Patricia Sands

Author

Provence

Lunch with Journeywoman!

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Some days are a little more special than others and yesterday was one of those!

Some people you meet are a little more special than others and the woman I met yesterday was indeed one of those!

Evelyn-bio-picEvelyn Hannon, aka Journeywoman, and I spent a couple of hours  yesterday chatting over a light lunch we picked up in Whole Foods at Hazelton Lanes in Toronto. Seriously … just the two of us … lucky me!

Through a conversation we were having online about promoting The Promise of Provence on her site, the next thing we knew we were arranging to meet. I am so delighted we did. As smart, funny and down-to-earth as Evelyn appears in her writing online, she is even more so in person.  This is a woman experiencing life to the max and sharing her energy and enthusiasm with all of us. Lucky us!

In a word: INSPIRING.

I loved the fact we share the same philosophy that age should not be a deterrent to anything you wish to do in life. We looked at each other and laughed as we agreed that getting older is simply an opportunity to have time to follow more of your dreams. Just do it!

No wonder Time Magazine included Evelyn in a list of “this century’s most innovative thinkers”. As a woman way ahead of her time, she recognized the power of the internet and began blogging about travel for women in 1997, expanding her reach from the magazine she began in 1994. She now has over 70,000 subscribers to her newsletter and over 30,000 avid followers on Twitter.

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Click right here to read how her personal journey began.

As a serial traveler, I’ve followed Evelyn’s Journeywoman.com website for several years and always found interesting, helpful and/or entertaining travel information there. Although the website is geared to women traveling on their own, the information is valuable for anyone planning a trip or, truly, for people interested in learning more about this wonderful world of ours.  The number and variety of articles on this site will keep you engaged for a very long time.

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Just ignore the fact I’m in my track suit as I dashed over right after tennis!

I’m pleased and proud to have The Promise of Provence occupying a little space of its own on Journeywoman.com for the month of November. We’re also going to talk about the WomensTravelNetwork ‘Promenade in Provence’. I will be on the tour … will you?

If you haven’t yet discovered Evelyn’s Journeywoman.com site, I am suggesting that you get yourself over there as quickly as you can. Here you go … CLICK!  You will be writing me to say thanks. I know it!

For your reading pleasure …

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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

Come to France with us next June!

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Eze Village-PSandsPhotos
Eze Village-PSandsPhotos

When I wrote The Promise of Provence, it never occurred to me that an opportunity like this trip would arise. I’m a writer. I love what I do and my greatest reward is hearing from readers. As you know from this blog, I also love to travel. To combine these two loves in my life is beyond exhilarating, so please excuse me if my excitement is showing!

51fxI-husZL._AA160_Susan Sommers is a fellow author and my partner in our Sommers & Sands speaking engagements. She is also my very good friend.  A non-fiction writer, her latest book is Power Source for Women:Proven Fitness Tools, Strategies and Success Stories. If you are looking for realistic ways to get yourself in shape, it’s the book for you.

Women’s stories comprise the common element in our writing. Sharing these stories is what inspires and motivates us. That’s why we had no hesitation in joining forces with Debbie Ross and her fabulous Women’s Travel Network. Debbie and her enthusiastic, knowledgable, team of tour leaders love to help women make their travel dreams come true. They listen to where their clients would like to travel and then plan the trip of a lifetime to that destination.

She knew she had clients who wanted to visit Provence and the Côte d’Azur.

She knows how much time I have spent in that part of the world and how I love to share it with friends.

Say no more!

I’ve been thrilled to hear from women who said they are coming because they read my novel. How much fun is that? Check with your BFFs, your daughters, your mothers, your sisters or simply come on your own. It’s going to be magnifique!

11 days, 14 women, memories to last forever!

In a last-minute telephone conversation with Debbie last night, she let me know this new information. Woohoo!

June 12 to June 22, 2014    Only a few spots available!
2nd Tour Added!  June 25 – July 05, 2014

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French Riviera  & Provence
June 12 – June 22, 2014
LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE
Only 5 spots left!
Greetings!

