Month: August 2014

“Lost in Arles” found on live Canadian television!

I am a shy person by nature. Acting was a boon for me as it gave me the opportunity to escape that inner shrinking by being able to play other people, often outrageous characters such as Cleopatra. But I could always hide behind the idea that it wasn’t really me up there – even though of course it was – by giving myself something of a “Go Free” pass. 
So when I received an email from Paul Hughes, a producer for CTV’s Canada AM asking if I would be interested in being interviewed live for their national morning news show, my first thought was “Uh-oh.” He wasn’t interested in seeing a character but me! But…at the same time…*big intake of breath*…in turning 45 I made a bit of a promise to myself to step up to the plate a bit more as well as to let go of some of the old habits or ways of thinking that aren’t serving me well. Plus, as I mentioned previously, my horoscope says it is supposed be a good year for me but that can’t happen if I say non or peut-être automatically (which I can have a tendency to do, as embarrassed as I am to admit it). So I accepted. 

Paul was very reassuring as they started filming other episodes in Provence. “It will be fun,” he wrote. “Well, ok, then, just have fun,” I told myself. As luck would have it, I arrived early on the day of the broadcast, so I was able to meet Paul (delightful and a fellow red-head!), the crew and the host, Jeff Hutcheson, while they filmed what are called “teasers” – think of them as lead-ins to a story – and two other segments, all while flipping back and forth with the show in Canada. I couldn’t get over Jeff’s incredible ease and his encyclopedic memory. I would mention off the cuff some little historical tidbit about where we were standing and he would seamlessly incorporate it into the next piece without the blink of an eye. It was inspiring to see someone so bien dans leur peau, so when it was our time to go live, I told myself, “Breathe. Smile. And just continue the conversation.” 
Here is a link to a video of the segment:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=421715
Or take a look at this (hopefully) direct link on Google Plus:



Of course, the filming passed in the blink of an eye. Paul had liked the post that I did on our recent move and so we focused on that, which was fun. Afterwards, he introduced me to Chris Flak, a producer for CTV’s Morning Live show in Vancouver. Their team were also doing direct coverage from the South of France and would I be interested in being on that show as well? Why not? The same wonderful crew prepped me and I met the host, Marke Dreisschen and we chatted about dogs. As they were filming from the arena, a small crowd gathered to watch, including my honey, Remi. After an even quicker blink, it was over. I said my grateful goodbyes while everyone was already moving on to the next story. 
I do want to thank Paul for contacting me. Everyone involved in the shoot couldn’t have been nicer. It was a really interesting experience and I have to say that I enjoyed being in front of the camera again, even if – or especially – under such different circumstances. And while I don’t think that I could hold up to Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous quote: “Do one thing everyday that scares you,” I have to say that it felt pretty great to face my fears on that one particular day and to be introduced to new readers to boot…Merci, CTV!






PS. This post is for my Sister, Robin, who asked that I share this with you. As she is so wonderful, I couldn’t refuse, even though I certainly didn’t plan on it originally…I told you I am shy…


Happy Labor Day weekend for those that are celebrating…

Le jardin du quai, Part two


Last night, I took a glass of wine and sat out under the trellis in the courtyard, listening to the neighborhood’s pair of turtle-doves call. They stated their love for each other over and over. “Yes, the light has morphed,” I thought. The vines tumbling over the wall were lit up from within, a golden x-ray that I could almost pull at like taffy between my fingers. I picked up my cell phone, then put it down. “Don’t fiddle,” I told myself. “There is plenty to see here. Plenty to keep me occupied.” Habits…I gave me head a sharp shake as if to let them go.

As I reached towards my glass, I saw that two leaves had fallen, just so, as if I had placed them prettily under my sluice of red. “These autumn leaves…” I hummed a little Nat King Cole merrily to myself… “beneath my window…” even if it is a wistful song. For Summer is solid in France, a yearly right of passage or a coda, something earned the rest of the year. And yet Remi and I had given ours over entirely to working in this new house, then moving, an investment in our future. Neither of us saw the time passing but it has and I am relieved.

