Living In France

France-Facades

A village in the south of France. Typical "maison de village" or town houses, three floors high, wall to wall structures three feet of stone per wall, six foot of stone separates neighbor from neighbor… nevertheless I still can hear my neighbor's dog barking.

Houses that are over four hundred years old. The walls do talk.

French-doorway

A green doorway with the original iron lock leads one into a courtyard or an imaginative place of dreaming:
What is behind the door?
Who entered last?
Did the wife pick the color, did she argue with her husband when he preferred blue?
Do vegetables grow on the otherside… or are lovers stealing a kiss?

Hand-doorknocker

The door knocker has not been replaced by a doorbell. When someone knocks on the door let me tell you … you hear it… you nearly jumping out of your skin when you hear the, "Boom BOOM Boom."

French-shutter

The classic blue grey French shutter with the hardware that keeps on working hundreds of years later.

 

French-rooftop

Two doves taking a break on the tile roof top.

French-country-house

A house of my dreams.
Amongst olive trees and lavender.

I wonder if they do not mind to move out and give me the keys.

I am a good housekeeper.

Chateau-keys

Ah the keys to the house, not just any house.

Enter, taste France.

Bell-tower

Where church bells tell you the time.
Where the cobblestones bear your journey.
Where the the soul of the place is like a crown above your heart…

French antique jupon

Where the baker's bread's aroma wakens your taste buds,
Where the only thing that changes are the faces and the style of clothes,
Ah the famous perfume remains the same, transporting you in and out of time.
Where were you going?
What do you learn?

What says French to you? What photo can I show you next? Dites-moi? Tell me….



Comments

49 responses to “Living In France”

  1. Corey
    This is all so beautiful.. but that green door has captured my heart.. the colour is so amazing.. sea green.. Thanks for sharing this today..

  2. Love these little tours. Someday…

  3. Oooooh La La
    I have feel like I had an actual visit in France. Thanks for all your love and all you share.
    Blessings
    Jeanne♥

  4. Love your photographic tours, the feel of your photos.. I’m finally getting to see alittle of france from a local’s view, thanks for sharing. And what a way with words… I think you should write a book including all your photos..
    “A Tour of France with a love for Brocant”

  5. Julienne

    I no longer need to get over my fear of flying I can just ride along with you and visit to my hearts content!

  6. Elizabeth

    Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures.
    I would like to see all the different ways of transportation you see daily – and interesting looking cars.

  7. Love your dream home….couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to live!!!

  8. I can smell the bread baking in the ovens, really, I can!!! Mmmmnnnnn lovely. What says French to me? I always think of Paris (the Seine, Montmartre, old beautiful buildings), but if you say Provence, I always think of lavender fields, blue skys, joie de vie .

  9. Churches, would love to see pictures of both the inside and outside. We collect crosses and I’m hoping to score one from your shop one day. Oh, and mail slots, I collect those too. I just missed one a couple of days ago!

  10. I love all your photos! I would love to see photos of interesting grave markers.

  11. Just keep documenting the simple rituals of daily life…the bark of the plane tree, the metal grills over windows, the endless fountains….love the fountains!

  12. Every day I am in France through your pictures and words…. and sometimes at night I am there, too. Last night I dreamt I was trying to make a purchase from your brocante and nothing was available… but on my birthday I received many, many packages from you which had been purchased by my friends and family and my true love. Now I shall have to wait until December 31 to see if this dream will come true…

  13. Yes, your choices are always perfect. I love the buildings, the food, the people, the brocante, your home – oh your home captures my heart.

  14. There is the big city France of Paris-the Eiffel tower, lots of traffic and crowds, everyone in a hurry. Then the smaller parts of France that you share photographs of. Narrow streets, sturdy stone buildings with tile roofs where even the flower pots look like works of art. I watch the Tour de France not for the cycling but for the aerial shots of French farmland, towns and mountains.

  15. Jillayne

    The fields of red poppies say France to me, along with stone tables, blue shutters and food!

