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Patricia Sands

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General Travel

Starry, starry nights … thank you, Vincent and Don!

August 8, 2014 by Patricia Sands

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Fridays are definitely coming around faster than ever! Enjoy this one!

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Last month I spent a few days in the fabulous town of Arles (don’t pronounce that ‘s’, please)  in the Bouches-du-Rhône  departement and was reminded of all it has to offer. If you haven’t been there, you might want to add it to your travel wish list.

This was one of the towns we visited on the Womens Travel Network tours I led this summer and it was a highlight for everyone. Have I mentioned how much fun we had? Click on that last link to see photos from the tour and a lot of smiling faces.

It’s impossible to visit Arles without talking about Vincent Van Gogh, 300px-Van_Gogh_-_Terrasse_des_Cafés_an_der_Place_du_Forum_in_Arles_am_Abend1who spent a very brief but productive … and chaotic … time in that town and the surrounding area.

Stopping in at the yellow-walled Café Van Gogh in Le Café La Nuit in the Place du Forum is a must for every visitor. Touristy as it is, it’s impossible to deny the feeling of the history that played out in this square where Van Gogh painted Café Terrace At Night.

As you can see, we did!

Café du Nuit, Arles

Café du Nuit, Arles -WNT tour 1

A few years ago, after spending some time in Arles, I discovered this video. I watch it often and have this song in one of the soundtracks I play when I write.

Take a few minutes to watch and listen. I think you will be glad you did.

 

I’m going to share some more photos from Arles in a later post. There’s so much to talk about!

Arles, France - The Arena

Have you visited this beautiful UNESCO heritage town and do you have  particular memory from there? Share it with us, please. It’s always interesting to hear other experiences.

With this song of McLean’s in mind, I recently wrote a post about music and writing for the BestSellingReads website. I almost always have tunes playing while I write. Do you do the same when you are working, exercising or whatever occupies your time? Any favourites? 

Filed Under: Blog, France, General Travel, If it is France..., Photo blogs, Writing Tagged With: Arles, Cafe de Nuit, Don McLean, France, music, Starry Starry Nights, The Promise of Provence, Vincent Van Gogh, writing

Let me introduce you …

August 1, 2014 by Patricia Sands

It it’s Friday, it must be France …

Bonjour! Another Friday and another opportunity to wax on about  reasons I love to spend time in France. Thanks for stopping by!

Two weeks ago I posted about finally getting to meet the fabulous writer/reviewer Claire McAlpine, while I was in Aix-en-Provence in June.  Her Word By Word blog is one I highly recommend.

Speaking of Aix, here’s one of my favourite window shots, snapped while strolling one day last month with our women’s tour. There’s something about the mix of ancient stonework, fading paint, and that curtain caught in the window … was it closed in a hurry? Why? Who lives there? Hmmm, there just might be a story to write!

Aix-En-Provence

Making my stay in Nice even more fun this year, I also had the opportunity to meet and spend time with another talented writer/blogger, the also fabulous Margo Lestz. 9dbe8910f06cf943a2e8dad887f59d36When Ida Young-Bondi (more about Ida in another post!) organized a special writerly soirée for me one evening in Nice, Margo brought her husband and some friends along and it was a pleasure to meet all of them.

Although she is lucky enough to live in Nice, Margo also travels extensively and often studies as she goes. Talk about a life-long learner! Fortunately for us, she shares her experiences and wealth of information on her blog, The Curious Rambler … another one on my all-time favourite list. Be sure to pop over when you have some time to enjoy her posts!

Along with her always entertaining blog, Margo writes for The Good Life France website, among other venues, and is working on a non-fiction book about Nice. I can’t wait to read that one and will keep you posted when it is published!

Ahhhh … Nice …

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Vieux Port, Nice

Now let’s travel a little west of the Côte d’Azur, to the Var region which is located more or less between the towns of Saint-Raphael and Bandol.  I’ve been a fan of the French Word-A-Day website for years as I constantly attempt to keep building my grasp of the language. Yet again, meet another talented writer/blogger … and photographer … Kristin Espinasse!

UnknownKristin and I have not met in person as of yet, but that rendezvous is high on my list for our next visit to France in 2015. One way or another, we will make it work!

If our timing is right, we might make it to one of their special wine-tasting events at their ‘new-old’ vineyard, Mas de Brun.

We began to correspond after I read her most recent, delightful book of essays and photographs, First French Essais. I’m a big fan of all of her books and you can check them out right here.Unknown-1

If you haven’t dropped by her site, I know you will be glad you did. Say bonjour to her from me!

Kristin shares vignettes of her extraordinary life in France, raising her family as an American ex-pat married to a French vigneron. Learn about the trials and tribulations of this challenging lifestyle!

At the same time, she educates us on the nuances of the French language as it applies to daily life.

We share a passion for photography and I envy her the unlimited source of images from her splendid surroundings.

Oh ye dedicated Francophiles, we can never have our fill of photos from that part of the world. N’est-ce pas?

One town my husband and I love to visit in the Var is Sanary-sur-Mer, pictured below, not far from Bandol. We explored much of that departement during two different home exchanges a few years ago. Put it on your list!

Sanary-sur-Mer

It’s such a pleasure to actually spend real time with people you have known online, whether it is through travel or attending conferences or just good planning! Has this happened to you lately?

WRITING UPDATE … COVER REVEAL FOR “PROMISES TO KEEP” COMING SOON! 