For now, so much has been shed, just like blooms that had once triumphed brightly and yet are no longer useful. The boxes have been unpacked and stacked and in the middle of the night when I had to find my way down to the kitchen in the dark, I knew the way.

As I looked up at the sunset’s scrawling across the crowds, I sipped slowly and let my shoulders drop. “Goodbye Summer, you beautiful swanning girl. See you next year…” A light popped on in the kitchen behind me, Remi coming down to watch the evening news on a very important day when an entire government had faded into the past. Yes, change is in the air.

Open the door and come on in, you are welcome here…
Le jardin du quai
91 Avenue Julien Guigne
84800 L’Isle sur la Sorgue
Tel.: 04 90 20 14 98
http://www.jardin-du-quai.com/

Depuis Toujours – wonderful antiques and more in Uzes

It was my birthday. I am superstitious about them, childishly so. If they aren’t slam-dunk amazing does that mean that I will be doomed to a year ahead of offness? So it was with a nearing whininess that I wandered through the crowded streets of high season Uzes, a town that I usually adore, after a late and frankly so-so lunch with my honey on the Place des Herbes. I held his hand tighter when I saw that the shop that we had come here to visit was closed for Monday. Things were not going according to plan.

But then Remi made a swift turn and entered into a boutique that I had never seen before. If I have learned anything after living nearly thirteen years with this handsome photographer, it is that the man has pif, he has instinct. Where he goes, I will follow or regret it later.

Those of you that have been reading for any length of time know that I am fascinated by patina. I don’t just find it “pretty” or “fashionable” I also find it…quite meaningful. So perhaps you can imagine my inner leap of joy upon discovering that I was in the Ali Baba Cavern of Yee Olde Beautiful Things. And it is run by a wonderful curator.

Bénédicte Leuwers-Mohr was previously a fashion editor for various European magazines before turning towards l’art de la décoration and we were in immediate agreement on the importance of both respecting creative rights and that of taking time to do things well. I saw first hand how her shaped eye had lead her to make such pieces as a giant suspension lamp built around a vintage industrial flour shifter or folding chairs recovered in fabric that bread had been baked in. Inventive, textural, grounded and quietly stunning. My heart went pit a pat.

She also showcases some of the bright lights of the region – literally in the case of the work of Vox Populi, a personal favorite – and beyond, including the most sumptuous cashmere and yak (yak!) blankets that I have ever seen, which were handmade by a pair of brothers in Nepal.

I believe that I have found a new favorite antiques store in Provence. That Bénédicte is such an interesting host only makes the visit all the more worthwhile. It was a birthday gift for the eyes, one to delight a certain aesthetic and longing for the past, all while opening the door to confidently looking towards the year ahead.

I will take everything, please.

I love the name of this boutique. Sans doute, when you take one of these lovely pieces home, you will feel as if you have had it “since always.”
Depuis Toujours
13 rue Pélisserie
30700 Uzes
Tel. +33 (0)7 87 14 41 21
de************@gm*.fr
I know for many of you in the Northern Hemisphere this might feel like the last weekend of summer. Courage! Autumn is wonderful too. Please know that I am sending my best wishes that you enjoy it thoroughly wherever you are. And to my newest readers/friends, bienvenue! I am truly delighted to have you here at Lost in Arles…

Le jardin du quai – L’Isle sur la Sorgue

We were arguing politics with a decidedly right-leaning antiques dealer when I noticed that the lights in the rest of the hall had gone out. Monsieur’s wife was waiting by with a twinge of impatience in her upper lip. Closing time had come and gone. With a forced laugh I barked out, “If you gentlemen continue any longer, I will have to take a nap on your Louis XVI settee!” That worked and I saw the inner churnings as Remi, my dear companion, silently conceded that we would have to return another day to finish the conversation. 
As we let ourselves out, we passed amongst so many bijous of antiques, sitting quietly in the dark, waiting to catch an admirer’s attention. How I wished that I could transform into Audrey Hepburn in “How to Steal a Million” for ah, she would be tempted. But of course, I could not.
We stumbled past the Napoleon III desks and out the dimly lit back exit to find the sky had matched our moods and turned to gray.
But oh, what a wonderful mix of a mist we found ourselves in.
A bit of a wonderland. The gardens of le jardin du quai, one of the most romantic restaurants in all of Provence, to be precise. 

