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Last note from Provence

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Like the NYT, I believe as a responsible blogger I must when necessary have an 'un petit' section of corrections. So to correct the post regarding Steve's 'bathroom faux pas', he actually meant not to say piscine (swiming pool, one of a few French words that has stuck in my head) but Bain de Soliel which is sunbathing. Either way Marie was still confused and I was still hysterical.


Today will be our 'down day' so I am going to try to catch up and blog all the things I have been jotting down in the little notebook I constantly now carry. Funny, I remember doing the same thing last time I spent three months in Europe and still have that tucked away in some memory box probably in the basement of a generous relative.

We are winding down our week in Provence and I am thinking, would I have liked to do a Peter Mayle and do a year here? Yesterday we visited the village he based his year and story on and voila,it was just that,a small village, nothing special, not much to see, one espiciere, one cafe-you get the idea.  It was simply one stop of five villages. By about the third village I could hear a voice in my head of a friend who will remain nameless <but she will undoubtably guess it is her>' saying 'another little village, they are all the same, enough already'.

But if we thought this, we would be missing the point of the trip and the subtleties of life here. Not only did each village have its own flavor but the idea was to purposefully while away the day, not rushing (it was a marathon 11hour day) and do nothing but drive through country roads, stop for cafes, wine and food, and enjoy the small things like:

The ochre of Rousillon early in the day before the tour buses.
The chalky white of the breathtaking view driving past Gordes.
The blue shuttered houses of Bonnieux.
And the sun bleached butter and gray of Loumarin.
These villages a panoply of personalities exemplified in colors,the shades of the Luberon.

ANOTHER French things story about French women and discovering their beauty secrets.  We all know French women are famous for their style, their perfect hair and makeup in that natural look and my goal is to come home with a gracefully aging French woman's complexion but we did find out one of their secrets for keeping their feet beautiful. FISH FEET. No need to describe it, a picture or two is worth 'Mille' words. 


ANOTHER typical Marci and Steve story. Before leaving for France, Marci makes all the appointments she needs. A manicure (which I have discovered lasts a lot longer when you don't have to do any housework)' a pedicure, a hair coloring and yes for the first time ever, a Keratin to make travel easier. Steve???? He packs. So within our first week away, who needs a haircut? You guessed. But Steve is prepared as we walk into a Coiffure in Loumarin and he whips out his Capital One card with his photo to gesture please cut my hair like this. Also of course the barber is not blind and can see his hair style which we all know has not changed in 35 years. The barber speaks French and Spanish perfectly, Steve English and a bit of French and me, a bit of Spanish. And the before and after of our tower of Babel.....We yearn for Esperanza!

AND FINALLY (or we will never even get to town to post the package home)' a list of purchases to date of someone who was NOT here to shop.
A heart necklace
A scarf for Steve
A liquette 
A ceramic necklace
Aerating wine pourers
An acrylic painting from the most French looking artist you can imagine
Valrhona caramel chocolates
Provence linen tea towels
Fluer de sel, several packages in case I do not get back here 
Aperitifs, fig and citron
Paint pigments the colors of Roussilon
Essential oil of lavender
disposable cocktail spoons
Another tee shirt dress to wear to beat the heat
new OTC reading glasses, tres chic
New sunglasses, wearing them in all the photos
AND of course then spending 30 Euro to ship it all home!!!!!

Next post from Paris, A bientot, Marci

PS. cannot have a post without some food photos. After our very long day yesterday, we headed into L'Isle sur la Sorgue for a not fancy dinner on the water. For our 15 Euro menu, we ate like kings,even in the lowliest cafes, the food is beautiful and delicious.





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