Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Provence, France 2010
A TRIP TO PROVENCE.____________________
It all started with Julie, exchanging their home in Whistler, BC She hit upon a few French people who wanted to ski in BC.
One of these people had a son in Vancouver and would like to spend some time with him, How could that be arranged?
"NO PROBLEM" says our daughter..
"My parents are coming up to stay with us for a few days. Why don't you stay there, it is close by the University.....They would love you to do that".
Then the fun started, for her. She started convincing us that we should come to Whistler at particular time. What a choice, leaving tropical Vancouver for a holiday in the snow. That is why we left Toronto. After a lot of debating this "wonderful" idea, she clinched the deal by announcing that she had leased out our home to some others.
Everything worked out fine for us all....and now we are France.....not speaking a word in that language. We few with Lufthansa along with Mike's mother, via Frankfurt, to Marseilles. Mike picked us up at the airport. O, Yes, after leaving Vancouver, 2 hours late, while an ambulance and fire-engine came screaming to our plane, but only for some minor ailment, as we found out later. Luckily we originally had a 5 hour layover in Frankfort, not knowing at that time, that they were testing our baggage to see if they could crush it with their equipment. The answer is.YES THEY COULD, and delivered it a day late to our new home. Nice of them? It was beyond repair. A French friend took over and arranged a new one for us, which we received a few days later.
MISTRALS________________________
Have you ever encountered a Mistral? Well, it is a common occurrence in this area, according to the locals It starts around 9 am on a clear sunny day, a BLUEBIRD DAY. according to our grandson Max. It blows harder and harder as the day progresses. Anything left out on the patio and not tied dome, just disappears......swoosh, away it goes. "It could blow the ears off a donkey" Doors bang or some times fly open, shutters fl y open,trees sway and loose leaves go flying, the sound of "music" to a sailor on dry land. It gets cooler, but the sun keeps smiling at you. You just learn to live with it and hope it goes away overnight. Sometimes it blows for days.
THE COUNTRY SIDE__________________
Provence is one of the areas you just have to visit. It has rolling hills of grass and crops, high rocky hills, Sandy hills, Arizona like.. Then there are dozens of small hamlets, Bonnieux, Cucuron, Salon, Auron, etc,etc Places you will not see on the map, maybe not even on Mapquest, but they have been around for over 2000 years. Yes, 2000. The area has been occupied by such peoples as the Celts and the Phoenicans before them Then the Greeks and Romans were here 600 years before Christ was born. The City of Avignon was named using two Celtic words a whirpool and <>lord expressing the word "Lord of the Waters" Avignon housed the Popes for many years, when there was a falling out of the peoples. They left their "mark" around by building huge Churches and monisteries and also staed the wine trade as there was nothing better in those days. Now we have Cotes du Rhone and Chateaneuf-du-Pape and many others as there are small vineyards across the area.
One can drive around the Luberon region without seeing a gas station or store or even a coffee shop, but they are very close together, but all are different and have some very old buildings and maybe a castle. The larger villages have a weekly maret, where the vendors come to the people, not the other way around, with the result that you may have have a very, very peaceful existence if one so wishes it.
It all started with Julie, exchanging their home in Whistler, BC She hit upon a few French people who wanted to ski in BC.
One of these people had a son in Vancouver and would like to spend some time with him, How could that be arranged?
"NO PROBLEM" says our daughter..
"My parents are coming up to stay with us for a few days. Why don't you stay there, it is close by the University.....They would love you to do that".
Then the fun started, for her. She started convincing us that we should come to Whistler at particular time. What a choice, leaving tropical Vancouver for a holiday in the snow. That is why we left Toronto. After a lot of debating this "wonderful" idea, she clinched the deal by announcing that she had leased out our home to some others.
Everything worked out fine for us all....and now we are France.....not speaking a word in that language. We few with Lufthansa along with Mike's mother, via Frankfurt, to Marseilles. Mike picked us up at the airport. O, Yes, after leaving Vancouver, 2 hours late, while an ambulance and fire-engine came screaming to our plane, but only for some minor ailment, as we found out later. Luckily we originally had a 5 hour layover in Frankfort, not knowing at that time, that they were testing our baggage to see if they could crush it with their equipment. The answer is.YES THEY COULD, and delivered it a day late to our new home. Nice of them? It was beyond repair. A French friend took over and arranged a new one for us, which we received a few days later.
MISTRALS________________________
Have you ever encountered a Mistral? Well, it is a common occurrence in this area, according to the locals It starts around 9 am on a clear sunny day, a BLUEBIRD DAY. according to our grandson Max. It blows harder and harder as the day progresses. Anything left out on the patio and not tied dome, just disappears......swoosh, away it goes. "It could blow the ears off a donkey" Doors bang or some times fly open, shutters fl y open,trees sway and loose leaves go flying, the sound of "music" to a sailor on dry land. It gets cooler, but the sun keeps smiling at you. You just learn to live with it and hope it goes away overnight. Sometimes it blows for days.
THE COUNTRY SIDE__________________
Provence is one of the areas you just have to visit. It has rolling hills of grass and crops, high rocky hills, Sandy hills, Arizona like.. Then there are dozens of small hamlets, Bonnieux, Cucuron, Salon, Auron, etc,etc Places you will not see on the map, maybe not even on Mapquest, but they have been around for over 2000 years. Yes, 2000. The area has been occupied by such peoples as the Celts and the Phoenicans before them Then the Greeks and Romans were here 600 years before Christ was born. The City of Avignon was named using two Celtic words
One can drive around the Luberon region without seeing a gas station or store or even a coffee shop, but they are very close together, but all are different and have some very old buildings and maybe a castle. The larger villages have a weekly maret, where the vendors come to the people, not the other way around, with the result that you may have have a very, very peaceful existence if one so wishes it.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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