We’re getting there … thanks to a lot of help! Yes, Barb Drozdowich … I mean you! Merci beaucoup!!! As we progress setting up all of my information on this new site, I soon will have links to Claire, Margo, Kristin, Ida, The Good Life France and other favourite France-related websites in the column on the right. Stay tuned and bon weekend tout le monde!

Filed Under: Blog, France, General Travel, If it is France..., Photo blogs, Writing Tagged With: Aix-En-Provence, Claire McAlpine, France, French Word-A-Day, Ida Young-Bondi, Kristin Espinasse, Margo Lestz, Nice, Patricia Sands, photography, The Good Life France, Var

How did I miss this?

July 26, 2014 by Patricia Sands

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Have you ever lived somewhere for quite a while and then had someone mention a very special place in that town, to which you respond, “Huh? Never heard of it!” And then you feel really quite … well … stupid … uninformed? That was my experience this summer when I first heard about Palais Lascaris in the heart of the vieille ville in Nice.

Not only that, but I realized I had walked right past it many times. I guess I was always  so busy pointing my camera in other directions, I simply missed its rather austere exterior. I’ve since visited several times, often just to sit and absorb the atmosphere that exists almost four hundred years later.

I hope you will do the same the next time you visit Nice. I’ll take you there now, so you’ll know the way. On y va!

First, we’ll stop at the popular Place Rossetti. This small square is surrounded by the typical Italianesque, colourful architecture of the old town with the stunning baroque Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate front and centre. The scene demands you take photos … lots of photos! In fact, it’s hard to stop taking them!

With an atmosphere always full of vibrant conversation and energy … order an espresso, a beer, or an exotic fruit concoction … sit by the fountain and let yourself feel Niçoise … go on, do it!

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… and then succumb to one (or two) of Fenocchio’s mind-boggling choices of ice cream and gelato. I must have taken the first photo very early in the day, because …

Nice

… this second one is a better example of how the crowd normally tends to be. But it’s worth it!

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Amble up Rue Rossetti toward the Colline du Chateau and make a left at Rue Droite (hehe, small chuckle) to #15. I’m telling you the specific address so you don’t walk right by … as others, ahem, have been known to do.

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Et voilà! Here we are! Begun in 1645 by an aristocratic Genoese family, restoration took place in the 1960’s. The second floor contains a collection of historical musical instruments. No photos are allowed there but the detail of the craftsmanship can bring tears to the eyes. Really! Don’t miss that exhibit before you explore the rest of this breathtaking little gem … hidden in plain sight.

There should be a slideshow of Palais Lascaris inserted here in my post. Sometimes it takes a minute to appear … thanks for your patience …

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It’s amazing what surprises are out there for us to uncover. Once I recovered from my embarrassment at not knowing about Palais Lascaris, now I share it with everyone … and have been relieved to find a few as astounded to hear about it as I was. What hidden treasures have you discovered in your part of the world?

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, France, General Travel, Photo blogs Tagged With: France, Nice, Palais Lascaris, photography, Place Rossetti, The Promise of Provence

If only I could yodel …

May 31, 2014 by Patricia Sands

Hi there! I’ve been off the blog for a while. Travel and edits have made the days fly by but I really want to share a bit of our adventure with you. My Friday In France posts will be back next week – directly from France, I’m happy to say!

For the past two weeks, my husband and I have been settled in a delightful village high inOfficial symbol of Canton of Uri the Uri canton of the Swiss Alps. The sounds of cowbells  and joyful birdsong supply the background music, hiking trails abound, the people are kind and friendly. The scenery is captivating with endless spectacular gondola rides to glaciers at the top of the world and inviting roads (Really … ? A car can get down/up there? Yes!) leading us to unimagined surprises.

Our view from the house is spectacular … no … make that breathtaking. We like to explore and it has been a distinct pleasure to be a guest in this beautiful country. You can imagine how busy my camera has been! I would love to share some of the countryside with you and will put together a slideshow … at some point … I’m looking forward to sifting through all the photos to pick out just a few.

Here’s a shot of my “office” ~ did I  mention I have also been working on edits? In a setting like this, I haven’t been able to moan about it! Besides, edits only make our work better so that part of the writing process is something I actually enjoy. While we were here, I received word that The Promise of Provence is a Finalist for Literary Fiction in the 2014 National Indie Excellence Book Awards. Great motivation to keep writing!

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Now I’m having a problem stopping myself from showing you more.  Just two! And then I’ve got to get back to work.

Of all the doe-eyed cows I’ve photographed here, this is my favourite! How’s that for a bell? Sheep and goats have bells too but this is the prizewinner!

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And now this video from the Niederbauen Paragliding area. Take a gondola up and glide your way down. I have to confess we kept our feet on the ground but spent a few hours up there, taking photos and admiring the sport. It was amazing to watch entire families participating with a child on their lap (in full safety gear, of course). Have you ever tried this? Isn’t the setting beyond beautiful?

And now, I want to leave you with this video that I hope will make you smile as much as it does me. We have heard a few spectacular yodels here … and in the most unexpected places. How much fun would it be to yodel like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQhqikWnQCU

We’re taking the train to Zurich today and flying to Nice tomorrow. Honestly, we would be happy to stay here longer but … on the other hand … we’re counting the minutes to our arrival back in Nice!

What travel plans do you have and are you considering home exchange? Got questions about it? Just ask me. You know I love to talk about this fabulous way to travel! Now back to editing … 

Bon weekend!

P.S. You can always click on the photos to enlarge.

Filed Under: Blog, General Travel Tagged With: National Indie Excellence Book Awards for 2014, Niederbauen, Patricia Sands, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, The Promise of Provence, Uri Canton

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