Join novelist Patricia Sands and visit the charming towns depicted in her newest novel The Promise of Provence.
Patricia writes about Katherine’s experiences in Provence and her eagerness to feel renewed by her surroundings: endless rows of lavender and fields of sunflowers flow in golden waves among vineyards and olive groves overlooked by ancient hilltop villages.

Our tour co-leader, Susan Sommers, is a “Fitness over 45” Motivational Speaker and Strategist, two-time Marathoner (at 61 & 63), and co-author of Power Source for Women.
During your daily outings in Provence, Susan will show you how easy it is to take 10,000 steps while enjoying exquisite scenery.
It’s the picture perfect place to become passionate about fitness.

Enjoy the cultural, historic and natural heritage of Nice & Provence during our visits of Eze, Monaco, Les Baux, St Remy, Arles and Avignon to name a few. Take a stroll through the local market brimming with spices, fruits, veggies and local wares. Visit one of the best-preserved Roman ampitheatres “Les Arenes” where bullfights still carry on the tradition. Learn the secrets of French Provencial cuisine during a hands on cooking class.  Taste fine wines, indulge in gourmet meals, and relax in the warmth of the Provencial sunshine.
  
This unique tour is limited to 16 travellers.  

French Riviera & Provence


Itinerary:
Day 01: Depart Toronto or other gateway
Day 02: Arrive in Nice
Day 03: Eze, Monaco
Day 04: Nice
Day 05: St Paul de Vence, Grasse
Day 06: Avignon
Day 07: Cooking class
Day 08: Les Baux, St Remy
Day 09: Arles
Day 10: The Luberon, Roussilon, Bonnieux
Day 11: Depart to Toronto or other city.

 

What’s included:

  • Nice, 4 nights at Hotel Beau Rivage or similar
  • Provence, 5 nights at Hotel Novotel Avignon Centre or similar
  • Transportation throughout by private mini coach
  • Breakfast daily
  • 8 dinners with wine
  • Services of an English speaking guide
  • Services of a WTN Escort throughout
  • Hotel taxes and service charges
  • Wine tasting and Olive Mill visit
  • Perfume making class, Aromatherapy workshop
  • Cooking class in Avignon
  • Visit of Aix en Provence
  • Guided visits of St Paul de Vence, Grasse, Avignon, Les Baux, St Remy, Arles, Luberon towns- Roussilon and Bonnieux
  • Entrance fees to all sites visited
Are you travelling alone?
Don’t worry, we will match you with a roommate.
Single rooms are available if preferred.
Additional cost $1425 CA
Nice
Lavendar fields of Provence
France narrow streetsProvence shopping
Enjoy, art, culture, gastronomy and shopping on this wonderful tour of Nice & Provence.

June 12 to June 22, 2014
Price: CAD $3750 per person, double occupancy

Click here for tour itinerary:

Hurry, space will be sold out soon.Call Now to reserve your spot!Contact:
Womens Travel Network
Phone: 905-771-8338
Toll free 1-888-419-0118
Email: info@womenstravelnetwork.ca

Check out photos from past trips to France. 

Click here!

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A visit to The French Village Diaries

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Courtesy of The French Village Diaries
Courtesy of The French Village Diaries

Yesterday I hung out with Jacqui at her French Village Diaries website where she posts great bits about cycling in her beautiful area of Poitou-Charentes, delicious recipes and other interesting vignettes about life in France. She also reviews books that have a French theme.

Did you see what she had to say about my new novel? Click here if you missed it. Her giveaway is still on so it’s not too late join in!

If you haven’t visited her blog yet, I highly recommend you do.

Here’s the chat we had!