  16. Such a soothing post, Corey; it draws me right into your world (for a few minutes at least!).
    This is my favorite picture on your site (first photo of the stone wall with potted plants and French blue doorway); I have it bookmarked so I can “visit” it whenever I like 🙂
    http://tinyurl.com/ybx5w2o
    I would love to see more like this.

  17. Rhonda P.

    What says French to me? Cartier perfume, the original that you cannot find, creme brulee, fresh bread, Provence, Eiffel Tower, Versaille, Marie Antoinette, Petite Trianon, your blog and photos.

  18. I thought the Barefoot Contessa had the French experience captured with her segments on flower and cheese shopping Paris….but you, my dear, are living the dream…the colours, textures, conversations….thank you for sharing!

  19. Beautiful pictures.. especially like the keys! You are a charming virtual tour guide. Thank you for sharing.

  20. What would I like to see? The next frame from your camera, of course. Your pictures are always breathtaking, whether of doorways and valleys or baguettes and steaming cups of chocolate. I love the everyday life of those around you, and, of course, the churches and religious relics, and, well, just keep showing what you see, please.

  21. Beautiful photos, Corey! If only I could peek in the houses, churches, shops …

  22. A dream trip for me, Corey. Any other dreams you produce will work very well for me. I love surprises.

  23. Thank you for letting me feel as though I was right there in France if only for a few minutes. Beautiful photos, beautiful words.

  24. Debra P.

    Corey, great clip . . .from Jean de Florette, right? Did you happen to see the younger actor in Apres Vous? loved that movie. Great post today, keeps my yearning for France and everything French very strong. When I get there, the brocante is first on my list . . .I hope you will join me!
    PS. Will you be getting to the states this year?

  25. I love most seeing the everyday scenes that you would see on a typical day in France. I love the small details that together sums up the joys of living the French way, small things that set them apart, but can be emulated anywhere. I have bookmarked the same photo that Star did, as it captures the colors of France, to me. I use it as a color palate for choosing paint colors for my apartment.
    I would truly love to see some photos of how French women, 50-ish, dress, as I am at a loss of knowing how someone of my age should
    dress and look chic, but in styles that are classic and timeless.
    Thanks for posting everyday. I always tell my mom when we talk everyday that I went to France before she even got out of bed that morning.

  26. That teal door is the prettiest thing I have ever seen! I want to know what goes on behind it, too!
    BV

  27. Corey,
    It must be wonderful to live in a place where there isn’t a constant urge to “improve”! In the US we never seem to worry about the past, just tear it down and build new! Someday I will visit France… Please post more pic’s of fountains cobbled streets, anything really … they’re all so beautiful. I guess that’s why I have a history degree :-)! Thank you, Pat

  28. Denise Solsrud

    corey, i am most thankful that i can come for a visit every day. and thankful that you visit us each day. i feel so lucky to have a mini journal of France. just like reading a book, something to read each day. bless you. Bestest,Denise

  29. Corey, all your photographs take me on a virtual tour of France. As everyone mentioned, it is the day to day events you photgraph that captures our hearts. I personally love door knockers, cafes with small children and the elderly socializing, a tiny flower or drop of water sparkling in the sunlight……only 6 more weeks and I’ll be there…..shopping in the markets, purchasing artichokes, asparagus, sweet peas, fresh cheese, olives and a bunch of dried lavander to sit in the window sill of our apartment; hand made soaps, honey, freshly cut flowers, 2 glasses of wine and hands clashed across the cafe table….my heart is already there…..thank you for the small joys you provide each day.

  30. Corey,
    I love the colors of Provence. So calm and peaceful, so inviting. The colors of the Northwestern U.S. are similar yet the years (& years, & years) of life and use give the colors of France a depth that we do not – can not really – have. Thank you for sharing!

