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France

HÔTEL BELLES RIVES ~ A repost I love to share!

June 16, 2022 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

Yesterday in Antibes-Juan-les-Pins with our current women’s tour ~ June 15/22

Our 2022 Reunion Tour is in full swing with a wonderful group of women who have travelled with us before. They enjoyed touring the south of France with us and asked us to create a special tour for them. So we did! Yesterday my co-leader, Deborah Bine, and I were happy to bring them to the Hôtel Belles Rives for “tea”. I was inspired to share the article below with you. If you enjoyed it before, I hope you will again.

Repost …

Do you ever come across something special when you are looking for something else? Then you read it or hold it in your hands to admire and remember all sorts of good things about it?

This afternoon I was sending some information about Antibes to my good friend Julie Mautner, creator of the excellent website, The Provence Post.

The next thing I knew I was re-reading this article and a wealth of great memories wrapped around me. My husband and I often drop by the Hotel Belles Rives for a meal in the exceptional La Passagère restaurant or a drink on the dazzling terrace. It’s always memorable. But the particular morning I gathered information for this article is something I will not forget.

Today I’m reposting the article I wrote for The Good Life France in 2016. After all, we can never have too much of a good thing, n’est-ce pas?

Hotel Belles Rives ~ Antibes southern France

Written by Patricia Sands in Provence-Alpes

Entrance of the hotel Belles-Rives in Antibes with purple bougainvillea growing round the door

The frivolous lyrics from Cole Porter’s Let’s Misbehave might very well have epitomized the mood on the Côte d’Azur when the song was published in 1927.

“There’s something wild about you child, That’s so contagious. Let’s be outrageous, Let’s misbehave!!!”

Not only was he penning the song, but quite possibly Porter was working through it while he hung out with Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. They were staying at their rented Villa Saint-Louis on the shore of a scenic cove on the west side of the iconic Cap d’Antibes. The Fitzgeralds loved partying with their Jazz Age friends. The semi-Bohemian crowd included wealthy Americans and visiting artists, writers and hangers-on. Picasso, Hemingway, Cocteau, John Dos Passos, Gertrude Stein and Dorothy Parker were just a few of the regulars. Porter was a fixture at the piano in the music room of Villa Saint-Louis, overlooking the shimmering Mediterranean.

From all accounts, notably captured in Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night, along with letters, journal entries and recorded memories by others in the Roaring Twenties, the French Riviera was rather a wild place to be. It was also, and continues to be, a fabled coastline of incomparable beauty and light that inspires artists to settle there and create.

The  Belle of the French Riviera

View from the bar of the Hotel Belles-Rives overlooking the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea

Since 1929 the privately-owned Villa Saint-Louis has been known as Hôtel Belles Rives. At the time it was the only hotel on the water along the Côte d’Azur. And since 2001, the gracious third-generation owner, Marianne Estène-Chauvin has guided her beloved 5-star, 43-room gem with a clear desire to keep the best of the Fitzgerald years alive.

TO CONTINUE READING, CLICK RIGHT HERE  for the link to the entire article and photos on page 55 of The Good Life France magazine. It’s a long article but worth the read (she said modestly …). ENJOY!

It was a pleasure to spend the morning with Madame Estène-Chauvin, a charming, savvy businesswoman and artist, who loves what she does. To sit and chat and then be shown around the beloved property by her was truly an honour. Have you visited this iconic hotel?

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog, France, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: Antibes, Antibes-Juan Les Pins, ColePorter, cotedazur, frenchriviera, Fscottfitzgerald, Hotel Belles Rives, JazzEra, luxuryhotel, Patricia Sands, psandsstories, southoffrance, The Good Life France

Poisson d’avril! April Fool’s Day in France

April 1, 2022 by Patricia Sands 4 Comments

In many countries April begins with April Fool’s Day. Do you indulge? For those who haven’t heard before, you may be interested in knowing how April 1st is celebrated in an altogether unique way in France.

images

Imagine my surprise the first time I saw children sticking paper fish on each other’s back, whispering and giggling, and then hollering, “Poisson d’avril!”

Excusez-moi? Fish?

As Wikipedia explains: “In Italy, France and Belgium, children and adults traditionally tack paper fishes on each other’s back as a trick and shout “April fish!” in their local languages (pesce d’aprile!, poisson d’avril! and aprilvis! in Italian, French and Flemish, respectively). Such fish feature prominently on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools’ Day postcards.

April-Fools-vintage-Image-TheGraphicsFairy.com

April-Fools-vintage-Image-TheGraphicsFairy.com

I had no idea where the tradition began and, after a bit of searching, found this explanation on France Travel Guide.

“Although the origin of April Fools is obscure and debated, the most widely accepted explanation actually credits the “holiday” as starting in France. The most popular theory about the origin of April Fool’s Day involves the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century.

The theory goes like this: In 1564 King Charles XIV of France reformed the calendar, moving the start of the year from the end of March to January 1.

However, in a time without trains, a reliable post system or the internet, news often traveled slow and the uneducated, lower class people in rural France were the last to hear of and accept the new calendar. Those who failed to keep up with the change or who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th and April 1st, had jokes played on them.

Pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were thus called Poisson d’avril, or April Fish—which, to this day, remains the French term for April Fools—and so the tradition was born.”

poisson d'avril

Poisson d’avril

Boulangeries and patisseries deliciously get into the spirit with fish-shaped goodies. Oh … and did I mention the chocolatiers? Schools of fish of all sizes fill shop windows, the larger ones often filled with smaller treats. To a chocoholic, fish never tasted so good!

Since Easter often falls around the same time, fish feature predominantly in shop windows through that holiday as well.