Friday, July 5, 2013

France et Moi with author Patricia Sands

Courtesy of The French Village Diaries
Courtesy of The French Village Diaries
Welcome to ‘France et Moi’ where this week, continuing on from my Book Worm Wednesday review of The Promise of Provence I am talking to author Patricia Sands about what France means to her, as part of her virtual book tour. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win a Kindle ebook copy of this book. Just email FrenchVillageDiaries@gmail.com with The Promise of Provence as the email subject by Wednesday 10th July when my Dad will pick the winner from the hat during our final aperos of their holiday.
FVD: Firstly, I think France is a special place and it is famed for many things including its cheese, wine and diverse holiday locations plus, dare I say it, strikes and dog poo littered streets. What do you think makes France so very unique and ‘French’?
Patricia: Where to begin? There are so many special aspects to this beautiful country and culture! What constantly takes my breath away is how centuries of history surround me wherever I go. Obviously we see it in the architecture of towns and villages but also in the traditions, religious and otherwise, that continue to be celebrated, in songs that are sung, stories that are told, in the markets and even in the games of boules/petanques that continue to be a focus in the town squares. I love that!
2) What is your fondest memory of time spent in France?
Patricia: Ha! Every visit is memorable but in 2011 my husband and I lived in Antibes for five months, just on the edge of the old town. We seldom needed a car as we could walk everywhere or hop on the coastal train just up the street. My heart is still there!
3) Your second novel The Promise of Provence is set in Provence so would this be your favourite holiday location in France?
Patricia: I do love the pastoral countryside of Provence but truly my first choice is the Côte d’Azur, Antibes in particular. The Mediterranean adds another dimension to life there. Having a beautiful beach just a few minutes’ walk away or taking a boat cruise along the coast are lovely options to have on a hot summer day.
4) When did your love for France start?
Patricia: After university, I spent a year backpacking around Europe with friends and working from time to time. I was 21 years old and fell madly in love with France. I lived in Quebec for a few years as a child so already had a slight grasp of the language, which helped. I was simply captivated by the beauty everywhere we went and amazed that one country could offer so much variety from one departement to the next. I have been fortunate to return many times throughout my life. Forty-five years later that love has only grown!
5) How does France inspire your writing?
Patricia: I know I see France through the eyes of a romantic, as my French friends constantly tell me, but I see beauty everywhere including the crumbling ruins, peeling paint and uneven cobblestones. I’m also a photographer and the photo ops are endless. I love all the old doors and ancient keyholes! It all galvanizes me to sit down and write. When I was writing in Antibes for five months, as I sat at my computer I looked out over the harbor, across the Baie des Anges to Nice and the Alps beyond. That view with the spectacular changing light was more inspiring than I can describe.
6) Imagine you are sitting outside a French café at 10.00am on a sunny morning watching the world go by, what do you order from the waiter?
Patricia: Un cappuccino, de l’eau, un croissant, s’il vous plait.
7) What is your favourite thing to buy in a Boulangerie/Patisserie?
Patricia: a.m. – Pain aux raisins   p.m. – Tarte aux citron meringuée.
8) France has many different cheeses, a silly question, but which French cheese are you? A hard and mature Tome, a soft, fresh and lively goat cheese, the creamy and rich Camembert or maybe the salty and serious Roquefort?
Patricia: I guess at this point in life I would have to be an ‘entre deux’ Cantal that has aged a little longer! Its strength and taste increase with age and I like to think that way about life.
9) Can you describe your perfect French apero for us the drink, the nibbles, the location and the company?
Patricia: Bien sur! Pastis (Ricard) served with lightly salted peanuts on a terrace in a shaded square of a town or village, with my husband and other friends, chatting and laughing as we watch the late afternoon activity or local boules contests.
10) Do you have any plans to visit France again soon?
Patricia: I am counting the days to September 12 when we will spend a month in Nice. I am going to have a book launch party at the English Book Shop in Antibes and am excited beyond words about that! Come and join us! (FVD: now wouldn’t that be lovely, having read your book, I need to visit Antibes!) In 2014 we hope to spend an extended time in France once again and will work it around the 10-day women’s tour I will be leading in June.
11) Do you have any current projects you would like to tell my readers about?
Patricia: I have had many readers ask when my next novel will be out so I am motivated to make progress on that. The story is simmering now and will be partly set in the south of France once again. There is just so much to write about!
Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions about France and you.
Patricia: It was great fun! Thanks for asking!
Promise of Provence Banner
You can find Patricia on her blog, website, Facebook,Facebook page, Twitter and Goodreads.
It is such a buzz talking about places we love to visit. Where is your favourite spot and what makes it that? You know I love to hear your stories … I’m waiting …