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Barefoot Blogger

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.

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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

South of France Memories Tour 2019

January 20, 2019 by Patricia Sands 4 Comments

It’s that time again! Time to book your place with us from September 15 to 27, 2019, to come along on our awesome South of France tour.

My good friend, Deborah Bine aka Barefoot Blogger, and I have the pleasure of spending 12 memory-filled days with 16 women as we share our passion for the south of France. We visit the charming, historic towns and villages featured in my novels and on Deborah’s website. We only change hotels once in the 12 days 🙂

Bring along a friend or relative, but we also guarantee you will have a wealth of new friends after the first day! Read the testimonials from past tours to see what an unforgettable experience this is! Join us! ???☕️✈️?? Sept 15-27/19 ~ four spots left!
Click on this link for all the details http://absolutelysouthernfrance.com/memories-tour2019/

Click here to go to this page on my website.  You can then follow along day by day on last year’s tour. The following photos tell a small part of the happy story!

How it all begins!
Shopping at the markets!
Join us for the trip of a lifetime!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, General Travel, Uncategorized Tagged With: Absolutely Southern France, Barefoot Blogger, Deborah Bine, Drawing Lessons, Love In Provence series, Nancy McGee, Patricia Sands, south of France memories tour

Memories tour/18 ~ day 12

November 25, 2018 by Patricia Sands 1 Comment

And what a day this was! Have you dreamed of a mas in the south of France like this? Everyone in our merry band of travellers agreed they had.  This was a dream come true  … Mas de Valériole … on the edge of the Camargue. Established in 1456. Yes. The owner then was a doctor in Arles. Please click on this link to see a wonderful portrait of the three generations of the Michel family now in charge of this organic vineyard and rice farm. Read the history here.

Here’s how our memorable day played out. We were welcomed graciously by Madame Michel and then learned about the grapes grown here. A wine tasting followed. After that we were invited into the vineyard to learn how the grapes are harvested. The photos tell the story.

There’s a grape stomper in every group …

Quality control …

But that wasn’t all … next came a lovely buffet lunch in the shade of the magnificent centuries old trees …

And how could I ask for a better promotion shot for Drawing Lessons than this amazing collection of awesomeness? I’m grateful to each one of these ladies and the wonderful bond of friendship they generated during our days together.

No afternoon in France is complete without a game of pétanque.

But the day wasn’t over yet.

Nancy McGee had a surprise planned for our last evening that I didn’t even know about. Dinner in the courtyard garden at the 18th century Hotêl Particulier in Arles. Again the photos tell the story.

 

Is it any wonder no one wants to go home?

Deborah, you were in our thoughts all day and evening. We know you are recovering, but you have been missed.

p.s. Does anyone have a shot or two of the birthday “cakes and candles”?

Remember to visit Deborah’s Barefoot Blogger website for information on all of the places we have visited during our tour. When she isn’t in the hospital, that lady gets around!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, Photo blogs, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: Absolutely Southern France, Barefoot Blogger, Deborah Bine, Memories of the south of France tour, Nancy McGee, Patricia Sands

Memories tour/18 ~ Day 11(part 1)

November 20, 2018 by Patricia Sands 3 Comments

Today was supposed to be a special day for my BFF and co-leader (aka Barefoot Blogger),  Deborah Bine, sharing her stomping grounds with us. Instead she was recuperating in the hospital and in our thoughts constantly!

First stop was the breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pont du Gard. Truly an engineering marvel, this aqueduct was constructed between the years 19 AD and 1 AD to carry water to the Roman colony of Nemausas (Nimes). Click here to read the entire history and understand how it survived so intact.

Today we are in the Gard department, rather than the Bouches du Rhône where we are staying in Arles.

Read what Deborah has to say about Pont du Gard on her blog.

The accompanying plaque next to this 1000-year-old olive tree states it was transplanted from Spain in 1988.

Nancy McGee of Absolutely Southern France joined us for today and tomorrow and we’re delighted to have her company. Her friend, French artist, Aurélie Malbec, is shadowing our group today and sketching memories to create a booklet for everyone. 

After a few hours of strolling and taking photos, we moved on to the charming potters’ village of Saint Quentin-la-Potèrie. This ancient community, with its narrow winding streets, has a history of pottery making for centuries. Deborah had arranged for us to visit a few of her favourite workshops. We were warmly welcome and impressed by the quality and variety of workmanship.

This was a busy day! Finally we headed off, just a few kilometres down the road, to the elegant medieval town of Uzès. I know Deborah was so looking forward to sharing her beautiful town with us. We felt her absence keenly …

I’m going to turn this into two-part post, since there are so many photos. Enjoy … and stay tuned for part 2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and after this we are off to Uzès, Deborah’s home town.

 

 

 

 

 

Pop on over to Deborah’s blog, Barefoot Blogger, to read more about our stops today.

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Filed Under: Blog, France, Photo blogs, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: Absolutely Southern France, Barefoot Blogger, Deborah Bine, Patricia Sands, Pont du Gard, Saint Quentin-la-Potèrie, south of France memories tour

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