• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Patricia Sands

Author

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Can I visit your Book Club on Zoom?
  • Books
    • The Bridge Club
    • Love in Provence Series
      • The Promise of Provence
      • About Promises to Keep
      • I Promise You This
    • Drawing Lessons
    • Les Villa des Viollettes series
      • The First Noël at the Villa des Violettes
      • A Season of Surprises at the Villa des Violettes
      • Lavender, Loss & Love at the Villa des Violettes
    • The Secrets We Hide
  • Travel
    • Photography, France & d’Ailleurs
  • Instagram
  • If it’s Friday, it must be France…
  • Contact me

1967 ~ That’s when it all began …

October 31, 2014 by Patricia Sands 12 Comments

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

la Colombe d'Or ~ Saint Paul de Vence

See those cushions in the small alcove along the back wall? Settle in there today and let me share a few memories.

You may think these seats don’t look comfortable, but they are! More importantly though, is the overwhelming atmosphere of art and history that surrounds a visitor to this intimate bar. It’s one of our favourite places to stop by when we are in the area and I’ll tell you more about it in a later post. If you recognize it, let me know in your comment and we can reminisce!

Reminiscing is what I’m doing today, so I’m sharing a post I wrote for The Good Life France (my favourite online place to visit France!) last year.

It begins here …

The Summer of Love, 1967, was a special time to be young and in Europe. Canadian author Patricia Sands looks back at the time when she knew she was falling in love with France…

Backed by an endless soundtrack of psychedelic music and rock from the Beatles, the Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and the Doors, to name just a few, and fuelled by the writing of Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation, hordes of young people began to travel the world. Affordable airfare from North America and Europe on $5.00 a day made it all possible for many of us. My best friend and I backpacked through Europe, tattered Eurail passes guaranteeing our transportation: a rite of passage for many Canadians in those days. After spending a few months in England, we crossed the channel to Amsterdam by ferry. Meeting up with friends, we set off in our rented Volkswagen van to explore our way through France to the Costa Del Sol in Spain.

It seems to me that the moment we crossed the border, a major event entering every single country in those days, I fell in love with everything about France. I was 21 years old.

To read more, please click right here.

Did you enter our giveaway contest last week for Liza Perrat’s “unputdownable” historical fiction novel Wolfsangel? If not, you have one more week to do so. Just click here. The lucky winner will be announced next week!

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Email

Related

Filed Under: Blog, France, General Travel, If it is France..., Writing

About Patricia Sands

Family, writing and travel are my passions ... okay, and chocolate ... and I'm seldom without a camera. I write women's fiction and keep in touch with readers by a monthly newsletter that also has giveaways and contests. Come and join us by signing up on the right. See you there!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kitt Crescendo says

    October 31, 2014 at 11:07 am

    Beautiful, my friend. As always.

    Reply
    • Patricia Sands says

      November 4, 2014 at 6:13 pm

      Thanks, Kitt! It’s always fun to find you here!

      Reply
  2. Lame Adventures says

    October 31, 2014 at 11:18 am

    The Sixties were also such a turbulent decade, Patricia, but I will refrain from marring such a bucolic setting with history. That seems like a perfect spot to sip pinot noir and reminisce about the past, or better yet, to move forward with living today.

    Reply
    • Patricia Sands says

      October 31, 2014 at 11:16 pm

      Indeed there is a lot about the Sixties we can lament. That’s why I’m thankful to have such happy memories overcome the negative and troubled realities that also existed. Spending 1967 traveling and working in Europe was an effective way to build those memories. *feeling grateful*

      Reply
  3. Fransi Weinstein says

    October 31, 2014 at 11:40 am

    Glorious, Patricia. You’ve transported me there with your post today. A la prochaine

    Reply
    • Patricia Sands says

      October 31, 2014 at 11:05 pm

      Merci, Fransi. It would be great fun to meet you here for a chat and a glass or two of whatever. Perhaps one day …

      Reply
  4. Kathryn Chastain Treat says

    October 31, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    I always thought I would go to France. My husband made it a few years ago.

    Reply
    • Patricia Sands says

      October 31, 2014 at 11:03 pm

      Kathryn, I hope you do get there one day.

      Reply
  5. Ted Jones says

    October 31, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    Ah yes, I remember it well; the dear old Colombe – where Simone met Yves and neither went home again, and they celebrated their wedding there – with the owner as witness – as did Gilda and Gene. Where Isadora danced and Zelda threw herself downstairs. And where the Lapin Provencal is to die for! Happy memories for us too.

    Reply
    • Patricia Sands says

      October 31, 2014 at 11:02 pm

      Oh Ted, trust you to have a good story or two or twenty about that legendary spot!How lovely to find you here. Are you and Joan settled back in Nice for the winter?

      Reply
  6. totsymae (@totsymae) says

    November 1, 2014 at 9:17 am

    Nice and cozy spot you have there. If you say the seats are comfy, I can’t refute that. I’m sold hook, line and sinker.

    Reply
    • Patricia Sands says

      November 1, 2014 at 5:56 pm

      Totsy, you can sink into those cushions. No question! The stools, not so much … but they are still comfy and the buzz from just being there makes you forget everything else. Santé!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Join Me Here!

RSS
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Tweet
YouTube
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Share
Instagram

Follow Me on BookBub

Follow Me on BookBub

Follow me on Amazon

Follow me on Amazon

Available from Amazon!

Available from Amazon!

Available Now!

Available Now!

Available from Amazon

Available from Amazon

Join me and 9 of your favourite women’s fiction authors

Join me and 9 of your favourite women’s fiction authors

The Good Life France Magazine

The Good Life France Magazine

Categories

Archives

Footer

Copyright Disclaimer

© 2020 by Patricia Sands. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to use short quotes provided a link back to this page and proper attribution is given to me as the original author. All photographs on this site are copyright of Patricia Sands

Follow Me!

RSS
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Tweet
YouTube
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Share
Instagram
  • Privacy Policy

FTC DISCLOSURE

The Federal Trade Commission requires that I disclose any relationship I have between a product manufacturer or service provider when I write about a product or service. I may receive a small commission for purchases made via affiliate links on this site such as Amazon. The above does not affect my opinion of those products and services. I am committed to sharing the work of other authors with my friends and readers.

Copyright © 2023 By Patricia Sands · Theme created and maintained by Bakerview Consulting