On  The Good Life France   (amazing photography and articles ~ you know I’m a huge fan!), there’s another article by Margo Lestz about April 1st in France.  Margo writes perfectly-researched articles, as well as entertaining books about some of the quirky history and traditions of France.  Click here to visit her website!

Whether you celebrate April Fool’s Day or not, I think we all feel some relief in the Northern Hemisphere that April truly heralds the arrival of spring. Although, as we know, Mother Nature often likes to fool us with a few random snow storms in some areas.

While I’m on the blog, I’ll leave you with this … NOT an April Fool’s joke. A Season of Surprises, Book Two in the Villa des Violettes series is on sale for just $1.99 and it’s a great way to celebrate spring! Click here for your copy.

I love how readers tell me they feel they are right there in the pages of the story! That’s my hope when I write them. Guess what? You can be there! If you are longing to be in the south of France in person to stroll the streets of my stories with me and my bff, Deborah Bine aka #barefootblogger_france, grab one of the few remaining spots on our 12-day September Memories Tour! ✈️Sept 19 – Oct 1 ✈️ Happiness and joie de vivre guaranteed! 💕🇫🇷💕🇫🇷💕🇫🇷💕 #bookclubs receive free books 💕📚💕📚💕 At the moment there are a few spots remaining but they won’t last long. Click on this link for all the details!

THIS COULD BE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog, France, General Travel, Writing Tagged With: Absolutely Southern France, April Fish Day, April Fool's Day, Barefoot Blogger, book clubs, Deborah Bine, France, Nancy McGee, Patricia Sands, south of france memories tour 2022, women's friendship, women's travel

Happy Valentine’s Day ~ Bonne Saint Valentin ~ One Billion Rising

February 12, 2022 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

Join us on Valentine’s Day!
💕📚💕📚💕📚💕📚💕📚💕
Six of the Blue Sky Book Chat authors on Facebook are getting together to read some romance – from their own work🥰 Click this link to be part of the fun!

Join us at 3 PM ET/2 PM Central/12 PM Pacific to hear me and my good friends, Bette Lee Crosby, Soraya Lane, Aimie K. Runyan and Marilyn Simon Rothstein ~ with host Lainey Cameron~ read brief excerpts from our work and chat with you about romance.
💕📚💕📚💕📚💕📚💕📚💕

Special Valentine’s Day sale! Click here for your copy.

And now for a message I feel is important to share every year at this time. I hope you agree and share it yourself.

Of course there’s always a place for hearts and flowers and chocolate and mushy love songs, but there are many girls and women around the world who receive none of those. Not on February 14th. Not ever.

Have you raised your voice? “Every February, we rise – in countries across the world – to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face. We rise through dance to express joy and community and celebrate the fact that we have not been defeated by this violence. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable.”

This year, once again, One Billion Rising is set to escalate RISINGS against all forms of violence against women and will continue to highlight where all these issues interconnect.

Here’s a song we should all add to our repertoire. This infectious anthem shares a message that is universal. Share it everywhere you can. Help break the chain of violence towards women and girls.

 BREAK THE CHAIN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL5N8rSy4CU

Click here to see V-day events happening around the world today.

“Like” the Facebook page.  Follow V-day on Twitter. Let’s all do our part …

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Filed Under: Blog, France, Social issues, Writing Tagged With: A Season of Surprises at the Villa Des Violettes, Blue Sky Book Chat, Bonne Saint Valentin, Kindle sale, One Billion Rising, Patricia Sands, Romantic Reads, V-day, Valentine's Day

Sweet or Savory or both?

February 1, 2022 by Patricia Sands 6 Comments

Now that we’ve finished celebrating January in France by eating la galette des rois, the king’s cake, it’s time to sweep away those crumbs and haul out the crêpes pan!

French-Candlemas-La-Chandeleur-Crêpe-Day

February 2nd, is La Chandeleur, Fête des Lumières,  Jour des Crêpes. You might know it as Candlemas.

Churches will celebrate the tradition of the lighting of candles.

Then it will be all about … what else, this IS France … food!

Crêpes and cidre. Unlike our apple cider, this drink has a touch of alcohol.

The day is often accompanied by fortune telling and in many kitchens, crêpes are flipped in the air with the pan in one hand and a coin in the other. If the crêpe lands back in the pan, the year will be a prosperous one. Children hold their breath in anticipation!

Similar to our North American Groundhog Day, there’s a prediction about winter at this time of year. “Rosée à la Chandeleur, hiver à sa dernière heure.” If  there is dew at dawn, winter will soon be over.

As the French do so well, the day is a fun-filled, family time. If you’re tempted to celebrate your own Jour des Crêpes, they are delicious and light  and easy to make. Click right here for a recipe.

images-2

There are crêpe stands or crêperies everywhere in France and today, as well as through the weekend, there will be few people not enjoying this simple and delicious food with a filling of choice ~ sweet or savoury.  Crêpes have a history that goes back to Biblical times and in France, Britanny is said to have established the true crêpe recipe.

Get in line right here! Bon appétit!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gypy4R2hj00%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Have you ever made crêpes? Which do you prefer, the French crêpe or it’s slightly heavier English cousin, the pancake? Are you a fan of sweet or savoury?

Here’s what  The Good Life France has to say about French traditions on February 2nd.

It wouldn’t be right to forget about our Groundhog Day today, as mentioned above! What was your local groundhog’s prediction in your neighbourhood? Six weeks of …???

Whatever the prediction, make the most of it! Stay safe, everyone.

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Filed Under: Blog, France, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: Candlemas, crepes, Fete de Lumiere, France, Le Chandeleur, pancakes, Patricia Sands

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