to investigate.
As we stood in front of its rather plain facade (dated 1789), a man happened to leave the front door and he stopped to look at us questioningly. Remi took the initiative to approach and yes, it turned out that he was the owner of the house. Would we like to visit it?
It was exceedingly kind and so we accepted. He asked his Wife to drop of one of their children in his stead and I waited outside while Remi took a tour, he replaced me and it was my turn.
The sun was already going down so most of the following photos have been borrowed from the net, again, my apologies for the quality.
Menton in colors, textures and patina
“It looks like it is still night out!” Remi exclaimed with unbridled surprise as he stumbled into the living room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He found me sitting on the couch with my laptop balanced on my knees, clutching my mug of coffee and wedged in between two furry friends. The darkness of the morning had left me feeling cold and pressed flat. Winter is in like Flynn.
Well, what finer cure could there be than to remember the vibrancy of our visit to Menton? For it had taken place on a similarly cloud-covered day, one that had miraculously let the colors glow brighter and the texture of time’s patina stand out in greater relief.
I grabbed photographs quickly on that walk, furtive glances shooting off the stones. For I am realizing now that in order to see specifically, I cannot be good company. I am either with my eyes or with those around me, rarely both. And frankly, I was having too fine a time to sacrifice more than a few seconds here or there. Laughter is contagious and I love it when it peals like bells. My friends – not to mention the puppers pulling at their leashes at all the new around them – had my full attention.
But these few stolen mementos did their job and warmed my heart a little this morning. Appreciating imperfection is endlessly cheering, isn’t it? So it is with these quiet months, for without them there would be no spring.
The genteel charm of Menton in off-season
What do you think of when you imagine the Côte d’Azur? For me, the first image that springs to mind is a literal one of Jaques-Henri Lartigue’s photographs of his muse, the sultry glamorous Renée. Or perhaps the Murphy’s picnicking on the sands with the Fitzgerald’s in a devil may care fashion. So imagine my disappointment on my first visit to the French Riviera to find it over-built, over-busy, over-bling.
That champagne bubble swiftly popped.
Happily, I was invited to spend several truly wondrous days in Menton during les fêtes and there, during this sleepy time of year, I found the stuff of my dreams.
Songe à la douceur
D’aller là-bas vivre ensemble!
Aimer à loisir,
Aimer et mourir
Au pays qui te ressemble!
Les soleils mouillés
De ces ciels brouillés
Pour mon esprit ont les charmes
Si mystérieux
De tes traîtres yeux,
Brillant à travers leurs larmes.
Luxe, calme et volupté.
Polis par les ans,
Décoreraient notre chambre;
Les plus rares fleurs
Mêlant leurs odeurs
Aux vagues senteurs de l’ambre,
Les riches plafonds,
Les miroirs profonds,
La splendeur orientale,
Tout y parlerait
À l’âme en secret
Sa douce langue natale.
Luxe, calme et volupté.
Dormir ces vaisseaux
Dont l’humeur est vagabonde;
C’est pour assouvir
Ton moindre désir
Qu’ils viennent du bout du monde.
— Les soleils couchants
Revêtent les champs,
Les canaux, la ville entière,
D’hyacinthe et d’or;
Le monde s’endort
Dans une chaude lumière.
Luxe, calme et volupté.
Think of the rapture
Of living together there!
Of loving at will,
Of loving till death,
In the land that is like you!
The misty sunlight
Of those cloudy skies
Has for my spirit the charms,
So mysterious,
Of your treacherous eyes,
Shining brightly through their tears.
Luxury, peace, and pleasure.
Polished by the years,
Will ornament our bedroom;
The rarest flowers
Mingling their fragrance
With the faint scent of amber,
The ornate ceilings,
The limpid mirrors,
The oriental splendor,
All would whisper there
Secretly to the soul
In its soft, native language.
Luxury, peace, and pleasure.
Those vessels sleeping.
Their mood is adventurous;
It’s to satisfy
Your slightest desire
That they come from the ends of the earth.
— The setting suns
Adorn the fields,
The canals, the whole city,
With hyacinth and gold;
The world falls asleep
In a warm glow of light.
Luxury, peace, and pleasure.