Patricia Sands

Author

photography

Travel theme: EDGE

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

The photo challenge travel theme , “edge”, this week on Ailsa’s Where’s My Backpack struck a note with me! Click right here, to check out some of the fabulous photos posted on other blogs.

I’ve been on edge all week with the excitement of releasing Promises To Keep, thePTK_final_lg second book in what is now the Love In Provence series. When a novel is published, it’s a very exhilarating, exhausting and … to be honest … slightly nerve-wracking time. We go over everything with a fine tooth comb because we want it to be perfect for you … every little detail!

So, this is it: the OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT THAT PROMISES TO KEEP is now available as an ebook on Amazon, Kobo, Nook, and iTunes at a special price through the long weekend. Print copies should be ready by October.

Had it not been for all the enthusiastic emails I received from readers of The Promise of Provence asking “What happened next?” I might have moved on to write an entirely different story .

But all the questions and the way readers cared about Katherine, pulled me back into her journey and the rest is history! Promises To Keep is Book Two of what will now be the Love In Provence series and that has me very excited … and already working on Book Three. See what you started? I can’t thank you enough.

And now to the other part of this post.

Since I love to participate in photo challenges … and particularly ones that give me another chance to share photos from France … the word “edge” instantly brought to mind these photos taken on the spectacular Route des Crêtes between La Ciotat and Cassis. If you are visiting that part of the Var, be sure to take this breathtaking drive!

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Route des Cretes, La Ciotat, Cassis

That’s our nephew hanging over the edge. I wasn’t quite so keen. Hello vertigo!

How are you doing? Has anything got you on edge?  You know, just looking at these photos has brought back such good memories that I’m already feeling more relaxed.

Now back to working on the next book!

Life is a travelling to the edge of knowledge, then a leap taken.
D. H. Lawrence

 

Let me introduce you …

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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!

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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!

How did I miss this?

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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 …

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… 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 …

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?

 

 

Breathe in. Breathe out.

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Bonjour and hi there!

It’s great to be back on the blog! How’s your summer going? IMG_5911

The past 8 weeks have flown by for me. You know how I love to travel … but now it’s time to slow down, get caught up and just breathe for a while  …

It’s also time to get home and hug the grandkids, although I got to hug two of them here in Vienna for a few days and that was very special!

 

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Well, it is Friday … but it’s Vienna for three more days  … (also a lovely place to be … )

… and I’m on my way home from five weeks in France. During that time I was fortunate to co-lead two women’s tours of the south of France that were based upon the locations in The Promise of Provence.

What a pleasure to travel with two groups of interesting, enthusiastic women, along with my friends, author and marketing expert Susan Sommers and Womens Travel Network owner, Debbie Ross! It was magnifique!

Here’s a taste of where we were and what we did.

As you can see, we caught the sunflowers and lavender in bloom! (If the slideshow isn’t appearing right here, you might have to wait just a minute for it to load.)

Merci mille fois to each and every one of you on the tours for helping to make our adventures so memorable!

For more photos and details, just click right here on the Womens Travel Network blog! I’ll even wait while you do!

2015 is going to bring more exciting trips from WTN so stay tuned. It would be great to have you join one!

While I was away, as well as participating in some super giveaways, here are a few other items that kept us busy:

*we completed the new website you are visiting now ~ thanks to the talented tech knowledge of  Barb Drozdowich, who is also an author, book blogger and author consultant . Check out her site too! We hope you like the new look here and look forward to your comments!

*I wrapped up my edits (hopefully …) for Promises To Keep and am waiting for the final return from my editor … we’re edging closer to publication, honest!

*Instagram got stuck on “waiting”, whatever that means, and I wasn’t able to keep posting photos each day … I whined about that! Now I have to figure out how to unstick it.

*Amy Cooper, who handles all sorts of necessary social media for me, kept me afloat and stayed on top of things in her usual brilliantly organized fashion ~ A BIG THANK YOU to her and to everyone who participated in our super successful Goodreads Giveaway, Summer Splash Blog Hop and Book Rhythm Kindle Giveaways. Congratulations to all the winners of excellent books and cool prizes! These are such fun and great opportunities to connect with you!

*I feel so fortunate every single day of my travels to be in such beautiful surroundings and to have the priceless friends and support helping make it all possible … without  me falling down the writer’s rabbit hole! Thank you!

Note-taking, photographing and researching for future writing projects is a big part of these trips. Now to begin planning for 2015 … new book, new travels, and who knows what else! What’s on your agenda?

For some reason there’s no “like” button here, which I always use when I visit blogs and to leave a comment you have to scroll back up to the top of the post and click on the “Leave A Comment” link. Sigh … there’s always something!