Merci

Feeling a gratitude as wide as the sky today. My sister’s surgery was a great success and she is recovering well. Already making jokes with the nurses. Thank you so very much to those of you who sent good wishes. I was especially touched by those that came from the folks that don’t know her or had just found this blog as so many of you did yesterday. Which leads me to…
A huge thank you to Brooke Giannetti for featuring some of my photos on her fantastic blog, Velvet & Linen. When Brooke asked if she could publish them, I imagined one, maybe two–but no! I was also delighted by her kind words. That Brooke remains such a generous and lovely person despite her overwhelming success is inspiring to say the least. For those of you who don’t know her blog, allez-hop!Velvet & Linen.
Spring Fever is bubbling up for the Feria de Pâques, the Easter Bullfights and parties that accompany them. More on that soon for I am not quite ready to dip my hands into that yet. Today, you’ll find me just floating happily up in the big blue, saying thank you, merci

The Beekeeper’s House

I am learning to let chance hold sway when it comes to encounters in Provence. Just say yes, just go, don’t look but see. Quite a drastic shift from the suspicion imbedded in my previous New York bustle and how I have changed because of it, outer armour melting under a tricky sun that draws my eyes up and out.
Remi and I were both squinting under the noonday glare as we walked up to the tiny house for sale a stone’s throw from the Roman Arena. It was one I had walked past many times with our Golden, Ben but had never noticed, as if it had pulled back into itself, an introvert. That was definitely not the case of the balding, elderly man who stepped out of the shadows of the open front door to greet us. He was as far from the showy Mediterranean macho mold that I could imagine and yet exuded a quiet confidence as he spoke–looking me directly in the eye, a rarity here–that won us over immediately. He spread his hands wide as he told us up front that the house had been empty for some time, that he had estimated an additional 50K in renovations when he had initially thought of splitting it up into studios. A plan that he had decided against. 

He continued chatting amiably with us as we wondered through the rooms, also being wise enough to let us discern the good and the bad for ourselves. Lovely touches remained, such as the intricate cement tiles that have become so fashionable again and the gracious curves of the iron railing lining the stairs that twist slowly, like a snail coming out of its shell. I love trying to imagine who had decided on covering the main bedroom in a 1960’s wallpaper covered with images of jazz men, smoke and the promising words “New Orleans”. Such a contrast to the classic terra cotta tiles that were left behind.

If the owner of the house was most attached to the cave, or cellar, where he played as a child amidst the coal chute (and which was lined by an unusual stone trough that very well might be Roman), he seemed most proud of the parfeuille tiles that lined the highest floor. “Three hundred years old,” he confirmed with a nod, “I had them exptertised.” He seemed pleased by our appreciation of these details, that we were willing to look past the flaking plaster and pine panelling. The conversation rolled around, as they tend to do here, with Remi making a joke about playing the stock market. “I wouldn’t know about that, ” the owner acknowledged with a wry smile. “You see I’ve been a beekeeper for the past 35 years.” He then launched into a lengthy discussion of the politics of pollution and how it was effecting his Queen Bees. We were fascinated.

As I made my way back down the stairs, the image of this man clicked into place. I could see his large hands moving slowly towards his hives, his gentleness a necessary trait of his profession. To earn the trust of the bees. I stepped outside to take a last photo of the facade, to get a better idea of the neighbors and view. I could hear the men’s voices lower as they reached the doorway. The beekeeper explained to Remi why he was selling the house, why he wasn’t going to turn them into studios to rent. That plan had originally been discussed as a means of income for his son. But he had committed suicide at 40. “C’est unparable,” he said as he lowered his eyes.
We took our leave and walked home in silence, trying to grasp how something so terrible could have happened to such a kind man. But it was, as he had said, “unanswerable” on many levels. We knew by the time that we reached our front door that the house was too small for us but I think that we both secretly wished that it wasn’t so that we could have made some positive gesture in his direction by buying it. As if saving the house and bringing it back to life would have helped. But the right person will come along. When they do, the beekeeper will move to Montpellier to be closer to his other son. He will pack up his hives and go.

Strong

I just want to send some good energy towards my very beautiful and incredible sister, Robin, who is having surgery tomorrow morning at 8:30 EST. If any of you have a moment to send out a thought of strength and healing, I would be so grateful!

