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Patricia Sands

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Var

Let me introduce you …

August 1, 2014 by Patricia Sands 12 Comments

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!

Aix-En-Provence

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!

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Filed Under: Blog, France, General Travel, If it is France..., Photo blogs, Writing Tagged With: Aix-En-Provence, Claire McAlpine, France, French Word-A-Day, Ida Young-Bondi, Kristin Espinasse, Margo Lestz, Nice, Patricia Sands, photography, The Good Life France, Var

Just another idyllic day …

March 29, 2013 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

lens17729903_1329109993a-Most importantly today,  I want to offer my best wishes to everyone celebrating Easter or Passover.eggs02

This week I completed the final proofing of my new novel, The Promise of Provence, and I have to admit I’ve been struggling … so many pages, so many words … I’ve got to start writing short stories.

Okay, I’m kidding.

The real reason I’m struggling is due to the memories that were stirred as I proofread. There is a brilliant home exchange situation in the story and that got me thinking about some of the wonderful exchanges my husband and I have experienced. We have had seven memorable exchanges in the last ten years and are about to do another this September/October in Nice.

Taking a break from writing posts for my upcoming book launch blog tour,  I went back  through some of our photos. I love to do that, don’t you?

On this particular exchange below, we spent two months in a lovely country home in the middle of a a private vineyard. It was located in the Var area which is just west of the Côte d’Azur, part of southern Provence.  Spend a day with me.

PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos
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Terraced vineyards, stone walls, fruit-laden olive trees, trimmed lavender mounds … the urge to write was overwhelming, my camera shutter was steaming …

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PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos
PSandsPhotos

We drove a few minutes through a maze of narrow, winding roads to tiny La Cadière en Azur …

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PSandsPhotos

Strolling … dreaming …

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PSandsPhotos

While I snapped the inevitable shots of doors …

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PSandsPhotos

And windows …

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PSandsPhotos

Espresso, café crème, cappucino …

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PSandsPhotos

And then up into the hills above La Ciotat to drive La Route des Crêtes … spectacular …

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PSandsPhotos

Up steep switchbacks to the highest cliffs in France, Cap Canille, overlooking the rich wine-producing area around Cassis and on to the fjord-like Calanques that stretch to Marseilles …

Cassis-PSandsPhotos
Cassis-PSandsPhotos
Cassis-PSandsPhotos
Cassis-PSandsPhotos

Then a quick descent before getting bogged down in traffic in charming Cassis, overlooked by a 12thC chateau which dominates the ancient fishing port …

Cassis-PSandsPhotos
Cassis-PSandsPhotos

D’accord …  overlooking the busy little seaport … lunch is a fine portion of frites and tartar de boeuf accompanied by one of the exquisite wines produced in this area.

The drive home is quick on the autoroute … another idyllic day well spent in this enchanting part of southern Provence.

Have you ever done a home exchange? If you have, I would love to hear your experience. If you haven’t and would like more information, I would be happy to direct you to some very helpful links. It certainly makes travel much more affordable and you meet the nicest people. Try it, you will like it!

Fine! I have just been ‘virtually’ yelled at by several people for not Release date-early April 2013having any info about my new novel here. (I still haven’t learned to be the best  marketer for myself.)

I’m very excited to announce that the ebook version of The Promise of Provence should be available within the next week. I promise I will let everyone know as soon as it is up on Amazon and then we can all bombard Amazon with downloads on the same day and send my stats skyrocketing! Deal?

Merci mille fois! Thanks!

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Filed Under: Blog, General Travel, If it is France... Tagged With: Cassis, home exchange, Patricia Sands, Provence, Route des Cretes, The Promise of Provence, Var

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