Patricia Sands

Author

Nice

Un peu de nostalgie ~ and some great blogs about France!

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If it’s Friday it must be France …

I confess I am having a little withdrawal about France today. I’m working away on my next manuscript which means I am immersed in la vie en France and feel like I am there in every way … except I know I’m not …

Every Friday morning, beginning today, at 9:30 I am having a French lesson via Skype with the fabulous instructor I was fortunate to discover when we were in Nice last month. After spending an hour listening to and learning from Ida Young-Bondi’s dulcet tones and immaculate pronunciation, I found myself wishing we were sitting in the bar in Nice where we had our lessons.

Then a friend sent me this photo …

Photo credit - my frriend Antonia's friend Laura at Cheval Blanc
Photo credit – my frriend Antonia’s friend Laura at Cheval Blanc

Antonia is celebrating her birthday here … Bonne Anniversaire!

I have to admit that this photo only served to deepen my nostalgia … le sigh …

I decided the only solution was  to take a break from writing and visit some of the blogs about France that I follow and enjoy. Let me share them with you!

In no particular order and … croyez-moi, believe me … ALL worth a regular visit for their own unique content!

Provence Post- Julie Mautner ~ all the news you need to know from the heart of Provence

Provence Today – Anne-Marie Simons ~ author of Taking Root in Provence and an experienced journalist, Anne-Marie examines serious news issues in France

Just French It – Ida Young-Bondi and efrenchcafe.com – Ida is a fantastic teacher, entrepreneur, and a lovely person to know – take a look at the many options she offers to help you speak just as she does – *wishful thinking*

People, Places and Bling – Theodora Brack – I looove Theodora! She’s funky, articulate, and I am waiting for the day she publishes her guide to Paris. It will be outstanding!

Bonjour Paris – a favourite companion I’ve been following for years that covers everything you want to know about the City of LIght and other parts of France. I am honoured to contribute articles from time to time.

The Hip Paris Blog – only recently discovered by moi – great practical content including some fab vacation rentals (in Tuscany too)

France Book Tours – if you want to now about the latest books set in France, see many of them here, reviewed by the amazing Emma of Words and Peace, who reads more books than anyone I know, except possibly Claire McAlpine, whose blog Word By Word is also excellent but not really focused on France, although she lives there. Okay, that’s definitely a run-on sentence … sorry … I’m taking so long doing this blog that my husband is now tapping his fingers, waiting for us to go out for dinner.

French Word-A-Day – Kristin Espinasse – an old favourite

Life in Laroque – Margaret Lawrenson – shares her love of photography and the trials and tribulation of relocating in a quiet village

The French Village Diaries – Jacqui reviews books from time to time but, more importantly for me, she shares her experiences of having moved to France from the UK

Food, Photography and France – a fine, fine melange of words and photography and, when we are lucky, recipes

The Riviera Reporter – the French Riviera’s English Language News Magazine – since 1987 they’ve been keeping track of all the news along the coast, first as a magazine and later online – love it! I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Kent when he joined us at my book-signing at The English Bookshop on October 4th.

The Riviera Woman – Anna Fill – a relative newcomer online, this is the perfect place to find out what’s going on along the La Côte. Anna misses nothing!

The Good Life France – Everything you want to know about France and more – I just happily stumbled upon this one and know I will be spending a lot of time here

Visiting France – lots of good practical information for travellers

So there you go! These are some of my most favourite places to take a break from writing … and I’ve probably missed a couple. I know there are many excellent blogs about France so if you have one you would like to share, please do. We can never have too long a list!

Uh-oh, the tapping is becoming louder and faster! A writer’s husband only has so much patience … !

Bon weekend tout le monde! Even my DH agrees we would rather be here ==============>

Côte d'Azur-PSandsPhotos
Côte d’Azur-PSandsPhotos

Alice Munro ~ 2013 Nobel Prize winner for literature

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Canadians are celebrating not only Thanksgiving this weekend (my favourite holiday!) but also this week’s exciting announcement that Alice Munro has been

PhotoCredit-Wikipedia
PhotoCredit-Wikipedia

named the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for literature.  Bravo!

Perhaps Canada’s best known author at this time, she has kept the bar raised on the art of short-story writing for several decades. The Clinton, Ontario, based writer is the 110th Nobel Laureate in literature but only the 13th woman to win the distinction and the first woman from Canada. We are proud!

No stranger to winning awards, her long list of achievements include:  the Man Booker International Prize (2009), two Scotiabank Giller Prizes (2004, 1998), three Governor General’s Literary Awards (1986,1978, 1968) The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (2005), the Inaugural Marian Engel Award (1986), the American National Book Critics Circle Award (1998). Her last published collection, Dear Life in 2012, garnered her a third Trillium Book Award in June.