Because of the rain, the garden was closed. We were alone and made ourselves at home because it was easy to do.
The flowers said, “Welcome.” They know their job.
As we would soon be heading up into the hills to our mazet rental in a land without internet reception, Remi sat at a table and languidly charged his messages from a world that seemed si lointain even though Arles is only little over an hour away.

I wandered, camera in hand but it was almost like an afterthought, just a way of confirming with an inner nod, “Yes, I am seeing this. Pinch me, it is real.” After nine years of living in this region, may I never lose sight of that instinctive hope.
I took my time.
And it was funny because none of the antiques that were for sale had moved me anywhere near what the living version of all that style and grace did in this garden.

I know and knew that it was created for effect but it was still a bit of living history…
…and all the more beautiful as we were the only ones there to appreciate it. 
Some of the evening’s kitchen crew snaked past to the back door of the kitchen. One of the young women, seeing my wonder, nodded at me and smiled with acknowledgement and pride.

Le jardin du quai
91 Avenue Julien Guigne
84800 L’Isle sur la Sorgue
Tel.: 04 90 20 14 98
http://www.jardin-du-quai.com/
Is it odd to write about a restaurant where you haven’t eaten? Maybe. But then again, how many have made me dream as much? Not many. So take a seat, my friends, there actually is a second act to this number and no food is involved…

Thank you for being here, thank you for reading Lost in Arles…

Stepping out in hand-made espadrilles at Jute – Arles

Some things just go together. And there is no surer harbinger of the arrival of summer in Provence for me than rosé in my glass and espadrilles on my feet. This is how it has been since 2005, when we finally took the plunge south away from the grey of Paris and I have never thought twice about it. 
That is, save for earlier this year when I realized that one of my regular sources for espadrilles had changed purveyors and were now offering goods that were made in Bangladesh. Of course, this made me wince for several reasons. But then I thought of a little shop that had opened in the rue Jouvene last year. 
Jute. I had first heard about them from my then neighbor, the charming Alex of La Cuisine du Comptoir, who was sporting a smart pair in a suede midnight blue. 

But every time that I passed by the tiny boutique, I either didn’t have the cash (for they don’t take credit cards) or it was swarmed with customers.

All too soon, I could recognize their certain style on the best dressed young things around town. 
As winter rolled in, I regretted deeply not having bought a pair for myself. Would the store reopen in the spring?

Happily, Ian and Elena, the Britannic-Spanish couple behind the company were back with the arrival of the almond blossoms and I knew that my time had come to invest wisely. After all, I wear them every single day, weather permitting!
It was Ian who was in the boutique and he graciously explained to Remi and I the different sewing techniques and use of materials. As soon as I tried on one of their desert boots in tan suede, I knew that this was a whole other kit-n-caboodle than the stiff rascals that can be bought on market day. For my second pair, Remi pushed me towards a lime green slipper cut. That each pair is handmade was obvious in that the first that I tried weren’t right and yet the second were perfect. Ian explained that each of the small team of sewers that work for them in Spain have a slightly different stitch, hence the variable. I loved imagining someone not so very far away was taking such care to keep one tradition a part of our everyday living history. And a walking one too. How far will my Jute espadrilles take me? Only time will tell. And certainly, before then, I will be back for more…

Jute
Magasin des Espadrilles
rue Jouvene near the corner of rue Tour du Fabre
13200 Arles
www.jute-arles.com 
Their website will be operational in September and yes, they speak English. 
Until then, feel free to contact ju********@gm***.com
Prices: roughly between 25€ for a basic canvas pair to 50€ for suede and 60€ for the amazing toile print above.
All well worth it…

PS. I am sorry for the quality of the photos but I still haven’t found my battery charger for my camera since the move! Hopefully soon…

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