Picturesque, Part Two

Travelling with a photographer is wonderful as I am often shown things that would have gone by unnoticed and are certainly not in any guide. The other afternoon we were buzzing down a back road when Remi came to a screeching halt and swiftly shifted the Range Rover into reverse, pulling up by an old farm building that was draped in blooming wisteria as a queen is in diamonds and ermine. Bees were swishing about and there were so many little details to dive into. The fig tree pushing out its fruit, powdery irises cooling in the shade, the ladylike Montmirail Mountains holding up the horizon. No sound but the bees and the rustle of oak leaves in the breeze. Moments like this seem too perfect in a way that is almost harder to take in as they are so unexpected. Perhaps that is what I was trying to get to the other day in my post on Vaison La Romaine–I held it against that famous village that it seemed so desperate to be liked when all the elements were already in place. It shouldn’t have to work so hard. A little forgetting can be a good thing.

A lot of forgetting on the other hand can be mystifying. Our friend Jean-Pierre took us to visit a mas that had been abandoned for over twenty years. Closed up tight to keep the squatters out. Due to French zoning laws (the basics of which I will spare you) this lovely stone farmhouse will never sell. So it sits. The peace there was something not to be believed. I spoke of it for days. Ben was quite thrilled there as well, he seemed so at home. Remi wants to try and contact the owner to see if he would consider at least renting it to us. A bijou in the middle of the Alpilles, surrounded by the scruffy garrigue that is redolent of flowering thyme and rosemary. How many designers had copied the patina of just such a home? We have been told that such “ruins” dotted the landscape forty years ago and even then, they were expensive.
Back in Vaison, in the lower village, Remi photographed the truly elegant Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth, with its multiple facades and unusually delicate carvings. Unfortunately, I was too busy in the act of looking to take many photos of the church itself. I couldn’t help poking around the surroundings. This 1930’s house was certainly in a far better state than the others we had come across that day but I won’t penalize it for that. It too was closed up waiting for its owners to arrive. How inviting to be able to push the gate, open the shutters and let the sun flood in.

One last thing worth mentioning about the cathedral. Do you know how I am endlessly running on and on and on about the layers of time in Provence, how succeeding civilizations built on top of each other? Now I have proof! Voila! For it was built on Roman ruins, strong columns on which to install a weighty Christian faith. Isn’t that something? In Arles, I have always been told that Roman stones were used to build houses but I have never come across such a stunningly clear cut example as this one.

And Ben? Yes, he was happy here too. He is nearly everywhere he goes and is all too willing to share his goodness with all he meets. The joy he brings me each day is beyond words. One special dog. This is actually one of my favorite photos that I have ever taken of him–nestled at my feet, half-asleep with his nose in the wildflowers. Typical of a born and raised Provençal, he truly knows how to get the best out of life.

Picturesque, Part One

My brain is tired. I would say that it hurts, actually, save for the healing powers of a Friday evening pastis, that magical liquorice flavored liquor. I love to tease my Mom that if she ever tasted it, she would want it hanging around her neck in a sippy cup to ease the heat of Summer. And my Mom is not a drinker. It’s that good.
Now, so why oh why am I holding my chin in my hand? I might have mentioned that we are hosting this week. Last night we were nine for dinner and yes, a different set of five for lunch. The allure of Provence in Spring. Most certainly for the Parisians who have huddled under a black streaked skies for far too long. But oh the talking. The rapid fire conversation, in an up North rhythm that is twice as fast in the laid back South has left my poor head reeling from translating, trying to remember who I was speaking to in the formal vous, who had passed to the familiar tu. My goodness, I am an American–we are all just plain ‘ol “you”. Not to mention the oddities of figuring out how to cooly serve a glass of wine to the fifteen year old that had asked for it with her parents agreement, the herding of visiting dogs amidst our gentle Ben. I love the energy, that jolt of newness though, who wouldn’t? 
So I hope that you will pardon me if I just put these photos out there without much explanation. Kind of like in a Rick Steeve’s guide (will someone please explain to me how on earth this man has become so popular? I find his suggestions for Provence truly mind-boggling). They were all taken in the oh-so-photogenic village of Vaison-La-Romaine. Foodies will have heard of it from Patricia Wells. The countryside is marvellous, the lower, albeit Roman encrusted ruins, less so, but the medieval town squatting on the hill is just…picturesque. And though it is lovely to the extreme, I am not entirely sure that is a good thing. Even I, traveller that I am, had my eye glued to the monitor of my tiny Pentax, as did every single person that I saw. You can’t help it. The town is begging, pleading to be photographed. But does it have something else, something deeper? I found myself thinking fondly to the far less organized ruins of Oppede Le Vieux that I wrote about for Valentine’s Day. No one had their eyes on the camera there, they were far too worried about falling off the path and down into the valley. I’ve written a few times about the trap of the dream in Provence and–just my two cents–it is often what separates but what makes the difference between the picturesque and the beautiful.

Protected by CleanTalk Anti-Spam