Patricia Sands

Author

where's my backpack

Travel theme: Game ~ Photo challenge

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It’s been a while since I’ve joined in one of these photo challenges.

Boules or pétanque is a game played in the smallest villages right through to the grandest cities in France. It’s a storied part of the culture and a standard of daily routines. Click on the links above for more details … and there are plenty!

Observing, pondering, commenting … it’s all part of the game!

Mastering the technique!

A game in the Place du Jeu de Boules, the famous pétanque pitch in Saint-Paul de Vence and apéros at the Café de la Place (below) are timeless traditions. The under-stated sculpture honours the game and those who play. You can organize a lesson there if you visit.

Have you played or watched a game? Do you call it bocce, boules, or pétanque?  Here’s some Provençal history about the game.

It’s always so much fun to see the variety of participating entries in the photo challenge, click on this link and enjoy! I find it’s a great way to take a relaxing break from … whatever, and I hope you do too.

Are you on Instagram? I am and would love to connect with you. You can find me there @patricialsands  and I look forward to following you. 

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

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: The World Through Your Eyes

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IMG_4110What photo challenge sites do you follow? There are many choices and several I follow but WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is a fine place to begin. Along with the challenge it also offers excellent photography tips from technical and creative perspectives. Got a good idea for a challenge? Submit it here!

This is a quick shot from our balcony last week. You never know when a photo op will stop you dead in your tracks!

Do you love to take photos? If you have a challenge site to share, please leave a link in the comments. Whether you simply point and shoot or study and practice the art of photography, it’s the pleasure you get that counts.

Here are two other favourite photo challenges sites. Join in!

CBBH PHOTO CHALLENGE – at Marianne’s fabulous East of Malaga blog

WHERE’S MY BACKPACK – Weekly Travel Themes

Travel theme: Beaches

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I love the photo challenges … getting lost in memories …

The travel theme this week at Ailsa’s Where’s My Backpack is beaches and she has some enticing shots on her page. There was no question in my mind as to which beach I was going to invite you. Our favourite, bar none: Plage de La Gravette in … need I say … Antibes, France.

Plage de La Gravette-PSandsPhotos
Plage de La Gravette-PSandsPhotos

Even on a crowded day in August like this, it was a treat to be there, floating in the Mediterranean. Those boats in the background are privately owned by one person. One very wealthy person. Seriously.

Plage de La Gravette-PSandsPhotos
Plage de La Gravette-PSandsPhotos

We liked laying claim to our little patch of beach and staking our umbrella.

It’s not lined with swaying palm trees. There aren’t endless miles of golden sands.  In fact, although sand has been brought in to cover the pebble shore, as soon as you get to the water the flat rocks (galets) begin again which prevent any sort of graceful entrance or exit – at least on my part.

We kept meaning to buy beach shoes but never got around to it so I simply stumbled in and out each time.

les galets -PSandsPhotos
les galets -PSandsPhotos

The sand beaches begin immediately on the west side of Antibes and continue through Juan Les Pins and Cannes and all along the coast into the Var region … I still have to look up why that is …

This beach ‘restaurant’ is not exactly a gourmand’s delight … never mind, the baguette sandwiches are delicieux.

LeSnack-PSandsPhotos
LeSnack-PSandsPhotos

This little gem is tucked into an incredibly picturesque protected cove overlooked by the 500-year-old castle that houses the Picasso Museum and the remains of the original centuries-old ramparts. The atmosphere is fantastique. Only a ten-minute walk from where we were living, it was a siren call to us on the sultry summer days …

Plage de La Gravette-PSandsPhotos
Plage de La Gravette-PSandsPhotos

Oo-la-laaaa …

Where is your favourite beach? Do you like to swim or simply find a cool spot and soak in the atmosphere? Sunscreen and umbrellas are part of the drill these days but a day at the beach is still one of my favourite summer pastimes … especially when it’s in the south of France.