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Grasse

For your reading pleasure …

August 3, 2013 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

If you are dreaming of spending time here …

Vieux Port,Nice-PSandPhotos
Vieux Port,Nice-PSandPhotos

Or  here …

Gourdon-PSandsPhotos
Gourdon-PSandsPhotos

Or here …

Monte Carlo-PSandsPhotos
Monte Carlo-PSandsPhotos

Or here …

VillefrancheSurMer-PSandsPhotos
VillefrancheSurMer-PSandsPhotos

There’s nothing like a good read to whet your appetite even more:

SUGGESTED READING LIST FOR SOUTH OF FRANCE TRIP ~ Here are some of my favourites 

The Man Who Planted Trees         Jean Giono

A Year In Provence                           Peter Mayle (and any other of his long list

of books set in Provence)

The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers                           Ted Jones

Grasse-PSandsPhotos
Grasse-PSandsPhotos

La Séduction: How The French Play

The Game of Life                                 Elaine Sciolino

My Life in France                                 Julia Child, Alex Prud’Homme

Jean De Florette                                    Marcel Pagnol

Manon Of The Springs                        Marcel Pagnol

Tender Is The Night                                 F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Ladies Paradise                              Emile Zola

Loser Takes All (short story)               Graham Greene

Antibes-PSandsPhotos
Antibes-PSandsPhotos

Chocolat                                                             Joanne Harris

Seduction: A Novel of Suspense        M.J. Rose

Taking Root in Provence

Anne-Marie Simons

Words In a French Life                                  Kristin Espinasse

The Olive Farm      Carol Drinkwater

Click this Amazon link for a list of Provence Cote d’Azur tour books

Classics                                                                                             

Madame Bovary                    Gustave Flaubert

Antibes-PSandsPhotos
Antibes-PSandsPhotos

A Tale of Two Cities               Charles Dickens

Candide                                      Voltaire

Any books written by Victor Hugo

I’ve got more but let’s start with these.

What books about France have you read that we need to know about? Tell me any other titles you would like to see on this list and I will add them faster than you can say “baguette”! Thanks! Merci!

Tour update: Our first women’s tour to the south of France with the Womens Travel Network sold out in a flash so a second has been added from  June 25 to July 5, 2014. Call your BFF and make a plan!  Click here for all the deets! 

France-PSandsPhotos
France-PSandsPhotos

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Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France... Tagged With: Antibes, Cote D'Azur, Grasse, Monte Carlo, Nice, Patricia Sands, Provence, Villefranche-Sur-Mer, Womens Travel Network

CBBH Photo Challenge: Windows

October 21, 2012 by Patricia Sands 14 Comments

NICE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
NICE-PatriciaSandsPhotos

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Okay, I know it’s Sunday, not Friday, … life is crazy but I am still managing to keep track of the days … honest!

Out of respect I wanted to leave my post about Amanda Todd in place all last week. Thus and therefore, I’m a tad late with my Friday post. This week I’m combining it with some new photography fun.

I’m hooked into another photo challenge! Oh yes I am. I was introduced to it through the friendly MegTraveling blog I follow and couldn’t resist, especially when the subject for October is “windows”. This challenge is monthly and it originates from the fabulous East Of Malaga blog. I still want to do the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge too so I will have to see how I can fit it all in. You know how I love to share my photos and enjoy yours.

Here are two  brilliant photography blogs I recommend: Chronicles of Illusions and artistic.  After you finish peeking through my windows, hurry on over to visit them.

You also know by now that I’m a self-confessed travel junkie and have been taking photographs since I was six years old. It’s a deadly combination when I’m on a trip … the shutter simply gets steaming! In Europe, doors and windows are irresistible to me.  Here are a few of my contributions to this challenge and … um, no surprise here … guess from where …

NICE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
NICE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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MOUGINS-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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PatriciaSandsPhotos
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ST.CESAIRE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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NICE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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GRASSE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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ANTIBES-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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NICE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-MER-PatriciaSandsPhotos
GRASSE-PhotosPatriciaSands
GRASSE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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GRASSE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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NICE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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VALBONNE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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GRASSE-PatriciaSandsPhotos
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ANTIBES-PatriciaSandsPhotos

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ANTIBES-PatriciaSandsPhotos

Do you take photos of windows when you travel? If you were strolling down the street below, would those green shutters have captured your imagination? I have some good friends who don’t take any photos when they travel! Imagine! What’s your pleasure?

