Patricia Sands

Author

south of France memories tour

Does the word “truffle” mean chocolate to you?

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Find out the real story about truffles and enjoy a short but sweet video from Deborah Bine/Barefoot Blogger. As well as being great friends, Deborah and I co-lead a women’s tour in the south of France in September. When she’s not visiting friends and family (especially adorable grandchildren) in the States, Deborah lives in the heart-stoppingly (I’m sure that’s a word in France!) charming vieille ville of Uzès.

Read on!

Much Ado About French Truffles in Uzès
BY BAREFOOT BLOGGER ON JANUARY 10, 2019
Uzès is famous for French truffles. Black ones. Pigs and dogs sniff them out from beneath the roots of trees.
Before I moved to France I knew very little about truffles. This naive southern belle thought truffles only came in a fancy gold box from Godiva. My favorite truffle was a divine, creamy dark chocolate.

To read the rest of this post about “black gold” in France and see the video, click right here!

Bon weekend! Relax, stay warm and enjoy a good read!

Warmest wishes for the new year ~

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Greetings one and all! Are you in post-holiday relax mode? Or are you in high gear to get this new year started?

WordPress has set me back a peg or two while I learn to navigate the changes they have decided we need to create our blog pages. So this message will be a short one. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it works!

I hope your Christmas was merry and bright! May 2019 bring you and yours the best of health, happiness and an abundance of fine books to read.

Let’s also continue with our never-ending wish for peace on earth, goodwill to all. We live in hope!

I’m going to take some time this week to figure out these layout changes. With a 6:30 a.m. flight to Florida tomorrow, I’ll have a few hours to play around with the different options … unless there are some good inflight movies. Just kidding! I want to understand what I need to know here, so it doesn’t take me twice as long as it should to create a post.

Thanks goodness, Barb Drozdowich has put together a YouTube video going step by step through the changes for people like me!

You know how it is when you have all kinds of plans and not enough time? I was definitely in that category for the past few months! The most important thing to me then was to get all the daily posts up for our amazing South of France Memories Tour. That took me longer than it should have, but I did it! Did you take some time and enjoy the tour here? If you didn’t, I hope you will scroll back through the posts and see the fabulous experiences Deborah Bine (aka Barefoot Blogger) and I had with the sensational sixteen women on this tour.

As a result my blog did not get much attention after that, while I was finishing editing and then publishing The First Noël at the Villa des Violettes.

But it’s a new year, with a new approach here. I’ve got some fabulous guests lined up to visit with us. So let’s plan some great adventures together! Who knows where the path will lead?

On Amazon, B & N, Kobo, iBooks and wherever fine books are sold.h

Memories tour/18 – Day 11, part 2

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After our visit to breathtaking Pont du Gard and charming Saint-Quentin-la-Potèrie, our intrepid travellers continued a short distance down the road to the town of Uzès.

The elegant medieval heart of the town entices with narrow winding streets lined with 17th and 18th century private mansions, many now converted to apartments for a large ex-pat community. The castle of the Duke of Uzès, is occupied by the family of the current Duke whose family has undertaken an amazing restoration. The is the oldest Ducal peerage in France and its history is fascinating and well documented. Read about the history and castle here as well as visiting hours. 

Every one of us wished Deborah was with us here and she never was far from our thoughts. Here’s how our day unfolded without her.

Everyone was captivated by the soothing fountain in the main square. Enjoy a zen moment here yourself.

For a lot more great information about life in Uzès, pop on over to Deborah’s Barefoot Blogger website.

Now that American Thanksgiving is over, it’s inevitable that thoughts will turn to the December holidays. My new release, The First Noël at the Villa des Violettes is waiting to help you get in the mood … and only $2.99! Click right here and enjoy!

Paperback will be available in December ~ I’ll keep you posted. 🙂

Memories tour/18 ~ Day 11(part 1)

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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.