Le Journal Farandole - good resource

In addition to reading my favorite real estate magazines, I am always looking for resources for local events. Although I have seen this publication before, this trip I really was able to read it and understand the many events listed in its calendar for the holiday season, including December 24, the blessing of the truffles at a local church. The website is also helpful as you can local the links to local town websites which will also list many events, as well as a master calendar. Yes, it is in French, but you can use the google translation service to translate the page into English. http://www.journal-farandole.com/index.php?p=age

Joel Durand - Perfect as Always

Yesterday we had the opportunity to re-stock our chocolate supply by returning to Joel Durand in St. Remy. We have had chocolate in so many places in France and the US but no place as wonderful as Joel Durand. Yesterday, he was personally serving customers and I was fortunate enough to have him assist me in purchasing a box of truffle to take home. His shop is always beautiful, fully stock and smells like heaven with the chocolate fountain in the window, like chocolate chaud - hot chocolate waiting for its milk and mug. He was also ensuring that his staff was regularly offering samples including his New Year's special which was a truffle which included pavot (poppy) which gave the filling a crunch, and framboise (raspberry) which added additional sweetness. Parfait! Although he was still selling the ice cream cubes, it was a little chilly to eat ice cream, but it will give us something to dream of and work toward for the next trip. Merci Mr. Durand!

Molleges Gare - the necessities

Be it home or our other home, we always believe in supporting local businesses. As part of this trip we tried to use the local shops nearest to our house. Although our address is Eygalieres, and we love the market, cafes, restaurants, and the local epicure, Molleges Gare is a little closer and easier than finding in-town parking especially on a busy summer day. We were really pleased on this trip to get a pizza from Pizza de la Gare - all fresh ingredients, nice owners, and quite busy. We also have been enjoying fresh baguettes and some desserts from the Boulangerie. The cafe/tabac has not been open but we will make an effort to try a lunch there this summer. We even now have a store for necessities like eggs and milk - including organic products which was quite nice and well-stocked. There is a local cave or winery which we will also visit in the summer. The antiques shops (there are two) are lovely and jammed with stuff but we need to go back. One the prices were quite high, the other we need to explore further. Add it all to the list for spring and summer, as we get ready to pack up tomorrow and TGV to Paris for New Year's! Bon Anee!

Dress for Provencal Winter

Being the crazed traveler that I am, I worried about what to pack, do I wear New York black? Provence is so colorful in summer including the clothes, what do people wear in December? I felt safe packing jeans, along with black sweaters, shirts, slacks and a skirt, along with colorful scarves, and as I engage in our daily people-watching exercises, feel I have hit it on the mark. Naturally, I picked up a few fresh scarves from my favorite scarf lady - Kim - who always keeps me supplied like a dealer for an addict - have to add to my collection, nothing goes to waste as each one gets warn. For next year I would definitely be more comfortable with an even heavier jacket or coat as although it is not very cold, the dampness adds to the feeling of cold and my leather jacket with quilted lining was fine but could be even warmer. I was surprised to see many women in shearlings and down. So my layers and shawls along with my favorite faux fur leopard print hat have all got me through the trip very comfortably.In discussing the weather with a friend's husband, he explained that right now the weather has been mild, maybe a little milder than usual, but by February it will be much colder and truly feel like it. We hope to be back in April for a week, but we shall see, to experience another season in Provence.

Avignon Flea market

It is rather like an enormous multi-family yard sale, with furniture, clothes, electronics, tools, and anything else you can think of. As you walk through the field you realize that nothing goes to waste here, it is just a different form of recycling. It is worthwhile to have a list going in of items you are looking for, but you can always find the unexpected. A must is to get there no later than 8 a.m., dressed down as sometimes you are walking through mud or dirt, and the fancier you are dressed, the higher the prices will be as you negotiate. We went last Saturday looking for a large mirror for one bedroom, containers for sugar and flour, and a night stand for a bedroom and a few other odds and ends. I had budgeted about 100 euro (about $130). It took some time and patience in the cold, and unfortunately, it was so chilly I had only one hat - leopard print faux fur- and was definitely over dressed. So I scouted with S. and D. hung back, we conferred and he would return to negotiate without me. At the end, we had spent only 35 euro and got two night stands instead of just one, a beautiful mirror (nicer than I had expected), as well as the china containers. Today's find was a clothes spider (like one my mother had in the 60s) but needed in the yard here for laundry as few people have dryers due to energy costs. Viola!

Christmas trees in Provence

As discussed in some of my earlier posts on this trip, holiday decorations here are very tasteful and understated, including Christmas trees. As we drive through towns and villages, we rarely see homes decorated with lights, perhaps due to the cost of electricity. So, we were interested to see in the local supermarket, Intermarche, on December 22, there were still a few trees left which seemed rather expensive (about $45 per tree

) and the trees were small, and in pots meaning they will still alive and could be planted after the holidays were over. Additionally, they were could still be watered, not dried out and causing fires which happened inevitably every year in the US.

Absence and omission in France - vanity plates

In my legal training, we learned much about the absence of action, or the failure to act, or an omission. So, sometimes in traveling it takes us a while to realize that something we take for granted in the US is missing here. Last night on our way to Aix, we realized in discussing French license plates, that vanity plates would be easy to create here since license plates are manufactured by local vendors authorized by the government (but not the government itself), but there are no vanity plates on any cars here. I cannot recall in all our years traveling here and around Europe seeing vanity plates from any European country. Although France prizes individualism and creativity, as a society certain rules are expected to be followed and apparently license plate creativity is not the individualism and creativity the society is seeking.