  31. What says French to me?
    Fromage
    Renoir
    Absinthe
    Napoleon
    Champagne
    Edith Pilaf
    Laurie
    SF

  32. Any photos of fountains,red geraniums,cute cafes,cobbled streets, the iron scroll street lamps………….anything french really!Everything looks so aged and weathered in all french villages and thats what gives it its character and charm, here in my country Ireland, we would call things derelict and look to have them replaced a.s.a.p.!

  33. Since I have become oh so brave, I am feeling more and more like What says France to Me?? Landing at the airport in Paris!! Taking a trip to the South of France as I have never been. I would have to do it alone as I don’t know of anyone around here that wants to do it with me. My little shop is in dire need of something wonderful, something that makes me proud to be selling..However, most of those kind of things I keep! I have found that if you look hard enough you can find the beauty where ever it is you are planted..Long beach, California is a wasteland of ugly. MyHeart Aches for beauty, peace and serenity. I often find that in your photographs and words but sometimes the longing is a little painful . Oh, sorry big buzz kill here! Downer…

  34. Dearest Missus Corey – The next time you are in the mood to dance there, in the South of France, find this song: An Olive Tree by Basia. I think the tree in that song is to the right of the charming dream house of yours. You wear the crown!

  35. jend’isère

    Bread & Cheese.Observing how people handle baguettes and cheeses at grocery stores, as if they were choosing fruit. Boulangeries know their clients’ choices of bread as well if well cooked.

  36. The perfume, Lou Lou, says French to me.

  37. Just beautiful! I would love to see what is behind that blue door, the garden and where people sit and enjoy the day in their secret gardens.

  38. the one thing i remember most about France is the doors. i have tons of pictures of all the incredible doors the colors, hinges and the doorknockers. oh to be in France again. thanks for the reminder.

  39. I would love to see upclose pics of the facade of some local shops and cafes, and then the interiors…just to take it all in as I sit here in Southern California sipping my coffee from my vintage French cafe au lait bowl 🙂

  40. elizabeth

    I have always wondered about a peculiar type of house I visited once in Aix en Provance…
    The house was large, in a row against many other houses as described above, three floors high, and in order to get into the house you stepped through a small door in a bigger double door – almost the type that would let in a carriage. The bottom floor was cobbled – not in a street way, but certainly with large stones. The giant staircase swooped down into that one large room, and there was little there but a bench. You went upstairs and there was the rest of the family rooms…was, perhaps, at one time that a carriage house or “garage?”

  41. Yes. Yes, I would move into that farmhouse tomorrow!

  42. wonderful pictures! i would love to visit France again. i loved the iron grilles, the doors, the architectural details.

  43. Bonjour~ Thank you for sharing.I love it all.I love the old buildings, painted doors my fav! Flowers shops are always beautiful as well as olive trees and lavender.~Kim

  44. I will be trying so hard to capture some images like your beautiful ones in May myself. I will be looking for a bunch of keys and such a wonderful door knocker. I cannot wait.

  45. Linda C.

    Reading and looking at your post has now become a much anticipated daily ritual..The stories, many and varied, the photos, always beautiful..
    I love it all…
    If I were to ask for anything extra, it might be having a peak at what the “Parisiennes” are wearing.
    I also love shop facades.
    Thank you for all of it.

  46. Simply beautiful. Love looking at all of your photos and the stories to go with it.

  47. Oh, Corey! It is all so beautiful. Everything I’ve always imagined and more. I love it all – the city and also the cou tryside. Fields of flowers, storefronts, shops, buildings, fashion,city homes, country homes,barns, architecural detail. Maybe some french music. I made a french cd from itunes, and I pretend I am there! Would love to see some french ladies – ah to be chic in your fifties….I can dream
    Thank you ever so much!!!! xxxooo!

  48. Lorri Carter

    We will be thinking of you this Saturday on route to Dixon,San Fransisco ,ultimately Salinas from Eugene,OR. Girls trip…Me ,17 yr old daughter Katie & her 17 yr old friend Emily .We’ll Woooo Hooo as we pass by exit 162 on I5 Willows,Ca!

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