A strong role model and influence on many woman writers, this honour will only enhance that. If you haven’t read any of her work, I strongly urge you to do so.

Dance of the Happy Shades 1968

Lives of Girls and Women 1971

Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You 1974

Who Do You Think You Are? 1978

The Moons of Jupiter 1982

The Progress of Love 1986

Friend of my Youth 1990

Open Secrets: Stories 1994

The Love of a Good Woman 1998

Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage 2001

No Love Lost 2003

Runaway 2004

The View from Castle Rock 2006

Carried Away: A Selection of Stories 2006

Too Much Happiness 2009

Dear Life 2012

Source: Alice Munro’s Official Facebook page

Wishing all Canadians a happy Thanksgiving!

My DH and I will be in the air all day tomorrow returning from our month in France. We’re thankful for the wonderful opportunities we have had here and look forward to catching up with our family and friends.  How will you spend this holiday weekend? 

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Fangirl moment …

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If it’s Friday, it must be France … Really? It’s Friday again? So soon? It’s been a busy, wonderful week in Nice (with the usual side trips that are so easy to do here …) but somehow I’ve even managed to get in some work on my WIP. * doing a happy dance* We’ve got an early train to catch to Toulon and then a quick ferry ride to beautiful Saint Mandrier tomorrow to visit friends for the weekend. So this will be brief! I just wanted to share my total fan-girl … okay, but fan- lady  just doesn’t have the same ring … moment with you. After spending the day in Antibes – and it was SO good to be back there – catching up with Heidi at the Bookshop and Julie and Victor at Choopy’s and good friend Antonia, my DH and I hopped on the train back to Nice to meet up for an apèro with Ted and Joan Jones. Ted is the author of The French Riviera ~ A Literary Guide For Travellers. If you spend time in this part of the world, you need to have this book with you.  Trust me!  Click here for a post all about the book that I wrote when we were staying Antibes two years ago. All I want to say right now is that it was a distinct pleasure to meet Ted, at long last, and Joan as well! I even got his autograph!

Meeting Ted Jones!
Meeting Ted Jones!

What are you up to?  Bon weekend!

Ahhhhhh …

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

That might be a sigh from me that was heard well out into the stratosphere!

Oui! C’est vendredi! It’s Friday AND it is France … we arrived in Nice yesterday and will be here until mid-October. It didn’t take us more than a moment to fall in love with this town all over again.

In fact, the trembling heart action began (it never fails …) as we crossed the last range of Alps and the Mediterranean coast came into view:

Côte d'Azur-PSandsPhotos
Côte d’Azur-PSandsPhotos

Next, the high-rise crush of  “nowhere to go but up” Monaco …

Monaco-PSandsPhotos
Monaco-PSandsPhotos

Then a small regatta near Eze-Sur-Mer. If you look closely you can see the spectacular perched village of Eze (that I often blather on about) on that last hill to the right, just past the arches. That’s the hill where I hiked and laughed my way down the Nietzsche Trail two years ago with my sister-in-law and niece on a sweltering July day. We did have a good time!

Côte d'Azur-PSandsPhotos
Côte d’Azur-PSandsPhotos

And then the sigh began ~ ahhhhhhh ~ it wasn’t too awfully loud ~ really, only about half the plane looked ~ Villefranche-Sur-Mer, the town next to Nice and one of my all-time faves …

Villefranche-Sur-Mer-PSandsPhotos
Villefranche-Sur-Mer-PSandsPhotos

I couldn’t capture Nice as the plane took a sharp bank just before landing and all we could see was sky on one side and water on the other. This is not unusual as the Nice runway is short and sticks out into the Med … always a spectacular arrival.

Another cool thing about Nice International Airport is that it is right in town! You could simply walk down the street and go for a dip in the Med or have a croissant if you just couldn’t wait. C’est unique!

A quick cab ride brought us to our home away from home for the next month. Here’s the view from our living room window and our well-appointed loft condo is in a building just like this. This is a pedestrian area with bistros, cafés, galleries and shops. The old town with its daily market and the beaches and restaurants of the sparkling Med are just a few minutes’ walk away.

Place Massena,Nice-PSandsPhotos
Place Massena,Nice-PSandsPhotos

Most important, for me, the inspiration to write is overwhelming here. It wraps around me with a gentle urgency … and I love it … ahhhhhhh …

Sorry – gotta get back to the WIP!

As most of you know by now, my husband and I have spent a lot of time in this part of the world so we knew this location well. We are thrilled to have the city experience of Nice this time but will also spend many days in our beloved Antibes just a half-hour along the coast. I’m having a book launch party there on October 4th but more about that later!

Please remember, dear readers, this is not Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous. This is a wonderful home exchange (our 9th) and any one of you can organize a similar experience wherever in the world you might want to visit. You know I love to talk about home exchange so feel free to ask your questions. Dream on!