ANTIBES-PatriciaSandsPhotos

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Filed Under: Blog, If it is France..., Photo blogs Tagged With: Antibes, Cote D'Azur, East of Malaga, France, Grasse, Nice, Patricia Sands, photography, travel, Valbonne, Villefranche-Sur-Mer

Renoir, Rubens & Frites City

June 25, 2011 by Patricia Sands 4 Comments

There are few places in the south of France, large or small, that don’t offer a special reason to stop by. Treasures abound of every kind. I’m just saying …

Cagnes-Sur-Mer is ten-minutes west of Nice and easy to reach by the coastal train. Choose to spend time at one of many pebble beaches  or take the shuttle to Haut-de-Cagnes. Stroll the narrow streets of the medieval village where you will find great restaurants and the 13th Century Grimaldi Castle. Plan to visit the beautiful domaine “Les Collettes” , the Musée Renoir, where Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one of the founders of Impressionism, sculpted and painted for the last 11 years of his life. Visitors during that time included Albert André, Rodin, Bonnard, Matisse and Modigliani to name just some.  It was here that Renoir started sculpting with Richard Guino and later Louis Morel.The home and grounds have been authentically restored and visiting his studio, with his wheelchair, easel and brushes as he might have left them, is very touching. The view of Haute-De-Cagnes from the house and olive groves is simply beautiful and visiting artists are often seen throughout the property capturing their own masterpieces. You also suddenly come upon this view driving the A8 west of Nice and it’s quite stunning!

 

A return trip to Grasse  (click on the name to visit the website)was on the agenda last Wednesday only this time we took the bus from the  Grasse train station instead of the 200 steps up to the old town in Centre Ville. (Not to mention the inclines often found between the sets of steps!) I found the steps fun to do last time but my husband’s back did not agree! The more time we spend in this intriguing town, the more surprises we discover. Known as the perfume capital of the world since the 1500’s when the Italian glove makers in the area (this part of France was more connected politically to Italy for many centuries) began to add scents to the gloves, the perfume industry dominates the economy and supplies essences to manufacturers everywhere. At 300m above the Cote D’Azur, the open fields in the surrounding countryside offered the perfect environment for the profusion of fragrant flowers, many developed from seeds brought back from the Crusades. The excellent Museum of Provençal Art and History is housed in an Italianate Villa built  for Jean-Paul Clapier Marquis de Cabris who married Louise de Riqueti daughter of  the Marquis de Mirabeau.  When the couple were required to live with the Dowager Marquisese, Jean-Paul soon fell out with his mother. He proceeded to have his own house built in a way that entirely blocked  her previously magnificent view. If you visit, note the Gorgons Head depicting vomiting vipers  above the front door which reportedly was placed so it would be directly in the line of sight of the old lady. The French have a reputation for dealing with grudges in inventive and long lasting ways. There are several perfume museums in the town that are surprisingly interesting to visit as well.

The Cathedral Notre-Dame Du Puy,dates from the 11th Century and was extended in the 17th. Its bell tower dominates the skyline. The interior is stunning from the enormous, rough-hewn pillars to the three magnificent paintings by Rubens as well as the only religious painting known to be done by Jean Honoré Fragonard, born in Grasse in 1732.

Our week ended on a slightly different cultural note to the above trips. Through the last fifteen years, all of our trips to France have included more research into our quest for the perfect “frites”. Several years ago we spent some time in the beautiful Italian-influenced town of Menton right next to the border with Italy. Just off the main pedestrian way, at the foot of the old town, we discovered the best frites we have ever experienced in the, excusez-moi, unlikely-named “Frites City”. Seriously, we returned several times during our stay there. We hopped on the train and spent last Saturday afternoon in Menton and our first stop was to see if the establishment still existed. It does. The frites continue to be spectacular (the secret is the oil, the owner insists, not to mention the fact that the potatoes are freshly cut right then and there) and we had them for lunch … with a side of French mayonnaise. Magnifique, if not exactly the wisest food choice but we all need to break out every now and then!  Before or after your frites indulgence, visit the very personal Jean Cocteau Gallery  in the 12thC Bastion at the old port. A new museum to house more of his works and those of others from the collection of Severin Wunderman is under construction just across from this which promises to be quite spectacular.

As I share my travels with you, I would love to hear about yours. Where are your favourite places to visit? Some, I know, are in your own back yard. You can leave a comment below or on Facebook and I look forward to hearing from you!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France..., Photo blogs Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, follow your dreams, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, Frites City, Grasse, Menton, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, Travel on the Cote D'Azur, Women

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